Is there any vitamins that i could be taking to help with my dietary needs?
I drive a taxi for a ‘living’ and its getting harder and harder to make ends meet due to the fatigue syndrome,as it stands i am only making enough to buy food and pay office rent,car rent and driving insurance so any vitamins or other tablets hat can help me i wopuld be very grateful to find out.
thanks in advance
hi david
i take the am and pm vitamin/mineral supplements from essengtial and healthy.
they’re a bit pricey £20 for both but they have been specially formulated for ms.
vitamin D obviously and B12.
i get my B12 from my gp in a monthly jab.
good luck
carole x
Hi David,
Supplements tend to work out rather expensive, and few are of proven benefit for MS, so if you’re on a tight budget, I’d stick to the only one there’s strong evidence for, which is Vitamin D3. Even that is unlikely to make a big difference to how you feel - though some have claimed an improvement. The main idea is it’s supposed to afford some protection against relapses, as it’s now thought frequency and severity of relapses may be related to low Vitamin D - though obviously nothing’s that simple. Taking Vitamin D won’t mean you never get another relapse, but might mean you’ve shifted the odds a bit in your favour.
If I was in your position, and had to pick one, for most chance of doing something, at least cost, that’s the one I’d go for.
As Carole says, B12 might also be useful, as many people with MS are found to be low in it, and it’s implicated in the repair of myelin. However, if you can persuade your GP to test you, and you have a significant deficiency, you may be able to get it treated for free on the NHS, like Carole, and not have to keep forking out for pills.
The evidence for B12 is not quite as compelling as D3 - it’s more of a “might help”, so if you don’t qualify for it on the NHS, and are having to watch the pennies, I’d pick D3 out of the two.
Tina
Definitely take a high dose Vitd3 and magnesium.
But most important for fatigue is B12. A deficiency of B12 mimics MS. Just google vitamin b12 deficiency MS.
Another good site is Dr Chandy www.b12d.org. With B12 you cannot overdose as the body flushes out what it does not need.
Ask you GP if you can have B12 injections - but try for every fortnight. Good article in Pathwayss mag this week on B12 and how they transformed a womans life once she started having regular injections. She was fortunate in that her GP was willing to see how the injections helped her symptoms of tiredness/fatigue/memory and walking. And not go by the blood level results - which we now know are so flawed.
A good book on B12 is ‘Could it be B12 - a epidemic of misdiagnosis’ This is the book the lady in the article did show her GP - and luckilly the GP did act on it.
Good luck Lol Ooops!!
Thanks for the response
I already had a blood test to see if i have a d12 deficiency but they never got back to me so i guess its ok
Gods already spoken Noreen so i guess i will go for the good luck!
I will ask my gp if i can get D3
cheers all
Hi David - please don’t assume that because the doctor did not get back to you everything is okay. I phoned for my blood test results and the nurse said they were fine. I had a follow up with the GP and she said they were not fine and was immediately put on 20,000iu of D3, vit B12 and magnesium. Test results can often just be filed away. If I had not had the follow up appointment I would still be none the wiser!
Dinks, This goes to show you have a good GP who certainly knows something about MS - and best course of treatment. Not many of us are as lucky as you. l am very pleased for you - and find it heartening that some MS’ers are getting the right advice.
Jealous, - well yes l am - in 31 yrs l still have not met a GP - [apart from the one l had when first diagnosed - who then retired.]
We have seen how B12 blood tests do not show how deficient we are - just show we are not anaemic. - And 20,000ius d3 - thats such good news - as l took that amount for about 3yrs - still my levels are low. So l am back on the 20.000ius again. l do have my levels checked every 6months - but l do it privately.
As for MS nurses - they are as rare as hens teeth around here.
l think it is time l went back to GP - and had a talk. Mind you - she does let me have Sativex - so not all bad!!
David - did mention how hard it is for him to make ends meet - and the worry of this will not help. There must be some benefits he could be getting. benefitsandwork.org l think is a good one - as some benefits are not means tested. With some financial help he will not feel so desperate to keep working long hours.
You will not get if you don’t ask - So do see what you are entitled to.
hi Spacejacket. I have no dx as yet but my new GP (who looks about 12) is on the case. my previous GP had been treating me for arthritis for 20 odd years which apparently I do not have. I now have a long list of things I don’t have but as yet not what I do. GP is better than the consultant who has only 3 phrases “no” “not relevant” and “see you in 2 months”. By the way the 2 months never happens as she is always booked months in advance. Still we can’t have it all can we.
Dinks,
After diagnosis - l went 26yrs before l saw another Consultant Neuro!! - and that was for 5mins. And another appointment for 12months later. l have never seen the same one twice.
l do urge - any of you who don’t already - do get the PAthways mag. lts full of interesting stuff. They certainly cover all aspects- and ‘wrong’ diagnosises.
I read about you talking about the magazine on another link. Ordered mine ta 