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Thoughts on health, happiness and sustainability

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Tips for managing Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

I was recently reading the book Sacred Commerce, and noticed that the author of the foreword, Megan Marie Brien made reference to her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and the process of transformation through which she healed herself.  A good friend of mine has MS and so I was instantly intrigued and made contact with Megan to find out if she would be happy to share any advice from her experiences with MS that might be helpful to other people with MS such as my friend.  Megan was very happy to help and sent me a lot of good information, which I have compiled (in her original words) below.  I hope it is of value to some people in helping them regain their health.

Over to Megan!


“To begin: it has not been one thing alone that has shifted my health, but a cumulative healing and is an ongoing process.

The top 10 list for me has been:

  1. Vitamin D/Daily Sunlight
  2. Omega Fatty Acids
  3. Food Quality/ Nutrients
  4. Hormone Balancing
  5. Avoiding Toxins (products used on body, in the home)
  6. Emotional and Spiritual Cleansing
  7. Cleaning my body through various cleansing methods
  8. Lowering and closely managing stress
  9. Plenty of Rest
  10. Faith, Optimism and Hope

I am in Maui. These days I am happy to say that I am feeling great! The weather here offers me plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures which make my life much easier. I have found that my body does better in these conditions. I struggled greatly when I lived in San Francisco – the grey overcast winters would exacerbate my flare ups. The only time I feel any semblance of a symptom now is when I am exhausted or stressed. Stress is a major contributor to a flare up in my experience. It is hard to manage stress, and each person experiences stress differently. Some internalize stress and I was taught that it is just a part of life. But I have found that I had to let go of many things in order to make this a priority. Now I don’t head up as many big high pressure projects, I don’t hold on to expectations of myself or others as much. I continue to practice a surrender attitude. I leave room for myself to be still, quiet, to rest, to rebuild, to regenerate.

Golden Gate Bridge

Along my way, I did a monthly juice cleanse: drinking only raw juices, smoothies and blended soups for one week per month. At times I did retreats to attend to this kind of dietary cleanse, other times I just did one day per week, or one week per month. I had to clear out my body. I had my mercury dental fillings removed, stopped my medications and let my body “rest” and come back to a neutral place. The biggest dietary change was to pay close attention to my food quality. I stopped eating heated oils for years, stopped eating out at restaurants almost completely. My whole theme for healing was “go anti-inflammatory”. That means don’t eat something that inflames the system–heated oils and low quality oils are a major no-no. I stopped eating grains altogether for a long while, now I eat some soaked grains. I would advise to stop soy completely, and back off of all kinds of wheat for a time. I took time off from dairy and meat also. I took time to really simplify…and after time I was able to re-introduce things and notice how my body reacted to each thing. To this day, in my good health, if I eat french fries from a restaurant my hands go numb. In the case of fried foods: it is a immediate cause and effect. I found coon hydrotherapy to be very helpful. My practitioner utilized ozone in the water that cleaned the colon. I did a year of once per month treatments.

The beneficial atmosphere in the mind and body for healing is *calm*. Partake in soothing nourishing foods and experiences. Listen to positive things, watch positive things. Start to prune any though patterns or behaviours that are reactionary. Part of my own understanding is that my auto-immune disorder was a picture of me making things harder on myself. I was accustomed to judging myself harshly, over-working, being reactive….all of these things have calmed down along the journey. I had to calm down and my system had to calm down.

In hormone balancing: I switched to non-GMO foods and only organic grass-fed meats. The hormones that can be found in meat can cause subtle imbalances. I also was on birth control, which I stopped and allowed my body to rest and come back to it’s natural balance. I added Chinese herbs to balance, help support and buffer my system. Flower essences were also beneficial.

For dietary information: Gabriel Cousins was helpful. His diets can be a very extreme change, but I found that simplifying my diet for a period of time allowed my body the time off needed to clear out. No need to follow everything to a tee, but study what nutrients are needed, and what is not needed and start to make adjustments. Get back to basics.

I tried many things: ozone chambers, spiritual ceremonies…I found it all contributed something for me. But certain things just clicked in and stayed with me. Follow your intuition.

Wheatgrass was very helpful. Daily Vitamin D (liquid form, drops on the tongue, high doses). Omega 3 and 6 are vital: high quality fish oil (no mercury)…fermented cod oil, krill oil.

Sadly, I think that fish is going to continue to suffer some serious contamination which could add to health challenges. I’d stick to cold water sardines and wild caught Alaskan salmon. But the fermented fish oil that has been clarified for metals is a good option too.

Daily exercise is key–and I am still learning how to maintain a strong body. A simple program will suffice: strength training, little walking, anusara yoga (if possible) helped me greatly.

Take out all toxins: cleaning products, shampoos, toothpaste, etc… once drastic changes are made the cumulative benefits are awesome and easy to maintain. I make my own mouthwash, cleaning solutions, or find essential oil based products that don’t irritate me.”

If you have any experiences with MS that might be helpful to others, please do feel free to leave a comment below.


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