Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) and Multiple Sclerosis
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My name is Simon and this I my story. I was diagnosed with benign M.S in 1989, at the age of 24. My initial symptoms were double vision which led me to see an optician. It was he who advised me to see my GP having examined my eyes.
Then came numbness in my hands which led to me dropping things. I was referred to a neurologist who having done several tests including a lumbar punch and eventually diagnosed me as having benign M.S. Finally I had a diagnosis. I read the literature and was relieved to find out that this could be as bad as things go. Unfortunately it wasn't. Five months after being diagnosed I lost the use of my legs and became reliant on a wheelchair. Suddenly I became a liability and was no longer able to work, having to depend on state benefits. Around the same time I began to lose control of my bladder and I developed severe weakness in both hands and arms. Then I was informed that I had relapsing/remitting M.S.
Although I didn't have many relapses I remained in the wheelchair for 12 months, at which point a course of intravenous steroids got me out of the wheelchair and on to crutches. Although I wasn't able to walk far on my crutches, approximately a hundred yards, I was able to use the wheelchair for long distances only. Anything further than that required my electric scooter. So, here I was 26 years old, unable to walk far, wetting myself and unable to do the things I considered to be mans work. I felt unable to provide properly for my family and not surprisingly I needed help to adjust to this.
In 1996, my marriage broke up. Surprisingly, I coped well, managing to take care of myself without too much help from outside. My home was fitted with aids to assist me and with my scooter, I could do my shopping. I was concerned that the stress would cause my M.S. to give me a kicking but a course of oral steroids kept it at bay.
My condition remained stable for a while. I met my current wife in March 1998, and in August of the same year, I proposed to her at the top of the Wallace Monument in Scotland, having climbed the 246 steps to reach the top. Things were looking good.
In March 1999, we got married and I was able to take my vows on crutches. Not the way I would have liked it but it was better than expected. In November of the same year, a visit to my neurologist, gave me the news that I now had progressive M.S and it was progressing downhill.
By 2002, my legs were getting weaker but I still managed to walk very short distances on my crutches. The strength in my hands was declining and my bladder problems were getting worse. I had more and more 'accidents'.
2003 came and I managed to fall over, landing badly on my knee. This put me back into the wheelchair. I had intensive physiotherapy but to no avail. My legs grew weaker and weaker, until I was permanently in a wheelchair again. My bladder problems were getting progressively worse and my hands deteriorated even further. My wife was cutting up my meals for me as I was no longer able to do it myself. I now had NO sensation in my legs at all, although the muscle spasms were excruciating at times. My hands were useless and I couldn't write or type. My bladder was emptying itself without any warning to me and life sucked. My wife was assisting me to get dressed, to the toilet, to the bath; in fact I became very reliant on her. I had to go across the floor on my backside if I wasn't in the wheelchair. My mouth couldn't detect heat until it reached the back of my throat, at which I usually burnt my mouth. My wife started informing me if something was hot or cold. My balance was such, that even sitting up I needed support to stop me falling over.
I was wondering how much worse things could get when my wife, who is a musician, came home from rehearsing with her band one night. One of her guitarists' wives, also had MS, and was taking LDN, with great improvements. He mailed my wife the information and I read it with trepidation. After reading everything I could find about LDN, I eventually rang Dr. Bob Lawrence. Suddenly, here was a man, who had the same condition as me, who was taking the drug himself and was willing to explain everything to me over the phone. I discussed it with my wife and decided I had nothing to lose.
I started Taking LDN not expecting any major improvements but hopeful of anything. After taking LDN for seven days I noticed little things happening. Sensation returned in my legs. The strength in my legs improved to the point where I could stand supported for a few moments. Then, I noticed changes in my vision, requiring me to buy new glasses to a slightly different prescription. By the twentieth day, I was able to walk from the top of my stairs to the bathroom, using only the walls for support. My hands began to improve. I can now type and pick up small objects, something I haven't been able to do for years. I also suffered badly with warts on my hand, that no treatment from the G.P. offered was able to improve. I was told they were due to a compromised immune system. They have now almost gone completely. My ability to taste has improved dramatically and I can detect hot and cold again.
I don't know how much improvement I will see, or even if there is any more to be made, but if LDN can stop it getting any worse then that has to be a good thing.