Pleased but puzzled
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:27 am
I posed this question in an earlier thread but it did not receive a response. Perhaps everyone is on holiday or I phrased the question badly? However, being the persistent little soul that I am – here it is again.
I have to confess I am still struggling to figure out exactly how this stuff is working so the following is a “think bubble” for anyone to comment upon.
To set the scene:- I have never taken prescribed drugs other than painkillers for slipped disc and I had been following Dr. Lawrence’s dietary recommendations for a full year before getting access to ldn. I finally began ldn on 12th March this year so I am beyond the 3-month mark.
After an initial period of trying different times & dosage, I have settled to a routine of 3mg around 9pm. To inhibit any problem there may be with the filler (CC) I empty the capsule straight into my mouth and swallow the capsule too, in case I’ve missed any. Yes, it is disgusting but I am not taking any chances!
The result of this regime is that bladder urgency and frequency, spasm and pain are no longer a problem. Numbness is now noticeable only in my fingertips – nowhere else. Fatigue also, is a thing of the past and only a problem if I try to cram too much into a day.
I feel like typing that paragraph again, in upper case – it’s the sort of thing that should be shouted from the rooftops! These are not slight changes you understand – before ldn; these symptoms were so bad that I was effectively housebound.
Now this is where I start to get greedy – my mobility has improved, but nothing like as dramatically as the aforementioned symptoms. I think maybe it could be better, with a bit of fine-tuning on either the time or the dose. I have tried experimenting a little but to no avail.
The present situation enables me to undertake visits to friends, hospitals, physio, local shops etc. without help, and provided I time it right. The necessity for careful timing is because I get a period of about three hours in the middle of the day when stiffness is a real problem and I struggle to walk at all. I’m not tired – my legs are just totally unresponsive. This mobility problem also makes it impossible to begin working again
The thing that puzzles me is that, whilst I need a walking stick if out during the day and can cover only a relatively short distance, from about 7.30 pm there is a marked improvement. Now, this is BEFORE I take my daily ldn. If I went out in the evening with my husband, I would not need the help of the sick.
Even stranger, between 9.30 pm (30 mins. after ldn) and bedtime (around midnight), I can walk a quite brisk ½ mile or more, without any help at all because this improvement increases even more from about 15 minutes after taking my 3mg. I can’t decide if this is because last night’s ldn is wearing off, thus causing my endorphin level to be still falling or because today's 3 mg. is already having an effect. The improvement is wonderful, albeit not a lot of use if you live where, for most of the year, it is dark at that time and the normal working day is finished!
So here is my query - am I right in thinking that ldn is supposed to shut down your normal night-time production of endorphins for a temporary period in order that when you wake, your body boosts production of said endorphins because it has been fooled into thinking it is not making enough?
If so, is it this extra production that brings about my improvements? I thought endorphins were the body’s natural painkillers, so how does extra pain relief help signals get through the missing bits of myelin?
In addition, when does this extra boost happen? Is it when you next wake, even if that is as little as an hour after you fell asleep (like ‘cos the cat woke you!) or does this extra production happen when your body is in day-time mode and you are up and doing the next morning? On the other hand, does it fluctuate for entirely different reasons and if so, what are they?
Then other questions occur – why are all the other improvements so constant? Are they the result of the same defect that is causing the leg spasticity? If so, why do they not suffer the same set back for the same three hours each day?
It’s almost as though NOT producing any endorphins gives brain signals the best chance of getting through to my legs but does not interfere with improved signals to other functions. Is this possible?
All these questions aside, I feel sure there has been no progression since I began ldn. For this alone, you may say, I should be grateful. Indeed, I truly am but if there is scope for further enhancement, I should be a fool not to strive for more mobility.
If you have, thank you for reading my ramblings – any comments will be most gratefully received.
I have to confess I am still struggling to figure out exactly how this stuff is working so the following is a “think bubble” for anyone to comment upon.
To set the scene:- I have never taken prescribed drugs other than painkillers for slipped disc and I had been following Dr. Lawrence’s dietary recommendations for a full year before getting access to ldn. I finally began ldn on 12th March this year so I am beyond the 3-month mark.
After an initial period of trying different times & dosage, I have settled to a routine of 3mg around 9pm. To inhibit any problem there may be with the filler (CC) I empty the capsule straight into my mouth and swallow the capsule too, in case I’ve missed any. Yes, it is disgusting but I am not taking any chances!
The result of this regime is that bladder urgency and frequency, spasm and pain are no longer a problem. Numbness is now noticeable only in my fingertips – nowhere else. Fatigue also, is a thing of the past and only a problem if I try to cram too much into a day.
I feel like typing that paragraph again, in upper case – it’s the sort of thing that should be shouted from the rooftops! These are not slight changes you understand – before ldn; these symptoms were so bad that I was effectively housebound.
Now this is where I start to get greedy – my mobility has improved, but nothing like as dramatically as the aforementioned symptoms. I think maybe it could be better, with a bit of fine-tuning on either the time or the dose. I have tried experimenting a little but to no avail.
The present situation enables me to undertake visits to friends, hospitals, physio, local shops etc. without help, and provided I time it right. The necessity for careful timing is because I get a period of about three hours in the middle of the day when stiffness is a real problem and I struggle to walk at all. I’m not tired – my legs are just totally unresponsive. This mobility problem also makes it impossible to begin working again
The thing that puzzles me is that, whilst I need a walking stick if out during the day and can cover only a relatively short distance, from about 7.30 pm there is a marked improvement. Now, this is BEFORE I take my daily ldn. If I went out in the evening with my husband, I would not need the help of the sick.
Even stranger, between 9.30 pm (30 mins. after ldn) and bedtime (around midnight), I can walk a quite brisk ½ mile or more, without any help at all because this improvement increases even more from about 15 minutes after taking my 3mg. I can’t decide if this is because last night’s ldn is wearing off, thus causing my endorphin level to be still falling or because today's 3 mg. is already having an effect. The improvement is wonderful, albeit not a lot of use if you live where, for most of the year, it is dark at that time and the normal working day is finished!
So here is my query - am I right in thinking that ldn is supposed to shut down your normal night-time production of endorphins for a temporary period in order that when you wake, your body boosts production of said endorphins because it has been fooled into thinking it is not making enough?
If so, is it this extra production that brings about my improvements? I thought endorphins were the body’s natural painkillers, so how does extra pain relief help signals get through the missing bits of myelin?
In addition, when does this extra boost happen? Is it when you next wake, even if that is as little as an hour after you fell asleep (like ‘cos the cat woke you!) or does this extra production happen when your body is in day-time mode and you are up and doing the next morning? On the other hand, does it fluctuate for entirely different reasons and if so, what are they?
Then other questions occur – why are all the other improvements so constant? Are they the result of the same defect that is causing the leg spasticity? If so, why do they not suffer the same set back for the same three hours each day?
It’s almost as though NOT producing any endorphins gives brain signals the best chance of getting through to my legs but does not interfere with improved signals to other functions. Is this possible?
All these questions aside, I feel sure there has been no progression since I began ldn. For this alone, you may say, I should be grateful. Indeed, I truly am but if there is scope for further enhancement, I should be a fool not to strive for more mobility.
If you have, thank you for reading my ramblings – any comments will be most gratefully received.