More evidence of diet and MS

[Theo]

Thanks

Thanks Snoopy will let you know how it goes.

[SNOOPY]

Did your Symptoms improve after stopping or has it stayed the same,reson for asking is I am going through the exact same symtoms and am on 40mg of a staton and I am on Rebiff 44.
In one year I have gone down hill fast holding on by a thread!

Hi Theo,

I noticed an improvement of symptoms as little as 2 weeks after stopping Lovastatin.

Physically it was a long frustrating process to regain strength I had lost while on the Statin. I am now back to 2 miles on the Elliptical and have started using a weight machine.

My driving ability and cognitive problems/memory loss are no longer an issue. Lovastatin took my quality of life and I now have my quality of life back.

My unprofessional opinion: get off the statin for a couple of weeks or a month and see if you have improvements in your symptoms.

Note: I contacted my Primary Care Physician about what was happening and my concern it was caused by the Lovastatin. The response I recieved was by mail and was not helpful. It was left to me to make my own decision about the Statin.

I do the opposite...I eat all the meat and milk I want.

However I do exercise.

Are you curious about milk or trolling? This is a serious topic to us here.

[Theo]

Have you improved

There seems to be a misconception about cholesterol and diet.

It is true diet and exercise can help reduce cholesterol. Unfortunately, genetics plays a role in this. A person can be thin, eat a healthy diet, exercise and still have high cholesterol.

In my case, my high cholesterol as well as depression was caused by a prescribed medication.

Instead of taking me off of the non-necessary med I was put on a Statin. I was taking a very low dose (20mg).

In the year and a half I was on the Statin I lost my quality of life.

I could no longer drive, I got lost in familar surroundings, could not remember where I was going, I could not carry on a conversation as I would forget what I was going to say next. I became unable to exercise, exercise increased my fatigue. My legs became extremely weak yet they where very stiff.

My neuro ordered a NeuroPsych evaluation/testing as Alzheimers(sp) was under consideration. My symptoms started improving within 2 weeks of stopping the Statin. The NeuroPsych said his profession was seeing more and more cases like mine that was due to Statins.

I went off the Statin over a year ago and I have not taken anything for high cholesterol, I don't need to, it's normal.

Did your Symptoms improve after stopping or has it stayed the same,reson for asking is I am going through the exact same symtoms and am on 40mg of a staton and I am on Rebiff 44.
In one year I have gone down hill fast holding on by a thread!

Jerry,

I agree we need more viewpoints. I did get ahead of myself - I can't roll my eyes at other people's statements if I don't keep some level of integrety in my posts, so I get what you're saying - we need positive information. I would argue that even false hope can be beneficial depending on the dose and is certainly better than the false "no-hope" that is perpetuated.

I'm utterly convinced of the efficacy of diet, exercise and attitude. There's a great video that ShiftMS just put out where one of the topics they touch on is MS improving your life. I know there are people here who would object to the topic, but I think there are different ways to react to life. Here are two vides from them.


Of course, I can't speak for someone who has been pummeled by this disease in a short time. I wouldn't go on about attitude or diet or exercise to them and I wouldn't hold any bitterness against them as I don't know how I would react in the same situation.

But for a good number of us, our lives can be much improved and MS need not be the end of all pleasure in life.

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[JerryD]

BigA,
I am not sorry you 'dove into' this topic. I haven't had this much fun since I wrecked my van. Your non-hyper-critical attitude toward treatments is refreshing. I already get professional service from specialists.
The advice I get from my neurologist is 'old' news to me. I have been told by my cardiologist that the 5000iu's of vitamin D, which I take daily and which has nearly doubled my serum level, may be too high a dose.
I guess what I am saying is... I need this diversity of ideas and viewpoints. It is a good way to uncover the truths and half-truths.

I'm really sorry I brought up this topic, especially in such a sloppy form. I think I will not use the the P-Word anymore. I think proof is too strong a word for anything in MS. And I'm realizing how much people infer from what I write.

I believe diet is helpful in spite of mixed evidence and the same goes for interferon and exercise. I do all three religiously and recommend then.

I never say anything near "If you had been on a diet, you'd be able to x now" and I don't want to imply it. Not only because we can't know, but also because it doesn't actually help the person.

However, since losing weight and eating healthy is pretty much a no-risk treatment, there is little harm in not quite being as scientific. It's definately an easier question than which DMD to take or to take one at all.

[JerryD]

So you 'exercise' the fats and casein out of your cells. ' Better to be 'excised'. ffjosh, your comment 'slays me'. What you put in, is what you will get out. Reap what you sow. Good luck

[ffjosh]

I do the opposite...I eat all the meat and milk I want.

However I do exercise.

[SNOOPY]

What would have happened if you religiously followed the Swank diet ?

Since my high cholesterol had nothing to do with diet my assumption would be nothing would have changed had I been on the Swank diet.

Again...my high cholesterol was caused by a medication. Had I have been taken off that medication and my cholesterol rechecked at a later date a I would not have had high cholesterol and hence, not on a statin.

Agree with Redwings. Saying statins may help MS is not the same thing as saying low cholesterol may help MS. It's important to read studies carefully for what they actually assert and not extrapolate. There's enough misleading reports about health out there as it is!

Which is not to say low cholesterol isn't a good goal. Mine is below 150 and I'm pretty happy about that.

Which is also not to say that low cholesterol isn't good for MS either.

But you guys are right that I overstepped the association. Jumping from a statin to diet.

Redwings You're right that my selecting positive studies to draw a conclusion and not doing so for negative studies is inconsistent and perhaps overzelous... But I think it's a little dramatic to suggest I should do the same when a negative study comes out when conflicting studies on the efficacy of interferon never stopped doctors, authors and pharmaceutical companies from implying or even overtly stating that they slowed the disease.

A more accurate line could have been Dr. Jelenik's note on a previous study linking sterols and MS: " It adds to the likelihood of the statins being useful for MS, and also underscores the likely role of fats in the disease"

[JerryD]

So maybe the statin drug had a nasty side effect. And to stop the side effect, you stopped the drug. What would have happened if you religiously followed the Swank diet ? One will never know because nutrition can't be prescribed on a prescription pad.
I don't know about the Swank diet and its effect on his patients because I don't believe it is documented but it would be interesting to see the effects of a low fat, high plant based diet studied at the FDA level.

[SNOOPY]

There seems to be a misconception about cholesterol and diet.

It is true diet and exercise can help reduce cholesterol. Unfortunately, genetics plays a role in this. A person can be thin, eat a healthy diet, exercise and still have high cholesterol.

In my case, my high cholesterol as well as depression was caused by a prescribed medication.

Instead of taking me off of the non-necessary med I was put on a Statin. I was taking a very low dose (20mg).

In the year and a half I was on the Statin I lost my quality of life.

I could no longer drive, I got lost in familar surroundings, could not remember where I was going, I could not carry on a conversation as I would forget what I was going to say next. I became unable to exercise, exercise increased my fatigue. My legs became extremely weak yet they where very stiff.

My neuro ordered a NeuroPsych evaluation/testing as Alzheimers(sp) was under consideration. My symptoms started improving within 2 weeks of stopping the Statin. The NeuroPsych said his profession was seeing more and more cases like mine that was due to Statins.

I went off the Statin over a year ago and I have not taken anything for high cholesterol, I don't need to, it's normal.

[Special Kay]

Agree with Redwings. Saying statins may help MS is not the same thing as saying low cholesterol may help MS. It's important to read studies carefully for what they actually assert and not extrapolate. There's enough misleading reports about health out there as it is!

Which is not to say low cholesterol isn't a good goal. Mine is below 150 and I'm pretty happy about that.

[JerryD]

Redwings,
I know I shouldn't debate you and your rationale because none of this medical stuff is my forte. 'Fools jump in...'. But I am sure there is a connection between diet and the use of statin drugs. How that connects to MS, I don't know. But let's consider this.
Statin drugs are designed to lower cholesterol, which, I think, is produced by the liver. It is generally believed that diet can produce the same cholesterol lowering outcomes, given strict adherence. Why do you think all of the Swank type dietary guidelines have been so strict on the fats and oils intake, etc ?
That's the connection between statins and diet and MS. I know it seems like a huge jump. But Swank, MacDougall, Campbell and Esselstyn, etal, have produced amazing results that have not been matched by traditional 'pharmacologic' based medicine. And as long as there is no FDA approved 'cure', I ,for one, have no reason to seek treatment with drugs.
The medical profession always touts the benefits of 'diet and exercise'. That's words only. But the clinicians grab for their prescription pads, first. Who's kidding who ? How many people with high cholesterol do you know have been prescribed a 'diet and exercise regimen? Rarely happens ! Drugs first, then a conversation about diet. That's a a joke !