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How long before low dose naltrexone works?

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I'm definitely expecting the LDN to take a while. I'm just a little more concerned about adverse effects, but after 3 days still nothing. I've actually noticed I'm sleeping a little better. When I wake up in the middle of the night I can get right back to sleep. Still unrefreshing, but more refreshing than not getting the sleep!

My number (NK Cell) compared to y'all's is obviously in a different format so I have no idea how to compare!

There's NK cell number and NK cell function. Do you have both results? Maybe if you tell us, people can help you compare.

ETA: Duh! See you gave it above and I missed it. I'll blame brain fog. ;)

Your function looks in normal range, if I'm reading correctly. Are your numbers low?
 

Clodomir

Where is the sun?
Messages
212
Location
Belgium
Thanks everyone. I will take it slow. How long before anyone had good results on LDN?
Hi,

Happily, it takes me 2 month!

Now i can't imagine living without!
I am taking now IV ABX for lyme and i am herxing but it is manageable ( i think thanks to LDN)

Have a nice day

Clodomir
 

Soundthealarm21

Senior Member
Messages
420
Location
Dallas, TX
Mine specifically says NK Cell Function Assay. That's the only one that got done.

Also, I'm talking to my doc on Tuesday and getting the LDN dose dropped. You all were right to recommend not starting high. It has indeed made me very sick. So I have to deal with that and a vit C IV herx at the same time. Not very comfortable! What is a good starting dose?

Thanks!
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
Mine specifically says NK Cell Function Assay. That's the only one that got done.

Also, I'm talking to my doc on Tuesday and getting the LDN dose dropped. You all were right to recommend not starting high. It has indeed made me very sick. So I have to deal with that and a vit C IV herx at the same time. Not very comfortable! What is a good starting dose?

Thanks!


It seems individual. The average is about 1.5 mg but some need to start at .5 mg. Maybe get a form (I like liquid) where it is easy to change doses.

Sushi
 

maddietod

Senior Member
Messages
2,859
I've taken 0.5mg for 4 nights now, with no good or bad effects. In case this IS doing something, and my body's adjusting, I'm going to stay at this dose for a week, and then start bumping up.
 

Soundthealarm21

Senior Member
Messages
420
Location
Dallas, TX
Okay, you all were right. I tried to tell my doc and he dropped it to three and I trusted him and I have had one of the worst days I've ever had.

Is there such thing as withdrawal or is something else happening? I feel so ill. Does anyone know roughly how long it takes for the system to calm down?
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
Okay, you all were right. I tried to tell my doc and he dropped it to three and I trusted him and I have had one of the worst days I've ever had.

Is there such thing as withdrawal or is something else happening? I feel so ill. Does anyone know roughly how long it takes for the system to calm down?


Most people metabolize LDN pretty quickly and I think it has a short half life. Shouldn't be any withdrawal, but, that dose might have kicked your immune system in the ass and it could take a bit to calm down.

Best,
Sushi
 

Yin

Messages
7
I started LDN this month at .5 mg, then 1 mg, then 1.5 mg. It was wonderful for pain -- better than Tramadol -- and made me fairly alert. BUT, It made me feel very, very depressed and unable to handle stress at all. I was on Famvir, which already makes me depressed and emotional. HHV6, HSV1 and EBV keep my cortisol levels low. LDN seemed to make both worse. I was crying every day, feeling like I could not make decisions, like everything was too hard, and even a few days like I wanted to die. I stopped both LDN and Famvir 2 days ago and feel back to my normal self today.

Should I go back on LDN but stay at .5 mg longer? I did not feel pain relief at .5, so went to 1.0 the next day, and then 1.5 2 days later.

Or, does LDN lower cortisol, and so if you are dealing with viruses, it may not be right for you? thank you for any ideas! I was so looking forward to LDN being my answer, but I was miserable emotionally on it.
 

CantThink

Senior Member
Messages
800
Location
England, UK
I took a long time to increase my dosages . I had a bad herx everytime I increased:

Night sweats
Mucus shifting
Feeling bouts of extremely hot or flushed (despite it being actually very cold)
Headache/Migraine the first night
Extreme exhaustion
Fitful sleep
Lead weight feeling

and the herx typically ended up going on for 5 to 7 days or so. I ended up having to increase when I knew I was able to be pretty much bedbound for the recovery period and after that I would feel back to my 'normal'.

I kept/keep a blog about it. This is what I wrote:

Despite knowing that LDN can promote initial herx reactions, I never expected to become completely and utterly incapacitated by it. I thought herx might mean headaches and nausea or something along those lines. This total crash is horrible, as on a normal, good day I usually get up for a bit and get something done, and spend then rest of the time up (as in dressed and downstairs), but either seated or lying down.

I started on 0.75mg and 13 months later I am on 4mg. I have experienced benefits, but have definitely not had a straight and smooth course of improvements... I seem to have ups and downs so sometimes it feels as if it's not doing anything.

As a result, I have tried to look at the overall picture, which shows improvement. This year I have done more than I have managed to do since 2009, so to me that is improvement. I should note here that I also have Auto Immune Thyroid Disease so some of the benefits may be related to that, as some people take it for that alone.

It's hard to quantify, but I noticed overall that I have had an increase in my stamina, a decrease in feelings of apathy (which I developed - the apathy - once I developed the thyroid disease), and when I do manage to get a whole night of sleep, I seem to be sleeping deeper and getting dreams. Before taking it, I could feel I was not getting that deep sleep and I went for years without having any dreams (prior to that state I was having horrid psychedelic ones). I still struggle to actually get to sleep and have to practice sleep hygiene and turn off any wi-fi applicances that are nearish to my room or in my room or I have a terrible night of tossing and turning. Getting a night of sleep definitely makes a big difference!

I think that it really helps to keep some form of record of symptoms/a journal/blog while taking LDN as it helps to measure improvements, if any. I think maybe 6 months to a year is a good amount of time to trial it before giving up.

I accidentally missed 2 doses in the summer and I rued that! I quickly (because it has such a short life) relapsed - as it was obviously doing something!! - and it took me a while to get back to where I was before the missed doses.


 
Messages
2
I have prescription for 4.5mg of LDN. I have divided one capsule into 4 parts in gel caps. I'm going to start tonight. Fingers crossed. My health issues are fibromyalgia, ulcerative colitis, and psoriasis. Hope this helps. Also trying to get off codeine. I'll make sure not to take my codeine near the time of the LDN...12 hours apart....actually I think I'll wait for day with no codiene to start. I keep reading different opinions re whether it can be taken on the same day or not. My doc said I could take codeine but another doc I see said not to and I keep reading different things. Wonder what I'll do if I get a migriane.
 
Last edited:

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
@catgrass Just sow you know, 1 my if the LDN may be too much. I started with .5 and others even lower.

LDN only stays in your system for about 4 hours so I wouldn't worry about waiting 12 hours. I took some codeine within that 4 hours and I was fine.

I also am one who can't take it at night because I got zero sleep. So if you have to take it in the morning that is fine too.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
I took LDN for 6 months. The first four-five days I had flue like feeling, then it got back to "normal". Since I didn't notice any improvements I figured, why stuff my body with chemicals that doesn't make any difference at all. Oh, and I think I even started to test 6mg, but it put me so much down it was unbearable, so I quit. The reason I went over 4.5 was that I read about several people who didn't get an effect from 4.5 had gotten one with a higher dose. Maybe I went on to quickly, but I hated the feeling so much that I just gave it up!

I hope it will have a good effect on you guys!
 
Messages
2
Thanks for your feedback optimist. I've read more now and I'm going to wait until I'm off the codeine. Should be a challenge :\
 

fibrodude84

Senior Member
Messages
191
In the crohns disease world where LDN is also used, most jump to 4.5mg right away with no issue. I know a few are sensitive but im surprised those here feel it's not smart to start at 4.5.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
If people feel like I felt when I upped to 6mg it is no surprise to me. It was close to unbearably bad! However, I did start pretty high myself, and managed to push trough the dip and get back to normal in 4-5 days, but I guess for some that's really too much. So better take the time to get accustomed to the stuff first before increasing the dose.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
I worked up to 4.5 mg over a 4 month period. Later I needed to reduce it to 3 mg which is where I am now

Sushi
 

Soundthealarm21

Senior Member
Messages
420
Location
Dallas, TX
Here is my very small experience.

I started at 3.5mg and felt okay for a few days. I got very creepy and vivid dreams. Then it started to hit me. I had never felt that horrible in all of my life. As I stopped the stuff (about 5 days in) I felt like I was having withdrawals from something. The worst experience with a med i've ever had. My doctor wanted to start me at 4.5mg and I had asked for lower. I warned him what all the PR people had said about starting too high, but he said he'd never seen a bad reaction out of the thousands of times he'd put someone on it.

To me, it is not worth it to start too high like I did as it can turn you off of the medicine for good (like me, I don't ever want to see it again lol). Starting low and going slow would be advisable in this situation.
 

maddietod

Senior Member
Messages
2,859
For those of us with fluctuating symptoms, starting low and going slow can help us keep track of what's going on.

I started LDN at .5 last October, and jumped up to 1 after a month. On my second day at that dose, I had a very strong emotional reaction. I stopped completely, because my (mis)understanding was that LDN was useless for our purposes under 4.5.

I started again a few months ago at .25, and am at .7 right now. I plan to creep up slowly, backing off if necessary, until I get to 4.5 or whatever I tolerate. My 2ce-yearly cytokine testing will show if this is improving my inflammation profile.
 

SDSue

Southeast
Messages
1,066
Had my first dose of LDN last night, and what a night it was. My dose was 1.5 mg taken around 11 pm.

I could NOT fall asleep til after 6:30 am! This morning I feel like a lead weight and a bit dizzy, but that could easily be from lack of sleep. Loss of sleep will cause me to crash faster than anything, so I'm a bit concerned and am trying to lay really low today. Tomorrow will tell.

Any experiences on the sleep thing would really help. Specifically, if I lower the dose and raise it much more slowly, will that help with the insomnia? Or is this severe insomnia rather normal for a few nights?

I hear tales of severe reactions with too high starting doses. Would there be clues prior to an ER-type crisis?
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
Had my first dose of LDN last night, and what a night it was. My dose was 1.5 mg taken around 11 pm.

I could NOT fall asleep til after 6:30 am! This morning I feel like a lead weight and a bit dizzy, but that could easily be from lack of sleep. Loss of sleep will cause me to crash faster than anything, so I'm a bit concerned and am trying to lay really low today. Tomorrow will tell.

Any experiences on the sleep thing would really help. Specifically, if I lower the dose and raise it much more slowly, will that help with the insomnia? Or is this severe insomnia rather normal for a few nights?

I hear tales of severe reactions with too high starting doses. Would there be clues prior to an ER-type crisis?

Tell me about it! I added some extra salt and Vitamin-C to my diet in the beginnig of the week, and I'm back with insomnia too :/ I've tried getting up some hours before my eight hours that I normally need without much success yet. I just get more tired during the day, and all wired during the night! Somebody knock me with a pan or something :)