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Hi Namedbos
I am from Iran. Moved to Turkey and then to Canada. Alberta specifically. It has one of the highest rates of MS in Canada(yeay for me). MS was also considred very very rare in Iran. However, there has been a recent increase in the number cases reported in Iran. My Dr. told me that the chances of getting MS is higher when you move from a country where the disease is rare to a MS prone country at around age 12. Guess when I moved to Canada? That's right! I was 12. I am not really sure how he knows that but that's what he said.
NN

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Well...my family have always been germ freaks. I remember as a child in Iran, I used to call my mom to come and wash the sand on the beach so that I could play with in it .
Lyon...sorry to say this, but I have no idea what on earth you are asking. Flush toilets? Yeah...we had them. Is that what you wanted to know about?
The article says that moving before the age of 15 is what increases/decreases your risks. That was right for me.
NN

To answer the questions. I come from a fairly developed part of India in the capital . Delhi. So we had all modern amenities from early childhood. Although i would say that diseases such as Malaria etc. & Viral Fever were common while growing up compared to US. The things that we were not that common are allergies , cold etc. that one sees in the west. The other factor that has changed in the food which is usually always cooked fresh in India whereas in US , there are always some sauces etc. that are precooked or processed. Also one does not use the as much of the good spices etc. used in India like Turmeric.
Sunlight and warm weather are the other big changes in the N East US. It remains to be seen if moving back to a favorable environment will help at all

The hot and cold thing is really weird with me as well. The heat will definitely flair my optic neuritis up every time. I also get more fatigued in the heat (I think everyone does to some degree). About two years ago I started noticing that the cold really, really had been bothering me. If I get cold and start to shiver, it can be so drastic that I can't even speak right.

One night some friends and I were on a boat late at night partying. It was cool out but the water was warm. Anyway, he pulled me in the water and when I got out I got chilled and started shivering uncontrollably. Everyone was very concerned because I had a hard time even talking I was shaking so bad. It was after this incident that I realize that while I don't have a heat intolerance, that is absolutely how I would describe how cold affects me. I also physically just feel very run down in the winter. I'm trying 4000 IU of D3 this winter and we'll see if it's vitamin D from the sun related or if it is something else.

I have no problems with Heat . Cold of course is another matter , my body does not seem to like the levels below freezing at all. I have shivers often as well. Has there been any cases where someone's symptoms have improved after moving to warmer weather.

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Lyon
I get it now...thanx for clarifying. I thought that was a funny questions but I was sure you were going somewhere with it. I was 9 when I left Iran but I don't ever remember a time(in my life time there) where there was no flush toilets. Like I said, my family was also big on being really really clean. I have grown up that way and I do think that my MS has partly to do with the fact that my immune system never experienced enough microorganisms to mature properly. Being a nurse, I am exposed to all kinds of infections and that doesn’t help things either. My aunt who is also a nurse in Iran (she is the head of the cardiology department in one of the hospitals. So she is really experienced and knows what she is talking about) says that MS is really on the rise in Iran. She also said that it seems to be affecting ppl of higher social class/education. So you may have something there.
Take care,
NN

This is a great thread because I'm learning about something that I had NO CLUE about (even if it talks about poop!). However, it leaves me with the same burning question I have about Aspartame. The question is this:
"If these theories are true, then why is it that there are many more people that consume this stuff, have used flush toilets their whole lives, haven't been as healthy as me (at least in all things except MS) that don't have MS and I do?"

Man that's a hard to read sentence, but do you get my point? I just wonder because there are SO many chemicals we eat and drink and if they are the trigger, then whey don't we all have MS?

I know these are unanswerable questions, but I just would like to know where to put my focus. The guy in the office across from me literally drinks a gallon of Diet Pepsi a day. He's a good friend of mine and I've seen him drink a six pack of 16 oz. bottles before lunch (he's also a big dude). In other words I'm ready for someone to figure it out! It would be a great idea to interview people with MS and get very detailed and make a matrix that can try and find a common thing that we all have done, ate, drank, been exposed to or had sex with. I normally don't throw stuff out like that because I'm not willing to be the one to gather the data. I don't like to bitch without offerring up a doable solution. I'm just frustrated and there are just so many theories that I can't keep up.

I'm glad there are people out there like Bob who put in the time so the rest of us can stay up to speed. Many thanks for your hours of research Bob.

Lew

yea thx bug man, give me a break...

I think a few important points have been missed here about MS in the underdeveloped or developing countries. I am not convinced that the cases in the prosperour areas are on the rise. I am still in good contact wit folks back home and have not had any such impression. Heart disease may be another story.
The other point is that MS is not common as it may also be going undetected as MRI etc. is not available freely and is still not affordable for most of the population.
The second point may prove the first and address the contractions.

Loobie
I think that a lot of us believe that MS in not caused by just one thing. It is a combination of genes/exposure to god knows what/ environment. There are also many ppl on this website(myself included) that just guess as to what might cause MS. I have nothing against brainstorming but at times it’s very clear as to how fruitless these efforts are because it is so difficult to find a common reason between us all that would clearly explain why each of us has MS. A lot of us do not have the background to conclude what causes such a complicated illness and we want to simplify it. It just doesn't work that way.
We/you did not do anything to cause our MS. A lot of us have tried to lead healthy lives and we have made decision that we thought were best for us with the info that we had. I challenge all of us to start a topic. If we are to find out what is common between us and therefore make educated guesses as to what MIGHT be the cause of MS, then we should start a topic where each of us goes into great detail about where they are from, Life style choices and habits, stress level, medical hx, family hx, exposure to things we were not sure about, major life events, diet....i could go on. I think that is the only way. We expect scientists to share their info with each other...why shouldn't we do the same? We have more interest in finding a cause than they do.
NN

I would support starting such a topic. I think it would also help bring to the fore front some myths and possibly new symptoms of the disease. I think such an open discussion would be helpful.