And on the subject of MS and diet, as was mentioned by truth seeker, it should probably be seen on an individual case by case basis as to what's "proper" to offer information. And further, what IS the real meaning behind a diagnosis such as MS? I mean, these "disease" designation are quite often a large cluster of symptoms where one "MS patient" may have more of the cluster of symptoms and others will have less, etc. It's hard to come up with a solid definition of a lot of these types of diagnosis. In this example, beyond symptom clusters, MS can further be defined as an autoimmune neurological disease, etc., I guess. But still, to me, it seems there can be a broad spectrum of how it's individually manifested and the different prognosis for each individual case (taking into account what decisions the sufferer makes, as well), etc.
And as also was mentioned, there's at least one MS sufferer forum member who's seen quite positive results from the dietary changes.
I've had MS since December of 2000. ;) And I agree with what's been said here about it, regarding that it is more a grouping of symptoms and statistical points than any kind of hard and fast rule or facts.
People deal with the stress of having a chronic disease just as individually. The medical establishment has a compulsion to put 'patients' into groups or label them in order to keep trying out drugs to treat symptoms. Over time I've learned that doctors are bombarded with this attitude by drug companies to the point its difficult for them to 'think outside the box.'
The same can be said of MS patients: we are all bombarded from the moment of diagnosis with more information (much of it garbage) than we can reasonably process.
I did what the doctors and neurologist advised, and discovered that doing so lead to a quicker decline, and disability.
But it wasn't until I was unable to work anymore that I finally had the time to do my own research into diet. That part is important. Before then, it was all I could manage to get out of bed, go to work, sort of manage the household, and repeat that process.
If your house mate has children, or is still working, Muxel, she likely has no energy to spare to even think through the information you're trying to give her. It is natural for her to stick with a routine that works for her day to day. She won't like anything that makes that tougher.
There's no harm in being supportive or externally considerate of her situation. The last thing she needs? Unasked for advice and a clear need to 'fix her'.
Depending on what symptoms she has, the diet changes would need to be done very slowly, in addition to weaning off medications. That is so individual it shouldn't be done without some kind of help from a nurse practitioner or other medical person. Again, it all depends on her energy level, and if she even wants to try.
The biggest change for me re the diet? Clearer thinking, improved attitude, and much less daily physical pain. It doesn't matter to me if the diet changes eventually 'cure' me. Its the day to day benefits that keep me working on diet, exercise, etc.
That is a key point to bear in mind when someone in your life has a chronic illness: "Cure" is a trigger word for "snake-oil". Its the 'little things' that matter more...day to day functioning is trackable. It can be felt, seen, noted on a calendar. "Cure" is an abused concept, so much so, I never use it.
Over time, its become clearer to me why people feel compelled to 'fix' the chronically ill: insecurity, helplessness, and a primal fear that its possible you could one day get sick too.
Any time you feel that compulsion to offer unasked for advice, stop, and follow it back to the real reason, so you can work on it.
