Can you help with an anonymous survey to assess the cost of care for MSers and their carers. The research is being conducted by Health Outcomes Solutions Ltd on behalf of Merck Serono UK Ltd and the MS Society. It is an online survey that you can complete at your leisure and that you don’t need to complete all at once. The survey takes between 10 and 20 minutes. All of the information you provide will be confidential and anonymous. Your individual data will not be identifiable and will be pooled with a large number of other respondents and analysed to produce a scientific report.
Thank you!
Andy Clarke saidHi All,While we're on the subject of surveys I would like to post the link to one which is looking at food/fats, Vit D, lifestyle etc.It's a long term study and could prove very useful in a area which some say is being overlookedHi Andy I have looked and cannot see who is doing this, so I removed the link at present but I am sure people can hunt for this.
I have now read the website and it seems legit
I believe this is the surveyLink to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HOLISMAbout the survey: http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org/News-And-Events/Our-News/Detail/Calling+people+with+multiple+sclerosis+(MS)+to+take+part+in+a+large+international+research+study+on+lifestyle+factors+in+MS/
Thanks, All pulling in the same direction and every little helps.I've been reading Prof Jelinek for some time and he it seems to me he has been on the Vit D connection for a while.The larger the study the better to help us understand how it all fits together.One word of caution to anyone proposing to go and and buy Vit D3 supplements, please get your levels checked, particularly in relationship to calcium.(waiver, Just my opinion )Regards Andy
Re: "Vit D3 supplements, please get your levels checked, particularly in relationship to calcium."We have never promoted taking vD with calcium. The vD supplements is for immune function and does not need to be taken with calcium.
Hi All,You may have misunderstood my point, I didn't imply you were promoting vD3 and Ca or indeed vD3 alone. My point was one of a broader scope and that was of the relationship of the two and the importance of trying to raise the former without keeping a check on the latter.(waiver time), As I understand it, if by trying to raise your vD3 level with supplementation, you succeed only in moderation with the unwanted addition of raising your Ca levels you may have a underlying problem.Given the amount food fortified with Ca and the increase in Osteoporosis, I would appreciate your thoughts as to the interaction of Ca and vD3 and it's consequence to pwms.Regards Andy Clarke
Paper published today suggesting that calcium supplementation increases risk of a cardivascular event such as heart attack. As Vitamin D also raises blood levels of calcium should we not be more circumspect about recommending high dose vitamin D supplementation?
Re: "… should we not be more circumspect about recommending high dose vitamin D supplementation?"We don't recommend high dose vitamin D supplementation. 5,000U per day is physiological and is only equivalent to about 15-20 minutes of upper body exposure in mid summer. We also are not recommending combining it with Calcium. The latter is to avoid hypercalcaemia that is very rare and usually occurs if there is another underlying disorder, for example an over-active parathyroid gland or a disease called sarcoidosis. If you have doubts please check out the following site: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
Re: "Given the amount food fortified with Ca and the increase in Osteoporosis, I would appreciate your thoughts as to the interaction of Ca and vD3 and it's consequence to pwms."In an ideal world you would do a baseline calcium level and vD level and then repeat them after 6 weeks supplementation.Bruce Hollis has supplemented several 1000 people at a dose of 4,000U per day in several studies and has not had a case of hypercalcaemia. Again this is without extra calcium.