Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is a medication that is prescribed for several medical conditions. Initially, Naltrexone was used to treat symptoms that are related to alcohol and drug addiction when taken in higher doses. Later, after further research, studies have shown that Naltrexone may be used to manage autoimmune diseases, central nervous system disorders, pain management, and various cancers in lower doses.

Low doses of Naltrexone have since proven multiple advantages and benefits, some of which are discussed in this article.

Reduction of Inflammation and Pain

The reduction of pain and inflammation is one of the top benefits of taking a low dosage of Naltrexone. The prescription reduces the pain and inflammation in conditions like fibromyalgia. Other conditions like rheumatoid arthritis are characterized by painful swelling, which an appropriate dose of low-dose Naltrexone can address.

Recent studies have shown an elimination of swelling on the joints for the patients that took low doses of Naltrexone. Before proceeding with the benefits, you should know that Naltrexone comes in 50mg tablets. To get a dosage of low-dose Naltrexone, you’ll need to get it from a compounding pharmacy.

Compounding pharmacist compound medication. Compounding is customizing and formulating medicine to suit the unique needs of a patient. Compounding pharmacies are necessary for prescriptions like low doses of Naltrexone that aren’t commercially available. A compounding pharmacy takes Naltrexone powder and provides it in capsule form at a lower dose.

Fighting Cancer

Several types of cancer have responded positively to treatment with low-doses of Naltrexone. A combination of the prescription along with chemotherapy and radiotherapy will improve the results even more.

Low-dose naltrexone is often prescribed for patients that were declared terminal since their conditions were not responding to the other available medical approaches. LDN boosts the number of opiate receptors on the tumor cell membranes; the increase, in turn, increases  the responses to how endorphins respond, essentially reducing pain and inhibiting growth.

Improves Mood

Recent research has shown that patients taking LDN prescriptions showed an improvement in their symptoms of anxiety and depression. The introduction of LDN  increases natural opioid activity in the brain. Such an increase may, in turn, positively impact the mood and emotions of the patient.

Patients suffering from depressive disorders often seek information regarding any possible treatment and modalities to help improve their mood. Depression is associated with an inflammation of the central nervous system; Naltrexone, when taken in low doses, decreases inflammatory responses, thus reducing depression.

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Dissociative Disorders

Though the only information on this is from case studies, there have been beneficial effects of the use of LDN on the potential benefit to patients that suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome and brain injury syndrome. The studies showed that most people with these syndromes suffer from dissociative disorder, which involves shutting down, and the brain goes blank.

When the study tried low doses of naltrexone on such patients, studies show that they experience a much better regulation of their traumatic memories and show a reduction of their self-destruction impulses.

Start Your LDN Prescription

Low Dose Naltrexone is prescribed at doses of between 0.5 to 4.5mg. At this low dose, Naltrexone blocks the opioid receptors for a few hours. Subsequently, this leads to increased production of endorphins as a rebound effect. The endorphin production causes a reduction in inflammation and pain coupled with a general feeling of well-being.

There are relatively few side effects of LDN. Vivid dreams are the most common side effects; the dreams are likely present around the first few days, but may also recur when the dose is increased. Other rare side effects include insomnia, GI symptoms, and headaches. However, the side effects of LDN are typically transient and mild; many patients taking LDN will not have any side effects at all.

If you wish to begin taking low doses of Naltrexone, contact a compounding pharmacy.

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