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I have been trying to read everything I can, trying to figure out what is right and wrong when it comes to diet, vitamins, tests, etc and I am to overwhelmed to know what to do. I was diagnosed with MS in 2002 in my early 30s and with every MRI I seem to have more lesions on my brain and spine. We just recently moved to a small remote town with one doctor that I wouldn't let our dog visit if he was dying. I asked this dr. if you can call him that, if he could refer me to a neuro in this new province, his reply "I have never dealt with anyone with MS so I would like to review your file from your neuro and then learn more about it". My neuro lives 7 hours away and with owning a business it seems to occupy most of my time and our 4 children take up the rest. Recently, my amemia has returned, red dots all over the stomach, jewerly turning my skin black, dizzy spells, concentration gone, extreme fatigue and all I seem to enjoy is ice and lots of it. 4 years ago, my gp told me I was near death with an iron level of 4 so he injected iron in the butt for a month to get the level back up. 10 years ago I ended up with a blood transfusion for the same reason. I have an appt. tomorrow with a nurse practitioner just to get my level checked and then I don't know where to go from there?? Am I supposed to get iron or not? I am so confused with reading everything, some say stay away from iron and some say take it. BTW, I can't take any kind of iron supplements as my body just can't do it. Please if I can get any input that would be great as I don't want to do the wrong thing.

overwhelmedinsask-- When you said,

all I seem to enjoy is ice and lots of it

I remembered hearing years ago that people with anemia
liked to chew ice -- that certainly seems to fit with your experience.

Recently, I have read again the book, The MS Solution by Kathryn R. Simpson. In it she states that people with MS have difficulty digesting meat (protein) and, therefore, difficulty absorbing iron. To my knowledge, this is not a problem for me; in fact, my blood test last month showed a good level.

overwhelmedinsask wrote:... I have an appt. tomorrow with a nurse practitioner just to get my level checked and then I don't know where to go from there?? Am I supposed to get iron or not? I am so confused with reading everything, some say stay away from iron and some say take it. BTW, I can't take any kind of iron supplements as my body just can't do it. Please if I can get any input that would be great as I don't want to do the wrong thing.

I assume you're referring to the recent stuff related to CCSVI, in regard to iron accumulation in the brain. While it's good to stay informed and educated, I wouldn't try to read myself into confusion.

It sounds like you have a potentially pretty serious health condition, and really need to consult a doctor. If you're anemic and need iron, I would follow the doctor's recommendations. Even if the iron accumulation turns out to be the cause of MS progression (and this far from proven yet), I don't think it would be recommended to become iron deficient. If this theory is right, it's not necessarily the levels of iron in the blood that are the problem, but the fact that it accumulates in brain tissue.