This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi I just jumped on this site today looking for others who are taking the natural path like me. I was diagnosed in 2008. I used Copaxone for a year and a half. Due to numerous side-effects or allergic reactions, I quit. I focus on vegan/raw vegan and gluten free diet. I also do yoga, walk and running. I've been symptom free since I quit meds. I also believe that stress or emotional repression has effects on the immune system. So I believe in a new, untested approach to MS healing. I have a holistic view of the mind/body connection and healing. My husband is a physician and he accepts my approach as long as it works for me. I hope I can learn something here and share something as well.

saimamom wrote:Hi I just jumped on this site today looking for others who are taking the natural path like me. I was diagnosed in 2008. I used Copaxone for a year and a half. Due to numerous side-effects or allergic reactions, I quit. I focus on vegan/raw vegan and gluten free diet. I also do yoga, walk and running. I've been symptom free since I quit meds. I also believe that stress or emotional repression has effects on the immune system. So I believe in a new, untested approach to MS healing. I have a holistic view of the mind/body connection and healing. My husband is a physician and he accepts my approach as long as it works for me. I hope I can learn something here and share something as well.

Welcome to ThisIsMS. I congratulate you on being symptom-free and for finding an approach to MS that works for you. You will definitely have important ideas to share with us. We are so glad you found us.

Welcome to thisisms.com (TIMS) saimamom

THX1138

welcome to TiMS!

question: are you vegan *since* dx, or were you vegan before as well?

Thanks,
I was a vegetarian for many years before being diagnosed. But I eventually ate some meat later. I had three pregnancies and ate a wide variety of foods then. After being diagnosed, I tried Paleo first. But found my digestion system needed a break. So I tried vegetarian again and eventually vegan. I'm not super strict about it. And I experiment with whatever feels right at different times.

ah ok! as a veggie gone vegan, have you had serum b12 etc tested lately? (I'm pretty curious re nutrient status for vegan X GF )

B12 is the only thing to be concerned with if you are a vegan. I get mine from Kombucha tea and fermented vegetables. You can take a supplement. Vegans seem to be very healthy.

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-bene ... bucha.html


http://www.nourishandflourishhealthyliv ... egetables/

saimamom wrote:I was a vegetarian for many years before being diagnosed. But I eventually ate some meat later. I had three pregnancies and ate a wide variety of foods then. After being diagnosed, I tried Paleo first. But found my digestion system needed a break. So I tried vegetarian again and eventually vegan. I'm not super strict about it. And I experiment with whatever feels right at different times.

My suspicions about MS revolve around insulin. Pregnancy is one of two times in life when a woman is in an insulin resistant state (her body is producing increased insulin in order to gain weight and put weight on the fetus). I suspect that the mother's body often does not revert to normal secretion immediately after delivery of the baby. I am curious to know if your MS symptoms appeared in the six months following one of your pregnancies.

want2bike in addition to the veg sources listed above, you mentioned you get b12 from salmon:
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... ml#p219917
salmon has multiple times more b12 than beef so it's a pretty efficient choice in terms of that nutrient in particular.

some other nutrients to consider (many of which are also issues for ms patients).

Health effects of vegan diets
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1627S.full
"Micronutrients of special concern for the vegan include vitamins B-12 and D, calcium, and long-chain n–3 (omega-3) fatty acids. Unless vegans regularly consume foods that are fortified with these nutrients, appropriate supplements should be consumed. In some cases, iron and zinc status of vegans may also be of concern because of the limited bioavailability of these minerals."

Jimmylegs: No I haven't had my b12 tested recently. But before being diagnosed with MS I had it tested. I was mainly vegetarian back then and my level was fine.

lyndacarol: Your theory on pregnancy and insulin are interesting. My first symptoms happened when I was in College- age 21 or so. But the first actual flare up was when my second daughter was 9 months old. This disappeared quickly on its own. Then the flare up that diagnosed me was when my third daughter was 8 months old. I do believe that hormone levels decreasing can leave the body vulnerable. At this time I attribute that flare up to not eating right, not sleeping, being super stressed out, having no help, and working my butt off 24/7 with no rest. I think my immune system just reacted and fought back.

heya 'fine' is a thing to be viewed with great skepticism re bloodwork - did they give you a numerical result? or just the word 'normal'? normal is a huge range and it includes both the sick and the healthy. if your level was high normal, great. if low normal, could require action. esp. since b12 deficiency is a major diff dx for ms.

I was vegan for over a decade and always managed to have 'fine' b12 bloodwork. if you don't know whether your result was low normal or high normal, could be in your best interests to find out

I can also link you up to stories here of moms having neuro issues that resolve when they take nutrition issues in hand (cristin always comes to mind). if you want to read her story I can add a useful link here

Hey!
You seem similar enough to me, or at least to my lofty goals.

I usually follow a mostly raw and vegan eating regimen, but I keep finding that nearly impossible to do well where I live in Florida. California treated me so much better.Organic Produce seemed so easy to find, once.

For supplements, I take Methyl B-12 sublinguals and a Liposomal Vitamin D 'goo packet' almost daily. Today counted as a rare exception because money's tight.


This video convinced me to start taking Vitamin D.

lyndacarol wrote:My suspicions about MS revolve around insulin. Pregnancy is one of two times in life when a woman is in an insulin resistant state (her body is producing increased insulin in order to gain weight and put weight on the fetus). I suspect that the mother's body often does not revert to normal secretion immediately after delivery of the baby. I am curious to know if your MS symptoms appeared in the six months following one of your pregnancies.

It's well known that pregnancy tends to decrease relapse rate (by about 66% in the 3rd trimester) and that the postpartum period is associated with an increased risk of relapse

"during the third trimester, the MS relapse rate can be up to 70% lower compared with pre-pregnancy, but aggravation of the disease is commonly seen during the first 3 months after delivery"

source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3932767/

the article has a lot of information on the subject. There are a lot of theories about why the phenomenon exists. Some people believe that it is an evolutionary adaptation of increased immunotolerance during pregnancy (to accomodate the fetus who is antigenically different from the mother). There is also a known microchimerism effect whereby fetal cells are retained in the uterus to some extent and could potentially explain an inflammatory response once pregnancy is over and postpartum relapses occur

-C

saimamom wrote:Hi I just jumped on this site today looking for others who are taking the natural path like me. I was diagnosed in 2008. I used Copaxone for a year and a half. Due to numerous side-effects or allergic reactions, I quit. I focus on vegan/raw vegan and gluten free diet. I also do yoga, walk and running. I've been symptom free since I quit meds. I also believe that stress or emotional repression has effects on the immune system. So I believe in a new, untested approach to MS healing. I have a holistic view of the mind/body connection and healing. My husband is a physician and he accepts my approach as long as it works for me. I hope I can learn something here and share something as well.

It's pretty doubtful that copaxone would influence your long term outcome given it's relatively poor efficacy anyways.

Stress and diet definitely effect the immune system.

best of luck.