Re: 19 and falling apart
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 2:12 am
Being that you are a 'fighter', I suggest you read as much as you can from this site and books on MS. And then make 'educated' decisions on how you are going to proceed from here.
There are many choices you probably will want to make with regard to diet, exercise, lifestyle and supplements. The right choices seems to be different for everyone but making good choices with regard to all of these can be extremely helpful. It is very important to remove all stress from your life and get plenty of sleep, and take naps when tired. This is paramount. Exercise as much as you can. You don't have to run Marathons - walking, biking, swimming - anything works but do something. It is hard to be 'down' when exercising. I don't know if anyone truly knows what the "right/best" diet is. The popular ones are Swank's, Best Bet, Jelinek. Dr. Wahls recently introduced a controversial diet that is contrary to every other MS diet. There are many others. With regard to diet, I suggest you read all of them. And then make a decision on which one to follow. In my case, I eliminated virtually all foods that I ate prior to getting sick except for what I considered neutral foods like salad. After a tremendous amount of research, I eventually ended up on a Wahls type diet (I came to the same conclusions as Dr. Wahls on my own) which I have been doing for the past 6 months and am doing fantastic on it, and strongly recommend it. The entire Wahls protocol is much more than just diet, as are most of the suggested programs. If you are not familiar with Dr. Wahls, she has progressive MS and was wheelchair bound for years and now leads a somewhat normal life without the use of a wheelchair or other walking aids. There are many supplements you can take that are important to good health. I take over 30 supplements daily.
MS is a complicated illness. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. You may need to experiment a bit to find what works best for you. But never give up.
Another tip, if exercise alone does not help you feel better mentally, consider medication or getting an emotional support dog.
Know that it does get better and you will feel better soon. I live by the motto "If its meant to be, its up to me." Like a select few on this site, I am very proactive and do everything possible to feel my best and am doing fantastic. I wish you good health and a speedy recovery.
There are many choices you probably will want to make with regard to diet, exercise, lifestyle and supplements. The right choices seems to be different for everyone but making good choices with regard to all of these can be extremely helpful. It is very important to remove all stress from your life and get plenty of sleep, and take naps when tired. This is paramount. Exercise as much as you can. You don't have to run Marathons - walking, biking, swimming - anything works but do something. It is hard to be 'down' when exercising. I don't know if anyone truly knows what the "right/best" diet is. The popular ones are Swank's, Best Bet, Jelinek. Dr. Wahls recently introduced a controversial diet that is contrary to every other MS diet. There are many others. With regard to diet, I suggest you read all of them. And then make a decision on which one to follow. In my case, I eliminated virtually all foods that I ate prior to getting sick except for what I considered neutral foods like salad. After a tremendous amount of research, I eventually ended up on a Wahls type diet (I came to the same conclusions as Dr. Wahls on my own) which I have been doing for the past 6 months and am doing fantastic on it, and strongly recommend it. The entire Wahls protocol is much more than just diet, as are most of the suggested programs. If you are not familiar with Dr. Wahls, she has progressive MS and was wheelchair bound for years and now leads a somewhat normal life without the use of a wheelchair or other walking aids. There are many supplements you can take that are important to good health. I take over 30 supplements daily.
MS is a complicated illness. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. You may need to experiment a bit to find what works best for you. But never give up.
Another tip, if exercise alone does not help you feel better mentally, consider medication or getting an emotional support dog.
Know that it does get better and you will feel better soon. I live by the motto "If its meant to be, its up to me." Like a select few on this site, I am very proactive and do everything possible to feel my best and am doing fantastic. I wish you good health and a speedy recovery.