Has anyone here tried acupuncture or a ketogenic diet to help with their symptoms?

[angelabarwell]

I don’t fully understand this article but I’ve been reading a lot about how a ketogenic diet may help with some neurological conditions.

m.jlr.org/content/55/11/221...

[Equinney]

I know several people that do or have done a keto diet. It involves putting your body towards ketosis and you have to use test strips to make sure you’re actually getting there and not putting your body at dangerous levels. I haven’t done it, but that is what I understood from those that have.

I have tried acupuncture/dry needling for symptoms. I only had minor relief from it though. Mainly was for the muscles that were getting worn out from the spasticity. But every body reacts differently, so I would say give it a try. And it is definitely not painful.

[angelabarwell in reply to Equinney]

Thank you, appreciate your feedback

[Cherie]

Hi Angela I use acupuncture for bladder and lower back pain. I believe that it has been particularly helpful for my bladder. Having used a traditional chinese trained acupuncturist ,who was at the local MScentre , for several years before we moved and then unable to find one for a year I found I was struggling. I am happy to say that I found one and have been going again for the past couple of years. Before using acupuncture I had a urology test which was a disaster and told that the best thing for me was botox. I decided this was a route I wanted to avoid if I could.

[angelabarwell in reply to Cherie]

Hi Cherie, thanks for your reply. I’m actually in Costa Rica at the moment and have met a classical acupuncturist teacher who has tried a couple of treatments on me. I must say that I have experienced ‘very good days’ since the treatments. I am going to try and find an acupuncturist in the UK and also follow a strict ketogenic diet for a few months to see if it helps with my spasticity. I’ll try anything that might help 😊

[julie_]

I do not do a keto diet but I do an elimination diet that began as the paleo/whole30 diet. You learn as you go which foods cause inflammation in your body. At first, you remove dairy, gluten, soy and sugar. Even if you don't completely remove all when you first start - it is difficult - you will definitely feel a difference in less than a week. Keep going with removing processed foods, including low-fat products, eating the good whole fats such as avocado oil and natural foods and you will be removing a lot of inflammation that makes our neurological symptoms so much worse. Also keep moving. After about a month or less, you will be able to tell which foods you eliminated cause you inflammation.

I don't use acupuncture but I hope to find someone soon for my lower back problems too.

[angelabarwell in reply to julie_]

Thank you Julie, very interesting. I’ll certainly look into this diet also, when I get back to the U.K.

[nan17]

I find your discussion on the topic of a keto diet and acupuncture very interesting. I try to follow the Terry Wahls food plan. She is the doctor who "cured" (almost) herself of M.S. She endorses the keto diet for the most part. I have not tried acupuncture yet because of the cost to my limited budget. I hope you will keep us posted on how you are doing with these efforts. Best wishes.

[angelabarwell in reply to nan17]

Thank you, I’ve just googled Terry Wahls, another interesting read. My intention is to follow a very similar ‘reset’ plan for a couple of months before starting a ketogenic diet.

[julie_ in reply to angelabarwell]

Yes, Dr Terry Wahls is an inspiration! I have her book as well.

[Equinney in reply to nan17]

Check with your insurance and see if they will cover dry needling. Physical therapists do it and they just work with muscles, but could help. My insurance covered it except for the copay.

[angelabarwell in reply to Equinney]

I’m in the U.K. so I don’t have insurance as we have the National Health Service. This is something that I would have to pay for privately, but I’ll certainly look into it, it sounds interesting.

[monkeybus]

I have never followed any kind of diet, but on account of the Modafinil, I lost 15kg in one year. Kills my appetite. I wasn't remotely fat, but I had the metabolic syndrome.

I only eat three meals a day, no more snacks, junk, or whatever, and I feel much better.

Everyone is on about Keto nowadays. I asked my neurologist about it years ago. Proven for certain conditions (including epilepsy, which I had a brush with). I remember it was all Atkins a few years ago, then Paleo.

Whichever way you slice it, the modern Western diet is atrocious. All those chemicals, trans fats, sugar, salt. Not just America. Every time I go back to London, I am astounded by the sheer size of the people.

I have spent a lot of time in Asia, and they smoke and drink like lunatics. But they eat all that fish, plus plenty of vegetables, and their lifespans and lack of lifestyle related diseases are testament to how healthy their diets are.

Haven't done any acupuncture (yet), but I have done plenty of TENS, which is in the same ballpark, and it works extremely well for spasticity and certain kinds of pain.

[angelabarwell]

Hey Monkeybus, thanks for your input. I’m in Costa Rica at the moment and have had 3 acupuncture sessions which has certainly helped my spasticity and mobility. The guy that I’ve been chatting with, and who carried out my acupuncture, practices Classical Chinese medicine and recommended I follow a keto dietary reset for a couple of months and then a ketogenic diet to help with my symptoms, I don’t need to lose weight. He also told me about Terry Wahls as have people on this post, she has a progressive neurological condition and MS and ‘was’ in a wheelchair, she has turned her condition around through following a strict ketogenic diet. It’s definitely worth trying. I totally agree with you regarding the Asian diet and lifestyle, and the size of a lot of people in London. Incidentally, I tried to post this on your vlcfa.org but I wasn’t able to, was it me just being dumb? 😳

[monkeybus]

Hello,

Was a lot of spam posted on vlcfa.org I am fixing it up right now. Your post is likely in the moderation queue. It will go up. Thanks a lot.

I have a lot of stuff to post on there myself about all sorts.

The only thing to do is follow a diet. See if it works.

Paleo, Atkins, Modified Atkins, Keto. I'm game.

[angelabarwell in reply to monkeybus]

Thanks. I’m starting a paleo/reset diet tomorrow for at least 30 days (no alcohol! 😫) then I’m on a strict ketogenic diet (only a little organic wine 😊) and see how I get on. I’ve been reading a lot about Terry Wahls which is really encouraging. I’ll let you how I get on and if there’s any improvements in my condition 😊