Understanding
Multiple Sclerosis
What is multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis is described by the medical and science as an autoimmune inflammatory disease caused by damage to the nerves in the brain and the spinal cords. In medical terms it’s a demyelination of the axons in the Central Nervous System neurons. Damage to these nerve fibers, (axons) causes T Lymphocytes to attack the myelin antigens, leaving scar tissue to form along the nerve fibers (axons) which disrupts the nerve conduction. This damage may be due to a virus as explained in the causes section below.
causes
Causes are commonly affected by your lifestyle and nutrition choices. Here are some of the causes found to trigger MS, this list is in no particular order
- Genetic
- Environmental triggers
- Poor dietary choice
- Vitamin D deficiency, especially the further away from the equator you are
- Vitamin D and sun exposure in developing foetal brain
- Vitamin B12 deficiency (Nemazannikova N, 2019)
- Epstein Bar Virus (EBV) related (Guan et al, 2019)
- Possible measles-related, host response to me the measles virus, (Alter, 2019), (Ohara, 2019)
- Leaky Gut (Swank)
- Consuming Dairy as a baby and small child (McDougall)
- Stress not managed and ruminating emotions not dealt with.
Healthy Nerve V Demyelinated Nerve
Here you can see that a healthy nerve has a nice casing around it called Myelin. It’s a bit like the coating/casing to electrical cables. It protects and holds the fibres together. When the myelin is impaired by a virus or inflammation then this is how it can potentially look and thus the pain is perceived. To look to protect your nerves, from nerve damage. See below on how you can do this.
Picture courtesy of Mayo Clinic
signs and symptoms
Look out for the following signs and symptoms if you are worried this may be affecting you or your loved one.
- Visual symptoms – Blindness, loss of vision in one eye or even double vision and a jerking eyeball known as nystagmus. You may notice pain around the eye on the odd occasion (neuritis). MS affects the highly myelinated nerves like those in vision
- Hearing & Balance – deafness or loss of balance
- Sensory – pulling sensations or a burning feeling
- Speech – slurred speach
- Touch – tingling or loss of sensation in the peripherals
- Urinary system– an urgency to pass urine or even incontinence, problems with bladder, bowel and sexual function
- Cognitive Changes – mood, depression or loss of memory, fatigue
- If you are male have you noticed any impotence?
- According to the Mayo Clinic, Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or at all, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms.
- Muscle pains, spasms, weakness & fatigue
- Partial or complete paralysis of legs to the point of needing walking stick, crutches or even a wheel chair (the latter being in severe cases)
- Tremors
good to know
The age for this disease is usually from 20 up to 50. Commonly it affects more women than men, by about 2 to 1. Most MS follows a pattern of relapsing and remitting, which means that you get relapses and then you can feel better, and again a replase, then feel better. If you do suffer from one episode you have a 15% chance that it will not occur again. Others patters are progressive, sadly this type has a poor prognosis.
diagnosis
To date there is no test for MS but you may be offered an MRI looking for lesion, scarring or damage, which are also quite hard to detect. Doctors may also analyse your Cerebral spinal fluid.
COMPLICATIONS & Risk Factors
There are many risk factors to MS, here is a list to consider
- Age 20-50 years of age is most likely age to be diagnosed
- Sex – women are 2-3 times more likely to be diagnosed with MS
- Genetics – does it run in the family?
- Viruses like measles and EBV get checked out for these
- Race & Climate, westerners are at highest risk, especially those in cooler climates and further from the equator.
- Do you have Diabetes Type 1? Thyroid issues? Inflammatory Bowel Disease? These all put you at further risk.
- Smoking.
what your doctor will offer you
When going to see your doctor you will be offered immuno-modulatory Therapies for the relapsing-remitting MS. These therapies may reduce the frequency and severity of the clinical attacks. For a full list of meds CLICK HERE.
You may also be offered corticosteroids, but this will have no influence over future relapses to take with caution, (Mellgren & Myhr, 2019) & interferon beta
Another area that is offered is physiotherapy and a range of symptom management guidelines.
A simple test that your doctor may perform. No response may be an indication of MS, Motor Neuron Disease or corticospinal tract damage
Get educated!
In order to understand our conditions and master our own health, not just leave it in the hands of the doctors, then its good to get self educated. At Ultimate Health we can fast track you here and give you all you need to know to get started and explore deeper so you can find and live your Ultimate Health. Your lifestyle choices will be key here to your long term wellbeing.
Key areas to help yourself with are:-
- Detoxification
- Supplement with key vitamins and minerals
- Changing your lifestyle to incorporate prevention strategies.
- Anti-Inflammatory Diet
- Low grade exercise
- Working on mindset and emotional balance
A big part of why the body is here in the first place could be due to many factors. So you may want to consider a Reboot and look to give your body a break. Regular breaks so that you give your body the best chance to heal. For MS a new dietry regime is 100% recommended if you want to give your body the change to stop the progression as much as possible.
Take the next step to prevent illnesses & health issues,
Join Ultimate Health, Your Journey Starts Here!
At Ultimate Health we look for prevention and treating the cause. We always start by wiping the slate clean with a Reboot and then looking to help support your body to heal using natural proven principles. Naturopathic solutions and a protocol that supports your body and every system that it runs. We help you to manage the many multifunctional influences that can cause conditions like this in the first place. Detoxification is key, as well as reducing internal inflammation, getting conscious about your health and finding out what is actually healthy for you. If you need a map we have the One Clear Path to support your entire journey to your Ultimate Health.
Here are the Pathways we use to support you:
- Detoxification
- Group Support
- One to One consultations
- Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet
- Meal Plans that are done for you
- Education on the Real Truth about What is Actually Healthy, not just what the media tells you is “Healthy“.
Credits
1. Master photo picture credit – Photo by Stefano Intintoli on Unsplash
resources
1. Shift MS . Giving support and advice from others with MS. A support network
References
1. Nemazannikova N, e. (2019). Is there a Link between Vitamin B and Multiple Sclerosis? – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28875857 [Accessed 31 May 2019].
2. Guan et al (2019). The role of Epstein-Barr virus in multiple sclerosis: from molecular pathophysiology to in vivo imaging – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30539801 [Accessed 31 May 2019]
3. M, Alter. (2019). Is multiple sclerosis an age-dependent host response to measles? – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/616540 [Accessed 31 May 2019].
4. Y, Ohara. (2019). Multiple sclerosis and measles virus. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10680085 [Accessed 31 May 2019].
5. Mellgren & Myhr, 2019 (2019). Corticosteroids in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19566504 [Accessed 31 May 2019].