Maybe a little. I am still pretty strong, and I work out when I am in remission, but I couldnt work out when i was having trouble walking. Its kind of sad.

There is that drug, I forgot what its called, that doesnt affect the course of the disease but speeds up nerve transmission and improves lost function if its not totally lost....its probably stimulant and might help with weight loss as well....might also be bad for anxiety, so you might request some benzos to have on hand but only take them if you need them.

It makes it difficult, when you can no longer actively exercise. The only things I have found that help, are being always conscious of your weight, and establishing better eating habits. Often, 5 small meals (like just an apple or can of tuna or lowfat yogurt ... THAT small ;) ) will help you lose weight, because the body tends to stop storing any of it, because it knows that it will get fed again soon ...

I would seriously debate taking more drugs, you should definitely discuss it with your doc first! I swear, I take enough meds and vitamin/supplements, that I could probably rattle like a maraca, in the morning :P ;)

Yes. In a person without a chronic ilness causing the symptoms you describe, a persons body has a feedback mechanism that tells them when they need to eat, when they get tired when it becomes difficult to concentrate...it may be time to eat again; refurel oneself.

Whit a chronic illness causing this, the normal biological mechanisms urge one to refuel themself...but fuel is not the problem the chronic illness is the problem. So refueling does not help, refueling some more doesn't help either..

Since this normal feedback mechanism does not work in a person with a chronic illness that causes the feedback symptoms a person cannot use the normal biological response of hunger.

I have to write down everything I eat. Sometimes I look at it and tell myself I am not hungry, I have eaten enough for now. I consumed enough calories to not be so tired or difficult to concentrate, so it is not hunger that is causing it, it is MS and eating now won't fix it. Maybe I need to rest for a while instead.

Or excersize instead of eating becaus it is MS and not hunger causing the symptom. Nap or excersize are alternatives. And excersize can just be movement at whatever level is possible.

Yes I'm having luck maintaining my weight by doing this. And losing the 20 ponds I gained before I understood why I was gaining weight.

But I have a realistic weight I want to maintain, within my BMI limits. But it is higher than what it was when I was young. But I maintain the weight set point so it is not out of control. At 34, I suspect and I could be very wrong, you may be trying to maintain an unrealistic weight that is just causing it to get out of control?? I'm sorry if I'm totally wrong, its just that it has been one of my problems in the past.


I have....
Set an unrealistic goal, got frustrated when I didn't get to it. Given up and gained some more. Asked myself why did I do that again.

Are you eating too much simple sugar and refined carbs to stay alert? You should be eating whole grains and complex carbs for sustained energy. Sugar and carbs lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes, which compound your MS fatigue and might lead to diabetes on top of it. Whole grains and vegetables is the way to go for nourishment.

A little over a year ago I was in my first major exacerbation due to MS. It was how I was diagnosed. I had major numbing and tingling all over my body. I had the MS hug something fierce and I would get spinal seizures two to five times a day. I was 265lbs at that time.

I remember the nurse that came to my home to show me how to inject myself with the new wonderful MS drug that I was prescribed and she told me that by losing weight I could improve many of my symptoms. That is all I needed for incentive. I started to work out every day. Sometimes 2-3 times a day. The workouts were done very easy at first. I would get more MS symptoms as I worked out, but they always disappeared later. I found out exactly what equipment I could use and affect the symptoms less by trial and error. Some symptoms would pop up EVERY time I worked out, but I knew it and was prepared mentally for it. Only the spinal seizures were freaky.
The exercise worked! I lost 85 lbs over the course of 6 months. I am not saying it will work for you, only that ignoring the symptoms as much as I could, working around them as much as I could, and getting in the workouts any way I could worked for me. My fatigue is almost non-existent now. In fact, on days I work out, I experience almost no fatigue. But I no longer work out on the weekends and this is usually when I get my MS brain fog fatigue. I considered working out a bit on the weekends to help this situation, but my body needs the rest.

I go into more detail about the weight loss on my blog at
http://jaszzz.com/2009/03/03/how-i-lost-the-weight/

Good luck to you!!!

I too used to be fit, and full of energy. Actually you could'nt get me to sit down.
I too have gained more weight then I care to. I could stand to lose 40 lbs. It seems like every time I start doing well with the excercising and watching what I eat, something happens. It's either stress........therefore I eat more.........or I mess up my knee or something....then I have to stop.
MS has definatly slowed me down, but I keep as active as I can. I could use more incentive though.

For me with MS 21 years and a cane life is not what it use to be for sure.. At times I use a wheel chair. I found what has worked well for me is working out early every moring when the temperature is cool at my local gym. I excrise at my pace. If I feel hot or weak I rest or others ar waiting I let other work thru. If a difficult piece of equipment I start with baby weights and increase slowly. I never push my self. The life cycle is wonderful for walking. and leg strengh. The trainer at the gym will show you a program for work out designed for you. I am on the Roy Swank diet about 20 years (look for it on the internet) Is is no fat, good foods and no dairy. I am 5 10 170. Now 63

Wow, this sounds great Louis, i'm going to have to check it out.
Thank you for sharing.

I don't have any better advice than anybody else, but so far, I like what I'm hearing. I'm going to follow this string for awhile to get some pointers.

I am so-o-o-o glad you ask this question. Thanks!

Lots of good advice! I'm going to look into that Swank diet. But not too sure how well that will work with the no red meat thing. My wife helps me out a lot with eating healthy (mostly vegetarian stuff, but once and a while I crave a good burger). Chalk that up to my meat and potatoes rearing as a kid. You can leave the farm but you can't take the farm out...or a quote that goes something like that. :)

I exercise 2-3 days a week too. I ride the bike and do sit ups (60-100 after I ride the bike), even though after I'm done riding I have a hard time walking. I just take a break for 10-15 minutes and walking gradually gets better, not great, but better. I'm 5'10" and weigh 189 pounds. Due to my MS, I am not as active as I was (I use to burn 4 to 5000 calories a day from my old job). Overall, just eat less (I eat about 1600 calories a day), exercise and eat healthy food. Lower your saturated fat intake and increase your fiber/sat. fat ratio and protein. I am working on reducing to 1400 calories/day to shrink my stomach more but hard to do, more practice and eventually I'll get there.

Yes! Low fat, high fiber, low sugar, low meat, more veggies and fruits! I can't exercise due to PAIN, but lately Ive been taking a SHORT walk up the street and back every day. This has slimmed me right back down! With the diet, eating less in accord with the little exercise I get, and walking every day just a tiny bit have all really helped me! Good luck!

Taking Betaseron made me get fat atrophy, and it literally sucked every bit of fat off of my 5'4 1/2 ft. frame, which I was psyched about, because if you have to stick yourself with a needle every other day and are in pain every single day, losing weight is a nice benefit.

I got down to 103lbs. from 116lbs. I was wearing double zero jeans to size 2 at the highest. I also looked like a skeleton and it was BAD. So, my neuro took me off Betaseron, stuck me on monthly Solumedrol IV infusions and I now weigh 118lbs., but it took me a year to get here.

I certainly don't look fat, but fat has come back in places on me where there never was fat before! It's just another bizarro MS thing! I also NEVER have any appetite - I haven't for years, and I literally have to remind myself to eat, which I usually am too busy w/ something to actually do. I DO LOVE FOOD and I DO LOVE TO EAT, but it's a struggle to keep the eating thing on track.

Plus, I'm lucky enough to be able to do yoga, so maybe that's why I haven't completely ballooned up on steroids. I'm not sure if this message helped.I'm sorry if it didn't, but it probably made you laugh, which is better! Good luck!