Are MS attacks completely random?

[sneaky2k]

I strongly believe there are reasons behind all my attacks, stress or excessive weight lifting and processed fast foods, and I need to know if others think their attacks have been randomly occurring for no reason, as I am not taking any meds and I will try to cut out the triggers and go at this naturally, your inputs are greatly appreciated

[jimmylegs]

hi i do not believe attacks are random. it makes sense for stress, physical exertion, and pro-inflammatory foods to have a negative impact. others notice relapses associated with colds/infections. i've never had an 'attack' per se. just symptoms that i sooner or later link to actions.

[GilesCorey]

Anecdotal, but I weight-lift 5 times a week, go as hard as i can, and haven't had an attack in two years. Id say that resistance exercise has more of a benefit than a trigger.

[jimmylegs]

i exercise too - but i take excellent care of my nutritional status as well. when i wasn't doing what i should have nutritionally, i did damage that was at first reversible, but i didn't take it seriously enough and ultimately i had such a crash i was diagnosed, and never got back to 100% even though the nutrition work i did since allowed me to recover a long way. i've run into a few treatable cases of athletic nutrient depletion, among other things...

[Youarethecure]

It is hard to answer this question. Many people do nothing and have ZERO relapses. Many people do every single thing in the book and still have relapses (aheeem me).

I weight lift and go very hard 3-6 times a week and have never felt like anything negative has come from it. Stress on the other hand does seem to impact people with MS. Its all just a matter of limiting things that could cause problems. Stress and inflammatory foods are things that need to be limited or cut out.

Just build your self back up after each attack as best as you can.

[jimmylegs]

HEY if you are going hard 3-6 times a week, and having relapses, does that not suggest to you that perhaps what you are doing to support your health nutritionally, is perhaps not quite a match for the demands you are placing on your body? remind me if you have had tests done? if memory serves you are more focused on the nutrient density approach, and possibly some supplements. but i have an impression of a diet focus moreso than supplements..

[centenarian100]

I strongly believe there are reasons behind all my attacks, stress or excessive weight lifting and processed fast foods, and I need to know if others think their attacks have been randomly occurring for no reason, as I am not taking any meds and I will try to cut out the triggers and go at this naturally, your inputs are greatly appreciated

ad hoc ergo propter hoc

[Youarethecure]

I supplement many things of which you set me up to do jimmylegs lol.

I only had one very minor relapse since my diagnosis and I think it was related to a sinus infection. I do what my body tells me to do, and what it lets me do. I never push my self too far. I always feel incredible during and after my work outs. When I am near or in a relapse its a whole different story. I am MUCH more tired and can barely do half as much as possible. I usually take it so easy I barely even break a sweat.

I am much more into nutrition that diets. I feel the most important thing is giving your body what it needs and limiting bad inflammatory foods. I also feel exercising and lifting has a huge positive impact on MS. I also take copaxone .

[jimmylegs]

ok good wasnt sure.

that is interesting that you had a concurrent infection - both infection and low uric acid are associated with relapse, and both infection and low ua are also associated with low serum zinc.

note that if your current intakes (in combination with the rest of your diet and your activity level) don't maintain your serum zinc level close to 18 umol/L, you might be at increased risk for infection, and lower uric acid. both of which are associated in the literature with ms relapse... 50mg of zinc per day does it for me, but i am not working out 6 times a week either!

you are absolutely right that exercise is beneficial. since dx i've worked on improving the distance i can swim to meet lifeguarding expectations, and have also added another level to my existing ski pro certifications. all the same, i was working hard full time on snow and eating a nutrient sparse whole food diet in the months leading up to my dx attack. balance is definitely an important factor.

[Scott1]

Hi,

If you read through my regular post you'll see I strongly believe I accidently triggered my most recent attack. Diet, exercise and supplements and an antiviral had kept me symptom free for a very long time. Failing to properly research what I was about to take caused me all kinds of problems. The benefit of the attack was it forced me to review everything.
I am now more convinced that we have more than one mechanism at work. The arguments for good nutrition are ultimately aimed at the correct functioning of the cell, in particular the quality of the exchanges involved in cell respiration assisted by intracellular ATP. Exercise will also help the cell respire correctly.
The negative side of ATP is extracellular. It can become a cytokine and cytokine cascades are intimately involved in demyelination. (not the only thing).
Do not underestimate the role that mycoplasmas, bartonellas, babesias, chlamydias etc can have on your system. They can scavenge nutrients, alter the behavior of cells, liberate ATP from intracellular to extracellular, trigger Th1 mediated cytokine cascades or kill some cells and leave some hopelessly compromised.
A good diet is critical. So is exercise (I prefer Pilates but all forms are good). Nonetheless we should be looking at diet, supplements and medications in the context of the influence of these bugs.
Most bugs have cells walls (some one some two) which have effluxor pumps that push out antibiotics away from the cytoplasm. This means they don't die. They just stop multiplying when attacked by antibiotics then resume their normal pattern after treatment. Hence why you feel better on antibiotics but sometimes the problem comes back.
Buhner (see http://www.buhnerhealinglyme.com/ ) has written some brilliant explanations of the behavior of bacterial infections. (particularly mycoplasmas and bartonellas) which I suggest you read. His explanation of how a cell can be hijacked is very relevant to nearly every story on these boards.
So diet is massively important as you may not be dining for one. How we influence the environment for the bugs affects our health. We can control that and it has a huge effect on our health.
Regards