International LDN Awareness Week eBook - User Control Panel

My husband and I sat my kids down and explained that I was sick. We tried to explainit in a way that they could understand for their age. They seemed to understand anddidn't say much but I know they were worried. We also told them that I wouldn't be ableto do a lot of stuff I was able to do before and they said they understood.My Neurologist started my treatment right away, which is essential in treating MS. Heprescribed Betaseron injections, a medication for MS which is suppose to help slowdown the progression of MS but what the doctors don't tell you is that it's only supposedto help Relapsing Remitting MS (the 1st stage).I was on Betaseron for the first 8 months after my diagnoses, but it wasn't helping meat all and just made me feel worse. I ended up getting a bad infection, called Cellulitis,in my right upper thigh from the injections. I was bedridden with Cellulitis for 3 monthsduring the summer of 2005. I ended up having to have surgery to drain all the fluid. Itwas the most painful thing I have ever felt in my whole life. My husband had to help meup to the bathroom because I couldn't walk by myself and I cried all the way there andall the way back because of the pain.In the next 8 months I went from using a walker to a wheelchair to a Hoveround powerchair.When I was bedridden with the infection I did a lot of research online and found outabout another medication that some MS people were using, and it was helping them alot.I started e-mailing them and got all the information I could. The medication is calledLDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) and it can be compounded into a capsule you take everynight between 9pm and 3am. I went to my Neurologist and asked him about it, but hehad never heard of it because it had not been approved yet for MS.I printed a bunch of information about it and gave it to him and he said he would readthrough it and get back to me on it. A couple OF days later he called me and said itlooked good and we could give it a try if I still wanted to. I said “yes”, and he called it in.I started taking it on September 3rd, 2005. My understanding is that it can take up to afew months to get the full effect from LDN, but I started feeling effects from it the veryfirst night.LDN took away my MS Hug, and helped me walk without a walker, wheelchair, orHoveround power chair. It also helped with some of my back pain, muscle spasms,most of the numbness or tingling in my legs, and my swallowing problems. Anotherbenefit was that I was no longer fatigued most of the time. LDN gave me back theability to do a lot of thing's I never thought I'd be able to do again.It is difficult for people that don't have MS or Transverse Myelitis to understand whatyou are going through. This is a Neurological disorder and some of the symptomscannot be seen on the surface. So others who do not understand what MS is may thinkthere is nothing wrong with you.After I was diagnosed with MS and TM I thought back to all my symptoms over theyears and I can now link them to symptoms of these diseases. I was alwaysmisdiagnosed with something else or the Dr's would tell me it was all in my head.Believe me, I wish it had all been in my head.Produced by LDN Research Trust for International LDN Awareness Week 19-25 October 2009© LDN Research Trust 200948