“Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.” Hippocrates.

My stepdaughter has bipolar disorder. She’s 5 years old. No, that is not a typo. In the 2 years since her diagnosis, we’ve tried several ‘traditional’ psych meds typically prescribed for childhood onset bipolar disorder with poor results. Each time her psychiatrist prescribes a new med, we go through the same pattern. We get a 2 or 3 weeks – a month if we’re really lucky of calm, really with it behavior followed by a total and complete meltdown. As her body begins to adjust to the meds it seems to over compensate and the results are not good. When we take her off the meds, she seems to even out and go back to her ‘typical’ bipolar pattern. A few months later, her psychiatrist wants to try a different med and we start the whole process over again.

We’ve decided to take her off the medication treadmill and treat her bipolar disorder with supplements and herbs if at all possible. So, I’m doing a lot of research on the topic and I thought I’d share what I’m learning here, in the hopes it will help on of my readers.

Several medical studies have shown that people who take 50 mg of Vitamin B1 or Thiamine experience improved moods, less depression, and faster reaction time than those whose intake is at or below the FDA for this vitamin.

Vitamins B12 and B9, or folate, have proven equally important when treating depression and other mood disorders. B12 deficiencies impair the body’s ability to clear out the amino acid homocysteine. High amounts of this amino acid have been shown to cause depression. Insufficient amounts of folate in the system cause symptoms of depression. In addition, low folate reduces the effectiveness of standard SSRI depression medications.

Serotonin production is dependent upon Vitamin B6. Inadequate amounts of B6 in the blood and brain result in the body not being able to produce this important brain chemical.

Selenium in amounts of appoximately 100 mcg per day helps relieve depression, anxiety and fatigue.

According to Psychology Today, several studies have found that chromium can effectively treat mild to severe depression. And a study at Duke University revealed that depression symptoms are reduced by taking 600mcg of chromium picolinate daily. Chromium is found naturally in liver, mushrooms brewer’s yeast, and whole grains.

Calcium, Omega 3 and zinc levels also seem to play a part in mood stability.

On theory is that those with bipolar disorder and other forms of mental illness may process and metabolize certain vitamins and minerals differently than those without mental illness. The difference in metabolic rate may cause deficiencies in the minerals and vitamins which regulate mood and stability.

I’m not a doctor, and everyone coping with mental illness should make treatment decisions in cooperation with their medical professional. A nutritionist or holistic doctor can help patients determine which vitamins and minerals they may be lacking, and can help the patient determine the best course of action to treat their illness in the most natural way possible

Originally posted Jan 19, 2008

Most people would think I’m nuts for being excited about burning myself, but well.. when you have MS little things mean a lot, right?

I lost the ability to feel hot and cold in my hands when I was 17 or 18…I’m 37 now. . My left side has had the most sensation deterioration. I feel pressure, but not pain in all 3 fingers and the thumb on my left hand. My left pinky-finger has been mostly numb for years. I know when something is touching my pinky, but beyond that.. nothing. I’m famous for pulling hot things off the stove or from the oven sans oven mitt or potholder because I forget that I shouldn’t do that… it doesn’t hurt and so, I don’t think about it.

But, yesterday afternoon, as I pulled cheese crisps off the baking sheet for my kids’ lunch, I burned my left thumb. The thumb isn’t blistered, or even red, but man did it hurt enough that I dropped the cheese crisp and yelped. I’ve noticed that today my left pinky-finger tingles, too. Like when an arm or leg falls asleep and wakes back up. Sure it hurts every time I use that finger to type.. but yesterday I had no sensation in it at all… So.. that’s progress.

These little thing show me that my treatment methods for the MS are working. I started a new treatment last weekend, and I think it’s the new method that is giving me sensation back. I interviewed a brain researcher and hypnotherapist this weekend for a book series I’m writing, and while we were on the phone she asked if it was okay for her to work with me a bit on the stuttering so she could better demonstrate what it is that she does.

I agreed and she lead me through an exercise surrounding the stuttering. I’ve not stuttered ONCE since. But more importantly, she and I talked about the Spiritual nature of disease and how spiritual, emotional and physical health are interrelated. During that discussion, I told her of how I quit smoking by simply deciding I was done with it. No cravings, no temptation.. nothing. She made the comment that if I could do THAT, then I can overcome asthma and MS the same way.

Somehow I had forgotten that I used meditation, Spiritual Law, and paying attention to my thoughts to greatly improve almost fatal asthma 13 years ago. The asthma was so serious I was on daily steroid therapy and could not do a lot of things. Then I landed on a respirator and it scared the hell out of me. My pulmo told me “if the asthma doesn’t kill you in the next 5 years, the meds WILL” I came home from the hospital and studied herbal and spiritual medicine. A year later, I was completely off the meds and doing well.

I told her what I had experienced with asthma, and although she didn’t voice it, the unspoken comment was obvious… — why haven’t I used that knowledge in regards to the MS? –

Good question. So for the past week I’ve been using the techniques I used during the interview, along with the techniques I learned years ago to track down and eliminate the roots of the illness. It has been an interesting week. I’ve gone off the LDN and the supplements so that I can see if what I’m doing has any real effect on the symptoms. I am still following the gluten free, meat free, and processed food free diet.. our entire family eats that way to help treat mental illness and autism in my step kids.

so.. have I seen any real differences over the past week? I think I have. I’ve completely stopped stuttering, my balance is good, my thinking clear, even though I’ve been off the LDN for a week, and I have pins and needles in my left pinky finger even though it’s been numb for several years. Of course, it’s very possible that the changes I’m seeing are still residual effects from the LDN. I’ve had wonderful symptom reversal with LDN. I guess only time will tell.

If symptoms return, I will go back on the LDN

Did you know inflammation causes or contributes to most of the diseases that effect Americans? That’s right– Heart disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, migraine, type 2 diabetes, allergies, ADHD, multiple sclerosis, fibroneuralgia, and gingivitis are all diseases of inflammation. In fact, the majority of conditions ending in the suffix “itis” are caused by inflammation. Now, that doesn’t mean that if you control inflammation your MS will just go away. But it’s a good bet that the pain, stiffness and possibly even some balance problems will be significantly reduced.

There are several ways to reduce inflammation. You could, of course take a pill designed for just that purpose. NSAIDS are popular pain relievers, and they work primarily by reducing inflammation. But, they can be dangerous. Did you know that more people die of side effects of NSAIDS than of HIV? Additionally, over half a million people a year develop some sort of complication from the use of NSAIDS.

A better way to control inflammation is to watch what you eat and take supplements of those substances known to reduce inflammation in the body.

Omega 3 oils found in deep sea fish. I include mercury tested salmon in my diet 3 – 5 times a week.

Cayenne pepper- I take 3 cayenne pepper caps with each meal. Some people have to take this between meals because it upsets their stomach or makes  food taste bad. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find when it works best for you.

Saint John’s Wart – In addition to being  great for MS related depression, St Johns also helps reduce inflammation.

Switch from vegetable oil to olive. Yes, it’s more expensive. but most vegetable oils convert to an inflammation causing chemical when broken down by the body.

Eat more green leafy veggies, nut butters, avocados and macadamia nuts they all have anti-inflammatory abilities.

With simple dietary changes, we can manage our MS and make our lives just a bit easier.

he other night I fell asleep while cuddling with my son at bedtime. I was very tired, and so my husband and older kids let me sleep.

It wasn’t until the next afternoon, when my kids asked why I was forgetting so much, stuttering and off balance that I realized I had missed my ldn the night before.

By 9 pm that night I was almost unable to walk because my balance was just so horrible. My left leg was completely numb up from toes to the knee and the inside of my left arm felt weak and tingled. Vision was as bad as it was before I started the ldn, and I was stuttering so bad my own kids couldn’t understand me. I finally switched to sign language because speech was almost impossible and for some reason, when I can’t talk, I can usually still sign.

From what I’ve learned from the ldn experts, my response to missing a dose was extreme. Most people who see symptom relief from ldn do regress when the go off the med, but it usually takes a couple days. Of course, not every person who takes ldn for MS has any symptom relief. That’s not the purpose of the med. Ldn is taken stop progression of the disease.

I resumed the ldn that night, and was perfectly back to my new normal two days later. Yeah. it took 2 days to get back to where I was before I missed that dose. My family now has explicit instructions to wake me up for my med regardless of how tired I am or if I’m sick. I’ve gotten used to having no MS symptoms, and I’d like to keep it that way, if I can.

Even after a month, it is still amazing to me how much ldn has given me my life back, I can keep up with my kids, and stay up to spend time with my husband.. I’m not exhausted all the time any more, and I’m almost never in pain anymore. No more muscle twitches.. I can play football with my 12 yr old daughter again..I’m thinking about coaching her team next season – something she’s wanted me to do for over a year now, but I’ve been unable to because of the MS. I’m not too inclined to call any medication a “miracle drug” but ldn is about as close to it as you can get. I will be forever thankful for the person who introduced ldn to me

Also, after talking to the new doctor a little more, he’s fairy convinced the MS had changed from RRMS to SPMS. He made this determination because I was to the point where I had symptoms every day without a break. Every day at the same time I would start to have symptoms, and the pain never went away. It seemed to have stopped remitting. Of course, I’m not too sure that he’s right about the change in MS classification, and honestly, I’m not even sure it matters.

The new dr isn’t doing as much research into ldn as I’d hoped. And while he supports my using alternative treatments and is willing to work with what I’m doing, he won’t be helping me figure out the best ways to treat my ms and asthma with nutrition and herbals. But that’s okay.. I can do my own research just like I always have. As long as he’s willing to understand that herbals and nutrition will always be my first treatment choice for ANY illness, we’re good. I did find out from another patient of his that he does suggest using garlic to treat bronchitis and pneumonia, though.. so that is a huge point in his favor.

I found the coolest doctor. Finally! It only took me 4 MONTHS of research, but I think I found a doctor here that my family and I can work with and be comfortable with.

If you’ve been reading, you know I was in the hospital a few weeks ago for a killer asthma attack.. of course I needed to follow up on that , so I got serious about finding a new doctor. Since the move, I’ve been calling and interviewing about one doctor ever 2 weeks or so. Trying to find some one who is knowledgable (or at least willing to work with.. ) about alternative treatments – specifically herbals, nutrition and LDN.

Ive been having a really difficult time. It seems conventional medicine is alive, thriving and king here in Nebraska.  The mere mention of herbal treatments and nutritional therapy has been met with comments like “we don’t do that HERE” and “Well, what do you expect, this IS Nebraska, you’ll have to go back to where ever you came from if you want that” I even had one MD tell me “well, if that really works then there must be nothing wrong with you that a good psychiatrist can’t fix because you can’t treat ANY illness with nutrition”

I had almost given up.

Until yesterday.

After 30 referrals from friends, and a phone call to my insurance company, countless phone interviews I *finally* found a doctor I can work with.

He’s a D.O and although he isn’t particularly up on the latest alternative treatments, he was at least knowledgeable enough to know what I was talking about and to understand that yes, certain nutrients CAN be used to treat illness. He had never heard of using low dose naltrexone in the treatment of MS, but he did listen and took down the info on clinical trials I shared with him. So, maybe he’ll research it and start using ldn for some of his MS, Crohn’s and cancer patients. Who knows.. but at least the next time he hears “ldn” he’ll have at least passing knowledge of what it can be used for and how it works.

His nurse was very up on nutrition and supplements. We had a good 10 minute conversation about gluten and msg and the damage they can do to the body. She also keeps her family msg and chemical free.

He was also very comfortable with the idea that I can and will do my own research into any treatment option before I put anything into my body.

“If all my patients were as informed as you, my job would be a whole lot easier, ” he told me.

I like a doctor who likes his patients to be informed.

Since I haven’t updated on my ldn adventure in a while here’s the scoop…………..

I started ldn about a month ago. I had my first MS symptom 20 years ago (at 17 yrs old) was dx’d about 10 years ago (at 27). I’m not ‘very disabled” but I did have significant balance and dizziness problems, my left leg was over sensitive (read if anyone touched my shin it hut to tears) and at the same time I had diminished sensation in other parts of my left leg and foot. I also have vision issues, and stuttering.

With LDN everything except the vision and stuttering are completely gone. My vision is 90% better than it was, and I only stutter now when I accidentally eat something I shouldn’t.  The other day my husband and I went to a homeschool group meeting at a coffee shop. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to discern speech at the table from the background chatter of those around us. Not this time. I was able to follow the conversation at our half of the table completely, and I only had to ask those at the far side to repeat themselves two or three times. I was able to see on the way home well enough to drive. That’s a huge change for me. Night driving has been a problem for at least 15 years, maybe longer.

We’ve also started my 6 yr old stepson on ldn. (he has either Asperger’s or Autism with ADHD and impulse control difficulties)  And he’s doing wonderfully! His speech and general language has improved tremendously, as has his ability to concentrate and pay attention to his school work. Even his reading abilities have seen improvement. He seems to understand more, is able to follow conversations better and has better impulse control. His negative behaviors have decreased dramatically because he can now understand and communicate with us a lot better.

Before ldn, he was hyper, with almost no attention span. He had almost no impulse control and I had to watch him do everything and provide verbal prompts to help keep him on task. Eating breakfast and brushing teeth used to take him over an hour because he would get so side tracked. If he eats gluten or msg it’s even worse. Since he started the ldn he gets up, gets dressed and comes down for breakfast. Makes his cereal and eats it. Then simply puts his bowl in the sink and goes off to brush his teeth and hair. Sounds like a simple thing, doesn’t it? And for most of us it is, but for my stepson morning routine was difficult and took real concentration to accomplish. Most pre lnd days he could not do this without lots of verbal prompting.

There are a couple doctors specializing in Autism who use ldn to treat it with wonderful results. There have been cases of “cured Autism” with ldn and dietary changes. For more info check out Autism_LDN@yahoogroups.com

I received a letter from my daughter’s school  last week about MRSA. MRSA is an antibiotic resistant staph infection that seems to be spread through skin and wound infections. It is very contagious. A child can contract this infection by simply sharing PE equipment with someone at school who has the infection. The children don’t have to come in contact with each other, or even be in the same class.  Several schools in other states have been shut down due to MRSA, and there have been at least a couple of deaths to this, very preventable disease.

It makes me sad to know innocent children are suffering and have died because of adult incompetence and negligence. There will most likely be more children dead to this infection in the coming weeks, and months. All of these deaths could have been avoided, if adults followed proper recommendations regarding antibiotic and antiviral use.

Every antibiotic resistant infection is caused by humans over using and abusing the powerful, and oftentimes dangerous antibiotic and antiviral drugs available to us. Despite constant warnings from doctors and nurses over the  years, people still do not take all of their prescribed medications. They choose, instead to stop the meds on their own as soon as they feel better, usually because of side effects such and stomach irritation. Maybe they don’t understand the stomach irritation is caused because the antibiotics kill both the bad and beneficial bacteria in their system.

Physicians are also responsible. Over prescribing of antibiotics is just as much to blame as improper use.

Doctor’s livelihoods depend on both returning patients and bonuses they receive from pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies. Patients tend to demand antibiotics for convenience, drug companies like their concoctions to be prescribed and used, and insurance companies reward doctors for cutting down on repeat appointments for the same illness. And, so doctors who usually know better, cave into pressure from all sides to hand out pills for an infection the body can heal itself, if given proper time, rest and nutrition to heal.

I do have some first hand experience with antibiotic resistant infections. 13 years ago, or so I was hospitalized for an asthma attack. While in the hospital I contracted one of the antibiotic resistant forms of pneumonia. My doctors tried every medication they had at their disposal to counter the disease. And still, my lungs continued to fill. I was drowning in my own fluids.

Obviously I lived to tell the tale. But not through the “miracle of modern medicine,”  –it was the ancient wisdom of past civilizations that saved my life.  I asked my pulmonologist to bring me a steady supply of garlic. I took 3 cloves of garlic 4 times every day for two weeks.

There were 5 patients in that hospital with the same strain of AR pneumonia as I caught. As far as I know, I am the only one who took matters in their own hands and self treated with an herbal antibiotic/antiviral.  And, unfortunately, I am certain I am the only one who came out to the experience with their life.

Maybe if more people took responsibility for their health instead of relying totally on modern healthcare providers, we would have fewer deadly infections breed resistance.

Of course, if you are going to follow doctor’s orders without researching or considering alternatives, be sure to follow directions carefully and take all your antibiotics.

Not finishing antibiotics and antivirals is the best and surest way to help create the next ’super bug”

Have you heard of Low Dose Naltrexone or LDN?  It’s a medication used in high doses to treat addiction. When used in low does (2-4 mg per day) it has wonderful, life changing effects with illnesses such as Crohn’s Disease, prostate cancer and multiple sclerosis, along with other immune system disorders.

It seems to be very popular in the natural treatments egroups I’m a part of. One lady reported treating her Crohn’s disease with ldn. She claims to the ldn has helped reduce her symptoms significantly. One of the guys on the list has both MS and prostate cancer and he swears by this med. I’ve heard people with MS talk about leaving canes, braces, and even wheelchairs by the wayside after starting treatment with low dose naltrexone.

Supposedly it’s cheap, easy to take (it’s a pill) and effective against all sorts of auto immune disorders. If I understand correctly, it works by encouraging the body to release more of the hormones that we we auto immune issues seem to lack. It’s taken once a day, before bed.

My husband things I should start ldn, but I really haven’t made any decisions about it yet. My natural food and supplement treatments seem to be doing their job and helping control symptoms, repair mylen damage, and keeping the ms from progressing. But, I do think I will try ldn if supplements and diet ever stop working for me.

A few weeks ago, someone asked if I ever get tired of taking all those supplements every day. You know, it does get tiresome. There are days I simply don’t want to be bothered, days I’m just to busy or forget. I even have days where I tell myself “nah.. I don’t have multiple sclerosis. It was all just a series of unrelated flukes. I don’t need all this stuff.”

There are days when I give in to cravings for a hamburger or a nice hunk of sourdough bread with butter.

Those are the days I fall down the stairs, limbs go numb, or can’t think through the MS fog. Those are the days I can’t talk on the phone because I stutter so badly or struggle to communicate because my wires get crossed and I can’t find the right words.

And, those are the days I experience so much pain get so exhausted that I can’t care for, or play with, my own children.

Gluten leaves me stuttering and off balance, unable to walk through my own home without bouncing off walls and running into things.

MSG takes away my balance, my vision and my ability to think straight.

A combination of all of those brings on depression and makes me miserable and difficult to live with… just ask my other half.

On the days I take my long list of supplements, my symptoms are barely noticeable.

Yes, there are ‘standard’ medications used to treat multiple sclerosis, but they don’t help to alleviate the symptoms. MS meds only work to slow the disease process, and only in some people.

I’ve had unrecognized signs of multiple sclerosis for 19 years, and a tentative diagnosis for 7 years.

I’m still walking, I still have 98 % of my physical and cognitive function. As long as I follow my food plan, listen to my body and take my supplements the effects of multiple sclerosis are minimal. Some of the supplements I take even help my body to heal the lesions and help reverse the e

mscured is a  yahoogroup for people with Multiple Sclerosis. They focus on natural healing methods, reversing symptoms and stopping the disease in its tracks.

There are people in this group who, using whole foods, careful food plans and supplements have gone from wheelchair to walking in 6 months.

They are an amazing, and very helpful group of people.

Here is a link for more info    http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/mscured/