This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi
for a long time I've taken alpha-lipoic acid, high dose b vitamins, high dose niacin about once a week to produce flushing, high dose vitamin c, evening primrose oil, fish oils, and vitamin d (only 400 iu). Also take magnesium but have run out recently.

I want to "get my house in order" about the vitamins. Should I be taking calcium with the vitamin d? Should I be taking iron? I seem to recall - though I could be wrong - that iron and calcium could be too high in people with MS - does anyone know if that's correct?

Am going to my GP this Thursday and he's going to be testing me for anaemia and thyroid disease because I'm freezing cold even when I shouldn't be. But what vitamin/mineral deficiencies would be good to test for too? - He will probably humour me and do the tests if I ask him!

Thanks for any advice on this, feel like I've just randomly picked up bits of info over the last while but haven't had a cohesive approach to the vitamin/mineral thing.

hi there, yep good idea to get the calcium intake aligned with the D3 intake. i don't believe i've heard anything about calcium being too high in ms. shouldn't be hard to find a balanced multi with your daily requirements for calcium (1200mg), magnesium, d3 and zinc all in one pill. you can take additional doses of magnesium and zinc for their own merits away from the d3 component also. i mention zinc because it helps the magnesium stick, and because you mentioned temperature regulation - zinc also aids circulation. "The deficiency of zinc has an effect on circulation; it has been linked to cold hands and feet..." it's commonly down in ms patients. normal range 11.5-18.5. me: 8.6 at last test.

about iron being high, what i understand is that iron tests come back falsely high in inflammatory conditions. mine shows up lately as "high" in my doc's estimation [i.e. 82, lab's normal range 51-140], but the lab printout says that's "probably not iron deficient" - not the most confidence inspiring of assessments. so take it, i say (depending on if it's "high" like mine, or really high, as in up near the top end of the normal range).

if you have an amenable GP, i'd go for numbers in as many of the b-vitamins as you can get, d3, iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. plus uric acid if you're curious about that angle. they can all come back "inside the normal range" but if it's also in the "ms normal range" then you can decide if you need to rejig any of your current regimen.

on my last set of tests i also asked for retinol, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and chloride. unfortunately i don't know enough about these now, to make use of the levels that came back yet.

good luck with it WW, oh and if you do start up any minerals again give em a week to settle in.

and one other thing, i have to take my zinc 50mg at a time. 100 makes me sick so i am supposed to take one morning one night. except i've run out and been really lazy about getting more. better get on that tomorrow!

cheers!
JL

Thanks Jimmylegs
will ask him for those. I am sure he'll roll his eyes and tell me it's a waste of time but will see how many I can get done all the same!

I am also looking forward to vitamin shopping too on Thursday! Better stock up on my old favourites as visits to town are few and far between nowadays with little son on my hands
Thanks for the reply

no worries! good luck