On 22/12/2019 18:46, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Sun, 22 Dec 2019 17:53:13 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:
Jethro_uk wrote:

when SWMBO was taking weekly injections of Avonex - a beta interferon
for MS. In some people it can produce a ****ty 24-48 hours of "flu like
symptoms", and it did in SWMBO. However, buried in a magazine was a tip
that eating*fresh* pineapple before the injection would greatly reduce
this. SWMBO tried it, and it eliminated these effects.
Being of a scientific bent, she experimented and confirmed that eating
pineapple prevented side effects. Not eating it and they developed.

Does pineapple have an undesirable interaction with the drug, the same
way that grapefruit can?

Well it's not contra indicated, and SWMBO didn't seem to suffer for 10
years but that's anecdata, not research.

The more interesting thing is despite telling her consultant back in
2004, in 2014, not a single patient had been advised by the consultant -
despite at least 10 SWMBO was in regular contact with trying it and
mentioning to the same consultant how effective it seemed.

Even now, with t'internet, it seems to be a just a piece of folklore -
but SWMBO has mentioned in on MS newsgroups, and people are still finding
it effective. Except for the ones who use tinned pineapple and then say
"it doesn't work". But there really is no helping some people.

One gets the impression that the medical mind runs on rails - probably
something to do with being sued should things go awry. If it isn't part
of the official diagnosis/treatment algorithm, it won't get mentioned.
It's left to self-help groups and the like to spread the word. Arthritis
is another similar area - anecdata suggests not consuming tomatoes and
potatoes can ameliorate the discomfort, but you'll never hear that in a
doctor's surgery.


--
Spike