Hi from Denmark

[Sophiesnation]

Hi everybody

Boy, am I glad I found your website. I have been searching for a forum that combines news about treatments and personal experiences. And you guys have got it all right here on thisisms!

My name is Sophie and as you can read from my signature, I just got diagnosed a month ago, so I've still a lot to learn, not only about the disease but also about the signals, my body keeps sending me and how to read them.
On top of MS, I'm type 1 diabetic, so I'm quite used to taking shots everyday.
I still haven't started treatment, but I think I'm starting i September. I got the choice between Avonex and Betaferon/Betaseron and I've chosen Betaferon because I'll be taking it subcutaneously as I do with my insulinshots.
Besides any medicin I will be taking in the future, I am very aware of what I eat and I try to eat as few saturated fats as possible and stick to the healthy omega-fats. I eat enormous amounts of fish every week and try to keep away from dairy products even though this is VERY difficult in Denmark as we are a country whose biggest export is dairy of all sorts, haha

I am fortunately not so affected by MS yet. All I experience at the moment is fatigue and tingling/numbness in my limbs during the day and cramps and spasms in my legs and arms at night.

I come from Denmark, where I live in the capital, Copenhagen, with my boyfriend (husband to be) and study at the University of Copenhagen.

Other than that, I enjoy music, good food, swimming, reading/studying and hanging out with friends.

[Loobie]

Welcome Sophie,

I have been to Copehagen as an exchange student in my youth. I love it there. I'm sad you have to be here, but am glad you found what you are looking for. Hopefully you have a mild run at this, but if you have a question about something, someone here will answer it. Welcome!

[Sophiesnation]

Hi Loobie, thank you so much:)

I'm sure I'll get a lot out of this forum in time. Right now I'm just trying to cope with the diagnosis itself and my new circumstances.
But it's great to know that ya'll are here

How funny that you've been here, not a lot of people from outside of Scandinavia have.
I too love Copenhagen, it's a big city packed into a small town

[Loobie]

I really had a good time there. I only spent a month there but I had a very good time. Especially in Christiania (I know I didn't spell that right). I would recommend that you spend a great deal of time reading on here if you are trying to figure out what to do. There are many theories about how to best cope with MS. It's best to be informed, because hopefully you have a very loooooooooong time before you really have to think about it to prevent things from spiraling downward. I had 5 pretty much disease free years. Many people have much more than that, but you never know so the best thing to do is to really start doing all the stuff you know you should do anyway, but really do it!

You know; eating right, working out, not smoking ciggies, drinking in moderation, all that kind of stuff. Wow, when you re read that sentence, it doesn't sound like much fun! But if you take a serious approach to wellness, I feel that you have a good chance of not really having to limit anything you do for a very long time. I, of course, have no way of really knowing that, but it seems that people who live a very balanced lifestyle in terms of exercise and nutrition do pretty well.

I really wish you well. We have a resident expert who really has some theories about the role of insulin in MS. Her login name is lyndacarol and she feels pretty strongly about it, so she may have some advice that would help.

[Sophiesnation]

Loobie, thank you so much, I'll try and get in contact with her when everything has settled down a bit.
I try to get together a lifestyle, that I'll be able to uphold even though I might have more symptoms later on. I stopped smoking 6 months ago and even though I miss it at times (yes - I know - it's stupid, unhealthy, etc.), I will try to hold on to my new found good health ;)
I swim three times a week, mostly because I like it, but also to keep my muscles working and to stay fit.
I just started studying at the University of Copenhagen and even though I'm somewhat older than most of the new students there, I like to go out with them. Sometimes there's a couple of beers involved, but I try to keep it on a minimum intake

And Christiania is actually spelled.. Christiania, so you got it excactly right ;)
Unfortunately the government is trying to pull it down and they've already cleared the most "interesting" street outthere.
Well, it doesn't really matter to me, I never go there anyway, but a lot of people are really sad to see such a huge part of the post modern history in Copenhagen disappear - so am I, I guess..

[lyndacarol]

Sophie--I appreciate Loobie's recommendation, but I am not an expert in anything. I do believe that excess insulin (hyperinsulinemia) is fundamentally involved with my MS because the pieces seem to fit my situation so well.

For you, I will repeat the standard advice I have given to others here:

In brief, here is the action plan I recommend:

First, take a deep breath.

Second, start your personal MS library with two books: "Multiple Sclerosis: The History of a Disease" by T. Jock Murray, OC, MD and I think "The Multiple Sclerosis Diet Book" by Roy Swank, MD, PhD and Barbara Dugan is the good second book to have.

Third, have a thorough physical exam and ask for any kind of blood test possible (including a fasting serum insulin test--I am known at this website to be obsessed with insulin!). If you have an MRI, ask that the radiologist make a special note of the sinuses. Many with MS report sinus problems (including myself). Ask for a copy of all your test results for your own file.

Fourth, from this day forward, eat a healthy diet. In my opinion, this means removing all sugar (including beer, wine, etc. which have sugar), all artificial sweeteners (These promote insulin production, too.), all trans fats (These also increase insulin.), and white flour (in fact, all carbs so far as possible) from your diet.

The best to you in your journey; don't forget to share your discoveries along the way with your friends here!

It is good to quit smoking; it causes inflammation or mucus (as in sinusitis) and is reported to worsen MS symptoms, even if only temporarily. A "normal" person swallows a quart of mucus ("snot"--not a word I usually use) everyday; I'm sure I swallow more due to constant sinus drainage.

In the end, we are all searching--please share your ideas here, too.

[Loobie]

Hey, you are too an expert. Most of us didn't even know what hyperinsulemia was until we met you !

[Waterbear]

Hi Sophie,

It sounds to me like we're on the same boat; my girlfriend (probably wife to be!) was diagnosed a month ago (she's 25,i guess quite close to your age) and fortunately she's almost symptom free now.We have decided to go on the BBD diet and take several supplements (fish oils,vitamins etc) and see how see does before we decide about drugs treatment.

It's great that you have such a positive attitude,from my recent experience i can tell with certainty that positive attitude is the most important element in trying to keep the whole thing under control.

I wish that you do great on Betasferon and we would love to hear from you on how you do.

Yannis

[Sophiesnation]

Hi everybody,

I'm sorry that I haven't replied in this thread, but things have been so hectic this past month. I've just started my new studies and at the same time, I'm trying to sort out my feelings about this new disease..

I tool my first shot of Avonex on Monday. As I wrote in my initial post, I thought that I could choose between Betaferon and Avonex, but when I showed up for my injection-class, the nursee told me that it said in my journal that I had only been recommended Avonex. I was pretty upset because I had chosen Betaferon, mostly because I knew how to inject it because of my Diabetes.
But I got over my fear of the very long needle (:)) and took my first shot. And it wasn't at ALL that bad! The nurse showed me how to take the shot with the auto-injector and it worked like a charm.
After approx. 6 hours I started feeling the side-effects. It was pretty uncomfortable, but I slept through most of it.

Besides having started medicine and my studies I've also begun seeing a psychologist. Just trying to sort out my issues concerning this disease and my thoughts about my (and my fiancee's) somewhat uncertain future..

All in all things are moving forward but I'm still trying to get to the bottom of my feelings towards all this