Going out on the Limb

Shirley McClaine  once wrote, "If you want fruit from the tree, you have to go out on a limb."  I have been thinking of this today as I contemplate starting with the drug LDN (low dose naltrexone.)  For those who don't know LDN is a drug first approved by the FDA (in 50mg doses)to help patients recovering from Heroine addiction.  What?  I'm not an abuser of any drug and certainly have never taken heroine.  Well, read on.  For the past month I have been reading everything I could on LDN.  This drug, when taken in the right amount has been reported by MSers all over the world to improve OR alleviate symptoms of our disease.  The stories have been so numerous and so very encouraging that I can't ignore them.  I have come to what I think is a major decision.  Baring any drastic negative information I am going to stop taking Avonex and start taking LDN.  What's the problem?  The first one most folks cite is that LDN has not been approved for the 3-4.5 mg dose needed to address MS.  That's right LDN, while approved for drug users, has never been tested for use in treating MS.  There is little to no clinical data because there have no clinical trials.  At this point all there is to "go on" is emperical evidence or antidotes.  Well as I said there are thousands of those; old and young, RRMSers and SPMSers.  Next month I will be attending a LDN conference at NIH.  The conference is being sponsored and attended by a group of dedicated researchers and MSers who are advocating LDN as the first line of medication for MS.  I have decided to try it. Right now it fits for me (I want the fruit so I'm going out on the limb).  So I'm stepping out on faith....Faith:  the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of which is not seen.

ps. there is an ldn yahoo.com discission group.  read some of their stories