This is Shawna McGarry-Moore, a patient from Florida who has been on the Coimbra Protocol for 1 year for multiple sclerosis. Shawna has just shared this post on the FB group "MS Recovery.... Naturally" and kindly allowed us to publish it on our page:
"I wanted to share a little bit more about Coimbra Vit D Protocol and my own personal experiences with it in case there is some interest or any confusion. No matter what I say here, the best files and resources available will be located at the Coimbra protocol FB page we have linked in our pinned post at the top of this group. Many have you have heard or read my MS story and know that I was on and off drugs for 15 years. In 2015 my 15th year with MS diagnosis I was on Tysabri, Baclofen, and Gabapentin and I felt like complete crap. I had severe brain fog, I pretty much felt brain dead, I could barely walk a block, I was moody and depressed, I was in pain, and I couldn't do any of the things I love I was just really miserable.
I woke up the day after my 40th birthday with shingles and I had just had enough. I Googled "Functional Medicine Near Me" and found a doctor who believed in Natural healing she told me I could stop all of those drugs cold-turkey and I did that very moment. She also gave me LDN. I started a very strict candida diet and eliminated all sugar from my diet and a bunch of other things it was probably over board but I followed that diet for 16 months then went plant based. I was already very healed by 2017 when I had moved to Florida. But I still had fatigue and my walking was only somewhat improved.
I started Coimbra protocol in about April of 2017. Vit D is a hormone not a vitamin. When you spend 20 minutes in the sun with no sun screen you get 10,000 ius of D. The things that have changed for me after starting protocol have been that my energy level and fatigue improved in a big way. I actually had the energy to join a gym and start working out every day. Now I can walk miles and climb stairs and lift weights. I take 75,000 ius per day. My doctor here in Florida went to Brazil (on my bringing him files) to learn the protocol from Dr Coimbra and he believes it is over 95% effective in stopping MS progression. It can actually reverse more recent symptoms (1 year old) as well.
What the protocol is like on a on-going basis will depend on which doctor you are using but mine sees me once every few months and runs quite a few labs checking PTH (parathyroid hormone), calcium levels in the blood and sometimes in the urine (to make sure enough is staying in the bones), he also runs a basic metabolic panel. 30 minutes a day of cardiovascular exercise is part of protocol to keep bone density. Also water or fluid intake needs to be 2.5 liters per day. A no dairy diet needs to be followed to keep calcium low. Some people need to avoid nuts and seed but my calcium has stayed low due to my plant based diet, I haven't really stopped eating nuts or seeds. Also there are some supplements that go a long with D3 like a lot of magnesium. Vitamin D3 is over the counter, it's cheap, and it is effective at stopping MS. Dr Coimbra has treated patients with all different autoimmune disorders for over 15 years with great success. I'll attach a couple of interviews in the comments our own Kellie Alderton did with some long term Coimbra protocol patients.
For me the choice of Vit D3 over any other DMD is a no brainer. I see it as a natural therapy (which is why we support it here when we don't support DMD use, plenty of other pages for that info). Not having to see a neurologist any more and only seeing a very supportive Functional Medicine MD has made me feel so well cared for and like I don't have to fight anymore. My husband and I were out at a restaurant the other day and I had to walk back to the valet, didn't have the right change, walked back to my husband on the beach, got the $20 I needed and walked back to the valet. He was watching me from across the street and turned to his old friends who had no clue I had MS and he had to tell them how amazed he is by me and what I've achieved. He still can hardly believe when he sees me walking like that. We can actually go out and do things again. I'm going to post a picture from that night with this because my son who lives in Oregon now said 'mom looks so healthy now and she's wearing heels!'
Image may contain: Shawna McGarry-Moore, smiling, standing, cloud, sky, ocean, mountain, outdoor, water and nature,"