LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone
This will serve to explain LDN, the informational links, dosages, side effects, types of LDN, etc...
I have been on LDN since March 2011, and it has put me in total remission.
LDN - low dose naltrexone is very cheap - it costs around $25-30 a month (for pills or the transdermal cream). Gastro doctors usually don't prescribe it because they say "it isn't the standard of care". My gastro refused to prescribe it, so I found a local osteopath who did. I did ALOT of research, and the bottom line is: it works!
Once you get the script
for it, you'll need to get it from a compounding pharmacy, who'll make it up for you, and ship it to you. The best compounding pharmacy in the country for LDN is Skip's Pharmacy in Boca Raton, FL. They ship all over the world - they have 20,000 patients with various conditions on LDN. That's where I get my transdermal LDN. If you contact them, they'll tell you who locally to you will prescribe it to you. You can reach them at: 800-553-7429 www.skipspharmacy.com
Please, go to www.youtube.com write: Low dose Naltrexone in the search field and you will find a pharmacist explaining where in the U.S you can buy your medicine. You can also read these pages to find more info to bring to your doctor:
www.ldninfo.org
www.lowdosenaltrexone.org
www.ldnscience.org
www.ldnresearchtrust.org
and if you want to find what other patients have experienced when used LDN, choose UC, Or breast cancer, or Crohns Disease at: www.ldndatabase.com
Here's my story on LDN:
Transdermal LDN (low dose naltrexone) put me in remission - Bottom line is it works!
For those of you considering LDN, or for those of you not familiar with LDN, I wanted to share my story:
Here's the Penn State research done by Dr. Jill Smith with LDN and Crohns Patients: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21380937
I started on 4.5mg of oral LDN on 2/7/2011, and saw no change - still continuing to bleed at a 10 (on scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst).
When I spoke with the compounding pharmacist, she mentioned that I may not be absorbing the LDN properly, and suggested I switch to a transdermal LDN formula, which would be a cream applied to the bottom of the forearm. She told me a lot of her pediatric patients do much better with the Transdermal LDN, and in some patients with absorption issues it helps too.
The THIRD day after I started the transdermal LDN, my bleeding went from a 10 to a 3. By the SEVENTH day ( full week on LDN), my bleeding STOPPED completely, after more than 1 1/2 years of continuous bleeding. Bottom line is it works!
You can get LDN in: oral pills, transdermal (cream), and sublingual troche.
When to take LDN (whether it be oral pills, transdermal, or sublingual troche:
LDN must be taken between 10pm and 2am.
Fillers for oral LDN
There is:
avicel = problematic, not recommended
lactose = not recommended
slow release = doesn't work well, not recommended
cellulose = could be ok
sucrose = least problematic one, this is the one I recommend and then of course, there's the transdermal LDN.
Transdermal vs. Sublingual LDN
In order for the transdermal LDN to be absorbed by the skin, they had to figure out a formula. From what I understand, after some experimentation, they discovered that Emu oil acts as a good carrier, enabling LDN to be carried through the pores and absorbed by the skin pretty effectively.
The transdermal LDN cream, already contains this Emu oil within it, and really cannot be detected either visually or to the touch. So when you apply the LDN cream, you rub it on as a cream (just as you would any other). I hope this makes sense. BTW, it's very important you know that this cream SHOULD NOT be refrigerated, as refrigeration breaks down its ingredients. It must be kept at room temperature.
How to apply the transdermal LDN:
once you push out the cream from the demarkated push syringe, you would apply it to these
locations, making sure to rotate left one night, right next night, and rotate
locations each night:
- top of feet,
- top of hands,
- back of forearms right above the wrist where the skin is the thinnest and the blood vessels show
I hope this makes sense. Be careful the first time you squeeze it out of the syringe, so you don't squeeze out too much past your demarkated dosage. You'll get the hang of it, the first time is the most tricky.
How your doctor needs to write the script
for transdermal LDN:
Prescript
ion should be written like this:
Naltrexone Cream 4.5 mg/1 mL
Apply 1 mL every night at bedtime.
Sublingual LDN Troche
As far as sublingual troches, they too, are compounded by a compounding pharmacy, and are made into a little square (to which they can add some flavoring as the naltrexone typically tastes pretty bitter). You take this little square (approx. 3/8" x 3/8") and place it under your tongue, until it completely dissolves, this may take 10-15 minutes. What's good about
this methodology is that it bypasses the gut entirely, just as transdermal does. And for people with IBD that has a big advantage.BTW, the sublingual troches must be refrigerated.
If you are interested in reading about
the process of sublingual administration and process, here's a good source:
www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-p-connelly-dds/medicine-in-the-body-_b_823530.html
"...essentially, when a medicine is placed under your tongue, it diffuses through the mucous membranes beneath your tongue. And because of the plethora of capillaries there, the medicine has a fairly direct route into your bloodstream. This results in the medicine working faster, and oftentimes, better.
Ok, you say, but WHY does it work faster?
Good question -- here's the answer: When you swallow a pill, it must go through your entire gastrointestinal tract. This means the stomach (with acid and bile), the intestines (where most absorption takes place) and then off to the liver, for some more filtering. And THEN it's delivered to where it's needed.
Truthfully, it's the long way, when you think about
it. Going under the tongue bypasses this entire route, and delivers the medication right to the bloodstream. No waiting, no roadblocks -- just right into the blood and off to do its job.
In addition to the speed, the medicine delivered sublingually is usually more potent, and (in general terms) needs less medication to do the job it's intended to do (you may have heard stories about
people cutting pills in half, then taking them under the tongue, to produce the same effect as swallowing one pill). The reason for this increased effect is the digestive tract is incredible harsh. And it's meant to be -- it's how food is broken down, and the nutrients get stripped out, while the waste goes ... well, you know..."
LDN Dosing
There are 2 different thought processes on the dosing for LDN:
1) some doctors prefer you start right at the ideal dosage (as was used in the Dr. Jill Smith studies) @ 4.5mg
2) others prefer you start at 1.5mg for 2 weeks, then go to 3.0mg for 2 weeks, then finally to 4.5mg
Typically, the ideal dosage is 4.5mg. There are some researchers experimenting with twice daily dosage at a lower dosage, but it has not yielded as much positive results as taking it at nightime @4.5mg.
RESULTS
Results vary greatly within individuals, however I can tell you that if you are truly gluten and dairy free you may see results within the first 10 days, if you are not gluten and dairy free, then it may take as long as 3-4 months to see results. But regardless, the researchers and doctors suggest you take LDN for at least 6 months. It seems for many, the greatest results are seen at the 6 months' mark.
Side Effects
Within the first 2 weeks, you may get some very vivid dreams - this does dissipate afterwards. It is recommended that you ensure a calm environment several hours prior to bedtime to ensure "nice" vivid dreams, i.e. if you watch horror movies or read thrillers prior to bedtime, you may suffer terrible nightmares, however if you watch nice movies or read nice (vs. horror) books, then your dreams will be vivid without the nightmare quality to them.
When you take LDN initially, you may get a 24-48 hour cold or flu - this happens as the LDN "ramps up" your immune system, but will not last. Let it move through your system, and then it will be gone.
How Does LDN work?
Here's a great video which explains how LDN works:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0p0ykSzy9o
If your doctor won't prescribe LDN for you, please email me and I will explain how you can get LDN.
If you have any questions on any aspects of LDN, please email me:
[email protected]Best,
InSoFla
Post Edited (iPoop) : 5/25/2016 2:16:04 PM (GMT-6)