Equipping People To Make Sense Of What They Are Told
Naltrexone is a drug referred to as an opiate antagonist and is indicated to treat
opiate drug addicts addicted to drugs such as heroin or morphine. Doses used for
this purpose are usually 50 mg or more each day.
Low dose naltrexone (LDN) - the drug is approximately one-tenth or less than the
level used for drug/alcohol rehabilitation purposes - is being used as an "off-label"
experimental treatment for certain immunologically-related and autoimmune disease
such as :
HIV/AIDS.
Multiple Sclerosis (in particular, the primary progressive variant).
Parkinson's disease.
Cancer.
Fibromyalgia.
Rheumatoid arthritis.
Ankylosing spondylitis.
Crohn's disease.
Ulcerative colitis.
Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Central nervous system disorders.
Sexual dysfunction (Naltrexone may induce early morning erections in people who suffer
from psychogenic erectile dysfunction. The exact pathway of this effect is unknown.
Priapism (the presence of a persistent, usually painful, erection of the penis unrelated
to sexual stimulation or desire) has been reported in two individuals receiving Vivitrol.
Naltrexone has been shown to be effective in the reversal of sexual satiety.
How does LDN work?
LDN boosts the immune system, activating the body's own natural defences. The brief
blockade of opioid receptors that is caused by taking LDN at bedtime each night is
believed to produce a prolonged up-regulation of vital elements of the immune system
by causing an increase in endorphin and enkephalin production. Those volunteers who
have taken LDN in this fashion have been found to have much higher levels of beta-endorphins
circulating in their blood in the following days.
LDN is a treatment method that has been in use in the USA since 1985 but is relatively
new in the United Kingdom.
Despite its claimed successful use in America, until fully proved here, it must be
considered as experimental and that no long term beneficial response can be guaranteed.
In general, in those with diseases that are partially or largely triggered by a deficiency
of endorphins (including cancer and autoimmune diseases), restoration of the body's
normal production of endorphins is the major therapeutic action of LDN. This drug
was developed in the 70’s and early 80’s to treat heroin addiction but it was found
that lower doses (typically 1/15th to 1/50th) beneficial effect on other conditions.
Responsive conditions (unproven) appear to include some cancers, autoimmune diseases
and neurological conditions.
It has since been reported that some those receiving this drug in the treatment of
MS, initially at a dose of just 3 mg per day, have experienced a range of improvements,
including such as:
Improved bladder control.
Improved heat tolerance.
Improvements in mobility.
Improved sleep patterns.
Reduced pain levels.
Reduced spasm.
Reduced fatigue.
Reduced tremor.
The two main symptoms that appear to improve most significantly are muscle spasm
and fatigue.
Because LDN blocks opioid receptors throughout the body for three or four hours,
those using medicine that is an opioid agonist, narcotic medication, should not
take LDN until such medicine is completely out of one's system - medicines such as:
Codeine.
Dihydrocodeine.
Ultram.
Morphine.
Tramadol.
Percocet.
Duragesic patch.
Diamorph.
Side effects may occur such as:
At the doses usually prescribed in these conditions side effects are normally minimal
though some people find it difficult to tolerate with disturbed sleep being the most
widely reported negative effect. This rarely persists after the first week. There
may also be temporary increase in specific symptoms of the MS, such as:
Muscle spasm.
Pain.
Tiredness or fatigue.
Full-dose Naltrexone (50 mg) carries a cautionary warning against its use in those
with liver disease. This warning was placed because of Serious liver effects that
were found in experiments involving 300 mg daily. The 50 mg dose does not apparently
produce impairment of liver function nor, do the much smaller 3 mg and 4.5mg doses.
(this has yet to be proven over time).
Despite the fact that LDN is at a very low dose, the presence of significant introductory
or prolonged side-effects cannot be excluded.
It is advised that LDN should not be taken during pregnancy.
