This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

NHE wrote:

danirs wrote:I find this article interesting, because it is said that at night the cortisol levels are higher. In my case for example, when i wake up in the morning i am more stiffer than ever. It takes some 10-15 minutes so my legs can be better. The other thing i can think is, that most of the relapses a human can feel in the mornings. My first symptom was early in the morning.

My legs are stiff in the morning as well. I find it helpful to stretch them before I get out of bed. While laying on my back I pull one leg up towards my chest as far as I can and hold it for a count of 20 sec. I do this with the other leg and repeat the cycle a couple of times. I find it easier to start my day doing this simple stretch. Not only does it get my knees bending, but I can also feel it stretch the back of my thigh.

NHE

That's a great stretch! I finish it off by bringing both legs up to my chest at the same time. It helped me deal with a flaring degenerated lumbar disk years ago and I still use it when my back hurts. It helps with sciatica too. Have you tried this stretch? It's a good one too.
http://healthawarenesswithyoga.blogspot ... retch.html
I do it with my knee bent...I think my leg might pop off if I didn't!

danirs wrote:I will for sure. One thing i want to ask you - are you using chlondine just for stiffness or in major. I know that chlophasoline has chlonidine and is for high blood presure.

I'm using it to suppress excess cortisol and aldosterone production, as I suspect they are the cause of MS. The relief from muscle tension and pain was totally unexpected. It's also reduced my tingling and numbness significantly. It is a medication for high blood pressure. I have normal blood pressure and haven't experienced any low blood pressure as a result of taking Clonidine. My neurologist says that if you don't have high blood pressure, clonidine won't change your blood pressure at all...I'm not sure that's true though.

Anonymoose wrote:

danirs wrote:I will for sure. One thing i want to ask you - are you using chlondine just for stiffness or in major. I know that chlophasoline has chlonidine and is for high blood presure.

I'm using it to suppress excess cortisol and aldosterone production, as I suspect they are the cause of MS. The relief from muscle tension and pain was totally unexpected. It's also reduced my tingling and numbness significantly. It is a medication for high blood pressure. I have normal blood pressure and haven't experienced any low blood pressure as a result of taking Clonidine. My neurologist says that if you don't have high blood pressure, clonidine won't change your blood pressure at all...I'm not sure that's true though.

Did the effect came quickly or not? How much do you take per day?

danirs wrote:Did the effect came quickly or not? How much do you take per day?

I am using a weekly patch that delivers .1mg/day. I put the patch on at 4:30pm Friday and woke up Saturday morning with no muscle soreness or tension. It's been three weeks and they haven't come back. The reduction in tingles was overnight. The numbness took some time to gradually back off and stretching really helped with that. My fingers have started tingling a bit again. The return of tingles coincided with my abrupt cessation of a really high caffeine intake. So, for me, a .1mg patch and a whole lot of caffeine worked pretty well. I'm upping my dose tomorrow to .2mg hoping it will compensate for the loss of caffeine.