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I was diagnosed with MS 3 months ago and haven't started any treatment yet. I want to start trying for another baby but my neurologist wants to put me on treatment ASAP. I had a relapses 5 weeks ago and my legs stopped working, I fell and broke my arm. My neurologist is worried I'll get worse without treatment. His suggestion is to put me on copaxone and once I'm pregnant stop the treatment. Is this risky for the baby? I don't want to do anything that will cause any harm. It may take me a while to fall pregnant as I needed fertility treatment with my first baby.
Any suggestion? Has anyone been in this situation? Really confused and don't know what to do.

I have known 2 women who are diagnosed with MS and subsequently had babies, so based on seeing their experiences and from reading a few research papers, it seems that it is very common for women with MS to go into remission during pregnancy, then at some point after giving birth (the length of time is variable) the symptoms generally return. One theory is that the remission is due to the fact that during pregnancy, all women are immunocompromised; their immune systems are downregulated so that their bodies will not attack the embryo/fetus (since 50% of the DNA of the baby comes from the father, the body views it as a virus or some kind of outside intruder). Both women I know were not on any medicine during pregnancy, both because it is dangerous for the baby, and also since the medication wasn't needed during this time due to the downregulation. I don't know what, if any, medication they were taking before pregnancy.

I, personally, have not ever taken any of the MS drugs my neurologist tried to push on me, but while researching them, I did read that women who intend to become pregnant should not take them. I don't know any info about exactly why, though.

I am not a doctor, and I'm not trying to tell you what to do. However, I was diagnosed about 6 years ago with an MRI and a spinal tap after a few worrying symptoms, and I have been able to put my MS in remission without the use of any drugs - just by using diet, stress reduction, and playing detective to figure out what was really causing my symptoms instead of taking toxic drugs to suppress those symptoms. Remember, those drugs don't treat the actual problem, they just mask the symptoms partially. There are other, less toxic ways to treat MS, and I am happy to share what I've done, if you are interested.

Thanks for your reply. I also ended up with postpartum hypothyroidism after I had my first baby. I saw my specialist about that yesterday and as long as I'm closely monitored with the next pregnancy I should be ok to have another baby. I think I'm going to put off starting any medication at this point. It's more important to have another baby first.

It would be fantastic if you'd be able to share what you found helped you with your MS. I know diet plays a large roll, but to be honest with a 7 month old baby most the time I don't even have time to eat. I do eat healthy though when I do eat!

Search 'dr klenner’ here on this site for old posts for MS cure. The sooner MS is treated, the sooner it can be cured.

Vitamin C has been found to increase fertility in both sexes.

internet ‘ dr klenner 300 perfect babies.'

I've made a lot of diet changes over the past few years, trying to find out what works best for my body. Just keep in mind that what is good for me might not be optimal for you, and there's no way to know without just diving in an giving it a try.

Here's a breakdown of the dietary things I've done in order:

1) Eliminated dairy and gluten within a year of having my first symptom (optic neuritis). After making this change, my symptoms/flares were fairly mild (L'Hermitte's sign, some numbness)

2) The Swank Diet. This diet was created by a neurologist and has a 50+ year longevity study, which is why I gave it a try. The main thing with this 'diet' is keeping saturated fat very low. I didn't agree with the allowance of crappy processed wheat and low fat dairy, so I didn't include them.

3) After a while, I realized that my modified version of the Swank Diet was really The Best Bet Diet (still maintaining low saturated fat, but also no gluten, dairy, or legumes (no soy, beans, etc...) This diet was created by another neurologist whose own son was diagnosed with MS.The Best Bet Diet website has some great articles and a FAQ section.

4) I came across info about the Paleo diet by Loren Cordain (there are other versions of this diet, which is also called the Caveman Diet or an Ancestral Diet). The Paleo Diet was similar to the Best Bet Diet, but low carb, so this meant I eliminated all grains and tubers and was basically eating lean meats, fish, vegetables, fruit, sometimes nuts.

5) Over time, I learned about the Primal Diet, which is a high fat version of Paleo. I was really scared at first to increase my saturated fat because keeping it low was a cornerstone of all the other diets. I increased it slowly, and eventually I was eating high fat meat and coconut oil, still no flares. This diet has a fantastic forum called Mark's Daily Apple that is super active.

6) And that brings me to what I'm doing now, which is The Perfect Health Diet. It's basically the Primal diet, but with lower fat and higher carbs.I realized that I personally need a higher carb level to feel healthy (after being low carb for a year, my hypothyroid symptoms got really bad). I feel really good on this diet. It's basically grassfed/pastured meats, fish, eggs, fruit, starches like tubers (potatoes, etc...) and white rice.

7) In addition, I've been adding some Ray Peat tweeks. He's a little controversial since he advocates sugar, but I have to admit that I've seen some significant overall health improvements by following some of his recommendations (increasing sugar and salt, supplementing with pregnenolone). He's a Ph.D with a ton of interesting articles on his website,
and one is even about MS.

Hope that helps - let me know if you have any questions.