Adrienne Scharli, a Colorado mom and realtor, thought she lived a healthy, balanced life. She exercised regularly and ate well, always making sure to include a vegetable on her plate.

But when she awoke to a blind spot in her left eye and then received a frightening diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 45, she questioned it all.

“I had lesions all over my brain and some down my spine,” she recalls. “I was devastated. Who wouldn’t be? I cried in her [the doctor’s] office. It was just such a shock. I couldn’t believe this was happening. This isn’t part of my life plan.”

Early Symptoms: Numbness from the Waist Down

Adrienne had had a health scare before — 17 years earlier. She had woken up to another surprise: numbness from the waist down.

She had recently relocated from California to Colorado and worked long hours in retail. With few friends in her new town, the transition was tough, but she hadn’t noticed symptoms leading up to that day.

Seeing a neurologist, she learned it could possibly be MS. In 1998, however, having a serious diagnosis like MS could trigger insurance companies to drop your coverage. For that reason, Adrienne’s mom, a retired nurse, encouraged her not to get an official diagnosis.

She moved on, focusing on finding joy in her new town. Within 30 days, her symptoms had subsided and remained gone for years.

A Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis

Adrienne went on with life — getting married, having kids, and becoming a realtor.

Then, a few days after celebrating her 45th birthday, symptoms returned, this time affecting her vision and leading to the MS diagnosis.

“I pictured myself in a wheelchair in two to three years,” she reflects.

The doctor wanted Adrienne to start on MS drugs immediately, but her insurance didn’t cover major MS medications. The cheapest one she found had a price tag of $55,000 a year — out of pocket.

Instead, her doctor suggested she try an experimental drug. While Adrienne considered it, she began a four-day steroid treatment.

Unexpected Side Effects from Steroids

Although the steroid was intended to reduce inflammation, it seemed to do the opposite.

“Three days after I finished that drip treatment, I came home — and I was a mess,” she says. “I had this migraine that felt like someone had hit me on the back of the head with a sledgehammer. And I don’t get headaches, so this was new for me. It was awful. I couldn’t do anything. Then the brain fog started setting in, and after that, the fatigue. I just wanted to sleep all day. Then the numbness came back in my legs and hands — only my legs and hands.”

Given that her only symptom before was the blind spot, the onslaught of new symptoms clearly felt connected to the steroid.

Fortunately, within about 30 days, most of those symptoms faded. As she recovered, she researched alternatives to medication because that approach just didn’t feel right to her.

Finding a Healing Diet for Multiple Sclerosis

After a family member studying nutrition mentioned that diet could help, Adrienne started down a research rabbit hole.

Soon, she came across a TEDx Talk by Dr. Terry Wahls, a neurologist with MS who had gone from wheelchair to walking to biking by experimenting with dietary changes and other lifestyle steps.

Dr. Wahls created The Wahls Protocol, a Paleo-style diet that enabled her to reclaim her health. She went on to write a book detailing the protocol and has since helped countless people get better.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I can heal myself, I can! I can fix this,’” Adrienne says. “I dropped everything, got in my car, and screamed to Sprouts, a health food store here.”

The diet changes called for eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, and trans fats while emphasizing healthy meats and heavy amounts of vegetables.

Quickly, Adrienne saw changes.

“I’d say it was about six weeks for most of my symptoms to start going away,” she says. “They started fading — like my numbness started going away. My brain fog was gone. My fatigue. I had energy again. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, this really works. This is incredible.’”

Within about four to five months, she noticed the blind spot in her eye had disappeared.

Cooking for Recovery and a New Career Path

With a food-based approach, Adrienne reduced inflammation by cutting trigger foods and increasing those that nurtured her body.

It took dedication to cooking — and creativity. She experimented with her own recipes for smoothies, appetizers, main courses, and compliant desserts.

While she credits diet with about 80% of her recovery, she also found that self-care, joy, and addressing childhood trauma were important parts of getting symptom-free.

Adrienne’s personal experience with a lifestyle approach to MS led her to become a certified health coach via the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She published a cookbook full of nutrient-dense recipes to help others with autoimmune or chronic diseases: Nourish Your Way to Health.

Then, she followed that with another book, The Path to Reverse Multiple Sclerosis Naturally. More recently, she ran The Autoimmune Summit, where she interviewed wellness professionals on different modalities for reversing autoimmune conditions.

Ten years after her diagnosis, she remains symptom-free, full of energy, and dedicated to getting the word out about how she rebuilt her health.

Most of all, she wants others to know what’s possible.

“You can heal yourself,” she says. “There’s more than hope, you know. Reach out to me, I can tell you other people to reach out to. Pick up my book. You’ll learn stories of people that healed themselves.”

The Steps That Helped

  • Following The Wahls Protocol — Adrienne removed inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, sugar, and trans fats while increasing nutrient-dense vegetables and healthy proteins.
  • Prioritizing self-care — She focused on stress reduction and joy.
  • Addressing trauma — Adrienne worked through childhood trauma and negative thoughts.

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