Are you as ready as I was to try LDN?

The best place to start is with your doctor.

Do your research and print out information that will help you make your case that this is a cheap, approved drug that has zero side effects at the tiny dose that is used for treatment for MS. This works well for many.

If you get a prescription for compounded LDN, the best pharmacy is Skip's Pharmacy in Florida. Dr. Skip, as he is known by the LDN community, has worked tirelessly to increase the awareness of LDN, and is always available to help on the LDN newsgroups.

If you cannot get a prescription from your doctor, LDN is available over the internet at this pharmacy, for instance: BuyLowDoseNaltrexone.com. That is where I get mine and have had excellent quality at a great price. This is Ian, a man from Australia, who lives in Thailand, and whose life was saved by LDN. He has vowed to make LDN available to everybody who needs it, as long as he is able.

The Naltrexone is shipped almost instantly, but can take two weeks to get here, so order early. You can make up your own solution. You can read the instructions on how to disolve a 50 mg tablet in 50 ml of water and then drink the appropriate amount each evening (or morning) here. One tablet lasts from 12-30 days depending on the amount you are taking, so 10 tablets should be enough to last several months. If you have questions, Ian is always available by email in English.

When starting this LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) therapy in the treatment of MS, there may also be some initial transient, though temporary, increase in MS symptoms.

For those of you in the first 3 months of LDN therapy, Dr. Bob Lawrence from the UK who has Multiple Sclerosis and uses LDN himself explains why sometimes there is a temporary increase in MS symptoms.

Experience has shown that the most common complaints are disturbed sleep, occasionally with vivid, bizarre and disturbing dreams, tiredness, fatigue, spasm and pain.

Only rarely, are there other transient symptoms including more severe pain and spasm, headache, diarrhea or vomiting. These additional symptoms would appear to be associated with the previous frequent use of strong analgesics, which effectively create an addiction and dependency, thus increasing the body's sensitivity to pain.

This temporary increase in symptoms may also perhaps be explained when we consider the manner in which this drug is expected to work: initially, MS occurs due to a reduction in the activity of the controlling influence of the suppressor T-cells within the immune system. During an acute relapse, the overall number of T-cells is reduced, the normal balance of helper T-cells and suppressor T-cells is disrupted and the damaging helper (CD-4) T-cells tend to predominate. This is the situation most pronounced during an acute relapse but occurs similarly, but to a lesser extent, in chronic progressive MS. Under the influence of LDN there will be an expected increase in the overall numbers of T-cells but, because the CD-4, helper T-cells tend to predominate at this time, an increase in their numbers will expectedly tend to increase MS symptoms. It is only when the numbers of suppressor T-cells effectively "catch up" that the normal balance is restored and symptoms once again diminish and improve.

In addition, because LDN stimulates the immune system and many of the drugs routinely used by the traditional medical establishment in the treatment of MS further suppress the immune system, LDN cannot be used in company with steroids, beta interferon, methotrexate, azathioprine or mitozantrone or any other immune suppressant drug. If there is any doubt, please submit a full list of the drugs you are presently taking so that their compatibility may be assessed.

In addition, because LDN will also block the analgesic effects of any opiate drugs (includes codeine, dihydrocodeine, morphine, pethidine or diamorphine) presently being taken, the use of LDN will initially greatly increase the level of pain experienced. It is therefore advisable that any opiate-like drugs be discontinued at least two weeks before this treatment is initiated. When starting the treatment it is essential that any untoward or adverse side-effects are reported immediately so that the treatment process can be further assessed and, if necessary, modified.

Dr. M R Lawrence

Although Dr. Lawrence uses three months, from the experiences of many people, these symptoms rarely last more than a week or 10 days. As Dr. McCandless says below, give it a chance and don't give up in less than two weeks.

As usual, I need to emphasize that seldom is LDN a stand-alone treatment, but accompanies other strategies their body needs, especially a healthy diet. No sugar, dairy or gluten.

It takes some people longer to respond to LDN, and they may be colonized with pathogenic yeast and bacteria that could be slowing response.

There is a phenomenon that happens to some people that as the immune system is shifting (usually from T2 to T1) right after starting LDN, the immune system drops and people get an infection, cold, flu, cold sore, etc. which is usually short lived. Candida tends to overgrow or a virus will flare up. These infections are usually short-lived unless something like candida and gut bacteria needs treatment.

  • Are you a big bread/carbohydrate/sugar eater?
  • Ever been tested for candida (yeast) or gut bacterial infestation?
  • Ever been checked for hypothyroidism?

Would you be willing to stop all casein (milk products) and gluten (wheat, rye, barley and oats) for a week and see if you feel better? A study done several years ago showed that 30% of us have some degree of celiac disease (intolerance/allegy to wheat) even though the clinical symptoms may not be obvious enough to alert most people to that. When anyone in that 30% of persons stops eating wheat, they feel a lot better. The LDN may be acting like the opioid antagonist it is, and causing a withdrawal reaction from taking away your fix, even if only for a few hours.

Try to hang in for awhile longer, and it will probably get better. These setbacks usually do not last long unless something like a yeast infection is stubborn without specific treatment.

If you do experience a slow start, seriously consider looking into whether you suffer from Candida or a yeast infection. This can seriously slow down the benefits of LDN. Dr. Candless continues:

LDN has been noted to aggravate yeast infections and other latent pathogens, viruses, etc. as the immune system is making early adjustments. It is good to have natural yeast remedies on board when LDN is started (grapefruit seed extract, Candex, lauricidin, hi-potency probiotics, etc) to help offset this possibility. (And of course a good dietary regime that does not encourage gut inflammation which is usually the predecessor to pathogen invasion).