Re: OT: Response to question about LDN (was: Re: OT: Chronic Fatigue Sydrome is a virus)

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> n -- I want to talk with my GI doc about LDN during my appt in 2 > weeks. It's also supposed to be great for FMS/CFS, so it might be just > what I need! Can you tell me what dose you started at and any other > info that might be helpful to tell the doctor? (I'm also going to look > at the LDN Yahoo group) Does insurance usually cover LDN or is it > considered off-label?> Debbie T>>> But LDN has helped far more than anything else. I>> think I've said it here before: within five days of taking it my fatigue>> pretty much evaporated; and evaporated is the word. It was just gone. >> And>> still is. It's given me a new life, along with a much healed gut due to>> both LDN and the diet.>>>> n>>>I realize this is off-topic, but I'll answer here because I've found that the SCD and LDN work so well together, and some other list members might be interested in this. My Dr. prescribed the "regular" top does, 4.5 mg, but I instinctively knew that my body would want me to start at less than that; I began at about half that (either divide your capsule by eyeballing it, and tapping out half the contents into a glass, then mix with a little water and drink; or dissolve one or more capsules in distilled water -- keep track of how much water you add per capsule -- and take a given smaller amount; you can assume  x mg = x ml). I gradually increased up to 4.5 mg over about a three-week period. Some people do it slower, but that worked fine for me.I printed some stuff from the lowdosenaltrexone.org site and a few others to give my doctor. He also did his own search (I think on WebMD) while I was in his office -- and found the very positive Penn State Crohn's study. He didn't know about it until I told him, but was openminded enough to let me try it, as I had asked him to. Since he knows I'm quite drug sensitive and there are no real negative side-effects "it can't hurt and it might help, and even help a lot" was his attitude. You might use that argument with your doctor. And you could point out that it doesn't at all have the potential toxic side-effects that most IBD drugs have. And there's no problem with taking it indefinitely. The following time I saw him -- about a month ago -- he was impressed (also with the diet, though being of Italian extraction he's hoping I can eat pasta again some day; and Italian bread) ;-) -- and he said, "Keep doing what you're doing!" My blood work, incidentally, is now pretty much normal, and shows no sign of inflammation or infection. I myself was diagnosed some years ago with fibromyalgia -- I had the symptoms -- but it's been sort of in the background these last years, tahnkfully. It may have actually been mitochondrial dysfunction (which, among other things, causes lactic-acid build-up in one's muscles, and which -- along with Crohn's -- exacerbates fatigue). So the LDN has been a Godsend. As has the diet. For me, together they're dynamite.I wish you well with your doctor.  Oh, re: your question about LDN and insurance. Some insurances cover it; mine (Blue Cross) does; however, the co-pay is $40 for a month's supply (I realize there are many different insurance plans even within one company.) It's actually cheaper to forget about insurance because LDN is a generic drug. I asked my GI to give me a 90-day rather than 30-day supply, which he gladly did, and I fill it via mail order; it costs only a fraction more for the three-month supply than it did for the one-month co-pay. (I can tell you more about that if/when you get LDN. Feel free to contact me offlist.) n