I started low dose naltrexone before I went to bed last night. I wasn't sure what to expect because I had read various reviews from people who noticed an immediate difference, people who didn't notice a change for months, and people who had a negative reaction. Some people said it caused insomnia, so they took it during the day. Other people said it made them feel weird if they took it in the morning, so they took it at night.
I had no problem going to sleep last night. I fell asleep watching something with Peppy and got off the couch around ten, took a 1.5 mg pill and went right back to sleep. I woke up at 3:30 (but this happens sometime anyway) and was able to just shut my eyes and immediately go back to sleep until 5. I love when that happens and there isn't one line of a song circling in my mind like an endless loop of insanity.
When I first started Wellbutrin I had some super vivid dreams, but then it sort of tapered off. I know I'm still dreaming because I can remember tiny bits, but it is nothing like it used to be precovid when I would have interesting dreams every single night. Last night I had dreams that I remember. My mom was cleaning her toilet dressed as Snow White. She was getting ready to take me and my brothers to some church thing, but it took her so long to get ready it was now 9 pm, so I said I was staying home because they had probably already cleaned everything up at church. My mom gets mad, suddenly has this brightly striped sweater on, and starts pinching me in the stomach with painful long nails. She was clawing at me when I woke up at 3:30. There were no emotions in my dream, so I didn't wake up feeling anxious or with a racing heart. I'm not even sure what might make my heart race at all these days. I don't hold any animosity towards my mom as an adult, but apparently there's some stuff under the surface from my childhood that I haven't processed completely. Eh, don't most of us have mommy or daddy issues in some form?
I woke up again at 5 and my brain was very awake. I felt not only alert, but energetic. I still drank my coffee, but I felt like I'd already drank a pot. (I never feel any jitters from caffeine, I don't even understand this feeling. Probably if you have a major depressive disorder, your body can consume mass quantities of caffeine because it needs those uppers just to feel functional.) I had no problem praying or reading my bible or doing the mini devotionals that I do with a group of friends. It was a little surreal to be able to mentally do ALL the things.
I also woke up pain free, which was very noticeable. The weather has been getting chillier, and yesterday it was rainy, which is the perfect combination for my inflammation and arthritis flare ups. But this morning my claw hand isn't tight, and the backs of my knees aren't achey. Those are my two major consistent culprits when it comes to pain. Those and the trigeminal nerve. Some people said they even got relief from their trigeminal neuralgia, which I've never been diagnosed with, but I'm pretty positive it is what I was confusing for dental problems back in May.
I know this is just day one, but I do not think all of these things can be a placebo effect. Just like when I started the wellbutrin and felt a sudden change, I think that maybe my brain is so deficient in certain things that slight chemical alterations can be immediately noticed. I'm supposed to take 1.5 mg for ten days, then 3 mg for ten days, topping out at 4.5 mg. Based on what I've read, most people have to toy around with the dose until they find their Goldilocks spot and it varies greatly from person to person.
I got my LDN through AgelessRX. I've come to trust the longhaul community on reddit as a great resource for up to date information for longhaulers, and this website was highly recommended for people who didn't have a compounding pharmacy in their area. Or anyone who wants to make their own medical decisions. I had to fill out medical information so they could decide if I qualified. After I qualified I set up a teledoc appointment. I talked to the doctor and he approved me. I know the website shows these generic little pill bottles, but it arrived in a legitimate orange pill bottle with a prescription label from a pharmacy in New Jersey.
I found out that there is actually a drug that is a combination of both Wellbutrin and LDN and it is prescribed for people with obesity for an appetite suppressant. Food is one of my few remaining sources that can bring me physical satisfaction, so man, I don't need any appetite suppression. I seem to not be able to gain weight even if I wanted to. Someone even asked me a couple months ago how I managed to stay so thin and I was thinking, "Eh...because I've been sick for two years." It's not a vanity thing I promise you.
Anyway, I'm excited to see how this goes, and with such a positive start I am hopeful that I won't have any problematic side effects.
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