this post is about low-dose naltrexone or LDN in short. for reference i started LDN roughly 9 months ago. i started taking it orally but now i take it sublingually.
i make my own solution (instead of pre-made capsules) so it is easy for me to take very small steps when titrating up. when i sometimes mix up "ml" and "mg" it doesn't matter because my solution is 1:1 (50mg agent in 50ml water).
i started LDN with 0.5mg which was too much for me so i halved it to 0.25mg. i stayed on that dose for a long while but every now and then i tried to increase my dose to 0.3mg. but every time i'd be met with terrible side-effects (headaches, anhedonia, decreased appetite, increased pain and fatigue) so i went back to 0.25mg.
the last time i tried to increase it i did it in multiple smaller steps and STILL had side-effects. i use a 1ml syringe to draw out my dose but there are no subdivisions between 0.25ml and 0.3ml so i "measured" with the plunger (if that's what the moving part in the syringe is called). first step: plunger right above 0.25ml, stayed there for a couple of weeks, next step plunger in the middle between 0.25 and 0.3, stayed there for a couple of weeks, next step plunger right before 0.3ml, stayed there for a couple of weeks until i finally arrived at 0.3mg with bearable side-effects.
after that whole ordeal to increase the dose by just 0.05mg i wasn't looking forward to the next increase and don't ask me why but i tried a full jump by 0.05 again (to 0.35mg) and to my surprise there were no side-effects at all this time (even after a week on this dose)... and now i am baffled wondering why or how this could possibly be?
at the same time it feels like the LDN "started working" where i feel a bit more rested after waking up and i have slightly more energy. where on the lower dose the only noticeable effect was a bit better sleep (easier to fall asleep) but without feeling more rested after waking up.
i am aware of the phenomena where some people start off with 4.5mg or even 6mg right away without side-effects but this is not what i am experiencing here (at least i think) because the jump was the same 0.05mg as before and i am nowhere near those amounts.
i make my own solution (instead of pre-made capsules) so it is easy for me to take very small steps when titrating up. when i sometimes mix up "ml" and "mg" it doesn't matter because my solution is 1:1 (50mg agent in 50ml water).
i started LDN with 0.5mg which was too much for me so i halved it to 0.25mg. i stayed on that dose for a long while but every now and then i tried to increase my dose to 0.3mg. but every time i'd be met with terrible side-effects (headaches, anhedonia, decreased appetite, increased pain and fatigue) so i went back to 0.25mg.
the last time i tried to increase it i did it in multiple smaller steps and STILL had side-effects. i use a 1ml syringe to draw out my dose but there are no subdivisions between 0.25ml and 0.3ml so i "measured" with the plunger (if that's what the moving part in the syringe is called). first step: plunger right above 0.25ml, stayed there for a couple of weeks, next step plunger in the middle between 0.25 and 0.3, stayed there for a couple of weeks, next step plunger right before 0.3ml, stayed there for a couple of weeks until i finally arrived at 0.3mg with bearable side-effects.
after that whole ordeal to increase the dose by just 0.05mg i wasn't looking forward to the next increase and don't ask me why but i tried a full jump by 0.05 again (to 0.35mg) and to my surprise there were no side-effects at all this time (even after a week on this dose)... and now i am baffled wondering why or how this could possibly be?
at the same time it feels like the LDN "started working" where i feel a bit more rested after waking up and i have slightly more energy. where on the lower dose the only noticeable effect was a bit better sleep (easier to fall asleep) but without feeling more rested after waking up.
i am aware of the phenomena where some people start off with 4.5mg or even 6mg right away without side-effects but this is not what i am experiencing here (at least i think) because the jump was the same 0.05mg as before and i am nowhere near those amounts.
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