Can LDN help fatigue or just other issues such as pain?

J

JenTheHen

Messages
9
I’ve heard good things about LDN but usually regarding pain and physical PEM symptoms. But did it help anyone with fatigue, just your daily level of exhaustion (particularly brain fog or mental exhaustion/drowsiness)? My specialist just prescribed this but made it sound like it was mostly for pain management and I’m wondering if there’s any chance it might help for plain old (terrible!) fatigue itself. Just curious about anecdotes I know it will range :)
 
lyran

lyran

Senior Member
Messages
132
Yes it does relieve my fatigue levels by ~30%. It can cause tolerance for some (like me) so I can only take it 2 times a week. It works best if taken in the evening but can cause insomnia. LDN boosts endorphin production which can have many benefits. CFS/ME and fibromyalgia sufferers usually have low levels of endorphins.

In the beginning it can cause worsening of symptoms so start slow.
 
J

JenTheHen

Messages
9
lyran said:
Yes it does relieve my fatigue levels by ~30%. It can cause tolerance for some (like me) so I can only take it 2 times a week. It works best if taken in the evening but can cause insomnia. LDN boosts endorphin production which can have many benefits. CFS/ME and fibromyalgia sufferers usually have low levels of endorphins.

In the beginning it can cause worsening of symptoms so start slow.
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Thank you!
 
J

JenTheHen

Messages
9
Marylib said:
Only one way to find out. Start low and go slow. Try 1mg to start. Some like it at night, some in the day. No opiods because it will stop them working. Good luck - hope it helps.
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Thank you! I was prescribed 1.5 mg for the first week, hope that’s close to low enough. I also saw anxiety and depression listed as side effects which frankly terrified me —but also see it being used for those two things so go figure!
 
W

Wishful

Senior Member
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5,302
Location
Alberta
There's always at least a small chance that almost anything can reduce one or more symptoms in a specific individual with ME, even if it does nothing for anyone else. The only way to know if something will work for you is to try it. The optimum dosage for you also can only be discovered by experimentation. LDN is one of those drugs that might only work at a narrow range of dosage. For me, 2.0 mg had no effect, but 2.25 had nearly full effect, and above 5 mg it started becoming less effective. FWIW, I could reduce the amount by ~1/3 if I took it sublingually, and it lasted ~36 hrs, so I could alternate morning and evening every 2nd day. I prefer to use the minimum amount of drugs, to minimize the chance of side-effects.

For me, it was great at reducing my ME pain, but that's the only effect it had.
 
W

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,302
Location
Alberta
The TPRM3 theory is interesting ... but while LDN successfully blocked my neurological perception of pain, it did nothing for my other ME symptoms. Maybe the TPRM issue is valid, but is a downstream effect of ME rather than a cause.
 
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