[Charlie2015]

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well and battle their symptoms like a boss

I have a few questions:

1- Lately (for the past 3-4 days) i've been feeling a pressure/discomfort type of pain in my back lower head & upper neck.. Has anyone felt that before? I feel like my head is too heavy for my neck to handle ( a weird explanation i know..) Should I be contacting my doc? Also, could the hot weather have an effect on it?


2- My vision is fine (thank God) but sometimes when I look at a designed object (ie. a flowery rug) I see flying colors (for back of a better explanation..). Is that due to vitamin deficiency or is that another MS symptoms that I should add to my list of worries?


3- Has anyone tried Dr. Wahls' paleo plus diet? Is switching into a total ketogenic diet healthy for a 23 year old female? I'm following her Paleo diet now but I just wanted to go further and see what happens.. My doc doesn't believe in the fact that certain foods elevate/decrease symptoms no matter how much evidence I show him... but I know food has a HUGE impact as i've been noticing the decrease in my symptoms.. but is the paleu plus ( eating twice a day and fasting for some time) be good for you?

4- I've started copaxone injections since 2 weeks now.. How long should I wait before having an MRI? dying to see the results..


5- With respect to the MS diagnosis... would going to medical school be a bad idea than say doing a masters? I know that both will have tons of stress but I don't know what to do with my life.. I don't wanna start something then have a relapse and end up dropping out.. Anyone have any advice?


Sorry for the long post My support group consists of only my family and VERY few friends... Most of them choose to stay ignorant and believe that I'm over exaggerating my worries and diagnosis.. Ah Need people to talk to

Sincerely,

Charlie

[tkrik]

As far as the symptoms are concerned, if these are new to you or have increased, contact your neuro. You may need to be evaluated to make sure you are not in a flare or that you don't have something else going on.

I have not tried Dr. Wahl's protocol so I can't help you out with that.

Copaxone takes anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years to be effective. I don't think an MRI right now would show any improvement. It's just too soon.

I know a dr who was dx with MS at 19. She went through medical school and has been practicing for years. She only had one flare and has been on Copaxone since she was 19. With that said, I say go for it. Education is never a waste of time and if you don't do it, you will always wonder whether or not you would have been able to make it through medical school, especially if you are like this one doctor and only have one flare. If going to medical school and becoming a doctor is your passion, then follow it the best that you can. You may just surprise yourself.

[SallyC]

Hi Charlie.

1. Not a pain, but I have felt a heaviness at the brain stem area.
I believe MS fatigue causes the "can't hold your head up syndrome"

2. Could be migraines aura.

3. Haven't tried Dr Wahl's anything but, eating a healthy diet is now
a #1 priority in my life. I believe it helps me a lot!!

4. Copaxone takes time. About a year for an MRI.

5. Going on with your life and dreams, is the best thing you can do
for yourself. You may need a little help from your friends and
Family along the way, but you owe it to yourself to try.

Good Wishes.

[Charlie2015]

Thank you for your sweet support and kind words <3

[msbluis]

I'm don't know how old you are, but my own lower back-of-head/upper neck pain is not MS, although I definately have MS. Mine is good, old fashioned, age-related osteoarthritis in my cervical spine,, a.k.a. C-spine.

But any unexplained aches, vision/hearing/speach problems need to be seen by a doctor.

[Starznight]

I haven't felt the heavy head, and agree an education is never wasted... A bit concerned about the diet however. Avoiding certain foods we know aren't good for us, fried food, pre-processed foods, high fat, high sugar all the junk foods, sure it's sensible. If you want to cut out gluten too, it shouldn't hurt.

But eating only twice a day and fasting? Doesn't sound healthy at all. If you think of the nomads we came from, humans were meant to have varied diets and pretty much graze, never bloating from over eating (as we're prone to do today) and never suffering through hunger pangs.

Even if you 'feel better' now there could be issues down the road and is likely only a result of it also cutting out some of the foods that are bad for you giving you a temporary diet high.

I would keep any diet sensible, make sure your able to get all of your nutrients from the food you eat not a supplement unless you are naturally deficient in something. Make sure it provides adequate calories (drinking a shake to make them up isn't the answer) and keep in mind the average person needs at least 1200 calories a day if they're only laying on the couch.

An occasional fast isn't going to kill you, it's a long held practice in many othodox religions even, and there's a multitude of medical tests that require some fasting, and with me at least there are days that the ms imposes its own day of fasting when the energy to eat is just too much.

I'm not familiar with the diet you mentioned, but I would steer clear of any diet that doesn't offer a variety of foods or is too dependent on one type of food to meet the caloric or nutrient requirements, no matter how many people praise it or how reliable the source appears.

If you want to eat healthier by all means please do, don't know what your diet was like before, but you can't really go wrong with fresh food, frequent meals, keep the fats, oils and sugars low but never cut anything out completely. Our bodies still need some sat. Fat. We still need cholesterol, sugar and fat and even quite a lot of calories. Sweep the kitchen floor one day and the average person is up to 1300 calories for the day, go food shopping? 1600 calories... Live in a cold region 2000 just to sleep through the day.

Sorry if I sound prejudice against diets, not all are bad but there are so many that are and are down right dangerous to follow. So I made my own rules to go by, variety, nutrients, doesn't run to a caloric deficiency, or randomly cut foods without plausible explanation, (tomatoes suffer from identity disorder, while true is not a good enough reason to never eat them) or forcing one to eat certain foods again without plausible explanation (apples have been shown to increase pulmonary function in patients with COPD, sounds false but is true one of the chemicals in the skin is what does it, I forgot which one) if the diet meets the above I'll give it a shot, if not I wouldn't try it.

[KittyLady]

Originally Posted by Charlie2015

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well and battle their symptoms like a boss

I have a few questions:

1- Lately (for the past 3-4 days) i've been feeling a pressure/discomfort type of pain in my back lower head & upper neck.. Has anyone felt that before? I feel like my head is too heavy for my neck to handle ( a weird explanation i know..) Should I be contacting my doc? Also, could the hot weather have an effect on it?


2- My vision is fine (thank God) but sometimes when I look at a designed object (ie. a flowery rug) I see flying colors (for back of a better explanation..). Is that due to vitamin deficiency or is that another MS symptoms that I should add to my list of worries?


3- Has anyone tried Dr. Wahls' paleo plus diet? Is switching into a total ketogenic diet healthy for a 23 year old female? I'm following her Paleo diet now but I just wanted to go further and see what happens.. My doc doesn't believe in the fact that certain foods elevate/decrease symptoms no matter how much evidence I show him... but I know food has a HUGE impact as i've been noticing the decrease in my symptoms.. but is the paleu plus ( eating twice a day and fasting for some time) be good for you?

4- I've started copaxone injections since 2 weeks now.. How long should I wait before having an MRI? dying to see the results..


5- With respect to the MS diagnosis... would going to medical school be a bad idea than say doing a masters? I know that both will have tons of stress but I don't know what to do with my life.. I don't wanna start something then have a relapse and end up dropping out.. Anyone have any advice?


Sorry for the long post My support group consists of only my family and VERY few friends... Most of them choose to stay ignorant and believe that I'm over exaggerating my worries and diagnosis.. Ah Need people to talk to

Sincerely,

Charlie

I was on Copaxone for about 8 months. Neuro told me it takes about a year to year and a half to see any changes for an MRI, so don't rush it. As far as diet is concerned, I don't really believe in those big named diets. I did go vegetarian with a little vegan thrown in there.

I did a little research first to find out about what I was eating and found out that red meat was very inflammatory to your body. So, I just decided to cut out all meat all together. I feel so much better. If I try to eat any kind of red meat now, or even chicken, my stomach rejects it almost immediately. I am also a Celiac so I have to avoid gluten.

That also makes me feel 100 per cent better. Cutting to the chase here, everyone has to do what they feel makes them feel better. Some swear by the diet you mention, some swear by other diets, some swear by certain exercises, etc. Its all a personal journey for each of us.

What works for one, may not work for another. You just have to do what you feel is right for you. Input from others is great, but in the end, its up to you on what you do.

[Shirogomi]

WRT the Paleo diet:

I have two close friends with MS, both late 20's, diagnosed within a month of each other.

One has sought treatment with every modern medical miracle drug, yet cannot be arsed to modify her diet. Can't give up drinking, or eating crap foods - her fiancee has to continually go through the house and throw away Twinkies etc she's secreted around the place. She's in rough shape; limited mobility, lesions, the whole rotten enchilada.

The other took the opposite approach, became a champion for his own body, and has been a fierce adherent of (I think) the Wahl's diet. I know he's a lot less fun at parties due to the lack of drinking, but he's also able to be out there on the dance floor healthy and sober. He's a professional drummer, and hasn't missed a beat. He's also on no drugs for treatment.

Yes, this is purely anecdotal, and doesn't even begin to analyze any physiological differences between the two of them which might affect the disease's progression. But in my head, the logic is sound. Autoimmune disorders, the way I see it, are caused by modern living. More modern chemicals thrown at the problem aren't going to do much good. Take your body back to an environment in which these modern poisons aren't part of your biosphere, and watch your MS, Crohn's, Celiac etc go away.

[Natalie8]

Charlie

Go to medical school! Pursue your dreams! What would happen if you ended up with a mild course of the disease and you look back and feel regret that you didn't pursue it? Or what if 10 years from now the myelin repair drugs come out or they find a way to stop the disease.? There are so many variables.

My clinic has a neurologist that got MS the 2nd year of med school. The neuro is still in practice 10 years later and going strong!

You might also consider going to school as a PA--physician's assistant (since it is less time).

One short story. When I first got diagnosed I was looking to buy a house. I thought I should buy a one story house to prepare for the future in case I wind up not being able to walk. An MS social worker told me to buy what I wanted (2 story or even 3!) because you cannot predict the future. Do what makes you happy. This doesn't mean living in denial of the disease. It means taking care of yourself physically AND emotionally (i.e. not letting anxiety get the best you).

Good luck.