Beating MS-Related Fatigue Is Possible

 
Clearly MS patients would benefit greatly from more effective treatment for MS-related fatigue. As a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa, I conduct research in the setting of multiple sclerosis, using diet and lifestyle interventions to treat MS-related fatigue. We have had remarkable success, reducing fatigue severity scale scores by 2.38 points from a baseline of 5.70 to 3.32 at twelve months for a p value of 0.0008. This is the largest reduction in fatigue that has been reported in the literature to date. You can see the abstract for the article, A multimodal intervention for patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: feasibility and effect on fatigue, here.

Our approach has been to teach patients to adopt and maintain a diet that reduces inflammation and increases nutrient density — that is the vitamins, mineral, and antioxidant content per calorie — by adopting a structured Paleo diet. In addition, we introduce an exercise program as well as electrical stimulation of the muscles, both specific to each individual’s level of function. We also teach a very simple program for stress reduction. We have had additional subjects complete the program and have more papers in progress. In addition, we are completing studies that look at diet alone or exercise and electrical stimulation alone to see how much benefit can be achieved with a simpler program.

 
The good news for the public is that I have written a book, The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine, which details my personal journey from four years in a tilt-recline wheelchair due to progressive MS to completing an 18-mile bicycle tour with my family after just one year of the same diet and lifestyle interventions that I now study in my clinical trials. In The Wahls Protocol, I examine the conventional approach to treating autoimmunity, which uses ever more potent and more expensive immune-suppressing drugs to block specific steps in our immune pathways, causing a slew of troublesome and sometimes life-threatening side effects by interfering with our immune cells, which regulate nearly every aspect of our body’s cellular lives. I explore the Functional Medicine approach, which carefully examines the environmental factors that contributed to the development of autoimmunity and multiple sclerosis. I discuss how diet quality, unrecognized food or mold sensitivity, toxin exposure, infection history, activity level, and stress level all can contribute to the development of autoimmunity, mental health problems, neurological problems, and nearly all chronic medical problems. Most importantly, I outline what you can do to begin addressing each of these factors. My goal is to teach others with MS and other autoimmune conditions that they can use diet and lifestyle to dramatically reduce their pain, improve their energy, banish brain fog, and get their lives back. 

In my clinics, I use diet and lifestyle changes to treat people with traumatic brain injuries and complex chronic health problems, including multiple autoimmune diagnoses. I urge most of my patients to begin the dietary and lifestyle changes as a three-month experiment. I tell them that, at the end of the three months, they can decide whether to continue on the program or go back to their old ways. The first thing they notice is a steady decline in fatigue. Their energy climbs, mood improves, brain fog resolves, and often those who overweight lose weight without being hungry. Time and time again, I see my patients in clinic and our subjects in our clinical trials begin to get their lives back. I urge you to learn how to use diet and lifestyle to reduce your fatigue, improve your mood, and banish your brain fog.

BIO:

Dr. Terry Wahls is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa where she teaches internal medicine residents, sees patients in a traumatic brain injury clinic, and conducts clinical trials. She is also a patient with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, which confined her to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years. Dr. Wahls restored her health using diet and lifestyle changes and now pedals her bike to work each day. She is the author of The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine and teaches the public and medical community about the healing power of intensive nutrition. You can find more information about her work at her website www.terrywahls.com

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