Low Dose Naltrexone and Prednisone for PMR?

What do you mean by taming your neuropathy and sciatica? I have both of these conditions. I think they are both tame at the moment but I want them to be cured.

The sciatica used to be worse ... more like leg amputation seemed like a good idea to me. I took 60 mg of Prednisone instead of having an emergency lumbar fusion because of severe lumbar spinal stenosis. Taking that much Prednisone to relieve the pain was a bone of contention with rheumatologist. She spent my entire visit looking at the MRI results. She said she understood how much pain I was having but she wouldn't have recommended taking Prednisone. She spent the rest of my time explaining what she would have done instead of taking Prednisone. My response was that I thought I was going to die from just the pain and the surgeon said I wasn't the best candidate for surgery because of long term Prednisone use. I felt taking more prednisone would not do any more harm. My rheumatologist agreed and simply said she was glad Prednisone relieved my radicular leg pain.

My neuopathy seems to be improving. I have had EMGs and nerve conduction studies when the neuropathy was getting worse. I did an EMG when I had the acute onset of radicular leg pain because it caused me to also have foot drop. The EMG said peripheral neuropathy in the peroneal nerve was causing my foot drop. The foot drop wasn't due to the nerve roots exiting my lumbar spine were being crushed as the spine surgeon had feared.

In any case, all of the above is improving except I still have foot drop and severe spinal stenosis. I'm blaming it all on inflammation and/or Prednisone. I'm off Prednisone now and many things are improving.

As a multiple autoimmune sufferer, breast cancer surviver, MDS experiencer (?), life-long migraine haver, I can say that LDN does help me. I use 2 mg (because 4 mg made no difference) and 2 mg helped me from day one. My experience has taught me that we are all different and that LDN helps in so many different ways it would be wrong to try to predict. Some people have noticed side effects so start small and be aware of subtle changes. The few side effects I have heard of are all reversable and mild so give it a chance. It might help in ways you can't imagine.

Still doing well on LDN

Glad to hear things are improving! By "tamed" I mean that I feel no neuropathy at all, and no pain, though some restriction, from sciatica (which once sent me howling to the ER and which was almost immediately mitgated by dexamthasone). I am aware that these can return; that's the core reason that I am keeping on LDN.

Do you think LDN is keeping things tame at the moment? Sounds like you still have some problems if those things can return.

I'm in the same position. I don't want to change anything as long as the problems continue to improve or stay the same. However, I do fear that things can change and get worse.

People seem to think LDN helps. I have never tried it but I'm all for whatever helps people and doesn't do too much harm.

I was never opposed to Prednisone as long as the benefits outweighed the side effects. Unfortunately things changed constantly the longer I took Prednisone. I needed more stability in my life. Actemra (tocilizumab) works for me and has given me a remarkable degree of stability. Relatively speaking, the pain is tolerable.

Well, not the sciatica, but I believe the neuropathy was a gift from PMR--so as long as PMR persists, I guess the neuropathy could return; that's why I continue to take LDN. Then, too, I have read that some doctors take LDN for prophylactic reasons--that is, to protect against various illnesses.

My diffuse peripheral neuropathy was a gift from "idiopathic."

I stay away from neurology, If they don't know what causes peripheral neuropathy, they also won't know how to fix it.

Every time I go to neurology, they say I have foot drop which was originally caused by peroneal nerve neuropathy. Neurology didn't know what caused that either. They didn't have any problem pointing to severe spinal stenosis. The neurologist then says that I need a neurosurgeon but I don't want to see a neurosurgeon either.

I'm not a nervous wreck but my nerves aren't working very well.