Are there any known drawbacks to LDN (brain opiate receptors) ?

[Bansaw]

I have approached two doctors asking them to consider prescribing me LDN.
One wants to refer me to a rheumatologist or infections disease specialist (as I've Lyme CFS, POTS etc.), and this looks like an expensive route with a possible "no" at the end.

The other doctor, who is a little unorthodox and I was hopeful of a good response, said that she didn't want to prescribe anything that worked on the opiate receptors in the brain, because that might have long term consequences.

I've not seen much on long terms negative effects of LDN. Has anyone got any insight on reported negative consequences of LDN ?
From what I've read, I've not seen people complaining of anything seriously negative about LDN.

(I'm in NC. I don't know any doctors in this area who might be open to prescribing LDN.
I did see Dr.Lapp one time in Charlotte, but that was ten years ago. I don't know if he's open to LDN or not).

 

[Scarlett*54]

Greetings,

I have CFS, Fibromyalgia & intermittent bouts of Long Covid. My holistic provider started me on LDN 1/4 mg with the goal of increasing it up to 2 mg.

I have to say that it helped me a lot with energy & stamina. But I had severe insomnia with it no matter the dosage or time of day that I took the LDN. My mind would race all night with terrible anxiety and fears. We finally believed that it was "serotonin syndrome" as I also take Trazadone daily for sleep.
So, I chose to quit the LDN. It's too bad b/c I know that it's helped a lot of people.

Hope that helps!

 

[kushami]

Hmm, I don’t think anyone has studied the long-term use of low doses.

This is from an article published in 2014:

No hard data on long-term safety​

Even though naltrexone has a long history of safe use with a wide range of large dosages, we know very little about the long-term safety of the drug when used chronically in low dosages. The low dosage is often cited as a reason for clinicians and patients to not be concerned about safety. However, we must be open to the possibility that the unique clinical effects possible with the low dosage could also present new health risks. There are no reported serious concerns to date. While inhibition of immune system parameters could theoretically raise the risk of infections or cancer due to decreased immunosurveillance, there have been no reports of such a side effect at any dosage of naltrexone.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3962576/

 

[Bansaw]

I have CFS, Fibromyalgia & intermittent bouts of Long Covid. My holistic provider started me on LDN 1/4 mg with the goal of increasing it up to 2 mg.

I had a brutal struggle with insomnia after trying Keto, so reading that LDN might trigger insomnia is a concern. However, I might be still open to trying it because I do need more mental energy. I believe I have some neuro inflammation, and LDN works on that.
I was on Trazadone but stopped that a while ago. Being off the computer early helps, blue-light blocking etc.
So far two doctors have not responded positively about prescribing it for me, so my search goes on.

 

[Bansaw]

Hmm, I don’t think anyone has studied the long-term use of low doses.
This is from an article published in 2014:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3962576/

It would be hard to believe that artificially effecting receptors in the brain wouldn't have any side effects, but people have been taking LDN for a while now. I'm open to LDN as it seems to have made a big positive impact for so many people, but I'm eager to know of any negative effects before I launch into it.

 

[Scarlett*54]

I had a brutal struggle with insomnia after trying Keto, so reading that LDN might trigger insomnia is a concern. However, I might be still open to trying it because I do need more mental energy. I believe I have some neuro inflammation, and LDN works on that.
I was on Trazadone but stopped that a while ago. Being off the computer early helps, blue-light blocking etc.
So far two doctors have not responded positively about prescribing it for me, so my search goes on.

Typically, LDN at low doses is only available at compounding pharmacies. And insurance does not cover meds from those types of pharmacies or dosages. It can get pricey paying out of pocket, but I believe it's worth it if you can swing it. I got mine through a holistic physician.

 

[kushami]

I have to admit that I know next to nothing about opioid receptors, which is a bit embarrassing considering I have tried LDN.

It did seem to be helping me, but it also seemed to cause abdominal cramps, which weren’t very nice and made me nervous because they resembled pain I had relating to bowel problems and bowel surgery many years ago.

I imagine there might be a thread on here somewhere with a nice summary on opioid receptors from Pyrrhus or one of our other helpful explaining folks.