This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

hey everyone.. recently diagnosed with 'probable' MS. Docs say its a CIS. Have 10 odd lesions in brain and spine, some of them they claim are old ones. Is there actually a way one can say which lesions are new and which ones old?. Have been prescribed avonex. And being a research scholar I'm reading and also applying all sorts of dietary therapies on me. Dont know how much these things will help but I hope turmeric/basil/green tea/Vit d3/calcium supplements will help. Any more additions suggested?

meet wrote:Dont know how much these things will help but I hope turmeric/basil/green tea/Vit d3/calcium supplements will help. Any more additions suggested?

Welcom to ThisIsMS. You might also want to consider omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oil. In addition, before beginning a supplement regimen with vitamin D3, it might be a good idea to get your levels tested. That way you will have a baseline number and know what dosage you need to correct any deficiency. Many folks also like to supplement with magnesium and zinc as it helps to round out the vitamin D3 + calcium with supporting minerals.

NHE

thanks for the reply. My Vit D3 levels are 31 nm/l, doctors say its normal and I dont need any supplements. However, I could figure out that the levels are surely towards the lower range. So I'm taking 1000 IU supplement of D3, 1200mg calcium. Magnesium 40 mg and zinc 7.5 mg. Looking at the levels, do I need these supplements?. Also is it advisable to have these supplements regularly, as too much of supplementation by artificial ways is also not considered good for health.

meet wrote:thanks for the reply. My Vit D3 levels are 31 nm/l, doctors say its normal and I dont need any supplements. However, I could figure out that the levels are surely towards the lower range. So I'm taking 1000 IU supplement of D3, 1200mg calcium. Magnesium 40 mg and zinc 7.5 mg.

Are you sure that those are the correct units on your vitamin D3 levels? 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 should be up around 125 to 150 nmol/L. Many labs report D3 results as ng/mL with a range of 32 to 100.

Here's how to convert ng/mL to nmol/L...

[color=blue]NHE[/color] wrote:To do the calculation, divide by the molecular weight of 25-hydroxy vitamin D3, 400.17 ng/nmol, and then multiply by 1000 mL/L.

If the units on your D3 test were really ng/mL, then this puts you at 77 nmol/L which is still low.

Looking at the levels, do I need these supplements?. Also is it advisable to have these supplements regularly, as too much of supplementation by artificial ways is also not considered good for health.

Vitamin D3 seems to work best with the supporting minerals. Jimmylegs will likely have some additional comments.

NHE

hi yes, as a research scientist i imagine you understand that 'normal' is a broad range which includes a lot of sick people. the 'optimal' range for vitamin d3 (as far as it's been narrowed down to date) is, like NHE says, between say 125 or 150nmol/L at the lower end, and about 250 nmol/L at the upper end of the range. it all depends whether you want to be forrest gump normal or einstein normal. we all fit under the bell curve, we're all pretty much 'normal'. doesn't mean we're 'healthy'!
personally, right now i take a multivitamin, plus extra A, C, and natural ratio E, B-complex, D3, fish oil, magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, selenium, and sometimes (shhh..) iron.

hey NHE .. well the lab I got the levels tested from say that they use electrochemiluminiscence for estimation of D3 levels and their range is 27-100 nmol/l, and hence I fall in normal range (31 nmol/l). However, as jimmylegs says..the level is towards the lower end and hence should be supplemented.

Like all of you I have been trying hard to find out the reason which triggered the attack. Does anyone has any clue on what is the time span between the onset of disease activity within the body and the actual appearance of the sypmtoms?. This should in some way help in identifying the cause. Also is there any thread where people discuss about the reasons they feel could have triggered the attack?.

i bet 27 and 100 nmol/L are simply the lowest and highest levels that anyone who came through that lab's doors ever tested at.

known complications of hypervitaminosisD don't show up until patients' levels are averaging more like 250 nmol/L.

if what i suspect is true, from now on at that lab someone will have to test, say for example, 24 nmol/L to get flagged as 'abnormal'. and from that point on the lab's range will be 24 -100 nmol/L. from there everyone will be 'normal' unless they get a result of 23 or lower.

telling someone they are normal at 31nmol/L is true within the lab's parameters but given that that level is far from healthy, the fact that no red flags are raised is, in my lowly opinion, negligent and irresponsible.

it's known that under the 70-80 nmol/L range that PTH levels increase, with implications for osteoporosis. and there are published scholarly articles which state that levels under 100 nmol/L are deficient.