Christine from the US shares her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Story

Linda Elsegood: This evening. We're joined by Christine from the United States who takes LDN for multiple sclerosis. Thank you for joining us, Christine.

Christine: Thank you for having me.

Linda Elsegood: Could you tell us when you first experienced symptoms?

Christine: The first time I can remember experiencing the symptoms was in 2008, but at that time, I didn't realize what I was experiencing. I actually attributed it to some muscular issues I was having with my back at the time. But it was the feeling of what I've learned is MS especially look down, the action of putting my head down would create a tremor in my body that would go through my whole body and at the extremities, it would radiate. I started also having in one arm or the other, usually not at the same time, a fullness, a tingling, and in my hands, I had sensitivity at that time in 2008, it was actually more prominent in my seat, toes and in my hands.

So those were the first signs that I can attribute back now we're probably the signs of the ms. But at the time, I, I just thought there was something structural going on because I had some back issues.

Linda Elsegood: And how old were you at the time?

Christine: 30,

Linda Elsegood: So you had this issue, uh, did it come and go?

Was it like relapsing and remitting or did that stay with you and then you just developed other symptoms?

Christine: Um, those symptoms were present for a few months. And again, I wasn't sure what they were. So I had, uh, sought out a chiropractor and I will say that going to the chiropractor was very much a sort of holistic chiropractor.

He looked at health and things outside of just adjustments. Um, and I was going to him quite frequently. He wanted me there like three times a week initially, and then it went down to twice and then one time a week, um, the symptoms started to relax from the standpoint of the fullness in the arms and the tingling in the legs, but I still had the lemme syndrome where I would look down. I just noticed from time to time. It wasn't every single time. But if I was standing upright and was looking, someone said, look down at your toes, I would feel that tremor. So that tremor never really went away. Um, and maybe because there was some corresponding back issue, it helped some of the other issues dissipate.

A bit, but I'm never truly a hundred per cent, one away. And then fast forward to about 2012. So about four years later, I had a reoccurrence quite drastically, and now it was concentrated on my hands. So the top parts of each finger felt full. Um, and were very sensitive. I noticed touching things were more difficult.

Uh, didn't have as much issue with, with my toes that would come and go. And ever since 2012, I've had a constant level of pain and discomfort sensitivity in both hands. So that has been the most current, um, and constant. Symptom along with, there was a new symptom that came in about 2013, which I can only really expresses like restless leg syndrome, which was my legs felt like I had run a mile.

They were very, very, um, fatigue without having to do too much. Um, and at night it would wake me up. It made it difficult to sleep. I didn't feel so bad when I would walk or, uh, you know, I was not having any issue with my gait or anything. Like that, it was more noticeable just as a symptom on its own, but it didn't keep me, you know, thankfully from doing too much, I just had to deal, deal with that.

And that's the basis for my symptoms. Thankfully I haven't had, except for my hands. They cramp when I have to write, um, I use a computer, and I try not to do too much writing because as I write my hands, Hurt more and they begin to cramp. And the only other, uh, symptom I can really speak to is fatigue at times.

And it does, thankfully it doesn't come on too much, but I'm a very, um, active person on the weekends. Like this weekend, no relaxation house cleaning, running around errands, kids, things like that. It's very unusual to see me just lay in bed for a weekend and. Relax if every now and then, and it may happen.

Let's say once a quarter, once every four years, I get so tired that I am very fatigued and I'm not really doing too much slang around for the weekend. I have noticed that. And I guess on some level. I'm very thankful for this. It seems to come more on the weekends. I think it's a product of being so busy during the week working and things of that nature.

And then by the end of the week, I just feel like it all has caught up with me.

Linda Elsegood: Okay. And if you had to have said before you started LDN on the score of one to 10, what your quality of life was like, what would it have been.

Christine: Um, well, I mean, outside of the, I've been very lucky. I have, I have a relaxing remittance is the diagnosis I have.

Um, I was. My quality of life was really, um, quite good from a day to day perspective. But the pain level that I got used to is my hands and some of those other symptoms, it was quite, um, intrusive. So personally, um, it felt like. Um, it's ten is the best I've ever felt. You know, I was at least down to, you know, a five or so because of how uncomfortable it could be at times it would have increased my, my mood to also, uh, cause my hands are burning and hurting.

Um, I've, I've been to the point where I have literally come up with contraptions band-aids things like that to put on my hands because the pain is so unbearable. So, um, I wouldn't necessarily say I was at a zero. But I was at least halfway down, and I was looking for any help I could get now, thankfully, every single day wasn't like that, but there were many days, you know, in a month that were like that.

And afterwards, what I noticed is it did take a bit of time for the LDN to really make an impact I'm going on a full year, maybe a year and two months at this point, um, I started out with a dose, uh, that was. Not, not exactly high, but not exactly as low as some people were used to. And I was experiencing what I thought were some issues relative to the dose.

And once my doctor changed me, so I'm really identifying since I've been on the dose, I've been on, on, that's been working, that's been a year, but I had been on a prior dose for maybe two or three months before that.

Linda Elsegood: And we'll say easy to get hold of a prescription of LDN.

Christine: I wouldn't necessarily say that I was lucky that I have a homoeopathic medical doctor.

Who's also a personal friend and he was. I'm aware of LDN. He has a brother-in-law who has ms. And I believe he had introduced LDN to him. He's also the kind of person who is very open-minded. I sent him research. He'll read it. I'm actually sending him the LDN book, um, that I've. Purchased the book that was recently written and I'm also sending it.

My daughter has, um, some, some, uh, some issues and she goes to an endocrinologist and he's interested in reading it as well. So I have a few doctors that I'm lucky that, um, that know about LDN and I've met some people in the community where I get my medicine. It's compounded at a local pharmacy. The gentleman that's, the pharmacist has done a lot of advocacy work.

For, um, for LDN in the area, he will go and visit doctors. Um, so he was one of the people that gave me other people to speak to, but my original doctor, the homoeopathic doctor, was familiar with it. So I actually see him exclusively. Um, for, for LDN, I have a regular medical, and that's partly just because here he doesn't take any insurance and it can be quite costly.

Linda Elsegood: And when you got used to the LDN, and you said that, you know, it started to work for you on the dose that you're on. What did you notice happened?

Christine: Well, on a pain level perspective. Um, for the most part, my pain went down to almost on days where I would have to stop and go. I'm almost normal. I had a, a realization of that.

And what I've noticed is that when I'm doing a lot, when I've pushed myself, Beyond that, that level of, you know, you need to relax now, Christine, or you need to do something good for you instead of just running and doing. Um, uh, sometimes exercise will bring on a little bit of the pain too, but normally I have found that I have a new normal, I have a good space that I've gotten down to in my pain level.

It's somewhere between being aware of it, but not necessarily calling it pain. And that's where the LDN got me too. It's also been great because I have no pain. Uh, really in my, in my feet. Um, I think one time that I can think of, I had some tingling, but it was nowhere near the pain that would be reminiscent of what I had before or the pain in my hands, the legs, as far as the restlessness, that still comes from time to time.

It's probably about the same frequency, you know, maybe one time, every, um, Three months. Um, and I'm still dealing with a number of other issues, um, relative to my back. So it's sometimes hard to exactly pull out if this is, and you know, this is what happens with my patients all the time, at least in my opinion, cause I've worked with them and I know people you're always wondering, is it the ms or is it something else?

And it's sometimes it's, it's hard to distinguish, and that can be frustrating sometimes.

Linda Elsegood: Well, you seem as though LDN is working really well for you. Um, and what would you say now that score would be on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the best.

Christine: Oh, I mean, I'm definitely operating, you know, at an eight-level, uh, predominantly.

Um, so I think that on a score level, you know, LDN being on it for this period of time, and I'm really, I have read research too, that has shown that maybe the longer you're on it, the better you get, because it has to sort of work through your system. And I'm also incorporating more of a. A healthy diet of organic food, um, you know, very clean food and, and doing whatever I can from a supplement perspective.

So I really do feel that the combination of all those things, uh, probably will in a year from now, maybe I'll be a nine. Um, but I would definitely say, you know, a good eight at this time.

Linda Elsegood: And what would you say about the tremors? Hopefully?

Christine: Yeah. They're, they're not gone. I mean, on occasion, I'll almost test it out if you will.

Cause it's not, it's not necessarily normal that you would just sort of put your head down. But when I do, I mean, for the most part, uh, it doesn't happen every single time, but they're there and it really, from day to day doesn't impact me. So yeah. I mean, I'm very, very grateful and appreciative for the fact that I am at the level I am now.

Um, I'm actually due to have, um, MRIs again to see, um, I have a very interesting thing where they didn't even know if it was ms. They thought it might have been optic neuritis, but my eyesight has never had, you know, thankfully an issue, but because of the way I present on. MRIs. I show one very long was perceived as one very long lesion in my thoracic spine, but they're not sure if it could have been a number of smaller ones.

So that was a diagnosis that was played around with before ms. Um, but, um, you know, I think I said to bill more forms at this point.

Linda Elsegood: Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us.

 

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