I think my neuro must be thinking of retiring. (he's got a diploma on the wall in his office that is from 1948!)

I saw my neuro wednesday afternoon, and he kept telling me how the MS Clinic has this wonderful new neurologist and he thinks she's great and that he thought that I might like her. (subtle, isnt he?)

So, I told him sure, I wouldnt mind going down there and seeing this neuro...since it might be nice to have a backup neuro. So, I'm waiting for my neuro's office to call the MS Clinic to get me an appointment and for the MS Clinic to get back to them so my neuro's office can get back to me about when the appointment is. (could be months!)

One of the reasons I said yes to seeing this neuro, is that my regular neuro wouldnt give me any LDN. ( argh!!!!!!!!) and he sort of suggested that she might be willing to prescribe it. (regular neuro hasnt seen enough info on it, and thinks that it's snake oil)

I like the regular neuro, but he's really getting up there in years, and I figure I should start doing my neuro shopping now just in case something happens to him.

Hopefully this new neuro will be willing to Rx the LDN. (knocking on a lot of wood, and rubbing a bunch of rabbits feet that she'll give me a Rx!) I know LDN doesnt work for everyone, but I wont know if it'll help if I dont get to try it.

as for the rest of my neuro visit, he didnt even do a neuro check. (I dont think he's done a neuro check on me since about this time last year) He thinks I'm doing better. (umm...the stumblebunny vertigo tells me otherwise, but it's a lot more mild of a vertigo than I usually have)

Hopefully I get an appointment with the new neuro soon. I want to see if she's willing to Rx LDN.

edited to add:

I just Googled the new neuro...she only just started practicing in 2008!!! Eeek! She's a newbie! Yikes!

Newbies tend to be enthusiastic. Hope you neuro and his office remember to call, maybe you'll have to take charge and do it yourself. This way you may have better control of scheduling as you need. Having had a regular neuro, and an Opthalmologist neuro, find MS Neurologist better suited to me and my needs and more knowledgable about MS issues..

1948 is when he graduated? He's as old as dirt!

My first neurologist (in 1991) was about that old, and was very experienced in dx MS. She retired before I needed her again, but I'm pretty sure I'd have chosen someone more "up" with the times by that point anyway . . .

Good luck with your new neuro. Your guy has been very supportive, and I hope the new one is just as good in that way.

Cherie

I cant make the appointment personally for the MS Clinic. They seem to insist that your doctor be the one to call them to set up the appointments. That's how it worked the last time I went to the MS Clinic.

They're also, for some reason, considering me a new patient at the MS Clinic. Which is weird, I was only just there in the summer of 2007. (but I was only there once...for my second opinion after getting diagnosed with MS)

I am hoping that since this lady is new, that she'll be willing to Rx the LDN.

I'm trying to find actual medical journal papers that tell about the few trials with LDN. My regular neuro said that he doesnt want printouts from the internet. He wants something from specific Neurology journals before he'll even consider LDN. (and I'd probably have to be a paying subscriber to any of the journals he reads...and they probably dont have any of the research in those journals yet)

Pubmed is an extremely reliable source. Tell him to look "A pilot trial of low-dose naltrexone in primary progressive multiple sclerosis" at Pubmed.

I think it was published in a Journal too . . . try googling that title and see if it pops up in any Neurology Journals.

Mult Scler. 2008 Sep;14(8):1076-83.

A pilot trial of low-dose naltrexone in primary progressive multiple sclerosis

Gironi M, Martinelli-Boneschi F, Sacerdote P, Solaro C, Zaffaroni M, Cavarretta R, Moiola L, Bucello S, Radaelli M, Pilato V, Rodegher M, Cursi M, Franchi S, Martinelli V, Nemni R, Comi G, Martino G.
Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE) and Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, Milan, Italy; Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

A sixth month phase II multicenter-pilot trial with a low dose of the opiate antagonist Naltrexone (LDN) has been carried out in 40 patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The primary end points were safety and tolerability. Secondary outcomes were efficacy on spasticity, pain, fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Clinical and biochemical evaluations were serially performed. Protein concentration of beta-endorphins (BE) and mRNA levels and allelic variants of the mu-opiod receptor gene (OPRM1) were analyzed.

Five dropouts and two major adverse events occurred. The remaining adverse events did not interfere with daily living. Neurological disability progressed in only one patient. A significant reduction of spasticity was measured at the end of the trial. BE concentration increased during the trial, but no association was found between OPRM1 variants and improvement of spasticity.

Our data clearly indicate that LDN is safe and well tolerated in patients with PPMS.

PMID: 18728058

Cherie