new to MS

[nepatternmaker]

Hello, another 'minority' newbie here. MS has become a little more personal lately. I lived across the street from a man with MS when I was 8-10 years old. I have numerous symptoms now, no firm dx. Saw i neurologist for 1st time last week and he kind of tied things together for me. I'm male, 50 yrs old. Had vision problems 2 1/2 yrs ago. The peripheral cutout healed but the blurriness did not. Eye dr theorized I'd had a mini stroke. Last June my vision got much worse over the course of 3-4 days. Another eye dr mentioned a mini stroke, but also said she'd seen this sort of thing with MS before. Both recommended an MRI. I got an MRI last Aug thru a free clinic and the report said possible MS. I also have severe hip joint degeneration and have walked with bad limp for 5-7 years. I thought my walk was all the hip pain but after the neuro I can tell that the rt leg is dragging and has it's own walking problems too. Also have stability problems, and I don't follow action movies well, I can't see well enough or keep up with the action well enough to follow the story. Right now, my vision has left me legally blind. Have numbness and tingling in hands and from toes to mid thigh both legs and a belt of numbness around my midsection. I've been unemployed for 2 years, wife had to go to work. Applied for disability due to my vision, but that's going nowhere fast. I try to do some of the cooking and housework, but I get tired so quickly and my pain level gets pretty bad after 20 min on my feet. I don't want to whine, just would like to know where this MS is going and what can be done about it, excerpt of course there's no way to know. There seems to be a lot of information on this forum so I'll see what I can learn here.

Dave

[nepatternmaker]

Got the official dx for MS yesterday. Dr wants me to start taking copaxone. Not crazy about self-injecting every other day, but that would be the case for most MS meds anyway. Been living with the symptoms for over 5 years, at least now I have a reason for all of them, sure miss my vision, though.

[Youarethecure]

"Welcome to the club"........ ehhh except for not lol.

I and male too, but half your age and I was diagnosed early last year. I also take copaxone. I have done close to 200 injections so far and it is working great for me. The auto inject pen makes it so much easier, it is not comparable. Shared solutions can send a nurse to you for the first couple times if you want (I think). Copaxone is the most "simple" drug out for MS. There are hardly any side effects aside from site reactions for most. It is also one of the first drugs ever created. Personally, I am too scared to take any of the other drugs because of all the side effects and ill effects they can cause.

There are many things you can do aside from medicine to give you the best fight against MS. Diet, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle modifications can drastically improve your quality of life. There is a lot of knowledge to gain from this site, and everyone on here is beyond helpful with anything you could want to know.

Best wishes,

Chris

[ElliotB]

What type of diet are you following? What type of foods do you eat?

How much exercise do you do on a daily basis?

Are you taking any vitamins/supplements?

[nepatternmaker]

Thanks for the replies. I am pretty much eating regular, nothing special, kinda of a meat and potatoes type. Not on any supplements yet, want to start taking vit D again, been off of it for the last year.
Exercise is not really an option, I also have severe osteoarthritis which in my case, means my hip joints are bone on bone. I'm hoping to have hip joint replacement surgery, but am concerned about triggering a relapse.
As a kid I lived across the street from a gentleman with MS, this would have been in the 70's. He used a strict juicing diet and lived a full and long life. I haven't seen anything on a juicing MS diet and don't know what diets there are for MS or what changes they mean for me or my family.
Had an MRI last week and that found lesions in my lower spine and my nec, and of course the brain.
Keep the info coming, very frustrated with everything I can't do anymore that I used to be able to do any day and every day.
Dave

[Youarethecure]

How about doing water exercises? Anything helps and you can slowly build up.

Everybody has a different opinion or idea when it comes to handling their MS. Many people swear by medication, diet, nutrition or exercising. Personally, I do all the above.

I don't follow a specific diet but I eat very clean, with some cheating here and there. Check out the website inflammationfactor.com. Basically you want to eat as much "good" anti-inflammatory food as possible while limiting inflammatory foods. Green veggies are your best friend along with fish and seafood. I eat wild caught salmon 3-4 times a week, and other types of fish when I don't eat the salmon. Organic unprocessed foods are the best bet. I also take vit d, b12, magnesium, potassium, and a daily.