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I have seen studies recently that salt could contribute to ms activation.
I was once offered sodium valporate for migraines pre diagnosis (epillim) and I wonder if that could be useful now?? I never took it as I got Dx with ms soon after.
As I haven't got sodium valporate I am thinking of trying to balance levels with potassium which could be a waste of time!

I remember in a nutrition course I did that our tutor told us about the risk of coma and death if u get the balance wrong ( too much potassium and not enough sodium) so will get bloods checked.

Gonna take 1.5 g a day.

I inject a med daily that contains sodium for thinning blood and it doesn't label how much sodium is in it which is annoying.......

Has anyone else tried potassium citrate?

i have tried potassium supplements but can't remember the form.

what blood tests are you having done altogether?

intakes from dietary potassium and sodium should be in the ratio 2:1. ie potassium 4700 mg and max sodium 2300 mg. standard diets including processed food provide more like 1:5. it's possible that salt intake and ms activation are associated, perhaps it's the kind of foods the excess salt typically arrives in. ie crap. so if an ms patient is eating standard processed and junk food, perhaps that could contribute. read a stat somewhere once that when using processed foods, average joe gets 75% of their sodium intake before they ever pick up the salt shaker.

Hey jimmy
Thanks for your reply.
I have my bloods checked regularly b12 folic acid vitamin d zinc magnesium etc all well within normal range.
I think I might monitor my potassium/sodium levels via the electrolytes blood test?????

I rarely eat processed foods so I am good there but as mentioned there is sodium in my injectable blood thinners. I also take thyroxine sodium as well as copaxone which may or may not be preserved or filled with sodium.

I am going to chat to my dr about sodium channel blockers like valporate which I believe are being trialled in other forms ATM. All about stopping sodium ions flooding the nerves during inflammation which ultimately destroys them. It may be that trying to balance the sodium I eat might have no bearing on the sodium dumped into the nerves during inflammation......worth a go though:)
Thanks again for your reply xx

Hi LR,
I've taken a bit of potassium glycinate complex (99mg). I'm a bit leery of taking big doses as I think it can alter your cardiac rhythm. I could be wrong though. I prefer to load up on potassium rich foods like potatoes, OJ, and coconut water. But you might be trying a better way to balance na/k. Is it just the balance that matters? Is it okay to have high potassium and sodium? I would be asking doc (or jimmy) about that and get baseline levels before going hardcore on K supplements.

I'm interested in getting at that balance too so I'll be watching your experiment with great interest.

Good luck!

hey there,

I imagine you know all about my non-comfort level with normal ranges..

can you confirm (out here or via PM) if your 1) serum zinc is up in the 120 neighbourhood, 2) serum mag minimum 2.2-2.3, 3) b12 min 500, 4) vit d3 around 40-50, and so on? (i'm going for US units let me know if anything doesn't match your lab's units..)

yes an electrolytes test should point up your potassium sodium balance. I don't have optimal target levels within existing 'normal' ranges off the top of my head though

as for blood thinners. how is your hydration level? what is your history re blood pressure - low, high or normal?

how are your dietary sources of blood thinning foods?

I just google searched
vascular function tone flow nutrition deficiency

and interestingly it turned up this study:

Effects of chronic vitamin E deficiency on vascular function
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8680733

have you ever had vit e levels tested? i have found vit e testing troublesome but it is typically low in ms patients, and forms a significant proportion of the klenner protocol for ms. in hindsight, i think it was a big part of why the klenner protocol (my silly little newbie version) made a huge difference for me.

then I got into google scholar and this one came up

Dietary Copper in the Physiology of the Microcirculation
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/127/12/2274.short

that made me think, are you supplementing zinc, and if so is it properly balanced with copper to prevent depletion?

looking up healthiest food sources of vit e and copper

vit e - sunflower seeds, spinach, swiss chard
copper - sesame seeds, cashews, spinach, swiss chard

anon - 99mg is 1/50th of the daily requirement, 1.5g is just under 1/3rd.. all the same, I wouldn't take the whole thing at once. many foods seem to deliver about 0.5 g potassium in a reasonable serving size.

here's a good resource showing a list of foods plus specific potassium and sodium content for each. high K:Na ratio at the top, other way around at the bottom. you can clearly see how whole foods stack up against processed.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionso ... m-balance/

fyi the list is not even close to exhaustive, obviously. I looked up pork tenderloin b/c i'm about to defrost one (local farm-raised heritage pork ) - it weighs in around the same zone as the salmon filet on the list.