Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis

Episode: Choosing an MS Management Program with Juliet Delattre | S7E27
Host: Geoff Allix
Guest: Juliet Delattre
Released: December 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers around Juliet Delattre’s personal experience navigating life with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), her process of adopting the Overcoming MS (OMS) program, and her journey through various lifestyle changes to manage MS. Juliet shares candidly about her diagnosis, the challenges of making treatment decisions, the importance of community, and tips for sustaining positive change. Geoff and Juliet discuss not just the practical aspects of diet, medication, stress, and exercise, but also the emotional landscape—touching on grief, resilience, and the role of creativity in adaptation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Juliet’s Diagnosis Journey

• Initial Symptoms and Diagnosis ([01:38]–[04:09])

  • Juliet recounts feeling numbness on one side of her face and leg, confusing it with dental or nerve issues.
  • “I went there to sit and I just saw his face. It was really sad. I'm really concerned. And that was the moment I was really confused because I did not expect him to be so concerned.” (Juliet, [02:32])
  • She was shocked due to lack of family history and minimal prior symptoms.
  • Initial information from her neurologist felt overwhelming and discouraging: “He just started to say, like, oh, yeah, it's difficult, it's not curable, and you can have this and this and this and this and this can happen to you.”

• Information Overload and Healthcare System Limitations

  • Frustration at limited answers from her neurologist and lack of guidance on lifestyle management.
  • Expresses disappointment at healthcare system constraints and lack of holistic support: “To my idea, a little bit caged. Caged within the system he is in...” (Juliet, [04:34])

2. Deciding Whom to Tell

• Managing Disclosure ([05:09]–[06:15])
  • Juliet chose to tell only those she trusted deeply to avoid emotionally charged reactions.
  • “I didn't like the look on the face of my neurologist in the beginning. I didn't feel like having these shocked reactions and these concerned reactions the whole time.” (Juliet, [05:23])
  • Now, she feels more comfortable sharing, in part due to the OMS community.

3. The Value of Community

• Finding Support ([06:15]–[06:56])
  • Geoff and Juliet discuss the significance of finding others with MS, especially during uncertain times like the COVID pandemic.
  • OMS community as a safe, understanding space for practical and emotional support.

4. Treatment Choices: Medication and Lifestyle ([06:59]–[09:27])

• Juliet initially hesitated to take medication, influenced by her minimal symptoms and advice from her mother’s friend, whose experience with older medications was discouraging.
• She prioritized focusing on diet and stress reduction: “So I just want to focus on that now and that's what I've been doing all these months.” ([08:12])
• She keeps an open mind about medication as options improve: “I am considering taking medications now a little bit more but I don't feel a major rush because I'm doing okay MS wise...” ([08:39])
• Geoff highlights improvements in MS medications and prospects in research, like vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus.

5. Life Changes Post-Diagnosis

• Education, Work, and COVID ([09:47]–[11:30])
  • Stressed by trying to finish her bachelor’s just as COVID hit ("So I had like four months, the diagnosis and then Covid happened. So that was on top of that, a very big shock." – Juliet, [10:09]).
  • Met her partner just before diagnosis: “That was a bit of a weird mix. Very stressed, but also starting to fall in love.” ([10:38])
  • Transitioned to working online, traveled frequently, and adapted her lifestyle.

6. Adopting the Overcoming MS Program as a Couple

• Travel, Dietary Changes, and Partner Support ([11:30]–[14:01])

  • Her partner adopted the diet with her, boosting morale and motivation.
  • Travel remained feasible by planning, cooking, and communicating dietary needs at restaurants:
    • “I've sometimes been on a restaurant with a group of friends and I knew that I couldn't eat it and I would just take my own food and put it under the table...” ([13:29])

• Restaurants and Flexibility ([14:01]–[15:14])

  • Geoff shares tips about calling ahead to restaurants: “If you ask, I think sometimes chefs don't mind that. They quite like... They probably get quite bored of cooking the same thing.” ([15:03])
  • Juliet agrees that chefs often enjoy the creative challenge.

7. Finding and Settling on a Management Program

• Journey Through Diets: From “Organic Only” to OMS ([15:48]–[18:04])
  • Juliet tried gluten/lactose/sugar-free, Ayurveda, and organic diets.
  • Ayurveda proved complex and stressful: “…I didn't feel really connected and I found it really stressful because I couldn't really comprehend it.” ([16:47])
  • OMS clicked due to accessible science and clear rationale: “I felt like, okay, I now understand what I'm doing and it makes sense to me. So yeah, it just makes sense.” ([17:42])

8. Stress Management and Meditation

• Evolution of Practice ([18:04]–[22:29])
  • Developed unique meditation by drawing sensations with eyes closed post-diagnosis.
  • Used guided meditations, Joe Dispenza’s practices, and completed a 10-day Vipassana silent retreat:
    • “That was really difficult. But it really helped me just to notice really subtle sensations in my body, but also focus.” ([19:50])
  • Cautions against letting routines become stressful: “I was like, oh, no, I still have to meditate. Yeah. Then you... That it doesn't make sense anymore.” ([21:26])
  • Conversation about not letting apps or streaks turn relaxation practices into sources of anxiety.

9. Navigating Education with MS

• Challenges in University Settings ([22:29]–[25:30])
  • Starting a master’s led to her first major flare-up (optic neuritis).
  • University faculty were empathetic, but institutional accommodations were inadequate.
  • Eventually left the master’s, continued research informally: “My teachers were really disappointed that they also understood because they, they were also a little bit caged so to say within the system…” ([25:14])

10. Discovering OMS & Family Support

• How Juliet Found OMS ([25:30]–[26:58])
  • “The biggest motivation was the fact that I now had a flare up. So my partner said, I think something needs to change. Just eating organic isn't enough.” ([25:34])
  • Discovered OMS after researching the Wahls diet. Wishes healthcare providers shared resources like OMS earlier.
  • Involving her partner and father in the diet:
    • “He said, okay, don't worry about it. I will cook all the foods from now on for a bit. So you... until the flare up is gone and until we understand the diet completely.” ([27:27])

11. Practicalities and Mindset for Diet

• Getting Past the Overwhelm ([28:22]–[29:09])
  • Relates to the “constant label reading” curve and appreciates support from loved ones.
  • “Now I can just quickly scan. In the UK, they make it bold. If they have dairy in anything, it's in bold letters on the ingredients.” (Geoff, [29:02])

12. Exercise Evolution

• From Caution to Confidence ([29:12]–[31:10])
  • Previously cautious about exercise, did only gentle yoga.
  • “[Now] I started to exercise a lot. And I noticed effects were amazing, as in when I would feel something in my leg that didn't feel right and I just exercised. I noticed the release being there and happening.”
  • Emphasizes adapting exercise to mood/state—ranging from Pilates to swimming.
  • Exercise strengthens both physically and emotionally: “You just get stronger. And all of a sudden I notice like, okay, this is, this is really, really helpful. And I just get happier.” ([31:05])

13. Loss and Grief

• Coping with Loss of Her Father ([31:58]–[34:19])
  • Her father’s sudden death was “the most stressful period of my life for a long time.”
  • At times could not meditate; instead, relied on trust and patience: “I think that for everyone is really different how you cope with a loss. And I'm still in the process... What helps me the most is a certain trust that things will be okay and things will find its way.” ([33:01])
  • Navigated through “ups and downs” and allowed herself to process grief slowly.

14. Optimism for the Future

• Looking Ahead ([34:19]–[35:31])
  • Despite deep grief, she avoided MS relapses and credits the program with helping her get through: “It did give me a lot of extra confidence for the program because I just... reading the book right now. That's really nice. That gives me an extra... an extra boost.”
  • Looking forward to further involvement with Overcoming MS.

15. Final Advice to Listeners

• Creative, Kind, and Flexible Approach ([35:36]–[36:45])
  • Encourages non-perfectionism: “Don't be too harsh on yourself. It's okay to have down periods, but try as much as possible as you can to think creatively and be open to many possibilities…” ([35:36])
  • Suggests seeing dietary and other limitations as invitations for creativity and new possibilities rather than deprivation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Just eating organic isn't enough… I still don't understand why it took so long for me to find Overcoming MS. I wished that my neurologist would have told me, like, hey, there's a program.”
  — Juliet ([25:34])
• “I just started crying at that point without even knowing what it was, just because he looked at me like there was the worst thing ever in his eyes.”
  — Juliet on hearing her diagnosis ([03:04])
• “I just want to figure it out myself first before I open up further. By the way, now I am opening up a lot more and I think being in this program helps a lot because I have a bit more of a feeling, okay, I know what I'm doing right now and I'm understanding it a bit more.”
  — Juliet ([05:40])
• “Don't be too harsh on yourself. It's okay to have down periods, but try as much as possible as you can to think creatively and be open to many possibilities.”
  — Juliet ([35:36])
• “I noticed effects were amazing, as in when I would feel something in my leg that didn't feel right and I just exercised. I noticed the release being there and happening. So that motivated me a lot.”
  — Juliet ([29:54])
• “At first you spend your whole time reading ingredients… sometimes there are some things… they like, randomly put milk into things or palm oil or something. And it's like, it didn't before. Why have you changed it?”
  — Geoff ([28:32])

Important Timestamps

• Juliet’s diagnosis story: [01:38]–[04:09]
• Decision not to immediately take meds: [06:59]–[09:27]
• Shift to OMS diet and program: [15:48]–[18:04], [25:30]–[26:58]
• Coping with flare-ups and support from family: [27:14]–[28:22]
• Stress, meditation, and resilience after her father’s death: [31:58]–[34:19]
• Final advice for listeners: [35:36]–[36:45]

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is honest, empathetic, and pragmatic. Juliet’s openness about vulnerability, trial and error in lifestyle management, and the critical role of both community and flexible thinking offer hope and encouragement to listeners. The episode highlights the OMS pillars not as rigid commandments but as adaptable tools for living well with MS.

For more information or support:
Visit OvercomingMS.org or check out the show notes for additional resources.