This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello all!

I am officially diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome and am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm a homeschooling mom to four kids, ages 8 months - 8. I'd love to hear from other moms of young kids or homeschoolers. More than anything right now I'd like some advice or tips in dealing with the fatigue.

I have a few weeks before starting injections in which to wean the baby. I'm hoping that somehow he'll start sleeping through the night then. When he doesn't sleep well (and I don't sleep well) I am so much more lightheaded, which leads to more falls. It's easy for my neurologist to tell me to get more sleep but I'm still not sure how to make that happen.

Minimizing the effect ms has on my kids (especially their education) is foremost on my mind. Anyone BTDT?

Hi Cholderby,
You've got a full plate! I home schooled my only for a year. It was a lot of fun. I don't know your homeschooling philosophy, but I think if you keep your curriculum expectations somewhat in line with those of public schools, you should have a very manageable school schedule, especially if you do unit studies. We schooled for about 2 hours and went to social activities and athletic lessons most days. When ds re-enrolled in school, he was about 3-4 years ahead of his peers in all subjects. So, if energy runs low, don't sweat taking a day off. The quality of education kids get at home (as long as you are teaching) is far above that offered at most public (and maybe private) schools.

The only other idea I have to offer in regards to energy is to take your vitamins. Jimmylegs knows more about that though so I won't even go there.

hi and welcome

have you looked into the nutrition side of things? being a mom of four will have taken a toll on your body's reserves..

here is a link to a chat i had last year with a mom of four who had neurological symptoms and was worried about the possibility of ms. there are a couple of pages to read, a little bit of up and down but a happy ending: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... ml#p189325

and here are some basics on ms nutrition: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/regimens- ... c2489.html

specific to ms, fatigue, and childbearing, low zinc may be one nutrient of interest

Zinc and copper in multiple sclerosis
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/45/8/691.short
"Lower serum zinc levels were found compared to age- and sex-matched controls."

Lower serum zinc in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Relationships to immune dysfunctions and relevance for the oxidative stress status in CFS
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 2705003125
"...We found that serum zinc was significantly lower in the CFS patients than in the normal controls. ... there was a significant and negative correlation between serum zinc and the subjective experience of infection. ... These results show that CFS is accompanied by a low serum zinc status and that the latter is related to signs of inflammation and defects in early T cell activation pathways. Since zinc is a strong anti-oxidant, the present results further support the findings that CFS is accompanied by increased oxidative stress. The results of these reports suggest that some patients with CFS should be treated with specific antioxidants, including zinc supplements."

Iron, Zinc and Folate Status During Pregnancy and Two Months After Delivery
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3 ... 3/abstract
"The concentrations of zinc in plasma and whole blood and the calculated levels of red cells were low even at the first examination around 12 weeks of gestation, compared with non-pregnant women."

question: are you on any supplements for breastfeeding mom? if so what product is it?

Thank you! That is exactly the sort of information I was looking for.

I take a multivitamin daily, plus a magnesium supplement (I was found to be potassium and magnesium-deficient during pregnancy #1 way back in 2004). So that's 300 mgs of magnesium oxide, 15 mg of since, and 2 mg of copper.

I'm not sure what my blood tests I've had. My first neurologist completely blew off my clausterphobia regarding the MRI (which I had attempted and failed) so I decided to fire him . I've had a 2nd opinion from my "new" neurologist (who is an ms specialist) but I'm still waiting for my next appointment.

Though the ms is a new discovery, it looks like its been around for some time. I was able to have a brain MRI after a handful of valiums and having been awake a full 24 hours beforehand. There were many (4 or 5) lesions in my frontal cortex in addition to the active lesion in my pons which was causing my first exacerbation. I'm doing my neck and spine Wednesday, in the hospital under IV sedation.

This has scared me into the drugs, which means I have to wean (I spent a week researching that decision as best I could and came up pretty confused).

I'll ask to have my zinc levels checked if they haven't been checked already.

no problem

which multivitamin is it?

mag and k deficiencies can go hand in hand - unfortunately mag oxide is an insoluble form. magnesium glycinate is far better in terms of your body being able to use it. hypomagnesemia could also tie in with your fatigue.

on the subject of K, we need crazy high amounts daily, on the order of 8 bananas PER DAY or equivalent. :S !!! supplements often contain only a ridiculous fraction of the daily requirement.

not surprising you had both mag and k deficiency. it can be difficult to correct K issues when there is a simultaneous mag problem. if you find you need to supplement more potassium, see if you can get an over the counter version (eg 600mg tablets) rather than off the shelf options, which could be way too low (eg 100mg or less).

sorry about this but when you say '15 mg of since' do you mean 15mg zinc, and would that be in the multi?? the 2mg copper is good to blend in with the zinc.. even though the zinc is on the low side from a therapeutic standpoint.

also i suspect you could deal with the mri anxiety better if fully stocked on a good soluble bioavailable form of magnesium (plus maximize high mag foods like spinach, swiss chard). mag's very soothing and relaxing. amazingly so actually. it's changed how i live day to day from the anxiety perspective. friends i've suggested it to also report the same extremely beneficial effect on anxiety.

i'll look forward to seeing zinc results if you have some. if you're going to get the levels tested, do try to ensure it's a SERUM zinc test.

glad to help

Yes, that was zinc AND an apple autocorrect fail.

Thanks for pointing out the magnesium difference. I read the other post on magnesium, had juice spilled on me, changed a diaper, and then forgot which form was which.

Currently the multivitamin is target brand.

lol! busy lady!

no probs and ok i will check out the target multi. actually i am on the target site and don't see a specific 'target' brand of multi. will keep digging. if you can link me up to online product info that might turn up some useful info.

Thx for the link! But, grr... link provides no product info ... At least not that I seem to be able to access vs this device, if that is making any difference. Will try to find somewhere with label details for more info.