12 Days on LDN

[Guest guest]

I've been on 3mg of LDN for 12 days now. I found an LDN friendly

doc, through this site, who does (and did in my case) phone

consults. I got my prescription filled through Skip's, so I know it

was compounded properly. The main thing I am after, of course, is to

halt progression of my MS. I have only recently been diagnosed with

MS, a little over 2 months ago. It was very hard to diagnose. The

MRIs, even with contrast, were not definitive. It's only on the

cervical that any demyelimation shows up and with no intensification

with the contrast. My brain scan shows some white specs, but more

the type that's consistent with the aging process, as I am 59. It

wasn't till I got the LP that a diagnosis of MS was given. I'm one

of the lucky one's; the only symptoms I have is drop foot (Right

foot), spasticity in the legs, mainly right leg a little in the left,

but not enough to cause any impairment and paresthesia (pins and

needles) in both feet. I do have some difficulty with gait, due to

my right leg, and have a pronounced limp, but that's it. I'm not

bothered my the heat or getting overheated; I don't have the " Hugs " ;

no problems with my eyesight, no cognitive impairment, nothing else

at all just my right leg and that's it. This is why it was so

important to me to halt progression; if I could just stop its

progression I could live out my life just fine. May be my skiing and

dancing days were over, but I wouldn't be limited by anything else.

However, I am happy to report that the paresthesia in my right foot

is gone totally and it's been reduced in my left foot by 80 or 90

percent. Also my gait has improved. I can lift my foot in and out

the car much easier than I could and climbing stairs has gotten

easier. Hopefully I will continue to improve.

I had an appointment with my neuro this past Monday. I asked him if

her were familiar with LDN. He smiled and said he was. When I asked

him why he was smiling he told me that he had been at a conference

recently and had just asked a couple of the leading MS neuros in our

area (Philadelphia) their opinion about LDN. One of them being Dr.

Leist, who is the director of the MS clinic at the Jefferson

University Hospital. They did not dismiss LDN out of hand. Although

they weren't prescribing it, they are taking a wait and see attitude,

with all the turn arounds that have occurred lately. My own neuro

has an even more open attitude. He told me a story that helps

explain his open attitude. When he was in Med School there was a

doctor, just a GP, in Australia who came up with the theory that

Peptic Ulcers were not cause by over acidity, as what was the

conventional wisdom of the day, but by bacteria from evidence

gathered during autopsies that he had preformed. He was dismissed

out of hand; after all, the experts in the field said he was wrong

and who was he as a mere GP to refute their beliefs. 10 years later

he was proven to be 100% correct. Doctors now know that it is caused

by the corkscrew-shaped bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

He said this was a very valuable lesson learned early in his medical

career; never discount anything just because it may go against

current conventional wisdom. Today's wild theory may be tomorrow's

conventional wisdom. I asked him if he'd be willing to write a

prescription for me. He said he might, but wants to do a little more

research first. The next day I dropped off the following documents

at his office:

1. An email that references the grant that the National Multiple

Sclerosis Society (NMSS) funded to Dr. Ian Zagon to research LDN.

2. The webpage from the NMSS site that shows the reversal of

opinion where they now encourage clinical trials be conducted on LDN.

3. The Article written by Y.P. Agrawal, MD, PhD, (Med

Hypotheses. 2005;64(4):721-4), where Dr. Agrawal proposes that LDN

reduces disease activity in MS by reducing the destruction of

oligodendrocytes, the cells that manufacture myelin.

4. Frequently Asked Questions about LDN that I found on the net.

5. Survey of 267 Patients Using Low Dose Naltrexone for Multiple

Sclerosis.

Once he's digested these documents. I'll give him a call.

Also today I had an appointment with my Primary care physician for my

routine check up. During the exam he asked me how I was doing and I

told him I was improving and asked him if he was familiar with

Naltrexone. He said he was, primarily as it relates to substance

abuse, but was aware that it was being used off label and why. I

told him I was taking it and started by spiel. He was very

interested. This time I had copies of what I had given my neuro with

me and he seemed extremely interested in reviewing them. I asked him

the magic question, " Would he be willing to write a prescription for

LDN for me " and he said he didn't see why not. I know I could have

pushed him and gotten it right there and then but thought best of

it. I'll let him read and digest the documents I left with him and

then call him in about a month. I figured by that time he'll become

even more comfortable with prescribing it having review the documents

I furnished him. It will give us one more LDN friendly doctor in our

corner (In Bucks County, PA). By the way he's a D.O. not an M.D.

D.O.'s seem to be more receptive to alternate treatments.

I sorry I've rattled on, but I'm just so excited I couldn't contain

myself.

Pete