Eoghan from Ireland shares his Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Story

Linda Elsegood: I'd like to introduce Eoghan from Ireland, who takes LDN for multiple sclerosis. Thank you for joining me, Eoghan. 

Eoghan: Good to be here. 

Linda Elsegood: Could you tell me when you first started to notice your MS symptoms? 

Eoghan: the first symptom was fatigue. I got really bad fatigue the year after I was diagnosed. The first symptom was optic neuritis, fatigue was probably the worst thing I had to deal with because it meant that I had to take a nap in the afternoon. Never needed that before. Having to take a nap was really inconvenient because I'm 26 at this stage trying to get everything else done. And fatigue is no longer a problem. 

Linda Elsegood: Okay. Let's just establish, before you found LDN, apart from the fatigue, what was your life like? 

Eoghan: Oh, uh, pretty, pretty bad I just couldn’t actually wake up in the morning. I used to sleep 16 hours a day. And you know you need rests after everything and now they have six hours to do stuff, which is not much time, especially when you're in college. 

Linda Elsegood: Okay. So what was your condition like just before you started out at the end? 

Eoghan: Well, it was fine. I was pretty good. Actually. My first MRI shows two lesions on the optic nerve on my right side, I think the MRI flipped over, so they weren't too sure which was left. I can't tell anyway. And yeah, I think I couldn't function. It was weird. Like how do you explain fatigue? People, you don't have it. 

Linda Elsegood: That's difficult when isn't it? Yeah. People say, Oh, well I get tired, but tired and fatigue 

Eoghan:  Not the same thing 

Linda Elsegood: So how did you hear about LDN?

Eoghan: research? I'm it guy, so Google is my friend. I eventually figured it out. Okay. So they want to put me on Avonex, which I did for about three months, and I basically developed psychotic symptoms from stabbing myself in the leg with the giant needle every week. It's a stress-related condition and after the Avonex made me go there and nutty and I said I needed something easier to take. Thinking there's gotta be a tablet for this at the time, and they didn't have LDN back then. Oh, eventually, Google helped me find out at the end. Thank God. Did. 

Linda Elsegood: Did your own GP prescribed it for you or did you have to obtain a private prescription 

Eoghan: first? That wasn't too bad. I went into Talla hospital, which is about two, three miles down the road from here, and saw the senior neurologist, and there were others name, I think it was Dr Smith. She and nice lady prescribed me at the end.

I got LDN prescriptions from a neurologist, but I had to talk them into it? So I have to do a lot of research beforehand. Prove efficacy and safety, and tolerability are the big three I had to for them. And bingo, I got my prescription that very day. 

Linda Elsegood: And when you first started, did you notice any introductory side effects?

Eoghan: the wacky dreams are pretty good. Um. Other than that, it's really. It's kind of hard to fall asleep so I take rescue remedy. And that's supposed to be knocked me out at night. 

Linda Elsegood: Okay. So what are your symptoms now? How many hours a day are you sleeping? 

Eoghan: Um, Oh, nine ten, I'm still in college. 

Linda Elsegood: Right. What about your optic neuritis? 

Eoghan: I could see just as well without glasses as I can with glasses apart I need glasses to see more than four feet in front of me. 

I went to see an optometrist nice man, by the name Tony McLaren, he said, well, you'll need prisms in these glasses.

So I went down to vision express, got myself the student discount, the health board discount, the special Easter discount as well as the time. Uh, basically got the most expensive in the shop with the most expensive lenses for half price! It's just really about the same as a regular pair of glasses, 

Linda Elsegood: What would you say to other people who are contemplating trying LDN? 

Eoghan: it's risk-free This medication will not hurt you. It cannot hurt you. The doctor's say First, do no harm. It's just great because all the other ms medications will leave you feeling totally crap and with LDN you feeling a little crap, but only if the first six months. 

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

Any questions or comments you may have, please Contact Us.  I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for joining us today. We really appreciated your company. Until next time, stay safe and keep well.