Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) - how's it working for you?

[Heart Face]

I get that, but what’s in question, can LDN as a drug, cause increased stomach acid, regardless of how it is administered? A couple of people have told me yes, it can. But everyone is different, so another trial is the only way to know. Thank you for your help.

No, not that I am aware of. In all the issues with digestive problems that I have known, its the filler and switching it to a better filler like ginger or sucrose, taking sublingual and taking with food solves the problem.

Sorry to hear you have such bad stomach issues. Good luck.

 

[EddieB]

Will try every other day and see what happens for a while.

I’ve read numerous reports, that mixing up the doses can improve effectiveness.

 

[EddieB]

No, not that I am aware of.

Another remote possibility, I’m on an acid-blocking medication. I’ve run into problems before, where taking another supplement or medication interfered with its absorption. So I get an acid flare up, from a reduced effect of the antacid med,

 

[Heart Face]

I’ve read numerous reports, that mixing up the doses can improve effectiveness.

This is not true. Stick to your dose.

 

[Richmond]

I was on 2mg naltrexone and want to go back on.
Also it kinda modulates dopamine I think or sensitizes D2 receptors at these tiny dosages. Useful if get depressed clinically.

I mixed my LDN with bupropion and modafinil at the time from reading this paper. It was better then nothing. I want to go back. Helped inflammation and was in bed less.
Heres the paper where they tried mixing it.

https://ldnresearchtrust.org/sites/default/files/LDN_Depression_paper.pdf

 

[Mimicry]

I've been on LDN for five months now, now at 1.5 mg and trying to go up to 4.5 mg. We get 1.5mg pills here in Finland and I had to start with 1/4 pills (0.375 mg). I get horrible side effects (nausea, headache, dizziness, stomach upset, fatigue, general ill feeling) every time I try to increase the dose by even a little bit and it takes my body like 6 weeks to adjust to a new dose. I've been so close to quitting the whole thing... But then I come here and read all your comments again and it gives me hope. I've had ME since 2008 and I've slowly declined from mild to moderate, though my symptoms fluctuate a lot. I need to see if LDN helps.

I think LDN has made my muscle pain more bearable and perhaps helped with brain fog. I'm thinking of trying to slowly increase the dose up to 4.5 mg and staying on that for at least a couple months to see if it's really working. I'll just have to bear with the side effects until then.

 

[Richmond]

I am on 4.5mg/day and it has a beneficial effect on sleep. However, it does create a disturbed sleep pattern. I take it before sleep currently, and sleep for about three hours. Then I wake up. I am awake several hours, then I can go back to bed. I think this is about when LDN stops working. I start feeling better - and my body says wake up. However, when I go back to sleep I am able to get good quality sleep for as long as I need.

I tried taking it in the morning. I feel good enough that I think I can do things. My normal warning signs that I am doing too much are mostly not there - so I overdo things and crash. The only warning sign, which seems to be reliable, is when I start breathing harder. I think thats a result of crossing the aerobic threshold.

My fatigue is very noticably less at some times of the day, but not all the time. I don't know if this is better sleep or endorphins. I also seem to bounce back from a crash even faster. When I was at my worst in the 90s I would take in excess of two week to recover from even a mild crash. I don't know how long because I would crash at least once every two weeks, if not every few days. In the last couple of years I have bounced back in a day or three. Last week I bounced back in twelve hours. Now I might not have overdone things much, and so recovered faster, but its still a good sign.

The only other treatment I am on at the moment is Thorne B-Complex formula 12.

Bye, Alex

I found sometimes higher doses don't work as well. I emailed one of the authors of this paper and he said 1mg worked the best basically. They even experimented with microdoseing naltrexone and found the super low doses may have more agonist properties. Also this study was only for depression but the idea has overlap. Also this is just my opinion and different things work for different people. I really like the Thorne methylguard plus it helped which is rare for me. I hope you find some more things that work for you and help you feel better.

Mischoulon, David, et al. "Randomized, proof-of-concept trial of low dose naltrexone for patients with breakthrough symptoms of major depressive disorder on antidepressants." Journal of Affective Disorders 208 (2017): 6-14.

 

[Mimicry]

Almost nine months on LDN and I'm at 2.6 mg. I started raising the damn dose a month ago by 0.375 mgs, after I'd survived moving to a new house. It's been hell. I have daily migraines and nausea and vomited today. Again this close to stopping taking the med but then again, I've come this far and want to see if it will help me after my body actually gets used to it. I'm thinking I'll stop at 3 mgs because the dose increases suck really bad, lol. I can't do this for another 6 months

 

[EddieB]

Almost nine months on LDN and I'm at 2.6 mg. I started raising the damn dose a month ago by 0.375 mgs, after I'd survived moving to a new house. It's been hell. I have daily migraines and nausea and vomited today. Again this close to stopping taking the med but then again, I've come this far and want to see if it will help me after my body actually gets used to it. I'm thinking I'll stop at 3 mgs because the dose increases suck really bad, lol. I can't do this for another 6 months

I don’t mean to discourage, but sometimes things just don’t work for some of us. LDN is a great medication for some, but not everyone. From someone that has put themselves through hell, by “trying to push through “ when my body was crying “just stop”. Listen to your body, if you aren’t seeing benefits, maybe reconsider. Wishing you all the best

 

[Mimicry]

A month later... I lowered the dose back to one tablet (1.5 mg) in the beginning of September, and now that my chronic headaches and nausea haven't got much better I decided to quit LDN for now. Let's see if I feel any better in a couple weeks.

 

[lyran]

I have been trying to figure out what is the mechanism that LDN uses to provide longer time benefits. If I don't take it at least once weekly, my condition regresses to "constant PEM" and I haven't found any other supplement or medicine to get back to "normal" than LDN.

Could it be endorphins? Is it possible that they are higher for days after taking LDN. Or is it something more immune related like improved NK-cell function or restoration of TRPM3. Or reduced inflammation?

I have tried many supplements and medicines that have some of these functions, for example: l-tyrosine, d-phenylalanine, curcumin, hydrogen water, hydrocortisone but none of them gets me out of this constant PEM -mode.

 

[hapl808]

I have an extremely low PEM threshold (phone calls, cooking, etc) and noticed many years ago that my body seemed to stop producing endorphins after physical activity (back when I could still go to the gym). Yet LDN didn't seem to do much for me other than give me vivid dreams? Something I may try again because the mechanism of affecting endorphins sounded very promising for my symptoms. I think I tried around 0.5mg up to 5mg, but only used it for 2-3 months before giving up on it. Have to check if I still have some left over.

 

[Heart Face]

A month later... I lowered the dose back to one tablet (1.5 mg) in the beginning of September, and now that my chronic headaches and nausea haven't got much better I decided to quit LDN for now. Let's see if I feel any better in a couple weeks.

Perhaps try Dicksons and Sublingual at a Very Low Dose? They Ship internationally, This bypasses the gut so may eliminate any gastric issues. A very low dose means you can titrate really slowly. https://dicksonchemist.co.uk/new/ldn-page/

 

[Mimicry]

Perhaps try Dicksons and Sublingual at a Very Low Dose? They Ship internationally, This bypasses the gut so may eliminate any gastric issues. A very low dose means you can titrate really slowly. https://dicksonchemist.co.uk/new/ldn-page/

Thank you! I'll need to see if the Finnish laws allow prescription drugs to be shipped from abroad and if the shipping will cost me a million €.

 

[Jo86]

Spoke to the doc about it during a video-conf, and she told me she'd like to prescribe it, but can't as the usual testing done for a new med... in France still hasn't been done for LDN. Could change in the coming months she said. France is so very conservative with meds, it's just ... whew.

Anyways: it feels judging by the poll results on this thread that perhaps some people haven't tried it in the right dosages, and then called it inefficient. Problem is: even doctors atm are using it experimentally and don't have an absolutely 100% established clearcut system for quantity administration for 1 month or 2 months of treatment for the patient.

 

[niccon]

Spoke to the doc about it during a video-conf, and she told me she'd like to prescribe it, but can't as the usual testing done for a new med... in France still hasn't been done for LDN. Could change in the coming months she said. France is so very conservative with meds, it's just ... whew.

Hello @Jo86, I live in Belgium and Naltrexone is considered a controlled substance and not reimbursed by social security. YET, my doctor prescribed it, gave instructions to the pharmacy to compound it into small doses (0,5 pills) AND the pharmacy KEEPS the box of naltrexone. Maybe that could work for you if you tell your doctor that the pharmacy will keep the box of Naltrexone and just give you the small doses?
Anyway, I've only been using it for a few days, so to early to say much about effects.

 

[zuperhero]

just buy a standard 28x50mg pack from internet pharmacy and make your own solution, depending on dosage, one pill will give you between 2-5 weeks of everyday supplementation. it will be tremendously cheaper than 'official' LDN

 

[chronicproblems]

When i was not severe, it did nothing or me. Noy even at ultra low doses, primes my immunity and it gets worse.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

My rheumatologist suggested I increase my dose from 3.5 to 4.5......I've been at the 3.5 dose since I first trialed it, and for a bout...eight years (?)

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I live in Belgium and Naltrexone is considered a controlled substance

Why? so bizarre.....

My insurance in the US won't cover it because they won't cover compounded....I have to pay for it myself.