Dr. Mercola Weighs In on MS
 

Interesting article about MS from Dr. Mercola:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...t-the-sun.aspx

steroids
 

so glad he talks about the dangers of steroids too. So many people treat steroids like NSAIDs or M&M's --while in fact they are so harsh. To me using them is like shoving a crying baby into a soundproof closet. The baby is still crying, but you just can't hear him anymore. And watch out when you re-open the closet, who knows how that baby will be....
I have refused steroids more than once on my journey and reached my threshold for having to take them once. once in 15+ years.

I've done them once, too. Never again. I'm amazed at how doctors suggest them immediately. :(

i refuse them unless my vision is affected, or I reach the point of the words I speak not matching the words I say. its so traumatic for me to agree to them.

Right? It's insane!:eek:


And thank you for posting that fabulous read!!!! It was 100% what I needed to read right now, I honestly believe it too! That doctor just verified everything I have been wondering about the drugs and nutritional. I said last week I was going to give up Rebif and start eating proper and getting on a good vitamin regimen... Well I had continued to take the Rebif because I WAS scared to stop the DMD. But this confirms EVERYTHING for me. I appreciate it greatly!

Thanks!:hug:

its brave and courageous to give up in the face of so many MDs who are saying how helpful this stuff is. even if you feel suicidal, depressed, cant think, have flare after flare, and feel like you can take it anymore. Most of them say "hang in there. the meds are doing their job." Well, I for one would rather be in a wheelchair and have my wits about me, and be able to be part of my own life, instead of laying in bed moaning all day staring at the tv.

I eat a non processed diet. Avoid MSG, HFCS, and avoid anything with fake sugars. Try to eat the whole fruit, and not drink that glass of juice. my plate should is filled with veggies, and fruits, and added in with about 3 oz of protien for lunch and about 4 oz of protien for dinner. I watch the carbs and try to get them as whole grains and not just white bread. Read the label. Its its not at least 3 grams of fiber, pass it by. Remember whole wheat is NOT the same as whole grain. You want to see bits and peices in your bread. My tomato sauce is from the tomatoes in my garden and my own garlic. If you cant grow it, try to buy it locally. I know the chickens that lay my eggs, and I know the cow that gives my milk. I feel 10000000% better. its like this humongous gift of getting my life back. Do I still have ms? yep! I sure do, but its behaving for now. even if it wasnt, its still better than being crushed on those drugs. (((hugs to you)))

Thanks for posting that Kelly! It was a good article. I even took the nutritional typing test. Guess I'm a mixed bag of stuff. :D

But, I really believe that nutrition is so important for not only MS but other illness as well. I read Dr. Swank's book and was fascinated. There is lots of interesting information and studies and all sorts of things in the book. Even if one doesn't do the diet, the information is interesting, albeit a little old.

I started the diet and felt great. But, then I fell off the diet as it was hard not to eat red meat. I mean, I just couldn't refuse a nice grilled steak. It's been a few years since I was on it and really should start it back up because I did overall feel better. Plus, most of the foods and stuff in the diet is what I normally ate anyhow, just needed to modify my diet some to fit within his diet.

I sometimes go back to the idea that MS is also somehow a metabolic condition. It may start with the immune system but something goes haywire. I find it interesting that many MSers are deficient in nutrients that they would normally get in their diet and I recently read a study on antioxidants and MS (I posted a thread with some of the links). I found it interesting that on autopsy all MSers were deficient in magnesium in their brain, while healthy subjects weren't (although this was only done on 5 MS patients and 5 controls so it was a small study). And, how many MSers are deficient in vitamin B12 and vitamin D and who knows what other deficiencies we have that they don't test for. But, I also wonder if we are not absorbing the nutrients and/or, again, metabolizing them correctly. If this is the case, is the answer to helping us MSers in our stomachs? Such as leaky gut syndrome?

If this is the case, then I really do think diet is important and a diet specific to they type of disease. So, Dr. Mercola is definitely, IMO, on the right track.

*tkrik going to pull out Dr. Swank's book.*;):D

While it is always nice to see what is out there this doesn't impress me. Did you see his website? :eek:

If it were only so simple as a vitamin deficiency I doubt any of us would be so sick with this miserable, chronic, progressive disease process.

I admit, I don't take daily vitamins. If I think about it, I take a one a day multi for seniors..:rolleyes: I was always taught that, if you eat properly, you shouldn't have to suplement.

I probably should take vit D, since I get no sun, anymore. The only pills I pop daily are my
(((((LDN & and Prozac))))):D

I'm not advising anyone else to do this, but it works for me. I haven't had a major MS attack or Ms fatigue attack since 2002/03, when I started LDN.:cool:

I believe you are absolutely right tkirk! There is link between kely gut and MS, here is a fascinating read: http://jackkruse.com/why-leaky-guts-lead-to-ms/

I also try to avoid steroids too, but have used them briefly in the past and do see their benefits and well as see their problems.

I keep Prednisone in the house at all times for one dog in case she needs it. She has Cushing's disease and if her cortisol (steroidal hormone) drops too low, then I am to give her Prednisone because she could easily go Addisonian, or could die. A friend of mine has a dog with Addison's which is where the dog produces too little cortisol or none at all and the treatment is steroids because the dog's body just does not produce enough normal steroids.

JFK had Addison's and I wonder what they used back in the 60's for that. Anyone know????

Cathy

Agreed Jules.
Note on Mercola in general:
Mercola has run afoul of the FDA many times and has been recently ordered to stop making unsubstantiated claims for products sold on his website. Additionally, having identified himself a 'renegade' doctor, he makes many baseless statements about health that are routinely challenged and debunked, hoping to appeal to the faction of patients who feel they aren't getting the results they desperately seek from the traditional medical community.

Think what you will of the FDA (I myself am critical of them but moreso Mercola - google quackwatch.com) but they are the only agency standing between us and the people who sell 'miracle' cures that don't work, or worse yet - harm us.

I'm sure you know this already but if you're a Mercola fan, seek multiple sources to validate the information he provides: some of its harmless, some of its valid, some of it's not.

Thanks Becca. Once in a great while Mercola (I hesitate to even call him "doctor" at this point :rolleyes:) has an article that gives some good - and even accurate - information. But you have to sort of pick through all the alarmist comments to find the truth.

This is one reason I stopped subscribing to his email newsletter. Every day there was one more thing that was going to kill me....or make me unhealthy. It just got to be too much.

And yes, his website is full of products that would break my tiny little bank.

Thanks Kitty - I figured you were already being discerning ....and also thanks for not taking my post the wrong way because, admittedly, I get a little worked up over this kind of thing and I'm sure it comes across. LOL
A very dear friend of mine takes much of what Mercola has to say to heart so, I find myself repeatedly having this conversation or picking through Mercola's latest.
:o
becca

My sister wanted me to try magnet therapy when I was first diagnosed with MS. Next, she found the Mercola website. Now she understands that my doctors know more than those sources. There isn't a cure yet, but at least I use FDA tested medicines.

[QUOTE=Becca44;792612]Agreed Jules.
Note on Mercola in general:
Mercola has run afoul of the FDA many times and has been recently ordered to stop making unsubstantiated claims for products sold on his website. Additionally, having identified himself a 'renegade' doctor, he makes many baseless statements about health that are routinely challenged and debunked, hoping to appeal to the faction of patients who feel they aren't getting the results they desperately seek from the traditional medical community.

Think what you will of the FDA (I myself am critical of them but moreso Mercola - google quackwatch.com) but they are the only agency standing between us and the people who sell 'miracle' cures that don't work, or worse yet - harm us.QUOTE]

In my personal opinion, i wouldn't trust the FDA. the don't care about anything but revenue dollars. have you heard recently how they're trying to ban a company from claiming natural walnuts have health benefits? its a natural food, not a drug! http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews...drugs-says-fda

You can say that, it makes an interesting and thought provoking post, but like everyone else in this country who purchases products off the shelves of any store, you demonstrate your trust in the FDA when you expect:

1. the thing you bought to do what the label says it will, and
2. NOT TO DIE OR BECOME ILL as a result of using it as directed.

That not only includes drugs prescription and non, but cosmetics, food supplements, tobacco products, medical supplies, veterinary products, your next flu shot, etc. etc.
And theres so much more - you expect the hamburger you buy to not be contaminated, too. All of this is the FDA at work and it's a relentless onslaught of cut corners, hackers and quackery that they have to guard us against.

You know that back in the day sleep tonics were sold to weary mothers to help get their kids to sleep ...and that over a hundred children died as a result? Labeling morphine as a sleep aid for children wasn't illegal at that time, now it is.

I know beauracracy is pain and sometimes this stuff seems ludicrous but weighed against everything else the FDA does, we're better off with the FDA than without it.