Your wildest imagination

[Jaded]

Interesting question Terry

I am convinced mine was caused by a virus. I remember I was about 24, waiting for my boyfriend to have his haircut and I was feeling cold. Suddenly I got the shakes, I was so frozen it was uncontrollable. Ok it was winter but I was indoors. I was out cold for a week or two, on antibiotics.

It was not long after that that I had my first ms symptoms.

I was never sick as a child, had few illnesses as a teen, so I am thinking my immune system was not too good. Also I was not breast fed. If all this adds to immune system weakness then I guess a virus has everychance of causing severe damage.

best

J.

[Temmogen]

I think it's always been there. Everyone has the potential, it's caused by a radical chemical shock to the body. I was fine, until on my birthday, I decided I was going to stop smoking and drinking excessive amounts of diet soda (Dew addict). That shock not only sent my kidneys on vacation for a short time, but started my MS symptoms. That, and I've lived in colorado since I was 5.

Just my opinion.

[Loobie]

I have worked for a hazardous waste hauling company (in the 80's, ie, before any regulation) and I was exposed to MANY dangerous chemicals with nothing more than a dust mask at around the ages of 18-21.

I had Scarlet Fever as a kid

I had chronic sinus infections until I started using a NETI pot about 5 years ago.

I have "lip herpes.

I have "a high EBV titer" according to doctors. They said "when did you have mono?" and I've never had mono, but for some reason the titer is high. Who knows why?

The reason I list these things out is only because I have heard/read about people having theories surrounding exposure to chemicals, sinus, viral infections and herpes.

I also wanted to point out that my wife's aunt who has had MS for approximately 30 years had none of the above conditions in her life. She was healthy as a log before her MS and never worked around chemical and does not have herpes.

I always use her life as a sounding board when I think that this or that triggered it because her lifestyle has been so far removed my lifestyle.

The only ones on that list that I think are relevant are the herpes and the EBV. After I get a cold sore, I either have a relapse or a worsening of symptoms. But like I said above, my wife's aunt doesn't and she has it also. I find the EBV relevant because it seems that it is just rampant in us MS'ers.

[Wonderfulworld]

Thanks for clearing up the Cooties question!!
I like the sound of the word...cooties It will probably get stuck in my head now for a few weeks like an annoying song......cooties, cooties, cooties.

The whale cooties sound ferocious

[Terry]

My sister had the habit of spraying me with an invisible can of spray to make my cooties (or me) go away. She even made a "shhhh" sound as she did it. Maybe my MS was caused, not by cooties, but by constantly being doused with the cootie spray.

[Toyoterry]

My wife and I were watching a program about medical mysteries the other night. The show centered on a group of people, most of them teenagers, who came down with a life threatening illness that was difficult to diagnose. Eventually they were diagnosed with Salmonella infection from eating tained ice cream. The most interesting aspect of the show was that after the infection was sucessfull treated most of the patients were stricken with Rheumatoid Arthritis. My wife has RA and I have MS and were both were somewhat speechless. An autoimmune disease following an infection..... I think I heard someone mention that before.
Terry

[sh8un]

Ok...here it goes. I think that I believe that whole theory about the immature immune system, stress, low vit D and infection. I never really ever got sick. I do not ever recall a time where I was sick other than having a handful of colds in my lifetime that would mostly go away on its own within a week. At times I would need Abx. I know that as a kid I was very well protected from germs. I ALWAYS washed my hands. Not OCD like but just before eating etc. I also had to cover from head to toe as I lived in Iran. I then moved to Turkey but still had to stay indoors a lot as we could not afford to renew our visa so we had to hide. I then moved to Canada where I now live. I live in Alberta which has the highest incidence of MS in Canada. At the time that I was diagnosed, I had just moved to a new city, moved in with my fiance and had started working in ICU. Can you say stress? I also remember that at that time I was always unusually cold. Infection maybe? I think it all ties together well. Immune system that does not know any better, vit D deficiency ( vit D helps regulate immune system), stress causes immune system errors, infections get the immunes system going. From there the immune system attacks whatever it thinks is bad. So, that's why I think I have MS. Nothing wild I guess. I do think that for me stress is the biggest factor in how I feel. I think that it was the number one cause of my MS. I guess that part is a little wild ;)

[Terry]

...not really wild at all, Sh8un. Search childhood stress hippocampus and you'll find article after article mentioning the same hormones and areas of the brain that are daily parts of the MS discussion.
Can't wait until someone unlocks this.
Terry

[Wonderfulworld]

I'm afraid it will be like the answer the computer called "Deep Thought" gave , in the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Glaxay" to the question of the ultimate answer to life the universe and everything - Deep Thought answered "42".

But seriously though, it would be wonderful if we could feed all the epidemiological oddities, the trials, the hypotheses into some wonderful computer and a real answer would come out. One of these days......I am hopeful when I think of how long people viewed ulcers as stress-related and now you just get an antibiotic to clear them up. Maybe the answer to MS will appear.

One of the absolute odder ideas on MS was that it was sexually transmitted see: http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/73/4/439 but I don't think this stands up to scrutiny especially when dealing with increasing childhood diagnoses. It would have been published before I ever found this site, but I'm sure there was robust discussion of it then?

[Terry]

I can see it now. News headlines world-over. MS- Sexually Transmitted
My mom would be like
I'd be like


Ha!

[Wonderfulworld]

Terry in 2002 it was big news alright - see the headlines here in the UK's "Independent" newspaper: <shortened url>

[Terry]

and my kids....

[AllyB]

Oh, I like th cooties - new one here in SA!

BTW - I also had EBV in my teens - wrote my final high school exams in the headmaster's office because of it...
Didn't have a 'clean' childhood though - grew up in the UK basically with horses and almost lived in the stables, I loved them so much. We also always had dogs and cats...No allergies except penicillin - developed in my 20's!

[MrsGeorge]

I had epiliepsy as a child that I grew out of in my teens. That could form a link.

Otherwise, because of the epilepsy, I had no childhood innoculations but got lots of the illnesses instead including mumps, measles, reubella - and my personal freak of medicine acheivement - I had chicken pox 11 (yes that's 11) times in infancy. Could be that all of these have played a role!

I didn't have much junk food as a child so I can't blame childhood diet.

I grew up in a super clean house.

I also took a lot of blows to the head as a child