Rebif and unwanted weight loss

[bebe4]

Hi everyone,

I am 28 years old (girl), new to this blog and was diagnosed with RRMS a year ago. I have been on rebif for a little less than a year now. I'm about 5'5'' weighed 120lbs at the time of my diagnosis. I just keep losing weight without even trying, especially in the past few months. I always have appetite and I believe I eat normally but I just keep losing... I stepped on the scale today after a couple of weeks of not weighing myself, and I went from 114 lbs to 109:-| . I've always been skinny but not like this. Some ppl might say 10 lbs is nothing but I need those lbs or else I look unhealthy

I eat healthy in general, almost no sugar, red meat twice a week only, no junk food at all...I Have stopped working out due to a lack of motivation especially with the freezing cold winter we just had. Trying to get back to it though...

Is anyone experiencing any unwanted weight loss on rebif or with MS in general? This is besides all the injection site bruises and other side effects. Just makes me want to stop these injections, I'm skipping tonight

thanks guys,

M

[centenarian100]

I doubt it's due to rebif unless the side effects are making you lose your appetite.

Maybe just try increasing your caloric intake with more starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, more sugary fruits, and more chicken and fish.

You can always resort to ensure or one of those weight gainer powders from GNC I suppose.

[lyndacarol]

Hi everyone,

I am 28 years old (girl), new to this blog and was diagnosed with RRMS a year ago. I have been on rebif for a little less than a year now. I'm about 5'5'' weighed 120lbs at the time of my diagnosis. I just keep losing weight without even trying, especially in the past few months. I always have appetite and I believe I eat normally but I just keep losing... I stepped on the scale today after a couple of weeks of not weighing myself, and I went from 114 lbs to 109:-| . I've always been skinny but not like this. Some ppl might say 10 lbs is nothing but I need those lbs or else I look unhealthy

I eat healthy in general, almost no sugar, red meat twice a week only, no junk food at all...I Have stopped working out due to a lack of motivation especially with the freezing cold winter we just had. Trying to get back to it though...

Is anyone experiencing any unwanted weight loss on rebif or with MS in general? This is besides all the injection site bruises and other side effects. Just makes me want to stop these injections, I'm skipping tonight

thanks guys,

M

Welcome to ThisIsMS, bebe4 (M).

I have not used Rebif, so I cannot answer your specific question. Here is some general information that you should investigate with your GP: The human body needs insulin in order to put on weight (fat, muscle,…). I suspect that your pancreas is not producing insulin for some reason – due to the Rebif, a virus, or something else (or it is producing a much lower amount than before). I suggest that you ask your GP to order a "fasting blood insulin test" to see if your pancreas is producing enough insulin.

It may well be that Rebif is not the drug for you – many people with MS choose not to use any of the currently approved MS drugs. MS has an unknown cause; drug effectiveness is similar to that of a placebo – I question whether the scientists can develop any effective drug when the cause of the disease unknown.

I wonder if the number or severity of your MS symptoms even warrant considering the strong MS drugs. Many people do as well or better with lifestyle changes alone.

[want2bike]

Some people do not use the drugs to treat MS. There is a study showing the drugs do not work.

[bebe4]

Thanks for the answers everyone!

I am trying to increase my daily calorie intake and I will also try to get that insulin test. I am also skeptical about MS drugs. Hoping to stop soon... I recently got the "Wahls protocol" but haven't started it yet, what do you guys think about that?

Thanks,

M

[want2bike]

Doctor Wahls diet is based on the paleo diet and work well for her. You have to eliminate the process foods if you want to get better. The important thing to understand with any diet approach is you have to eat real food. The meat that is full of antibiotics and other chemicals is no good. The GMO food which is full of pesticides and void of nutrients will not work. Eat real food which doesn't have the chemicals in it and you will get better. Eat as much organic food as possible if you want to get better. Good luck.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homestea ... z30aHKaXo0

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10 ... Avoid-GMOs

[ElliotB]

"I am also skeptical about MS drugs"

They do seem to work for some, but not for everyone. What has your experience been over the past year?

I have been on Copaxone for a year and have been following a diet similar to what Dr. Wahls proposes (basically a modified Paleo and Dr. Swank diet with some of Dr. Wahls suggestions mixed in), and I am doing very well. But I think medication in conjunction with diet and lifestyle change is key. The medication does not prevent the progression of the disease, but it does apparently help with reducing the number of relapses. It is my hope/belief that through diet, exercise and lifestyle change, along with the medication, that perhaps I will have success in altering the long term course of my illness.

[lyndacarol]

I am trying to increase my daily calorie intake and I will also try to get that insulin test. I am also skeptical about MS drugs. Hoping to stop soon... I recently got the "Wahls protocol" but haven't started it yet, what do you guys think about that?

Thanks,

M

In my opinion, the Wahls' diet is quite extreme. I like vegetables, but could not eat ALL the vegetables (or on the daily basis) she requires in her diet.

I think her protocol works for some because it eliminates any food that converts quickly to glucose and, thereby, removes any trigger for insulin production. I have thought that my high insulin levels caused some of my MS symptoms; but if you have symptoms AND low or no insulin production (proven with that insulin test), my suspicion cannot be correct. I hope you can get the fasting blood insulin test and, with those results, help to prove or disprove the insulin hypothesis. (We do not have the definitive answer to MS; we are all searching and brainstorming and experimenting ourselves.)

I know that Dr. Terry Wahls also advocates bone broth, which would be a source of vitamin B12 (another area of deficiency that I recently suspect contributes to MS symptoms).

If you have strong self-control and can follow a strict diet, give the Wahls' diet a try. It is a healthy diet (but maybe not a FUN diet). My philosophy has been "if it doesn't hurt me, what do I have to lose?"