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Category: chronic illness (Page 4 of 13)

Sjögren’s and Fatigue

March 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments

enter site A few days ago, I posted a status update on the Thoughts and Ramblings Facebook page asking those with Sjögren’s/chronic illness if they could pick just one symptom to get rid of for the rest of their lives, what would it be. I knew what the answer would be for me, which was going to be the basis for this blog entry, but I wanted to see if others with Sjögren’s felt the same way.

https://penielenv.com/21rmbf92oit I was taken aback by how many responses I received with that poll and it was clear to me by the responses that fatigue was the clear winner; which is also the case for me. That relentless, brain-numbing fatigue that most people without a chronic illness typically cannot understand.

follow link There was an article put out by the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation last year that for the first time I have read, did an excellent job of describing the different types of fatigue encountered by those of us with Sjögren’s syndrome. The title of the article was: 13 Types of Sjögren’s Fatigue by Teri Rumpf, PhD. The article does and excellent job and you can read it by clicking on the article title link above.

https://www.yolascafe.com/doptbjb For me, as for so many of us, the Sjögren’s related fatigue that comes with this illness is often the most debilitating symptom we have to deal with, day after day, week after week. It affects every single aspect of our lives and even worse, fatigue is often misunderstood not only by the other people in our lives, but also by our medical providers. It is one of those invisible illness symptoms that is usually not outwardly obvious to other people. Or on the flip side of it, people think they do understand what the fatigue is like because they too have experienced “tiredness.”

go site I’m here to tell you that illness related fatigue is nothing like being tired.
Nothing.

https://paradiseperformingartscenter.com/9ytrmea6 I remember the days, before I became ill, when I worked as a registered nurse on a busy pediatric nurse, often on my feet for most of my twelve (more like thirteen-fourteen) hour shift and then commuting an hour each way to work. I remember the years I worked the night shift and could barely remember my drives home because I was that tired. Exhausted is probably a better word.

follow site But fatigue is different for me than tiredness or exhaustion.It is that feeling that I physically cannot take another step, even if my life depended on it. Sometimes it is predictable and sometimes it is not. An example of this is that if I work two consecutive days at my current job, it is pretty much guaranteed that sometime in the following forty-eight hours, the fatigue will consume me. That is predictable.

go here An unpredictable example is going out with friends on a weekend evening, which happened to me recently. I had made sure I got enough rest for twenty-four hours before we went out. I was in good shape for the first few hours, but halfway through a concert, at an intermission, the fatigue hit me like a freight train and I almost actually fell asleep during the intermission while sitting in my chair! I really thought I had my bases covered, but that night, the fatigue won.

https://www.mbtn.net/?p=0lfqxp7lo And that’s the problem, many times the fatigue does win. It very much affects my work life, what little I do have of one. It affects all my personal relationships and definitely my social life. And, it is frustrating as all hell. Because when you are fatigued, everything else is worse and I mean everything. It impacts my pain levels, my other physical symptoms, and definitely my ability to cope. It contributes to anxiety and depression and overall can cause a feeling of hopelessness.

https://danivoiceovers.com/awcos5egv6 I would say that fatigue is probably the issue I have had to work the hardest at and it has taken me the better part of the last seven years to do so. Working on it doesn’t mean I can get rid of it, but it does mean that I am able to live better with it and improve the quality of my life. It means that even though I hate it with a passion, it does not always win. And the times it does, it does and I move on.

go here There are a few strategies that I have used to help me manage my fatigue more effectively. One of the most important is planning ahead of time and prioritizing. Planning meaning not just my activities, but my rest as well. That is hard for me because when I am feeling less fatigued, I want to get as much done as possible. However I have found that for me, the fatigue is cumulative and rest periods every day are critical in managing it.

https://guelph-real-estate.ca/ufzz4vayndv Another important component to managing my fatigue is diet and exercise. I cannot emphasize this enough. And oftentimes, I need to emphasize this even with myself because it is an area that I can easily neglect. I have found a significant improvement in my fatigue levels when I exercise three to five times a week and cut out processed sugar, gluten, and processed foods. The exercise doesn’t even have to be much, maybe a fifteen minute walk or a half hour of gentle stretching. I just have to move my body.

https://dcinematools.com/n9t24oy3 I also need to listen to the fatigue. When its here, its here. Yes, there are some things I have to push through, like finishing a shift at work. But otherwise, I listen to my body and give it the rest it is screaming for. I find that most times when I do this, I recover more quickly than if I did not listen to my body and kept barreling through my day.

Order Tramadol Cod Saturday Delivery Lately, my fatigue has been more manageable for me and while I know that how I manage it is a crucial component, I have also been finding some relief lately since being on a steady dose of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) and increasing one of my thyroid medications. I always encourage people to talk to their doctors about checking their thyroid and also exploring any other possible causes of fatigue such as adrenal exhaustion, etc.

see url What techniques and management strategies have you used to help manage your illness related fatigue?

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The Courage of Illness

February 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments

https://dcinematools.com/0tw443v Yesterday, my husband and I attended the Greater Boston SSF Support Group at Tufts. The February meeting is always unique every year because it is the one meeting a year in which we have round table discussions, instead of a guest speaker lecture. What happens is that different topics that people are interested in are submitted to the moderator. There are three separate sessions during the two hour meeting and in each session there is anywhere from six-nine different table topics. Each support group member goes to the table that has a topic they are interested in discussing with other members. It is a great way to learn and discuss topics that are of interest and are unique to each group member.

follow site This year I facilitated two of the three sessions. One was on the topic on using low-dose naltrexone as a treatment for Sjögren’s and the other was on the use of alternative medicine in Sjögren’s. My husband and I also attended a session on complications from Sjögren’s and he attended a session on his own about being a caregiver of someone with Sjögren’s.

https://onlineconferenceformusictherapy.com/2025/02/22/i6pe5n783dy Both my husband and I recognized the many faces of those who have attended the group before, but it was very noticeable to both of us that there were a lot of new faces as well. As we spoke with people, we realized that that there were quite a few people who were newly diagnosed and I particularly noticed that there were more younger people than usual. Younger being defined as younger than being in their 30’s.

https://alldayelectrician.com/xtulnvlmci The ride to the support group takes at least an hour and a half on a good day and the day of this meeting, I was definitely not feeling my best. I was in more pain than usual, more tired than usual, and basically just sick of Sjögren’s; and the ridiculous winter weather we have been having as of late in Massachusetts. But I knew people were counting on me to facilitate these group discussions and I also had help getting there, so off we went.

https://mocicc.org/agricultura/ktbx0v4u3 As someone who has written a book on Sjögren’s, writes a blog, has had the illness for quite a few years now, and does a lot of research, I often get approached a lot during these support group meetings by people asking for advice or asking questions. I will be honest, I love this because for me, it makes all the hell I have been through have meaning because I can then use my experience to help others. It can be a little overwhelming though on days when I am not feeling well. Not because I don’t want to help or anything like that, but because it is harder for me to focus and pay attention. I’m sure many of you can relate to how that feels.

Tramadol Online India The low-dose naltrexone session I facilitated went well, but the alternative medicine session was incredible. I originally had estimated, according to the sign up sheet, that about six-seven people would be attending that session. The session ended up consisting of twenty-three people. After handing out information on a variety of alternative treatments, I had each group member talk briefly about their experiences, if any, with alternative medicine.. It actually surprised me how many people were using different alternative medicine treatments. Some of the most common treatments used were diet (specifically gluten-free and dairy-free), oil pulling (this surprised me, I thought I was the only one who did it), acupuncture, and turmeric. There was some really good discussion and sharing of ideas; an ideal outcome for a session like this.

get link Because I interacted with so many different people during this particular support group, I heard more personal experiences than I usually do during a meeting. As I have been thinking about the meeting since yesterday, there has been a common theme that keeps emerging in my mind. And that is how much we, as Sjögren’s patients, go through on a day to day basis. And the amount of courage it takes to live with this crap day after day, week in and week out. I’m not just talking about the path to diagnosis, which as we know, is usually a nightmare in itself. But rather, the amount of care we need to provide ourselves in order to manage our symptoms each and every day.

go site For me personally, a lot goes into existing in this illness stricken body day after day and I think that I often take that fact for granted, mostly because I feel like I cannot always dwell on how difficult it is or I will spiral into a massive depression. I also think that a lot of what I do to manage my illness becomes routine at times and I also take that for granted because well, its my life and its what I have to do. Just the steps that I have to take every day to prevent complications as a result of the dry eyes and dry mouth is time-consuming. Seriously, think about what the average non-Sjögren’s person does to care for their eyes and mouth every day. Most people I know brush their teeth twice a day and maybe floss once or twice a day. See a dentist every six-twelve months or so. Some non-Sjögren’s people have to put in and remove contact lenses every day or keep track of their eyeglasses.

https://www.yolascafe.com/q0c3fex For those of us with Sjögren’s, it is so much different: meticulous oral care such as frequent brushing, flossing, oil pulling, saliva substitutes as often as every hour, more frequent dental visits, special oral rinses, managing dry lips, dealing with swallowing issues from the lack of saliva, increased cavities, eye drops every thirsty minutes to an hour, warm eye compresses several times a day, waking up during the night from the discomfort of dry eyes and dry mouth, using and caring for a humidifier, trying to avoid dry environments, the list goes on and on.

go to link And that is just our eyes and mouth. As we know, for most of us, that is just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t include the management of pain, fatigue, and other organ complications with our lungs, heart, nervous system, digestive system, kidneys, bladder, etc. etc.

https://www.marineetstamp.com/h0ucdx5d51u When I did a rough estimate of the amount of time per day I spend on managing this illness (including but not limited to: medications, treatments, physical therapy, diet management, phone calls, medical appointments, etc.), I realized that the average amount of time I currently spend managing my Sjögren’s is three hours A DAY! And that is when things are relatively stable.

follow link As I think about that and about all these patients yesterday, one word comes to my mind and that is:

click COURAGE.

Order Tramadol Overnight Cod Guys, this illness business is not easy. One of the definitions of courage is: strength in the face of pain and grief. This courage we exhibit is something I needed to be reminded of recently, by people who understand what it takes to live with this illness. It takes an incredible amount of courage to wake up every single morning and know what we have to face…

go to link The special care our bodies need.
The pain.
The stress of modifying our day to meet our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
The grief over what we have lost.
Finding treatments to manage an incurable illness.
Dealing with a medical system that at its best, is broken.
Facing the possibilities of long-term complications and even death.

go People who don’t know better or don’t understand this invisible illness, they may say you are lazy, or weak, or making it all up. But friends, I know better. YOU know better. You are warriors. Each and every one of you. Despite the odds being stacked against you, you rally on. You go to work, or you educate others from the confines of your home. You tell your story. You care for your children and your parents. You volunteer to help those less fortunate. You rescue abandoned animals.

enter I have heard your stories.
You all exemplify courage.

Cheap Tramadol Fast Shipping Don’t let anyone ever convince you otherwise.
Own your strength.

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Nutrition and Sjögren’s

January 28, 2015 / / 0 Comments

I posted on the Facebook page for this blog recently about a visit I made to a nutritionist. I had won, at an auction for the SSF (or rather, my husband won for me), a one hour consult with Tara Mardigan, MS, MPH, RD. She is a nutritionist in Boston, MA and also serves on the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board. Some of my readers asked if I would post the information about that visit and this is what today’s entry is all about.

Anybody who follows my blog know that I feel very strongly that diet and nutrition play a huge part in dealing with autoimmune illnesses and is a very underutilized treatment option for all patients. I was running into a few issues with my nutrition lately, mostly because I was freaking out over what I was “supposed” to do. Since my diagnosis, I have been vegetarian, gluten and dairy-free, Paleo, and on the Autoimmune Protocol. I have had significant relief at times with the gluten and dairy-free, as well as the Paleo. However Paleo was causing me some other problems physically, so I had to loosen up on that. The Autoimmune Protocol didn’t seem to do me much good except make it so that I became a recluse in my house because I couldn’t eat anywhere else.

I have some emotional issues around food as well, many of which have improved over the past few years, but still come back to haunt me when my stress level is high. This most notably happens when I am stressed out over medical issues. I definitely have an addiction issue around sugar, processed foods, fast foods, etc. So going in all these different directions with my diet was really just making these issues worse over the past six months. I wanted to eat to fuel and heal my body, but it felt like the more restrictions I imposed on myself, the worse my eating habits would get after a while.

I was curious to see what an actual nutritionist had to say about it all, so off to Boston I went. Honestly, I am in Boston so much, I should just move there! The visit went well and the following is the recommendations she made to me in regards to my diet. Please remember, these suggestions are for me; most likely, you will have different needs so these suggestions should not be considered appropriate for everyone. That being said, I think a lot of the suggestions are just a good way to eat for all of us:

* Aim for a bigger, more balanced breakfast.

* Aim for balance at mealtime using the Five Fingers Chart. This chart states that at every meal, you should strive to eat one serving from each of the following groups: fruit/vegetable; carbohydrate, protein, healthy fat, and fluid. You can eat more than one serving of vegetables/fruits (except for starchy veggies and dried fruit). The more color, the better. Choose smaller portions for tropical fruits.

* Aim for a Powerful Plate at dinnertime. Choose the Healthy Eating Plate on days you exercise (50% vegetables/fruits, 25% carbohydrates, 25% protein) and the Less Active Plate on days you don’t exercise or have a very light day (75% vegetables/fruits, 25% protein). Adjust the amount of carbohydrates you take in based on your activity level. Less active, less carbs.

* Count corn, winter squash, parsnips, peas, and potatoes as carbohydrates, not as vegetables.

* Fruit with skin: 1 medium-large piece or 1 cup (berries, apples, pears, grapes, plums, nectarines,oranges, grapefruit.

* Fruit without skin: 1 small banana or 1/2 up (any tropical fruit)

* Consider a high powered blender such as Vitamix or Blendtec to support your efforts and increasing fruits and vegetables (significantly) in smoothies will be a great anti-inflammatory nutrition strategy.

*Try adding an intentional healthy snack between breakfast and lunch and/or lunch and dinner if you have a gap of more than 3-4 hours between. Fruit with 0.25 cup of nuts or unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds is a great choice here. You are looking for fiber, a small amount of healthy fat and/or protein.

*Consider trying some non-gluten free options from fresh-made sources. Refer to FODMAP grocery list for some digestive-friendly choices (not necessarily gluten-free).

* Try fresh cut vegetables, such as cucumbers or carrots with red wine or white vinegar as a crunchy nighttime snack that’s sodium-free and low in calories.

* Consider the “One Bowl” method for nighttime or mindless snacking. You can eat whatever you want (healthy or unhealthy) but you’ll first stop and put the food into a bowl. Don’t judge the food or the amount, but take a minute to pause. This is a mindful eating strategy and may help you gradually make intentional choices that help nourish. This is a difficult strategy but if you’re able to stick with it, it will help you lose weight because you’ll eat less and choose more healthful options. The book that inspired this idea is One Bowl by Don Gerrard.

* Be verbal when eating out. Ask for extra vegetables, prepared without butter or sauces. Ask for a side of pasta or skip it. Skip the bread. Avoid shiny and battered foods. Get open-faced sandwiches. Have the burrito bowl with a small spoonful of rice. Skip or split appetizers and desserts. Choose fish instead of meat. Ask for lemon wedges to add flavor.

* When dressing your salad, use fresh lemons and a small amount of olive oil. If you want creamy dressing, ask for it on the side and use a small amount.

* Continue with consistent (but gradual) hydration throughout the day with water.

* Great job with exercise. Continue with walking and yoga and hopefully you will be able to gradually get back into running again.

Whew! I know that’s a lot of information, but I thought it was important enough to share with all of you. I had the appointment right before Christmas. I did read the One Bowl book she mentioned and started to implement a few of the suggestions, but Christmas eating really threw me off. I did try some non-GMO bread with gluten in it. I found that in small amounts (and I mean SMALL), I could tolerate it, but larger amounts seem to be a problem. I found this out when I dropped my gluten and dairy restriction for several weeks around Christmas. I also developed a lot of digestive issues when I ate a lot of gluten and dairy, issues that I have never had before. I am currently on the last day of a 10 day detox/cleanse which was my own doing; it was NOT a recommendation of the nutritionist. I will be blogging about that tomorrow or Monday. My plan for the few days following the detox is to ease back into eating normally again and then go full steam ahead with the nutritionist’s suggestions.

One of the big things that this visit made me realize and understand is that despite all the different “diets” and eating plans out there that claim to cure or help your autoimmune illness, in the end, it may just come down to great nutrition on a consistent basis for many people. I am not saying that the Autoimmune Protocol or eliminating gluten may not help your symptoms; I know many people who find relief eliminating different food groups, such as with me and gluten. However, I think that for me, the answer may be more in eating whole foods in balance with each other, minus the gluten and dairy I need to limit, as well as limiting processed foods, soy, alcohol, refined sugar, etc. So basically, just eating healthy!

Please feel free to comment below on what nutrition strategies you have implemented to help your autoimmune illness, or even just your general health.

Accepting Sjögren’s

December 1, 2014 / / 15 Comments

I wasn’t planning on doing any writing today but to be honest, I need to write. Actually, there are many times that I need to write. I cannot even tell you how many times I come to this blog to write about how I am feeling regarding living with this illness and instead of blogging, I close down my computer and walk away.

Why?

Because I feel like I don’t have anything positive to say.

And it has come to my attention lately that this is probably not the healthiest way to deal with the psychological impact of having a chronic illness. Of course, I already knew that fact, but I never seemed to think that it applied to me. I thought that the best way for me to get through day after day with this heavy burden that is called Sjögren’s syndrome, was to stay upbeat and positive.

Put on a smile.
Be grateful for what you have.
Make the best out of a lousy situation.
Hell, write a book about it even!

And you know what? I DO believe that keeping a positive attitude is a key element to living well with chronic illness, no doubt about that. However, I now realize that in my efforts to keep myself from getting down and out, I have placed this unrealistic expectation on myself that I need to be upbeat and positive all the time when dealing with others, especially in my writing. I try very hard not to complain whether it is online on social media, or with my friends and family. And I think that is a disservice to us all.

The exceptions to this are my husband, my parents, and my brother. They get the real deal, 24/7. Why? Because they are “safe”. I don’t worry that they will judge me, end a friendship with me, or realize that being in a friendship/relationship with someone like me can be really hard at times. It is not for the weak or for those who cannot handle the unpredictability of what this illness brings. They see me at my worst and love me anyways.

But, living like that is exhausting.
And I cannot keep it up.

I am here to tell you that Sjögren’s syndrome sucks. It is this pervasive and debilitating illness that NEVER gives you a day off. Every single morning I wake up knowing that at the age of 43, I am never going to have a day again where I am completely healthy. It will never go away. It will follow me every single moment of every single day until the day I die. And hopefully, that will be because of old age, and not because of Sjögren’s complications.

That is not a negative attitude.
That is called acceptance.

Acceptance is what frees you. It is acknowledging the reality of the situation while at the same time, making a plan to live as wholly and completely as you can, despite it all. It is knowing that you can do anything you set your mind to while at the same time knowing that doing some things are not worth the price you will pay in the end.

Acceptance is being your genuine self. Not pretending to be fine when you are not. Knowing the value of letting people see how things really are. How exhausted you are or how much pain you are in. How discouraged you are when you spend half of your work week in doctor’s appointments.

Acceptance is having and using the ability to say “no” to people and requests, especially the ones that come from people who don’t try to understand, or maybe don’t even care about, your limitations or restrictions. Maybe its saying no to a trip that you know will be difficult or a stressful situation that may exacerbate your symptoms.

So I am going to work on acceptance and I will forewarn you, it probably will not be pretty at times. It will involve being more honest and I’m sure, using more swear words because that is just what I do. I am aiming for progress, and not perfection.  Maybe you can too…

Revisiting Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

November 7, 2014 / / 1 Comment

“LDN may well be the most therapeutic breakthrough in over 50 years. It provides a new method of medical treatment by mobilizing the natural defenses of one’s own immune system.” ~ David Gluck

I have previously posted at least twice about my trials with a little-known medication called low-dose naltrexone, LDN for short. You can read those previous entries HERE and HERE.

However I have decided that it is worthy of another post, because I am about three weeks into my third trial with it and I have recently learned more about the medication.

Naltrexone is a prescription medication that has historically been used in larger doses to treat alcohol dependence and opioid addictions. Since the 1980’s, some doctors have discovered that it can be used in smaller doses, hence the name LOW-dose naltrexone, to successfully treat some chronic illnesses, specifically autoimmune diseases, cancer, HIV, fibromyalgia, etc. It accomplishes this by regulating cell growth and slowing down cell proliferation. For autoimmune diseases, this cell regulation results in the immune system being reset.

LDN, at doses of 1.5-4.5mg per day, works by blocking the opioid receptors in your body for approximately four hours. The body is tricked into thinking it is not producing endorphins, specifically those called Opioid Growth Factor (OGF). The body then compensates for this by increasing production of these opioids and their receptors, producing a rebound effect.

LDN was first introduced to me in early 2013 by my integrative medicine practitioner. It has successfully been used to treat Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s Disease in some individuals. My practitioner thought that it may be of use in Sjögren’s syndrome. The problem is not many people have heard of it and there haven’t been many studies done on its positive effects; although there were a few studies done with Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s patients which showed its benefits. LDN is a very inexpensive drug and is already available as a generic preparation, so of course research studies do not get big funding from the pharmaceutical companies and the drug remains underutilized. There are some grass roots groups that have been trying to get the word out there and that is the primary reason why I decided to do another blog entry about it.

So you are probably wondering why I am trying this medication for the third time. I have actually had some good success with it, however the side effect of insomnia has been enough of a problem that it has caused me to go off of it during one of the trials. Also, the last time I was on it, I was admitted into the hospital and put on narcotic pain medication for an issue that had nothing to do with the LDN. You CANNOT take LDN while you are taking narcotic pain medications. The only possible exception to this is Tramadol which I have been able to take, only on occasion, and I try to space it four hours apart from my LDN dose.

LDN is a compounded medication. I get mine compounded by Skip’s Pharmacy in Boca Raton, Florida and it is shipped to my house. They also do a vegetarian capsule which is dairy-free. The owner, Skip Lenz, is a pharmacist who is considered an expert on the use of LDN and he is a very valuable resource. This is not a medication that all pharmacies know how to prepare in terms of fillers, etc. so do your homework on this. And do NOT get it in a slow-release form. The total cost, with shipping, runs me somewhere between $22-$28/month. Insurance does not cover it, but that is cheaper than many of my insurance co-pays.

Ideally, you should work with your doctor in regards to using LDN. But, if you want to try LDN and cannot get a doctor to prescribe it for you, you may contact Crystal Nason by email at this address: LDNDrListRequest@aol.com. Put LDN Prescribing Doctor in the subject line and tell her where you live. She has an extensive list of doctors who prescribe LDN and I have heard she is an excellent resource for this.

I am seeing a different integrative medicine practitioner now and we talked about trying the LDN again, but this time, by starting at a much lower dose and slowly increasing it to see if I can tolerate it. The previous two times, I started at 3mg I believe. This time around, I am starting at 1 mg. I am probably going to stick with that dose for another month or so. It has affected my sleep some already, but not to the extent it did before. Oftentimes the insomnia improves over time. Typically, people say that LDN should be taking between 9pm-3am so that it works on the endorphin receptors during their peak time, which is between 2-4am. This is probably the most debated topic regarding LDN…when to take it. Other experts on the topic feel that because of the mechanism of how it works, you can take it at any time of day. Because I have already started with some insomnia (I fall asleep fine, but wake up around 1 am for a while and feel wired), I am trying it in the morning. It’s too soon to tell yet if that is helping my sleep as I have had some other issues affecting my sleep this week.

What I have noticed just from being on this small dose is that my typical low level anxiety that I get from time to time is gone and in general, I feel more on an even keel. My energy level has also improved a little during the day. In the past, when on higher doses, I have seen a dramatic improvement in my pain levels and energy. And that is exactly why I am working so hard to get LDN to work for me.

The thing about LDN is this: besides the insomnia and vivid dreams, there is minimal risk and side effects to taking it. OK, you have to deal with the narcotics issue but besides that, it is a relatively convenient medication to take. No life-altering side effects like all the immunosuppressants that get thrown at us; osteoporosis, diabetes, cataracts, cancer, the list goes on and on. If you are being treated for a thyroid disorder, you need to more closely monitor your thyroid levels because as LDN regulates your immune system, your TSH levels can fluctuate  and you may need a thyroid medication adjustment. And finally, as we know, not all medications work successfully for everybody.

Because the research is limited and its not well known as a treatment for autoimmune illness in traditional western medicine, there are a lot of unknowns about the medication at this low dose, the dose timing thing being a perfect example. So if you decide to try it, you are going to have to listen to your body, do your research, and find what dose and timing works best for your body and particular illness. Don’t give up on it. There are plenty of non-prescription sleep supplements to help with the insomnia if you should need it and I believe that LDN is well worth the effort. While I don’t think it is a miracle cure, I do think it can be an important component of the treatment plan.

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