Low dose Naltrexone

[anniekim]

Since increasing my ldn from 0.5mg every other day to 0.5mg daily three weeks ago, I've had constant diarrhoea. Is diarrhoea a potential side effect of LDN? SHould it settle eventually?

Many thanks

 

[Gazelle]

Sushi, when you got to 4 mg and found you could sleep through the night, weaning other drugs, were you on a benzo? I'm at 4 mg and was sleeping pretty well, but I'm now trying to wean clonazepam and having an extremely hard time doing it. Even a 1/4 mg makes a huge difference in sleep quality. I was hoping LDN would give me the unfragmented, long sleep needed to wean this drug. I'm on a few others, but not as worried about them.

Gazelle

 

[Sushi]

Sushi, when you got to 4 mg and found you could sleep through the night, weaning other drugs, were you on a benzo? I'm at 4 mg and was sleeping pretty well, but I'm now trying to wean clonazepam and having an extremely hard time doing it. Even a 1/4 mg makes a huge difference in sleep quality. I was hoping LDN would give me the unfragmented, long sleep needed to wean this drug. I'm on a few others, but not as worried about them.

Gazelle

Hi Gazelle,

LDN lets me sleep as long as I need to and more deeply but I still need a benzo or ambien to get to sleep.

Best wishes,
Sushi

 

[Ocean]

Hi Ocean,

The easiest way to start is with a liquid which you can get from Skip's Pharmacy in Boca Raton. The usual is to start with 1.5 mg at about 10 pm, but some find that too much and start at .5 mg. Some also take it during the day to avoid the initial insomnia.

It comes generically in 50 mg pills but if you use those you have to dissolve one in a measured amount of distilled water, take out your tiny dose and keep the rest in a dark glass bottle in the fridge. You can get it compounded at whatever strength you want at a compounding pharmacy but then you will still have to open capsules and dissolve the contents as you up your dose.

Only you can tell when to up the dose (wait till all your side-effects have passed and then a few days more), so it is hard to tell a doc how many of each strength capsule you want. So a liquid that you can measure out with an insulin syringe is the easiest way.

Good luck!
Sushi

How do you measure the dose with the liquid? Like if I have my doctor prescribe 4.5 mg per day but I want to start with .5, how would I measure that? I've never taken a liquid medicine before.

 

[Sushi]

Easy! Insulin syringe (1 ml)! I think you can buy them over the counter in most states. I take the needle off to suck it up more easily.

Best wishes,
Sushi

 

[Ocean]

Great, thank you!

 

[paul80]

Hi, i started LDN about 3 days ago at 0.5ml. I have been feeling more tired and my muscles are much weaker. Is this normal startup effects or does this mean i need a lower dose?

Thanks.

 

[jstefl]

Paul:

The LDN should be taken in amounts that leave your body quickly. When I started, I found that I needed to back off to .2 mg, and take it every other day to allow my system to clear itself.

As you take it, you will build up a tolerance, and be able to handle larger doses. After more than a year, I am able to tolerate only 2 mg a day. That is enough to help me a great deal, so I will stay at that dose for a while.

It seems that the side effects are different for different people. I suffered from headaches and a more tired feeling when I started. By backing off to a .2 mg dose and increasing every two weeks or so, I was able to develop a tolerance without any side effects.

John

 

[Xandoff]

I too have issues with LDN. I titrated back to 3.0mg from 4.5. If I take it too many days in a row I feel worse. At first it increased endorphins that I had not felt in years but then It was like "ANGRY" all the time a smoldering rage sort of. So now I back off and try it every other evening. I read somewhere that it is important to take between 9:30 pm to 3:00 am. Don't know if it's true but it helps me. It helps and then it can make things worse, so I use it a couple of time a week. Maybe this helps.

 

[Min]

it made me very ill.

 

[paul80]

Thanks for the helpful replys.

 

[alice]

I am new to this forum and the LDN discussion has been active for quite awhile. Without looking through all the pages of posts (42 pages), what is the feeling here as to whether one can stay on opiods - specifically for me it is tramadol. There seems to be a group that is very adamant about not being able to take any opioids while taking LDN, but my doctor and a few articles I have read says its okay. My doctor says to space about 6 hours apart. He says the LDN will negatively affect the opioids (so no pain relief during this time) but that the oral opioids do not the adversely affect the LDN.

Maybe fewer endorphins are made by the body if on oral opiioids?? ? I am continuing with the tramadol as I don't see how I could manage without pain meds. I cannot tolerate any NSAIDS and don't want to start Lyrica or Gabapentin - I doubt that my doctor would prescribe it.

I started with .5 mg compounded tablet and am now at 3.5. I think I will stop at 4.0. Except for insomnia and a very anxious wired feeling for several nights when I change dose, I 'm doing ok. I've been dosing about 3 months. Haven't notices any decrease in pain, but I think I have a bit more energy.

btw- is there a way I could have searched the posts on this topic for a certain word , e.g "opioids" to see if that topic had been discussed? Sorry I am not terribly computer savvy.

Thanks,
Alice

 

[Sushi]

I am new to this forum and the LDN discussion has been active for quite awhile. Without looking through all the pages of posts (42 pages), what is the feeling here as to whether one can stay on opiods - specifically for me it is tramadol. There seems to be a group that is very adamant about not being able to take any opioids while taking LDN, but my doctor and a few articles I have read says its okay. My doctor says to space about 6 hours apart. He says the LDN will negatively affect the opioids (so no pain relief during this time) but that the oral opioids do not the adversely affect the LDN...

Thanks,
Alice

For a question like this, if you speak to one of the pharmacists at Skip's Pharmacy in Boca Raton, they could give you some reliable advice as they specialize in LDN.

Best,
Sushi

 

[alice]

Skip's Pharmacy in Boca Raton

Sushi - Thanks. Skip's is very much a proponent of NOT taking opioids with LDN, including tramadol, as is the website LDN.com. I'll try to hunt up some of the references that seems to indicate opioids (esp. tramadol) and LDN can be taken together - although spaced apart. What do people do for pain meds?

 

[Marg]

How do you measure the dose with the liquid? Like if I have my doctor prescribe 4.5 mg per day but I want to start with .5, how would I measure that? I've never taken a liquid medicine before.

You can also get it as a cream and rub it in. I did not but a friend did.

Call and speak with Skip Lenz In Boca Raton (800) 653-7429, he will answer all your questions. He is great and the most knowledgeable about it now. He will return you call within 24 hours if he is not there...one great guy!

I will have been on LDN 3 years in November. Dr. Klimas had me go higher..3.0 in the morning and 3.0 at night. I started at 1.5 and worked up to 4.5 and now this and it is better, better mood and less pain. It is a long slow process for most but it does work.

 

[Ocean]

it made me very ill.

Min, what happened? How long did it take to make you ill, first try or over time?

 

[Ocean]

How to store this? I got a bottle of the liquid kind from Skip's and it says keep at room temperature. But I've read elsewhere it should be refrigerated? Also, I was planning to not start it for a while maybe 3-4 weeks, but I just read somewhere it shouldn't be kept for more than a month? I hope that isn't true or most of this bottle will be wasted. Thanks a lot in advance for any info, links, etc.

 

[amylouise]

Hey! I have a question regarding ldn. I took 3mg 4 nights ago and within the hour felt very strange, headaches, hot, wired, nauseas. The following day the nausea and headaches were extreme and then I could feel my flu like symptoms flaring as well, tight chest returning. I took 1mg the following night with a similar reaction. It has been a few days now since taking ldn and I am really scared because it feels like I have crashed with flu like symptoms, huge increase in pain! I have recently made good improvements and i am worried I have undone all my hard work. Will this pass? I cannot believe how sensitive I am and am hoping what I am experiencing is detox of virus or something. It just feels so scary. Thanks Amy

 

[JT1024]

Hi amyloise,

It seems people react differently to LDN. Many have to take small dosages and increase very slowly. I have only taken it at 1.5 mg increments and only increased after a week of being on a specific dose. You might want to check out LDN on facebook. I know there is a group there.

I recently heard that the results of a study of LDN for the treatment of fibromyalgia will be published very soon. It will be in the journal "Arthritis and Rheumatism" according to Jarred Younger, PhD, from Stanford.

http://younger.stanford.edu/research/
Low-dose naltrexone in Fibromyalgia and Gulf War Illness

We are studying the effectiveness of low dose naltrexone (LDN), in treating chronic multisymptom illnesses. We believe the drug may work by suppressing the activity of microglia in the brain and spinal cord, preventing the release of inflammatory cytokines. We have completed a second study on LDN for fibromyalgia, and are preparing the manuscript for that study. Our work is funded by the American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association, and private gifts.

 

[*GG*]

Hey! I have a question regarding ldn. I took 3mg 4 nights ago and within the hour felt very strange, headaches, hot, wired, nauseas. The following day the nausea and headaches were extreme and then I could feel my flu like symptoms flaring as well, tight chest returning. I took 1mg the following night with a similar reaction.

It has been a few days now since taking ldn and I am really scared because it feels like I have crashed with flu like symptoms, huge increase in pain! I have recently made good improvements and i am worried I have undone all my hard work. Will this pass? I cannot believe how sensitive I am and am hoping what I am experiencing is detox of virus or something. It just feels so scary. Thanks Amy

Are you taking this under the direction of a Dr? I had headaches when I 1st started it, I was in a really bad place though, massive pain and on leave from work. Some people take even lower doses 0.1mg etc..Are you doing the liquid form? then you can do lower doses easily! Are you usually sensitive to meds? There is a yahoo group for very low dose Natlrexone.

GG

PS I have been on it for over 3 years now, and with other changes, doing better than ever since becoming ill!