cd3764 - questions re: LDN

Hi lymie mom x 2 :)

Congrats on getting the LDN prescription!

Hmmm...you have pills vs. capsules? Did you get your Rx filled by a compounding pharmacist? If you do indeed have pills, you just might want to verify the fillers. Here's some info to explain why:

www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/gazorpa/LDNFillers.html

It's important to make sure no calcium carbonate is used in the preparation (this is addressed in the Mercola article I link in my next post)

It is best to start on 1.5mg and then increase after doing well for a month.

The recommendation has always been to take it at bedtime...and the same time every day.

Some people feel results almost immediately. For something like help with an autoimmune disease, I've read it could take as long as one year. Both scenarios make sense to me based upon my understanding of LDN's actions.

Best of luck to you moving forward! Please let us know how things go..

Post Edited (cd3764) : 10/6/2015 4:34:02 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks for the info CD!

I just opened the bottle, and they are tiny capsules from a compounding pharmacy. None of the paperwork I have from the pharmacy indicates what may have been used as fillers, just that the generic name is Naloxone. From past experience, generic usually equates to cheap fillers, at least with my thyroid meds! I will have to call during business hours tomorrow and ask what they used.

Do you think it is safe to take tonight anyway, assuming there could be calcium carbonate in there? No issues with it other than absorption rates potentially decreased right? I can't return this bottle even if unused. And If I need to get another Rx, it will be at least another week to get the script from my DR in the mail and then 2-3 business days before the pharmacy will have it ready.

Oh, lymie mom...

So sorry I missed your post last night!

I'm glad that 1/2 a capsule wasn't problematic for you and that's definitely good news about no calcium carbonate filler.

I'm not that familiar with fillers but, kaolin seems quite benign.

I can't remember what my pharmacy told me they used as fillers. I figured I'd be OK because it's the pharmacy Dr. Bihari used (Dr. Bihari is the doctor who pioneered the use of LDN).

LDN is only available in generic form. The Naltrexone patent expired years ago and that's why you're not seeing pharmaceutical companies fund research on LDN.

Still, I'd be inclined to use one of the pharmacies recommended on the LDN site....

And, for whatever it's worth, I really didn't notice much of a change after starting LDN. My Lyme symptoms have always been mild (except when herxing lol). If anything, LDN helps me feel more "even".

I am seeing benefit with my thyroid numbers. I'm still needing higher doses of thyroid hormone replacement than what I was taking before Lyme....but those dose needs have been decreasing.

Only time will tell...

Hope you experience some improvements!!!