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Hello,

About two weeks ago I stopped taking Copaxone due to allergic systemic reactions that I have developed over the 8 years I have taken this medication. I have considered Interferons but the flu like side effects that I have heard about sound just as debilitating as the disease itself. Not taking any medication makes me feel like I am giving up on trying to take some sort of control over my MS. It scares me not to be on Copaxone even though I am allergic to it. Most of the medications out there for MS could put down a horse but we are willing to take them for that "chance" that they could reduce relapses by maybe around 30% even though none of us will ever know if it was the medication that slowed down the relapses or just our MS going into remission by itself. Sorry, I just need to vent to someone.

Thanks,

Alicia

Take control and start making changes to your diet etc
Have a read of the book: The MS recovery diet by Ann Sawyer and Judith Bachrach. Also check out Ashton Embry Best Bet Diet.

This will make you feel like you have more control over the disease (I believe diet can make a huge difference and can even control the disease) whilst you decide what you want to do about meds.

You are right 30% is rubbish odds!! I would never suggest anyone turning their backs on meds though...we need all the help we can get!!


L x

Hi Alicia-
Go ahead and vent...we all do.
Anything you can do to have more control over your situation is always a good thing I agree with Lx!
Diet, supplements and exercise are at the top of the list. Have some blood work done and make sure your vit. D and B12 levels are good, and that your inflammation and ESR, glucose and cholesterol numbers aren't too high.

Maybe read up on LDN? Many folks have success with it.
My hubby is on copaxone...but I credit his remission and good health to his exercise program (he walks, bikes or works out everyday) good diet (he's on Swank) supplements and attitude.
all the best,
AC

Thank you for your responses. I appreciate it.

Alicia

one of the bod's measures of inflammation is c reactive protein...

i started this with the recollection of a reference to crp and magnesium, and ended up with the list here:

http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/93/8/676

488 apparently healthy children aged 10–13 years were randomly enrolled from Durango, a city in northern Mexico, through two-stage cluster sampling... Children who had both elevated hsCRP levels (2.45 (10.6) mg/l) and hypomagnesemia (1.3 (0.3) mg/dl) exhibit the highest fasting glucose (96.0 (13.9) mg/dl), insulin (13.6 (7.5) µU/ml) and triglycerides (131.5 (43.5) mg/dl) levels as well as the lowest HDL-cholesterol (46.4 (9.0) mg/dl) levels.

http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/3/166

After controlling for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors, adults who consumed <RDA of magnesium were 1.48–1.75 times more likely to have elevated CRP than adults who consumed ≥RDA... Most Americans consume magnesium at levels below the RDA. Individuals with intakes below the RDA are more likely to have elevated CRP, which may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk.

here's an interesting conclusion from an italian study:
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/pr ... /000202632

This study provides evidence that lower 25(OH)D and higher CRP levels are independently associated with lower hemoglobin concentrations in kidney disease subjects not requiring dialysis

another one:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve ... 2308020373

Logistic modeling predicting iron deficiency revealed having a BMI ≥85th percentile and for each 1 mg/dL increase in C-reactive protein the odds ratio for iron deficiency more than doubled... Findings indicate that heavier-weight female adolescents are at greater risk for iron deficiency and that inflammation stemming from excess adipose tissue contributes to this phenomenon. Food and nutrition professionals should consider elevated BMI as an additional risk factor for iron deficiency in female adolescents.

here are some additional references connecting nutrients and crp (i haven't checked them out yet) about nutrition and crp

(11) Root M.M. Hu J. Stephenson L.S. Parker R.S. Campbell T.C. (1999) Determinants of plasma retinol concentrations of middle-aged women in rural China. Nutrition 15, 101-107.

(12) Boosalis M.G. Snowdon D.A. Tully C.L. Gross M.D. (1996): Acute phase response and plasma carotenoid concentrations in older women: findings from the nun study, Nutrition, 12, 475-478.

(13) Friso S. Jacques P.F. Wilson P.W. Rosenberg I.H. Selhub J.(2001) Low circulating vitamin B(6) is associated with elevation of the inflammation marker C-reactive protein independently of plasma homocysteine levels, Circulation, 103(23), 2788-2791.

(14) Devaraja S. Jialal I. (2000) Alpha tocopherol supplementation decreases serum C-reactive protein and monocyte interleukin-6 levels in normal volunteers and type 2 diabetic patients, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 29(8), 790-792.

(15) Upritchard J.E. Sutherland W.H. Mann J.I. (2000): Effect of supplementation with tomato juice, vitamin E, and vitamin C on LDL oxidation and products of inflammatory activity in type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Care, 23, 733-738.