Last Updated on December 5, 2023 by Cathy
Lifestyle habits play an important role when it comes to your health. Especially if you are living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers don’t know exactly what causes MS but they do know it is a disease caused by chronic inflammation.
MS attacks the myelin sheath that protects the nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Once the myelin breaks down it exposes the nerve fibers exposing them. Eventually, the nerves deteriorate leaving physical damage.
Researchers believe some people inherit genes that put them at a higher risk for MS. But it doesn’t mean that person will get MS. One identical twin can get MS while the other twin does not and they share virtually the same genes. Researchers believe it is environmental factors that trigger the onset of the disease.
Your lifestyle habits account for seventy-five percent of the onset of diseases. In other words, the choices you make every day determine if you will be disease-free or not. MS typically begins years before your diagnosis. And sometimes getting a diagnosis can take years.
Your neurologist wants you to believe you need to be on one of the disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). He/she will push you to start immediately to slow the progression. But, you have the right to wait and research first before starting a DMT.
Get my 8 questions to ask your neurologist at the bottom of this post.
MS Medications
Before you agree to start taking one of the medications you need to take a deep breath and wait. Wait before you agree to start taking one and research them first. Taking one of these drugs may significantly diminish your quality of life. Due to all the horrible side effects. Plus, they only work 33 percent of the time IF they work.
Some of the side effects include headaches, weakness, dizziness, insomnia, and flu-like symptoms. Abdominal pain, joint pain, and reactions to the injection site. Bladder infections, urinary tract infections, diarrhea, nausea. Hair loss, muscle aches, back pain, arm or leg pain, and a sinus infection. Spasticity, rash, low white blood cells, low blood pressure, and increased blood pressure. Increased liver enzymes, upper respiratory tract infections, difficulty breathing. Changes in heart rate, chest pain, and heart damage. Liver damage, brain infection (PML), worsening of symptoms, depression, suicidal thoughts, and death.
Plus, you have to look at the cost of these drugs. Conventional treatments for MS are expensive! A 2016 “Economic Burden” analysis found that in the past several years DMTs have become a lot more costly. In 2004 the annual cost per patient in the United States was $16,050. The average annual cost in 2015 was more than $60,000.
Today, newer drugs can cost up to $80,000 per year. The costs for DMTs in the United States have significantly increased. At a rate of 5-7 times higher per year than other prescription drugs. That doesn’t include other medical costs. Such as doctors, physical therapists, blood work, MRIs, and walking aides. It is ridiculous how expensive it has gotten.
Multiple Sclerosis
85 percent of people diagnosed with MS have relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). That means you will not end up in a wheelchair after waiting a few days. Or even a few months before deciding to go on medications. Instead, take time until you had a chance to research and think over what you want to do. The more you learn the better prepared you will be and you will be able to make better choices.
MS is not a death sentence. Most people living with MS will still be able to live a productive life for many years. I am one of those people, I have been living with MS for over thirty years and I am still walking. I’m not like what I was at twenty years old but doesn’t everyone say that? (hee-hee)
- Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)
- Secondary-Progressive MS (SPMS)
- Primary-Progressive MS (PPMS)
- Progressive-Relapsing MS (PRMS)
Granted there is a small percentage of people with a more aggressive form of MS who end up bedridden. But it is a small percentage. MS is rarely fatal, people with MS usually die from other illnesses such as heart disease or cancer.
For most people, it is the quality of life that matters. Would you rather go through the rest of your life taking drugs with horrible side effects? Plus, there is no guarantee it will stop the progress. Or would you rather change your diet and lifestyle without the horrible side effects? Keep MS in remission and possibly reverse your symptoms.
Quality of Life
Eating healthy and your lifestyle habits matter. Meaning you have to do this for the rest of your life. If you go back to your old eating habits of processed foods, MS flares will return.
The decision to take the medications or not to take them is your decision. Not your doctors, not your families, not your friends. It is your decision. Trust your instincts, and go with whatever makes YOU feel the most comfortable. If you are more comfortable taking the medications then do it. If you feel more comfortable not taking them then don’t take them. It is your body!
I was first told I may have MS when I was fifteen years old. It was many years later before I reluctantly started taking one of the interferons. MS medications were relatively new. And they didn’t have long-term results on how successful the medications were. Unfortunately, it made my MS attacks stronger and closer. It diminished my quality of life.
Then in 2004, I discovered you can use food as your medicine and I started immediately. I stopped eating dairy, gluten, legumes, and all processed foods. After one year I felt so good I stopped all medications without my doctor’s approval. He was very upset with me and started lecturing my husband “If that was MY wife…”
That made me mad! I was living with flu-like symptoms every week and severe depression. I even had suicidal thoughts. That was not me, in the past, I always looked on the bright side. I am usually a positive person and I did not want to live like that anymore. Plus, my doctor was being paid by pharmaceutical companies to push their drugs. How could I trust him when he was in it for the money?
Quick Links To Information In This Post:
Listen to your body
Your body is crying out for help, it is sending you signals something is wrong. You need to listen to your body, you need to help your immune system. Your mitochondria dysfunction plays some level in MS. Which results in a chronic energy deficiency in the central nervous system.
Every cell in your body needs the energy to function. Mitochondria are in most cells that impact your health. One of their jobs is taking in nutrients from food and breaking them down for energy.
Supporting the mitochondria is very important for people with MS. Eat a diet rich in antioxidants, B vitamins, and omega-3s. Also sun exposure, intermittent fasting, moving, and increasing healthy fats.
Mitochondria dysfunction symptoms may include:
- Brain fog
- Chronic fatigue
- Chronic pain
- Loss of muscle coordination
- Muscle weakness
- Neurological problems
- Vision or hearing problems
Researchers also discovered people with MS have different levels of gut bacteria. They have higher levels of bad bacteria and lower levels of good bacteria. The junk you are eating, the antibiotics you are taking, and the daily stress is killing the good bacteria!
You are what you eat
Everything you put in your mouth determines whether you are healthy or not. If you’ve been putting junk into your body for years, your body is full of junk (toxins and inflammation). As the saying goes “You are what you eat.”
There are many people online talking about how they stop the progression of MS. And reverse their symptoms. Dr. Terry Wahls is one and you can read her book The Wahls Protocol. There’s also Ann Boroch, Judy Graham, Pam Bartha, George Jelinek, Ann D. Sawyer and Judith Bachrach, and many others. Granted, everyone is different. So every diet is slightly different but you get the main point. Eat Healthily!
Avoid:
- Gluten
- Dairy
- Legumes
- All processed foods
- Refined sugar and carbohydrates
- Chronic stress
Include:
- Vegetables, as many as possible in a wide variety
- Fruits
- Healthy oils
- Pasture-fed meats
- Pasture-raised poultry
- Wild-caught fish
- Fermented foods
- Nuts and seeds
- Eight hours of sleep
- Exercise
- Meditation/stress management
- Detox (Epsom salt baths, saunas, herbal teas, etc.)
- Vitamin D3, the sunshine vitamin
Buy organic, that way you’ll be avoiding pesticides, antibiotics, and growth hormones. When you replace junk foods with nutrient-dense foods your body begins to thrive. Every living cell in your body gets replaced with new healthy cells and you begin to feel better. Like I said earlier everyone is different so adjust the diet to fit your needs.
Adjust your diet if you:
- Suffer from constipation increase your fiber
- Having a yeast overgrowth lowers your carbohydrate intake
- Are sensitive to nightshades don’t eat them.
Toxins all around you
It’s not just the food you eat, it also includes your environment. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the body care products you use. And the chemicals you use around your house like household cleaners and pesticides. It also includes your work environment. Do you work around chemicals like at a dry cleaner, mechanic shop, or hair salon? Maybe it’s time to find a new job?
You need to remove as many toxic chemicals as possible. The more you remove the less of a burden there is on your body. You don’t have to do it all at once, it all adds up over time. However, if you smoke, stop right now! Smoking is one of the known risk factors for MS and it is destructive to your health. Get help if you need it, many programs can help you stop smoking like smokefree.gov.
Improve Your Lifestyle Habits
Stress plays a huge role in MS, it can bring on flares. Daily chronic stress is what set me back and what caused my walking to get worse. I know how hard it is to get stress under control. I went through years of chronic stress before I had to make changes because my MS was getting worse.
It is impossible to avoid all stress. That’s why you need to learn how to manage stress. I love to sit on my porch (when it’s warm outside) and listen to the birds. I live in a rural area so there is very little noise, it’s very tranquil and relaxing. Find your peaceful spot, lower your stress, be calm, and make these your lifestyle habits.
Plus, you don’t need to make all these changes today. Taking it one step at a time will lower your stress and set you up for good lifestyle habits.
Start improving your diet and lifestyle today! A goal without action is just a dream.
8 Questions to Ask Your Neurologist!
Get the password for the library with the 8 Questions to Ask Your Neurologist here by filling out this form:
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Resources:
The relation between inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis brains
Are your lifestyle habits destroying your health?
