Ms & diet
26 Oct 2013 at 12:07PM
Hi, I'm Ruth & I've been having symptoms for 4 months my
MRI showed a lesion on my back & 2 on my brain at my neurologist
appointment he was unable to diagnose ms as I have not had a symptom
free day or a previous episode, so I am currently classed of having a
clinical isolated case with another appointment in 3 months more mri's
in 6 and with a potential diagnosis of primary progressive ms.
I have obviously been reading loads of stuff and from what I have read about diet is it may help if I stop eating fats, dairy, sugars and basically all nice food it will help my symptoms and I wondered if anyone has tried this and if so did it help??
Thanks in advance
Ruth x
I have obviously been reading loads of stuff and from what I have read about diet is it may help if I stop eating fats, dairy, sugars and basically all nice food it will help my symptoms and I wondered if anyone has tried this and if so did it help??
Thanks in advance
Ruth x
26 Oct 2013 at 2:17PM
Hi Ruth,
Although, like most alternative/complementary therapies, some people will swear it has helped, there is actually no convincing scientific evidence for the role of diet in MS. That is why dietary solutions are NOT advocated by neurologists. Do you really believe giving up "all nice food" would be a boost for you, when you're already worried and not feeling well? I know opinions will vary, but I think this is a step unsupported by science, which will likely only have the effect of making you more miserable. Also not without risk, as radical changes to diet, such as cutting out whole food groups may leave you vulnerable to other health issues.
I don't have to look far for an example: my mum, after being told she had high cholesterol, had the knee-jerk reaction of cutting out ALL dairy. She then developed osteoporosis, and broke her ankle very badly, and has not been the same since. She's been told she is at high risk of other breaks, including her back - which is of more concern than the original high cholesterol.
So even if diet did help MS - which is doubtful - you've got to be careful you're not just setting yourself up for a different lot of problems.
As an aside, it seems a bit premature for you (or your neuro) to conclude PPMS is the most likely diagnosis, and not RRMS. Relapses can last many months - more than four - so not being better yet isn't proof it could only be PPMS. It might just be a long episode. I haven't had very many relapses (I'm a diagnosed person), but those I have all tended to be months.
It's also a myth that you have to have a symptom-free day to ever be officially in remission. Remission is relative, and doesn't really mean much more than: "better than you were". It doesn't mean you must be symptom free, and many people experience daily symptoms, even during remission. It's the difference in number or intensity of symptoms that's important. If there's a noticeable improvement, it can still be remission, even if they haven't disappeared altogether.
Tina
x
Although, like most alternative/complementary therapies, some people will swear it has helped, there is actually no convincing scientific evidence for the role of diet in MS. That is why dietary solutions are NOT advocated by neurologists. Do you really believe giving up "all nice food" would be a boost for you, when you're already worried and not feeling well? I know opinions will vary, but I think this is a step unsupported by science, which will likely only have the effect of making you more miserable. Also not without risk, as radical changes to diet, such as cutting out whole food groups may leave you vulnerable to other health issues.
I don't have to look far for an example: my mum, after being told she had high cholesterol, had the knee-jerk reaction of cutting out ALL dairy. She then developed osteoporosis, and broke her ankle very badly, and has not been the same since. She's been told she is at high risk of other breaks, including her back - which is of more concern than the original high cholesterol.
So even if diet did help MS - which is doubtful - you've got to be careful you're not just setting yourself up for a different lot of problems.
As an aside, it seems a bit premature for you (or your neuro) to conclude PPMS is the most likely diagnosis, and not RRMS. Relapses can last many months - more than four - so not being better yet isn't proof it could only be PPMS. It might just be a long episode. I haven't had very many relapses (I'm a diagnosed person), but those I have all tended to be months.
It's also a myth that you have to have a symptom-free day to ever be officially in remission. Remission is relative, and doesn't really mean much more than: "better than you were". It doesn't mean you must be symptom free, and many people experience daily symptoms, even during remission. It's the difference in number or intensity of symptoms that's important. If there's a noticeable improvement, it can still be remission, even if they haven't disappeared altogether.
Tina
x
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