This girl emailed me that someone I know, Knows and said she is being treated with low dose naltdextrate not sure of spelling, It is spose to shut off the opiad resceptors in your brain for a few hours a night and she said it really helps. Im not sure what to think of her through she said the medicine for RA is going to make me gain a bunch of weight and grow hair all over? Is this true in every case. So far I keep lossing weight and my hair seems to be falling out more so. She put it this way lifes too short to be a fat hairy bitch I just don't think I would say somthing like that to someone I never met. Plus I just found out I have RA and have enough to be worried about. Besides I weigh 107lbs could gain some weight anyways but I just keep loosing. The predistone does make me a little grumpyer than normal but so would the pain right.
Q: Any one ever heard of treating RA with LDN?
Although on one hand, it's better for your body to not be on prednisone, when you have RA, it may be better for your body in other ways to actually be on prednisone - I've heard of many people who have been on it for years, either alone or more often as a sort of "booster" to one of the DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs). Prednisone helps reduce the inflammation caused by RA and can therefore assist in protecting your joints against the kind of permanent damage that can limit your ability and mobility in the future.
Whereas the medication your friend's friend refers to may shut off the opiate receptors in your brain - and I've never heard of this drug, so I would have to check it out before I could say one way or another - pain control is not the only issue when you're dealing with RA. Suppressing the RA to minimize inflammation is in a way your first goal. When you have suppressed the RA your pain levels will likely decrease substantially and you will require less painkillers. If you're not on the medication to suppress your RA, the information will still be there and you risk serious joint damage, which will not only limit your ability, but also cause a lot of pain.
You'll likely find that all kinds of people will suggest all kinds of miracle cures and medications to you and unfortunately, one of your jobs as a person with RA is to thoroughly research what other people tell you. You become a sort of lay person's medical expert, at least in the disease of RA and its treatments. You may want to check out our area for the newly diagnosed for posts on the various aspects of living with this disease. Living well with RA is possible and one of things that can help a lot is finding a supportive community of people who know what you're talking about. We have a great community here and I'm glad you found us.
Don't pay any attention to that person! Prednisone can and does have some serious side effects, if you take it for too long, or if you are on a high dose. Bottom line is, its should be a temporary fix until you find longterm meds that works for you. In my opinion, (and of course, there are millions of those) and I HAVE been there, it is best to avoid being on prednisone for the long term (months or years). But that being said, you need to educate yourself on these meds and do what YOU feel you need to do.
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