CURLYTOP wrote:last Friday I came to the ER with stroke like systems within 48 hrs my doc came in and told me the news that i have MS! I must say it shook me to the core of my soul! I tried to block out the news for a day that did not work very well.I think the hardest part so far was telling my 13 year old daughter she has been thru so many of my hospital stays over the years! I could not help The overwhelming feelings of guilt for what the future may hold for me. I want to learn as much as I can. So I guess I need help any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to ThisIsMS, CURLYTOP.
The sudden bombshell of the MS diagnosis would naturally "shake you to the core of your soul." Take time to process the news and then take a deep breath. I think we all feel guilt for the changes this disease brings to our loved ones. But we have not knowingly done something to bring this on. Your daughter (and my husband) grow in strength and character every day from sharing our experience with MS.
Since you "want to learn as much as [you] can," I encourage you start with the mountains of information here at this website – especially the Diet forum.
Since I believe insulin is a major player in MS, from this day forward, I encourage you to eat a healthy diet (even good for your teenage daughter) - a diet that will not trigger insulin production. In my opinion, this means a low-carb diet -- remove all trans fats (These increase the insulin level.), remove all sugar (including beer, wine, etc. which have sugar), remove all artificial sweeteners, including sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, etc. (These promote insulin production, too.), and white flour, white bread, white potatoes, white rice (in fact, all carbs so far as possible) from your diet. Even whole-wheat bread raises blood sugar more than a Snickers candy bar! (Wheat/gluten sensitivity is often a problem for people with MS.) Many people find that diet can influence the symptoms of MS.
Not only is excess insulin (insulin resistance) part of metabolic syndrome, so is fatty liver disease. My suspicion is that Fatty Liver Disease is also involved in MS, since visceral fat (internal fat) secretes cytokines (like poison to the internal organs), which lead to
increased insulin, which leads to inflammation which leads to more visceral fat… And the cycle goes round and round. Diet is important; in fact, you may find the account of Dr. Terry Wahls and her dramatic improvement in MS interesting (
http://www.TerryWahls.com).