Low Dose Naltrexone

Welcome, Lucky Dog.  I'm glad you've found something that is working for you.  LDN has been mentioned in the forum previously.  However, we always urge liver patients to check with their doctors before taking anything new.  If this is obtainable only by prescription, then there isn't a problem if the doctor agrees that it might be beneficial and is willing to write an Rx for it.

However, this forum is primarily for support and not for medical advice.

Hey Luckydog,

I was just telling someone else on the forum that my husband was prescribed Naltrexone HCL 25mg for the itching he experienced in 2004. Naltrexone is traditionally prescribed to recovering addicts. It blocks the receptors for drugs and alcohol. It helped some, but didn't resolve the itching completely and my husband quit taking it.

I've heard of it helping with autoimmune disorders. There are many studies that seem to support this. Sounds like good news for many!

God Bless,

Penny

Hi Pink Grandma,

I am a certified medical technologist (four year degree in clinical lab science and certified by ASCP). I also have a different four year degree in zoology.

I have had hep c geno 1a for thirty-five years. It had gotten increasingly worse over the years, and I was fatigued, overweight, and extremely irritable before interferon. I was not a happy guy.

My last biopsy from about five years ago had me at stage 3 fibrosis. That year I had an emergency gallbladderectomy, during which the doctor gave me an unauthorized biopsy. Of course the biopsy puncture site bled and I bled out into my GI cavity. I got three units of blood, bled those out, and got two more and they finally held.

Well the biopsy said stage three, so I went for interferon. My body, unfortunately rejected the drugs. I had about five major dermatological conditions over three quarters of my skin when I finally quit treatment. Then about a month later I got a GI infection of an opportunistic bacteria - campylobacter. That one about did me in!

So, it was a rough eight months. Since then I have really cleaned up my diet and exercise. I think I made small progress even without treatment, because my clotting times normalized, and my testosterone levels increased. My viral load also got brought down from 7 million (six months after treatment) to 1.6 million four years later (before LDN). I still have hypothyroidism due to tx, but Westthoid dessicated liver seems to be helping.

I'd also like to point out that exercise (to your capabilities) and weight loss may be beneficial to hep c. Steatosis is fatty liver (intracellular fat) and it is linked to progression of cirhosis. Also the viruses need fats to form their envelopes (they are envelope viruses and have a fatty coating to mask their identities from our immune systems). So excess dietary fat and excess body fat can be good for the virus. Only geno 3, I believe, changes your DNA to produce fat for the virions. The other genotypes use what's available. Inflammation is also a fatty acid metabolic pathway - the arachidonic acid pathway. Excess simple carbs lead to blood sugar problems as well.

Anyway then I got put on low dose naltrexone four months ago. Apparently it works best for this disease in a 3 to 4.5 mg dose, I know there are other applications at higher doses, pruritis, I believe, as well as drug addiction.

And then my labs turned around! 58 thousand is a very reassuring number for me. Before interferon it was between 2-3 million and had been inching upwards for about ten years. After interferon I was up to 7 million. Two other tests around that time showed levels above the maximum detection limits of 5 million - my doc chose the wrong tests. I can't remember when the last time was that I had numbers in the tens of thousands. So, I am looking forward to my six month labs. I'll post them when I get them!

Now I don't have symptoms that I can feel-like I used to. My labs are all mormal except viral load and very slightly elevated AST/ALT, down from the hundreds in 2007. I have plenty of energy and I exercise pretty vigorously - core workouts, to keep the tissues of my trunk and GI cavity clean. I have lost 40 pounds since interferon, down to 185, and I am in extremely good shape physically (for 55).

I do notice that LDN vastly improved my mood. I'm pretty sure it is due to the increased endorphin levels. But there aren't lab tests that show how good I feel!

Anyway, it's a real pleasure to meet you all.

Best regards,

Luckydog

Wow,

What challenges you have faced! I used to have fatigue and brain-fog, but not liver cancer! I believe that its how we meet our challenges that form the greatest chapters in the books of our lives, and I can tell that you are strong in your determination.

It might be good to do a little research to bring to your doc. There's lot of info on the web, and I think they have newer studies than in the past. If you need help, email me privately. I'd be glad to see what I could find for you.

Be well!

Luckydog

Hi Lucky Dog, I just found out about LDN for Hep C (I am 1A also). I have never used any meds, herbs and supplements only. I am a clinical herbalist, and I have several clients who are hep C and B positive. They are all doing well. I am not doing so well. After 3 years on herbs my liver enzymes (140/177) are still not stabilized and now my platelets are below normal, after slowing falling for the past 3 years. My GGT was a little above normal in my last lab values.

Anyway, after researching LDN for the past 3 weeks, I have decided to try it. I also found a doc in a nearby town who prescribes it and also ALA intravenously, but I am planning on trying just the LDN first, added to my current program. My doc appt is this coming Thurs, and I might be able to pick up the prescription that day and try it that night. So I will have my first experience with it this coming Friday.

My colleages tell me their experiences with it (anecdotal - from clients) has been less than exciting, but I am guessing and hoping that they did not have quality product, manufactured with the right filler, so therefore it was not a fast-release product. I am planning on using a local pharmacy that has a steller reputation. Plus the pharmacist is the husband of one of my clients, so I think I am set there. I am hoping this will be an answer for me. Do you use ALA? Do you get it from Metabolic Maintenance?

I am glad to have someone to talk to about LDN for Hep C, because there is very little out there. I have been in touch with Elaine Moore, the author of a book on LDN (nothing in there about Hep) who has been supportive. Frankly I did not tell her that it was I that had Hep C. I am still dealing with the stigma. I have told close friends and a few of my employees, and my mother (and supportive hubby of course!)

Good to "talk" with you!