MI lifer, water/sun baby, born in Nov. Doomed from the start. Cursed! I used Coppertone to boot!

Seems to me that any and all research that leads to an eventual understanding of something is valuable. It's rather insular to assume that one or another piece of a huge puzzle is the only approach. Every piece matters to someone.

I don't mean to offend, but, there is a much, much bigger picture here and elimination is as important as isolation when it comes to unknown/unidentified factors.

You do have a point. All research leads to learning. But until we have an answer, the research should go in all directions.

And no offense taken

Niko

you hit a good point Cin, thanks but its still comes off as silly, but then I am sure using some mold as a medicine was an odd thing in its time, sure worked out good for polio

I'm not so sure that the month I was born in is the reason I have MS. I think the MS has more to do with the fact that my parents gave me and my sister dehydrated milk instead of regular milk. (I've asked why they didnt just buy milk at the store that didnt have to be mixed...they dont know why)

I didnt even realize that milk came out of cows in a liquid form until I visited my great aunt on her farm when I was 5. She and my grandma showed me how to milk a cow. (amazing that the cow didnt kick me)

I was outside all the time as a child. My grandma used to tease me that I was "brown as an indian" from being outside so much. I'd stay outside until the sun went down and the street lights came on, and sometimes a little longer than that. I liked being outside then.

I do think that something environmental might be the cause of my MS.

My biggest suspect for that is the mononucleosis that I had in '96...and the fever I had during that. A fairly consistent 103 degrees for most of a week or two. And a constant drainage of....something....from my nose for two weeks. (it's TMI to describe that, other than it was constant. I had to sleep on my side so I wouldnt drown...that's if I was able to sleep. It was constant and in copious amounts)

No offense taken, AMN. If you look at things from a scientists viewpoint, all the possibilities can overwhelming and you have to start somewhere. Again, the article did say a "risk factor" not a cause.

I am sure there are many risk factors and eventually one day they will be able to list them confidently as they do conditions like heart disease or diabetes.

No offense taken by me, either. IMHO, everyone's MS is different. We all are affected by it in different ways...some more severely than others. For this very reason I don't think they will ever come up with a "one size fits all" cure or treatment for it. Nor will they be able to narrow it down to a specific list of triggers or reasons why some of us contracted the disease. Just as some of the DMD's work for some of us and not for others....I think it will be an individualized process with each person determining what medication (or not) works best for them and their particular "type" of MS.

Very true, Kelly. I feel the same way. I do think that we all have the same weak "link" if you will. Whether that link is a gene, genome, or epigenome who knows and what triggers the link to cause MS may be as varied as the symptoms it causes.

Oh, btw, my aunt has been a picture of health her whole life. She is now in the hospital and has been for a while. She had some sort of virus, they don't know what, and now is suffering from some sort of demyelinating syndrome and neuropathy. She can't walk anymore and can't use her arms as they are too weak. Makes you think, huh?

I don't mean to offend

******

You want to offend me, you gotta try harder!!!!!

In Yahoo computer page news I read about them making correlation between Vit, D and MS. Like so much MS news, I wait for it to be repeated, see how it can benefit me and my kids (of course I worry about genetic links, sun, etc. I'm a Mother!!) Just waiting now.

I think as moms we worry about it and it is always in the back of our minds but our kids worry about it too. Well, I can only speak for mine. Both DDs have shared that concern with me. As I have explained to them though, they have a greater chance of getting essential tremors (something they can visually see and relate to easier) than they do MS. So far there are 4 of us with essential tremors which is a definitely a hereditary condition.

As for the Vit D theory, it is funny how we all think about our childhoods and how much we were out in the sun. I thought about it some more and maybe it is not how much we got but how much our ancestors got. I am 3rd generation born American. My ancestors were from Ireland, Canada, and Czech/Ukraine. Their lack of sunshine could have created a weak link. Kind of goes back to the genomes and epigenomes.