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Pamela - Hashimoto’s - 9th Jan 2019 (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.
Linda Elsegood: Today. I'm joined by Pamela from the United States. You take LDN for Hashimoto's. Thank you for joining us the day, Pamela.
Pamela: Thank you for having me.
Linda Elsegood: So first of all, could you tell us your journey to getting that ultimate diagnosis of Hashimoto's?
Pamela: Absolutely. Um, I had spent probably a good portion of the previous 20 years just not feeling well.
Various chronic infections, poor gut health, um, just being unusually tired. And so after lots of research, I ended up going to a natural pathic doctor here, um, that I discovered and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and began taking, um, desiccated thyroid medication for that. And I saw some, um, improvements, but I knew, you know, it still just wasn't doing the trick.
To get me to my optimal health and through my research and my support groups that I was a member of on Facebook. Um, I. Came into the information about LDN and started doing my own research and asked my doctor if that, you know, what his views were on it. And he was very surprised, but I had found it and said that he had used it in the past for many years with fantastic results and, um, prescribed it to me.
And that was probably about six or nine months ago.
Linda Elsegood: Well, you had quite a journey, didn't you, uh, being ill for so long without a diagnosis? I mean, how did that make you feel?
Pamela: Oh, it was extremely frustrating. You know, I, I felt like every doctor that I had ever been too kind of dismissed me as a hypochondriac or that I was making a bigger deal. Um. Or that I was exaggerating or it was all in my head, and it was very depressing.
It was, um, you know, it was, it was hard to fight up against that. And especially when you don't have unlimited resources to spend on all of these medical tests. And after going to various, um. Specialist and just racking up thousands of dollars and in the laboratory test and still have no answers. You know, it was just very frustrating and depressing and which I think compounded the problem even more
Linda Elsegood: Oh, definitely.
So what was your next step after you done your own investigation?
Pamela: Well, I took the information that I found back to this natural doctor and, um, he ended up prescribing LPN to see if in conjunction with the natural thyroid medicine if I would have better results. And it was pretty amazing. It was, um, I would say within a week my sleep improved dramatically because I've had.
Insomnia since I was probably about 25 years old and I've taken Ambien for it, which I really wanted to get off of. So my eye, just the dramatic difference in my sleep and my joint pain. Um, my gut health. Things had been returned, um, almost to normal, you know, with little bouts here and there, but dramatically different than it had been an over the past 20 years.
Linda Elsegood: And did you find that you could reduce the amount of, um, natural thyroid you were
Pamela: taking. Um, you know what, actually, yes. Just recently, um, due to insurance I went to, I have a new doctor who strongly believes in LDN, and she couldn't believe I had found a doctor and had been taking it already.
And after my first blood tests, this was just about a month and a half ago, um, she lowered. Um, I went from three greens of fibroid of that nature. Three today down to one and a half.
Linda Elsegood: Oh
Pamela: Yeah. Yeah. And I'm waiting to go back for return file, you know, after labs, after making that adjustment. And I may be able to lower even more, which is awesome.
Linda Elsegood: Amazing. So how do you feel now? What's your quality of life as compared with before?
Pamela: Um, you know what, actually, no comparison to the way that I felt two years ago before discovering what I, you know, that I had Hashimoto's and still even after taking this high ride way better with the LDN, just huge improvements.
I, you know, I tell everybody I know because there are so many people suffering from chronic. Um, autoimmune issues. Again, you know, I think people are in the same boat that I was in. Just lost, not able to find the right doctors who take you seriously. Um, not knowing the doctors, just not knowing what tests to do or what to look for or about LDN at all.
Linda Elsegood: and don't you think, even if you. Or a person who's never suffered from depression and you're a bright, bubbly person when you have to live with a chronic condition, and people don't believe you or understand or know how to treat it. That in itself is very depressing, isn't it? Do you know what I mean?
Pamela: I've always been a very positive, um, very positive person. You know, my sister suffered from depression, so I've, you know, I know what that's like to have chronic depression and that wasn't me. But after 20 years of having a sinus infection and joint pain and stomach problems, and, you know, just not finding the right support that even really.
Where do you feel like they don't even believe you? Um, it's very, it's discouraging, and it compounds when you already aren't feeling good, and you don't have to, like, you know where to go to find answers, you know, when you know something is off in your body, but you don't know where to go with it.
Linda Elsegood: Mm. So if you had to rate your quality of life on a score of one to 10.
Before you started the LDN, what would it have been?
Pamela: I would say maybe about a four. Um, and, well,
Linda Elsegood: yes. And what it is now?
Pamela: Now, now I would say an eight or a nine. You know, I still have minor joint pain and, um, a little bit of. Um, stomach issues, but I'm hoping that the longer that I'm on this, you know, that it's just going to keep getting better and better, which I feel like it is.
And I feel like my mental, um, state has greatly improved now that I finally feel like I have doctors who are hearing me. And no, you don't. Not that you want to be diagnosed with anything, but that was a huge relief, just like, okay, I, you know, I know it wasn't in my head. And now. At least my doctors know that.
Linda Elsegood: Mm-hmm. So you'll sleep. You said that you have a better quality of sleep. How many hours would you say you're sleeping a day?
Pamela: You know, the past few months, it released eight hours a night, which has never ever happened. Normally I would go to sleep and sleep for about two to three hours. Even taking the strongest dose, the Ambien, I would still wake up and be up the majority of the rest of the night, you know?
So I really only could look forward to two or three hours of sleep at night.
Linda Elsegood: And that doesn't make you feel too good the next day, either does it?
Pamela: Oh, absolutely not. No. You'd feel like you'd been out drinking for two. You can't think straight, and you have no energy.
That's my biggest. The satisfaction that I get an LDN and I absolutely know that that's what it is. Because, um, I had run out for about a month and me, you know, with getting compounded, you know, I waited, and sure enough, everything crept back up, all my symptoms, my sleep, and so I will never run out of LDN. In the future.
That's for sure that that is my priority now. Well,
Linda Elsegood: I continued to improve in for 18 months, so I think you hopefully will see even further
Pamela: benefits. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. I, you know what? I really, I really feel like that. I feel like this has just been a, a miracle. Do you know? I'm like, how? I don't understand how it's not.
More known even by medical professionals. So I spread the word everywhere I go,
Linda Elsegood: Oh, that's fantastic. Well, long may your success with LDN continue and hopefully your still keep improving. And thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. Pamela. Oh,
Pamela: thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate it.
Appreciate being able to get the word out.
Linda Elsegood: Thank you.
Pamela: All right. You have a good day.
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