This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

[Deleted]

This may not be perfect but is a reasonable summary of the condition

http://indymedia.us/or/2009/04/37135.shtml

I would suggest you need to know more about your own state of health. JimmyLegs covers that stuff quite well. To me your problems sound metabolic but we can't tell unless you have a lot more information to pass on.

Regards

[Deleted]

hi re state of health, yes that's certainly a useful start

can you write up a typical three days of meals? two at work, one at home?
if so, include any meds, supplements and fluids that are in the picture?
be as specific as possible.

if you post or pm details, then we can look at whether your diet meets national recommendations for maintaining good health (ppl here often have a few glaring gaps that align neatly with nutrition issues typically seen in average ms patients).

then, you can work on redesign to address less than optimal health (usually involves exceeding daily recommendations designed for healthies)

[Deleted]

Hey double D.

Your history doesn't sound very consistent with GBS. Of note, there is a chronic form of this condition known as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) which can be relapsing. There are a lot of variants of the disease including miller-fisher variant (usually ataxia, ophthalmoplegia, areflexia), but your symptoms don't sound very consistent with this. optic neuritis and unilateral numbness sound like clear central nervous system demyelinating attacks. You also report central nervous system lesions on your MRI scan. GBS can cause enhancement of the nerve roots at times but generally no parenchymal lesions.

Of note, there is a condition called bickerstaff's encephalitis which is associated with the anti GQ1b antibody just like miller fisher variant AIDP, but it has a different presentation.

It seems that you have a relapsing central nervous system disease, possibly multiple sclerosis.

people sometimes report MS attacks after illnesses or vaccinations.

best of luck

-C

[Deleted]

hi again I'm generally interested in nutrition. it started out as an ms-related interest, then i realized how many nutrition problems were cross cutting across many different chronic disease categories. so, now i just focus on trying to define optimally healthy nutritional status.

so, when i look at your diet I'm looking for intake of good to excellent sources of specific nutrients, and minimal sources of trouble absorbing said nutrients.

so, there are a bunch of nutrients that are of concern in ms. specific to pain and fatigue, I'd look hard at magnesium and vitamin D3. your ability to absorb and utilize either may be hampered by low zinc.

when nutrients are chronically depleted, it can take a while to fix the problem with diet. but, you can try reallocating some of your food budget and see if it makes a difference.

here are some lists of healthy food choices for nutrients of concern for ms patients:

magnesium: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart
for magnesium, when you feel bad aim for 600mg daily intake. if you feel ok, 400 will do
absorption/retention is hampered by coffee alcohol, physical activity (sweating) and stress in general
note that the spinach servings are in cooked servings, and that it takes 4c cooked spinach daily to achieve 600mg. so that's where the variety (and hopefully a passionate love for spanakopita and saag) come in ;)

vitamin d: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart
a serving of salmon will keep you ticking over, but do ensure some sun time as often as possible during suitable weather. ie no sunscreen for the first 15 mins or so.

zinc: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart
with zinc, aim for 40mg daily from food. gluten, phytates (eg from legumes), sugar, dairy, and alcohol all interfere with absorption/retention. that's by way of saying you're likely better off with non dairy animal sources. if you need to get some red meat, don't choose mainstream industrial feedlot beef. try to access some wild game if possible, or grass fed beef, goat, lamb, that kind of thing.
oysters are not on whfoods' zinc list, but are basically tops for zinc mgs per serving:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-015 ... axCount=31

daily wheat bread and coffee might be an issue in your case. sprouted bread is much better than non, for sure! but if your diet is low in essential nutrients and then you throw in bread on a daily basis as well, your system might not be up to the challenge.

certain things that limit absorption/retention of essential nutrients may have important benefits in their own right, so you don't necessarily want to cut them altogether. but mixing it up, adding more variety to the diet can certainly be beneficial.

the above is incomplete regarding nutrients of concern for ms, but it's about all i have time for this morning

one follow up question - are you in the habit of eating any nuts and/or seeds? (other than in the pb?)

[Deleted]

2 work days and one home day is a trick I picked up from a dietitian many yrs ago at a hospital clinic. it does give a good snapshot and can help identify any glaring problems. also provides a sort of baseline from which you can run a preliminary intake assessment.
so, if you go through the mag, d and zn links and find that your diet meets the targets, awesome!
and if it doesn't, you have a list of options right there with measurements. easy peasy.
the nuts sound like great choices. couldn't hurt to track their contribution to zinc and mag status.

the blood work is key of course. you never know what sneaky underlying issues could be messing with the total picture.

I went raw for maybe a month or so?? many many many years back. I certainly think raw foods are very important, but I've learned not to take things to extremes.
here are some decent guidelines for cooking just enough, not too much: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... vegetables

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live, discusses raw foods.

http://www.thisisms.com/forum/diet-f9/t ... ml#p191461