Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
Could this wonder drug be the cure for symptoms of debilitating conditions?
I first came across Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) after I had used good old Dr Google to find out if there were any alternative medications that I could take for my diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Lo and behold, a few reviews popped up stating they were taking LDN and it had been a lifesaver in relieving their symptoms, helping them to lead a pain-free life.
At this point in my journey I was suffering from pain most of the time, had come off the RA medication my rheumatologist had prescribed (Methotrexate and steroids) due to a chest infection and upcoming operation, and I certainly didn’t want to go back on it for all the tea in China due to the awful side effects I had encountered from it.
Researching more into this wonder drug, I discovered that it was only licensed as Naltrexone, a medication used to treat opioid and alcohol addiction, which blocked the euphoric and sedative effects that opioid drugs like heroin, morphine, and codeine have, preventing the user from getting high.
Low Dose Naltrexone, however, wasn’t licensed and could only be sourced ‘off label’ since the scientific research behind it hadn’t been completed to find the benefits on autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
It wasn’t until the 1980s when an American doctor, Bernard Bihari, discovered the benefits of using low doses of the Naltrexone drug to treat patients who were suffering from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Naltrexone, as mentioned earlier, blocks the euphoric and sedative effects of opioid drugs by inhibiting endorphins. Endorphins are the hormones produced in our body as a ‘natural painkiller’, and research has found that by inhibiting these hormones, the body responds by producing even more of them. Therefore, this small amount of medication only inhibits endorphin production for a few hours before the body kicks in and starts producing them naturally again at an elevated level. It is this rebound effect that allows the body to work in harmony with the endorphin receptors, aiding in the regulation of immunity and cell growth, which in turn helps to produce an anti-inflammatory response.
To quantify the lower dose of Naltrexone compared to Naltrexone itself, LDN is around 4.5mg per day compared with the usual dosage for opioid addiction, which is around 50mg to 100mg a day.
So why can’t lower doses of Naltrexone be licensed to treat autoimmune conditions as it is already licensed in a stronger form?
The answer is simply because there have been no clinical trials to assess the drug in its low-dosage levels. Clinical trials are needed to get full approval from The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA gives licences for medicines only after evidence has been submitted to demonstrate the quality, safety and efficacy of the product for the conditions that they are intended to treat, thus protecting patients and making sure that there is always a robust, systematic and independent assessment of the safety and suitability of licensed medicines. It is the same in the USA with the FDA.
So why is LDN not undergoing clinic trials to get a licence?
Large drug companies are not interested in researching naltrexone as it is cheap to supply and out of patent. Due to the cost for these trials being several millions of pounds just for an exploratory trial, it means that any research group is dependent on grants from public bodies or very generous donors. It won’t make Big Pharma the big bucks they love.
Fortunately, there are amazing groups such as the LDN Research Trust making sure a wealth of incredible information and research is readily available to help patients make an informed decision about choosing LDN as an option to help them with their condition. In the UK alone, over 12,000 private patients have chosen this path in the last decade, due to facing unacceptable choices for the treatment they had been offered previously.
When I decided to use LDN instead of the RA medication that was prescribed to me, I was nervous initially as it was during a time when it was believed to only be of benefit to MS patients here in the UK. There were only a handful of people who had tried it for their RA symptoms. Nearly a decade on, according to the LDN research trust, it can now treat over 400 conditions, from multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, long covid, liver, heart, skin, endocrine, gastro conditions to cancers.
Click here to find the full list on the LDN Research Trust website
I took LDN for nearly five years, with no side effects to my health and huge benefits of calming my troubled immune system down. I decided to come off LDN last year to see if I still needed to take it. So far so good! It seems to have worked a treat for whatever was truly going on in my body.
If you have read my other post, ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis’, you will know the exciting news that I have finally been signed off from the rheumatology department for the next two years.
I am not medically trained, so I am not saying come off your medication and try this wonder drug immediately!! But from my tried and tested experience of LDN I certainly encourage people I meet to research into the possibility that LDN may also work for them.
The fact is that this medication is cheap to buy, easy to take, there are fewer adverse side effects or long-term health issues and in my humble experience with it - it works!
If you are reading this, want to learn more about it and find out where in your area it is prescribed (be aware there are fake medications on the market so please use a private doctor) the LDN Research Trust can direct you here . Their list is worldwide.
If you have any questions about my journey with LDN, please feel free to ping me a message, happy to help.
It would MAKE MY DAY if you could like my post ❤️ and help spread the word about the benefits of LDN. Button at the top of the post.
Great article x