anyone taking ldn? a few questions

[butterfly.girl]

My doctor asked me at the last visit to basically pick a drug that I want to take for ms,and at the time I told him I was thinking about copaxone.. But after reading such good things about ldn,I am going to tell him I'd rather try that.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had problems getting it filled right? without getting more/less then your suppose to (I read on the website sometimes this can be a problem)

Also I wanted to make sure it doesn't make blood pressure any lower as mine gets super low on its own.

(it was 50/30 a few weeks ago)

Anyways I've decided I have to try something,its not optional anymore,my cognitive thinking is really bad being at the point its hard to remember from min to min..
I can say something and totally forgot that I've said it a moment later.. I'm not sure how much of it is from the bp problem,or if thats a ms thing or both..

Anyone with experiences to share with ldn ?

[Bob698]

All I can tell you is that I asked my Neuro about it early on and she said "No.". She also has me taking Amantadine for fatigue, which is one of those cheap "accidental side effect" meds so its hard to make the arguement that she's in Big Pharma's pocket.
I think part of LDN's problem is its press, it just sounds too good to be true and its also touted as if its manna from heaven and that it cures almost everything.
You'll probably get replies that say "go for it" but I would ask my Neuro and trust their opinion.

[knuckle]

I take LDN, now going on four years. I've also taken Amantadine and Providgil for MS-fatigue. And, over the past 20 years with this wretched disease I've worked my way through Avonex, Rebif, Copaxone, Novantrone and Tysabri.

So here's my opinion...give LDN a try for 6-9 months and see how you do. LDN is non-toxic, cheap, a pill you get made through a compounding pharmacy. If you're doing well, keep taking it. If not, consider taking a CRAB drug. The point is, your MS is not going to progress much over 6-9 months, so give the least toxic option a try first.

LDN users most often experience quick relief of MS-fatigue and cognitive symptoms. LDN works by boosting endorphin production 2-300% the day after you take it, which is the reason why it helps, if not eliminates, MS-fatigue.

Comparatively, having taken Amantadine, Providgil and LDN, I find LDN superior.

MS patients are most often found endorphin deficient, and not coincidentally, do better with regular exercise and vitamin D supplementation. Endorphins and vitamin D help regulate your immune system and LDN just boosts endorphins.

There is lot's of good science being done on LDN validating user experiences that not only does LDN improve many symptoms of MS, but apparently slows, if not halts, disease progression. All LDN has to be is 35% effective and it is superior to the CRAB drugs in terms of administration, toxicity and cost.

Like Bob698 suggested, do your research, and here are the major websites:

www.lowdosenaltrexone.org
www.LDNaware.org
www.LDNers.org
www.LDNscience.org
www.LDNresearchtrust.org
www.LDNdatabase.com
www.youtube.com/user/TheLDNresearchtrust

Plenty of neuros prescribe LDN (mine does) and if yours won't, he probably doesn't know much about LDN and the user experiences and research. There is a "LDN Doctor Letter" on the "Resources" page which may help your neuro better understand LDN and how to prescribe it.

Skip's Pharmacy in Boca Raton, FL is a good LDN supplier and you may want to google them or you can go to the USA page on LDNaware.org, at the bottom, there is a link to LDN compounding pharmacies.

Of course, in the end, it's your body and your MS, but if I was newly diagnosed, I'd start with LDN because it's the least toxic option and so many people have had success with it. I'll never stop taking it.

[knuckle]

Here is some of that good science, funded by NMSS, that supports LDN user experiences:

Prevention and diminished expression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by low dose naltrexone (LDN) or opioid growth factor (OGF) for an extended period: Therapeutic implications for multiple sclerosis.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21256121


Excerpt: “These results indicate that treatment with OGF or LDN had no deleterious long-term repercussions and did not exacerbate EAE, but i) halted progression of disease, ii) reversed neurological deficits, and iii) prevented the onset of neurological dysfunction across a considerable span of time.”

[Quest11]

Why Not Take Both Copaxone and LDN

Why not take both LDN and Copaxone? They are definitely compatible, I got my initial LDN prescription from the MS center at UCSF where I was referred by my Neurologist, who wasn't comfortable giving me a LDN prescription without their advice. I have it compounded at a local compounding pharmacy in town.