Driving & Surfing: How LDN Changed Tia's Life by Improving her CRPS

At age 11, I accidentally hit my foot on the frame of my bedroom door, resulting in a fracture in my left foot. While the fracture was healing (and even when it was fully healed), the pain kept getting worse, so it couldn't be attributed to the fracture. That was the start of a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). In addition to constant burning pain, I experienced skin discoloration and swelling, to name just a few symptoms of the CRPS. Several months later, my right foot suffered a stress fracture as well, and CRPS developed in that foot too. I’ve had this painful condition in both of my feet for the past 10 years.

For years, I tried countless treatments in the hope that they would alleviate my pain, but nothing worked. My body had gotten used to having pain. I suffered from CRPS for 5 years before I found Low Dose Naltrexone. I learned about LDN from Dr. Pradeep Chopra, who published the first article on using LDN to treat CRPS, and was my physician. I still consult him from time to time. He's always there when I need him. :)

For the first time, when I laid down to sleep and my CRPS was flaring, I wasn’t kept awake with pain.

I started at 0.5 milligrams of and went up only 0.5 milligrams each week because it made me nauseated. I increased it very gradually until reaching 4.5 milligrams. After around 3 months on LDN, I started noticing major improvements. For one thing, I noticed how much my pain had decreased. For the first time, when I laid down to sleep and my CRPS was flaring, I wasn’t kept awake with pain. I could now sleep through my flare-ups because they were so much less intense than they ever had been before. I noticed that I could stand longer and walk farther distances without causing a flare-up. You can even see the differences in pictures I took before and after starting LDN.

After taking LDN, I found that I actually COULD drive with my feet.

Before starting LDN, when I was 15 years old, I had taken Driver’s Education, and was eager to drive. I had tried to drive many times before, but the pain in my feet was too severe. Whenever I drove, the pain in my feet would flare so badly, I wouldn’t be able to walk for an entire week. I had accepted the fact that I would not be able to drive, unless I had a hand-controlled car. After taking LDN, I found that I actually COULD drive with my feet. I now have my Driver’s License. I do not have a hand-controlled car, because thanks to LDN, I don’t need one. My pain is manageable enough that I can drive with my feet now.

I would never have been able to surf before I took LDN, due to the pain. Here are some recent photos of me doing just that!

Not only did LDN help me when I was 15, but it even helps me now. The benefits of it continue over time. I recently had an internship and two days a week, I stood for hours at a time and walked the entire day. I went up and down 3 flights of stairs. While I am by no means "cured" and am still on the road to recovery, none of this would have been possible without this amazing medication.

LDN was the first medicine that actually gave me hope in my recovery from CRPS.

Low Dose Naltrexone really is the best medication I have ever taken. It was the only thing that ever helped my chronic nerve pain, and it helped me tremendously. LDN was the first medicine that actually gave me hope in my recovery from CRPS. I would recommend LDN to anyone and everyone because the benefits are simply amazing. The fact that I benefited from this medication after having CRPS as long as I did is incredible. I can only imagine the effects LDN would have on someone who only recently started suffering from chronic pain or nerve pain. This medicine has made my battle with chronic pain far easier and for that, I will be eternally grateful. LDN changed my life for the better. I can’t imagine a life without it. Thank you so much for the opportunity for me to share my story.