Dr. Terry Wahls - MS recovery plan

This talk of juice reminds me that whereas I was struggling to deal with cleaning a juicer (I can't stand for long at the sink), for a couple of times I blended stuff in my blender (which I can just rinse out to clean it) and then put it in a plastic sieve, rubbed over the stuff with a spoon to get the juice through, and easily got the fibre out of the sieve. I must try that again!

I can't do much food prep, especially of leafy greens because they're too much work, so that seemed a good method and I get plenty of fibre anyway.

Maybe someone has already mentioned this, but aren't avocados one of the histamine-containing foods? I love them, could eat them daily, but they are a problem for me, along with other histamine containing foods.

Hi, #CFIDS--thanks--you may just have taught me why I have been having such extreme allergic reactions to alder pollen recently! Will quit avocados and see if that helps a bit. Thanks! Chris

I finally got a juicer yesterday. It's just an el cheapo, waring pro from macy's, but my freind bought one 7 years ago and hers is still working great. I'll be reading the directions and giving it a try here a little later. My veggies are washed and ready to go. I just had to lay down afterwards.

Overall, even without juicing, I've been doing well. Eating fruit, esp citrus, is giving me some much needed energy. Kow.

I've backed off drinking so much water and salt loading and am using fruit to quench my thirst. These never helped my energy or oi anyway but it's what I was told to do. Duh .. I wish I'd figured this out years ago. From what I'm seeing the salt just keeps my bp up which is what it does for everyone else. I've noticed sometimes that if I slowly dissolve a shot of 500 - 1000 mg (250 mg at a time) of salt on my tongue I'll get a boost of energy but it's temporary and I'm assuming only works if my sodium is low.

Fwiw, I still don't have oh. But my pots is there and I still must lay down every few hours if I want to feel good and think straight. I thought my oh was responsible for my pots but it wasn't.

I've been walking an hour a day and it's gotten easier over time. This seems to have cleared some lingering brain fog / mental sluggishness. I can't walk / exercise in the mornings yet. I tried twice this week and ended up sacked out on the couch for a couple of hours. Note to self .. Washing a bunch of veggies early in the day wipes me out too.

Hope everyone is hanging in there. So far, kow, this appears to help. Tc .. X

Just been reading through this thread (yes most of the 23 pages of it!!). Very interesting. I only just heard about Dr Wahls via another forum post.

Luckily I am already on the Paleo diet via Dr Myhill, and have a Vitamix, so I am in a good situation to improve on this. I also have a stack of kale which is in the garden (though about to go to seed). So far I only ate it a couple of time a week, and sometimes in smoothies, but not in large amounts as I didn't think I liked it THAT much. I have however just made the kale chips and they are delicious! I ate a whole tray of them in about 5 mins.

I think I will add in things gradually though.... someone on here posted a very useful summary of the list of foods so I have copied that out. I had not heard of nutritional yeast for example, but I now have that on my list to buy. Not sure about the seaweed foods .... never eaten any of them. I also don't eat things like liver or kidney but maybe will psych myself up to try now, and my husband likes liver.

I have a very sensitive gut so I will need to tread carefully.

Hi mermaid,

Sounds like you've gotten a head start on this. I was on the paleo diet already too and imho, it really help make the conversion easier. I can't imagine a pwc going from the sad to wahls without shedding some tears. Lol

I wanted to comment on the juicer I bought. It's working great considering that it's centrifugal. Clean up is only 5 minutes. I'm seeing a few larger pieces of veggies left over in the pulp bin but I don't know if a masticating juicer would leave this too.

I'm having a reaction in my throat to too many beets and red chard. I'm not sure if it's an allergy, a reaction to oxalates or the fact that these veggies are rough. The soreness lasts 24 hours and I've yrt to find anything that counteracts it.

Other than that, I'm not feeling as energized as I did. I'm not surprised because this has happened to me so many times now .. I obviously still need to rest a lot.

Tc .. X

Hi all - am coming back to trying to get some greens down my neck after a bit of a hiatus and came across this video on youtube on how to make sure your smoothies are always nice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=552mPSVfFWo

Mine were horrible in exactly in the way she describes - foamy, fibrous, watery, difficult to get down. She says that's due to using fruit with lots of insoluble fibre such as apples and that you should instead use stuff with soluble fibre: she mentions bananas, pears, kiwi fruits, strawberries, papaya, peaches and mangoes. Use at least one kind of fruit with soluble fibre in each smoothie - it makes a smooth suspension, creamy drink and helps make a sweeter drink so you're tasting fruit, not "grass".

I tried it today with orange juice, mango chunks (I buy them frozen so they're cheap) and spinach - and she's right, very smooth, very tasty, not the ordeal of my previous green smoothies. I'm actually looking forward to the next one. :Retro smile:

Hi all,

Just wondering how you're doing. I'm dealing with allergies so I'm feeling crappier than usual. It turns out
that I'm allergic to metagenics probiotics now. The fun never ends, does it ?

I wanted to add tho that i noticed that I get energy from juicing green veggies, inc brocolli stalks and asparagus.
And even tho I like smoothies, I don't get energy from these. They're great for hydration tho.

I'm still negative for oh (orthostatic hypotension) too and have to attitube it to either the wahls diet or the antibiotics + s boulardi I took
for h pylori and parasites back in jan. I did a diy pmttt because I noticed that I wasn't feeling quite as weak when I first stood up.
I still have pots tho. And my pots includes petite mals and sob so I didn't gain any functionality.

Hope everyone is doing well ... I would love to hear how you're doing.

Tc .. X

I am doing SO great. Improving so quickly with my POTS!!!!! My doctors guide my supplements and I take them three times a day. A LOT of them. My CFS is now not a problem at all.

My POTS is caused by Autonomic Neuropathy, so for my POTS, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Benfotiame, fish oil, Vit B's, Carniclear and antioxidents have been the main supplements to heal the nerves..

The key was no more gluten, corn fructose, sugar/junk carbs. Once you stop the inflammation they cause, the nerves can recover. The supplements then are able to help the process. Nerves heal slowly so I am patient. No meds, just doing what the body needs. I LOVE the Walh's info. and the book. I put Kale in my super smoothie every day. I make sure to eat sea veg. also. I have a wonderful juicer too, but I prefer to eat all of the fiber so I blend it all.

I did have to take Benicar since my Autonomic Neuropathy made my bp go very high. After 2 1/2 years I am OFF of it. No more med!!!!!! My nerves have healed enough and the food has helped so my bp is great now!

Hi sally

I love hearing this. We can always use happy stories here. Getting off meds is a feat in itself. I'm off meds unless something, like allergies
or seizures, comes up and I need them. They really slow me down tho and make for a rough day.

I'll have to get serious about taking ala, benfotiame, etc. I've taken these over the years but no harm trying again.

If you don't mind me asking, how do you know your dysautonomia is from neuropathy ?

Tc .. X

My tests showed it. Just don't know what they were. My heart and lungs tested, bp etc. Autonomic Neuropathy and Peripheral Neuropathy. Both are doing great now. I have a long way to go but I am happy and functioning and doing fun things again. I was VERY ILL for quite a while.

The supplements are half of the answer for me, the other is diet. I have to have both.

Yes, no meds is wonderful! I take still take prescriptions, but just for thyroid, progesterone, estrogen. Those are WONDERFUL!!!!! Bio Identical hormones. Love them.

Hi; I have had to back off for a while--my TSH went up to 5.2, backed off a bit, it came down to 4.2, but still feel distinctly off, so will wait and get retested and then reconsider. I was improving slowly, but... Seems cooking, even simple steaming, does reduce the goitrogenic effect of those brassica greens, so think I will put aside both my juicer and blender, and steam all of them for the time being as I slowly ramp up again. Have added a bit of iodine to the mix. And a good mix of hope...
Glad to hear you are doing so well, Sally--I still have OI, but have received no testing. BC is a desert, though we are promised a new clinic in Vancouver--was supposed to open last fall, now maybe this fall...maybe.
Best, Chris

Hope you can get tested Chris. I don't overdo the greens. I am careful since I have kidney stones.

Hi sally,

Great to hear you're functioning again. I've had some success with supplements for energy but it didn't
last. I don't know but I think I may develop antibodies or allergies to these after awhile. I just started gettng
throat swelling from metagenics probiotics but I've done this before to other foods or supplements. I'm a celiac tho so leaky gut is a given. Gluten is freakin everywhere.


Hi chris,

I'm constantly playing with the fruits and veggies in this diet but I don't think it really matters so long as they're healthy
and these make up 95 % of your diet.
I just started juicing brocolli stalks and they seem to give me a boost. But too much brocolli and I know I'll get
tired.

I keep getting carried away with all the wonderful fruit at the markets now. I have hyperinsulinemia so I shouldn't
eat so much at one sitting but it's just so good. The downside is my body has to deal with excess insulin afterwards.

Tc .. X

I wanted to pipe in here....

Sallyblooms, your improvement is wonderful and so intriguing!! congrats...

I grew up in the town where Dr. Terry Wahls lives. I go back and visit at least once a year. Dr. Wahls is a pretty serious scientist/Doctor.....

I've seen her wearing a T-shirt with an expression which I especially like, KALE IS THE NEW BEEF...

too funny!

anyway, in the spirit of good science, I want to make sure that everyone reading this thread understands the total therapy that she used.

Here is a research paper that her and some of her practitioners published on her case:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769364/

She Intensively used a neuromuscular electrical stimulator (NMES in the document)...

here is a quote from the document:

.......the patient routinely did 30 minutes of NMES while completing her homeexercise program each day and another 4 to 5 hours of NMES at much lower intensity through out the day while working or at home.............

I don't know why she does not emphasize her use of this stimulator....

Anyway, I just wanted her whole story known. It's pretty amazing story, but instead of her following a singular protocol or treatment, she followed 2 treatments.

I have not watched the videos that she has made, I have watched the TED Talk she did in Iowa city, which is quick, and informative.

KALE IS THE NEW BEEF!!

Yes, she has talked about that. I am so glad she is so much better and giving help to so many.

I saw that too but I'm not sure I / we need electric stem. She was confined to a wheelchair and said it was because
her muscles couldn't support her anymore. In fact she needed a reclining chair.

I don't know if all pwcs can do this but I can increase my muscles easily if I exercise.
But I get pem from trying to maintain an exercise program. I didn't see her refer to pem anywhere but I could've
missed it.

I'm also prone to seizures and the idea of intentionally causing my muscles to Relax and contract doesn't
sound like a good idea. Due to oi, when I'm up for any length of time, my muscles just need to relax.
They're too constricted from lack of blood flow.

But then again maybe it would be good for us. ; ) When I did this at the chiros office
and when I used my tens unit years ago it made me feel more relaxed.

Tc .. X

I fell off the Wahls wagon some time ago, having found the food preparation required not possible without a carer. I tried making green smoothies for a while and found them too difficult to drink - they were mostly pretty unpleasant as I hadn't got the hang of choosing the correct blend of things that would make them palatable, and also so bulky with fibre that they were very slow to get through. This week I've been experimenting with making a green smoothie in the blender and then using a nut milk (fine plastic mesh) bag to extract the juice - very quick and easy and much easier to drink (although of course I'm not getting the fibre, but I get that from my normal diet).

I'm just reading Joel Fuhrman's Super Immunity, which is very interesting. I'm hoping that's going to inspire me to shift my diet in the right direction. For now, I'm just not physically capable of the food prep that's involved in full-scale change but I'm hoping his book will inform me on how to target my efforts on what will give me the most benefit.

Has anyone else read his book?

My smoothie is sooooooooo good. I even look forward to it the next morning! I have made them for years. The difference now is that I put a huge leaf of kale in, carrots and Green's First powder. I don't juice since I love getting all of the fiber.