Quote:
Originally Posted by trixiedee
Hi, I'm new here. I have been diagnosed with MS for a few years but my symptoms have become more PD like so I recently had a DATscan which showed low dopamine levels. My neuro has never come across someone with both diseases before and is quite puzzled. I have never taken any meds for the MS as the side effects seem too much and am even less prepared for the PD meds side effects. I am booked in to see an ayurvedic healer who will give me mucuna (I don't want to self medicate) and whichever other herbs she thinks are appropriate. I do yoga and have acupuncture, homeopathy and Bowen technique. But I am very weak, stiff and can hardly walk - am hoping the mucuna will help.
I am only 43 and a single mother of 6 yr old twin boys so life is pretty stressful which doesn'thelp...
Any advice or support would be greatly appreciated.
Trixiedee
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Have you ever heard of low-dose naltrexone? It is an approach to treating both MS and Parkinson's that many have found very helpful. It does not offer a cure for any of the diseases that seem to respond to it, but many find that it daramatically slows, or arrests further degeneration.
I suggest, if you are interested, that you check out the website of lowdosenaltrexone.org., or just ldn.org.
When I first heard about this approach about 5 years ago, I began following research in how morphinans, the class of drugs which includes naltrexone, supress neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation is involved in the damage and eventual destruction of neurons in MS, Parkinson's, ALS, and Alzhimers diseases.
Dextromethorphan, another morphinan drug which is the main ingredient in many over-the-counter cough syrups, was found in certain research using animal models of Parkinson's to be equally effective in preventing the destruction of susceptible brain tissue lost in the untreated animals. As a result, I began taking dextromethorphan using exactly the same protocol recommended for naltrexone. The primary advantage this has for me is that the dextromethorphan requires no prescription, wereas naltrexone does.
Two key features of these approaches are:
1. Either drug is taken at extremely low daily doses, less than 1/10th the dose recommended for the original purposes for these substances.
(Naltrexone was approved by the FDA in about 1985 as an aid to break heroin or alcohol addiction. Typical dosage was 50 milligrams per day. Typical doses in the low-dose regimen are 3-4.5 milligrams per day. In the case of dextromethorphan, an adult dosage for cough control is also about 40-60 milligrams per day. Those of us who use it for its putative neuroprotective effects typically take 4 milligrams per day.)
This feature gives confidence in the safety of this approach, both drugs having been used safely for many years at much higher doses.
2. Both drugs are inexpensive! This is especially true of dextromethorphan.
Please understrand that use of this approach to slowing the progression of MS or Parkinson's amounts to a personal experiment. Neither of these drugs has been approved by the FDA for treating any condition other than the ones for which they were originally intended. Your neurologist may never have heard of low dose naltrexone, or may be adamantly opposed to either its use or the use of low dose dextromethorphan.
I am not recommending that you begin using this treatment approach, only informing you of its existence.
The only completed published clinical trial of low dose naltrexone was in treating Chron's disease, conducted by a Dr. Smith at Pennsylvania State University within the past two years. The result was extremely positive. Chron's is also primarily a disease of inflammation, one of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).
Whatever you try, I hope that you find a treatment that works well for you.
Robert