This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi! I'm a 26 year old US immigrant in Canada and I was just diagnosed with MS in January. I've had symptoms since 2010 but in June began having trouble walking. I'm now confined to a wheelchair and I don't go in to the neurologist until March 17th (which is, admittedly, very close ^^). I've attempted to join other communities but haven't found them helpful. After perusing this one a bit before joining, however, I think this will be different. I look forward to learning a ton from all of you!

folclor wrote:Hi! I'm a 26 year old US immigrant in Canada and I was just diagnosed with MS in January. I've had symptoms since 2010 but in June began having trouble walking. I'm now confined to a wheelchair and I don't go in to the neurologist until March 17th (which is, admittedly, very close ^^). I've attempted to join other communities but haven't found them helpful. After perusing this one a bit before joining, however, I think this will be different. I look forward to learning a ton from all of you!

Welcome to ThisIsMS, folclor. We are glad you found us. We hope we can be helpful to you.

In your journey to an MS diagnosis, if you were not tested for your vitamin D level, please request that your neurologist order the "25-hydroxy D" blood test. The test is not expensive (about $50 in the US); many experts think that this test should be done as commonly as blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol testing is.

If you had the vitamin D test, I am curious to know your actual test result number.

More than 1/2 of the world's population is deficient in vitamin D; people in Canada are at special risk. Vitamin D deficiency can manifest with neurological symptoms. I think this possibility is important to check out.

A person can have more than one problem at a time – it is possible to have MS and nutrient deficiencies at the same time.

They don't actually do the vitamin D test often in Northern Alberta as it's simply assumed we have low vitamin D, so I'm on 3,000 IU a day and have been since I lived in Texas. But, yeah, I had that test in Texas before and my levels were extremely low.