This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I am still waiting for MRI results for confirmation. While I am in panic mode, learning about treatments and what this may mean for my job, I am wondering if anyone has been advised to leave a job due to suppression of the immune system. I am a consultant who travels to multiple schools each week. My job requires direct interactions with kids. I love kids but they are walking germ factories at times, and they are not always so careful about hand washing and sneezing into tissues or at least into the elbow. How likely is it that I may have to find another job?

Hi!tnmommy, i've resigned from my job since mid 2011, coz my job is very stressful...don't worry u'll find another activities that can suit your passion if u are quitting from your job.

Well, weakened immune system could make u more fragile to infections. And if you have MS then infection is the one you should avoid. Infections could make your MS symptomps got worse from my experience.

So if u want to stay working, u should not overworked, don't get too tired, have enough rest and take supplement to maintain your health.

Warm regards,
Linda

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Warm regards,
Linda

|For the joy of the Lord is your strength | A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones| God always leads us to where we need to be, not where we want to be|

hi tnm, you should be able do lots to support your immune system without jeopardizing your job. i work around hundreds of kids daily and since i started working on my underlying health via nutrition, i don't get colds any more. i can feel it when a virus is trying it on, but generally it doesn't stand a chance against my body's natural defenses. my worst case scenario at this stage is pretty much the sniffles.

that said, we are all different. i personally do not ascribe to autoimmune causality when it comes to ms. not to say it's not a factor, but that the autoimmune aspect is one part of a larger set of imbalances that should be addressed systemically rather than medicated in a piecemeal, band-aid fashion. so i have never taken immune system suppression drugs. vitamin d3 did a big chunk of that work for me, among other things. there should be plenty of others here who can advise on how to protect yourself when dealing with a drug-compromised immune system.

lots of info on ms and nutrition all over the place. my experience and intro here regimens-f22/topic2489.html

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

MS includes a suppression of the immune system? Why has no one told me this in 20 years? Where do you people find this stuff out?

I always helped out in school when my kids were young, I didn't get colds, etc any more than anyone else. If anything I got them less.

No, MS does not suppress the immune system. Our immune systems are more often considered to be overactive and turning against our own cells - autoimmune (although that's an oversimplification of a complex and likely multi-factorial disease). In fact some of the treatments used (like chemotherapy) are ones that wipe out our overactive immune systems.

Edited to fix quote.

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Dx'd with MS & HNPP (hereditary peripheral neuropathy) 7/03 but must have had MS for 30 yrs before that. I've never taken meds for MS or MS symptoms except 1 yr experiment on LDN. (I found diet, exercise, sleep, humor, music help me the most.)

Hi tnmommy,
I hope that things go well for you. I don't know if you have MS, how aggressive it will be. I agree with euphoniaa. In MS you have an overactive inmmune system, although as of late it has been mentioned that the problem may be with the regulatory cells that go rogue ( the surveilance). If you do have MS, it will probably take a while for the disease to impact your work. You do have to prepare for the future., however. I was diagnosed with MS in 1999 but could have had many symptoms way before. I was able to work as a physician until 2011. Yes, I needed to make adjustments to my work schedule to be able to last that long e.g. no hospital calls, no long hours, assistants etc. The problem I may see is with you is the physical part of the job, moving around. But that usually will impact later on. I suggest that you get involved with one of the local self-help support groups where you can meet other people that are dealing with the illness and see what they are doing to adddress these changes.

I was referring to treatments that suppress the immune system. I had juvenile RA, trust me, I know that autoimmune diseases don't suppress the immune system. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my post.

i just learned something about prednisone... not the best effect for a zinc depleted patient population...
Effect of prednisone on growth and zinc metabolism in rats
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 1784800639
Growth failure and increased susceptibility to infection are common complications of prednisone administration, which may be associated with reduced zinc nutriture...
The whole body 65Zn retention in the pair-fed control animals at 24 and 216 hours was greater than 90% and 60%, respectively, as compared with the retention of 60% and 10% at 24 and 216 hours in the rats administered the highest dose (8 mg/kg/day). Prednisone treatment depressed the capacity of the liver, kidney, muscle, bone and testes to accumulate 65Zn. Urinary excretion of zinc and nitrogen increased in proportion to the doses of prednisone used.

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com