LDN Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy

[Nova]

Recently I've been hearing about LDN or low dose naltrexone therapy. How it works is you take about 4mg of naltrexone before going to bed. While you're asleep, your brains opiate receptors become down-regulated from the antagonist and in turn your body responds by increasing natural endorphin production. It is done at night because your brain only produces endorphins while asleep.

It is medically relavent because it apparently does wonders for your immune system but naltrexone is an old, cheap drug so there is no money there thus no big push for it. Other uses are for people who would claim to have an endorphin deficiency. This isn't well studied but some believe this to be an alternate theory for what causes depression. People who benefit from the psychoactive effects of opiates would in theory have a more 'sustainable' and side effect free endorphin boost. There would be no tolerance and no ill effects if you were to stop taking it.

I was seriously considering trying it out but thought I would get some other opinions first. Does it sound like this would work?

 

[The Monkey Mantra]

It's so cheap and non-toxic, I'd say give it a shot. The only thing I know about is ULTRA-low dose naltrexone (like 0.1 mg or less) for pain control. You still get tolerant to it in that context, though, and imagine the look a doctor would give you if you told him you were going through naltrexone withdrawal

Seriously though, I've heard of this before, too. Hope someone here has some insight!

 

[Ham-milton]

I'm not entirely sure about this. Naltrexone lasts quite a while, and will completely block endorphins from binding to your receptors- so what benefit is gained?

I fail to see how it would cause increases in endorphin synthesis, either. I mean, if it does, great, but does it?

Antagonist therapies are also decidedly NOT side-effect free. Depression, nausea, etc, are all common side effects.

Naloxone seems like a better idea for over-night resets than naltrexone, though IV administration is required.

 

[Jamshyd]

I believe the idea is that using an antagonist at these low doses is supposed to upregulate opioid receptors without causing too much discomfort. I don't know how valid this is, though.

ps. If I'm not mistaken, we're talking about ULTRA-low doses, not 4mg - something around the level the TMM mentioned above.

 

[Hah]

LDN sounds interesting, I´ll search more.

tnx.

 

[Ham-milton]

No, ULN and LDN both exist, though ULN seems to be limited to concommitant opioid therapy.