LDN: A MAGIC BULLET FOR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
by Richard Conrad, Ph.D. Updated June 10, 2010
THE GIFT OF LDN
LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) increases the synthesis of our own natural endorphins, which tends to balance and normalize the immune system. Clinical studies have found that LDN can arrest many autoimmune disorders.
The following article does not detail mechanisms for the actions of LDN, nor does it make treatment suggestions. Rather it summarizes and presents the results of evidence-based clinical research on LDN. For more details, see the list of links at the end of this article and the excellent book by Moore and Wilkinson at the bottom of this list. A link is included to help you locate a doctor who knows about LDN.
Love, smiles, laughter, loving sex, exercise, massage therapy and happiness all leave us feeling good, and they are all healing. Why? Because they boost our endorphins (opiate-like hormones), and high levels of endorphins balance and regulate the immune system.
LDN is an inexpensive prescription drug that induces our body to increase its own endorphin levels, and not just for an hour or two, but for the whole day. It is normally taken once a day before sleep, on an on-going basis. Naltrexone is considered safe even in doses more than 10X higher than the 3 to 4.5 mg used for low dose naltrexone therapy. (Full dose naltrexone, 50 mg or more/day, is given to drug addicts and alcoholics to help them break their habit - in these doses it blocks the “high” from opiates and alcohol.)
About a year ago I began taking LDN at the suggestion of my MD because it acts as an anti-inflammatory, and because the increased endorphin levels it induces often enable the immune system to arrest autoimmune disorders. These disorders include MS, CFIDS, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Hashimoto's, Crohn's, IBS and the autoimmune aftereffects of Lyme disease. LDN has also been found to be effective in various allergies and in autism, Parkinson's, ALS, and AIDS, and it is reported to have cured cases of hepatitis C. LDN increases the level of natural killer cells and has caused remission in many types of cancer, including advanced cases. Furthermore it appears that LDN is neuroprotective, and it has been proposed (based on preliminary research) that LDN can prevent excitotoxicity.
The increased endorphins tend to raise the levels of desirable types of immune cells and cytokines, and to lower the undesirable immune cells and cytokines. (LDN does not simply “boost” the immune system as has been erroneously stated in some of the LDN links below; simply boosting the immune system would tend to exacerbate autoimmune problems. Rather it optimizes the immune system and can reduce inflammation caused by persistent non-beneficial immune activation.)
LDN is not widely known because doctors were not taught about it in medical school, and because there is little profit in it for the drug companies and therefore not much money is available for basic laboratory research. But evidence-based clinical trials conducted at major universities have been published involving over a thousand patients, and in the majority of cases they demonstrate a significant reduction in symptoms, more energy and a greater feeling of well-being (see links below).
Because most people with chemical and/or electrical sensitivities have abnormally high levels of one or more types of autoimmune antibodies, often including anti-thyroid, anti-nuclear (ANA), anti-myelin and others, and because CFIDS, Fibromyalgia and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) often overlap with MCS/ES, it is possible that people with MCS/ES might be helped by LDN. It would be prudent for sensitive persons to begin with an extremely low dose, on the order of 0.5 mg, and work up slowly. A way to do this accurately is to dissolve a whole capsule in a small amount of water, stir, and drink only that fraction of the total volume that you want. (If you were to try to measure out a portion the dry powder contents of a capsule directly, this is hard to do accurately, and more importantly, the active ingredient may have clumped to itself and may no longer be homogeneously dispersed in the filler.) Side effects occur in about 50% of people, and are usually limited to minor disturbances in sleep patterns that disappear after using LDN for about a week (this side effect disappears within 24 hours of reducing the dose).
Since being on LDN, my mind is much clearer and sharper, my spirits are uplifted, I have more energy, my occasional flu-like symptoms occur less frequently and my MCS, ES and food sensitivities have lessened. I look forward to getting feedback from others as to whether and how LDN helped them.
I have received very positive feedback from an elderly woman who has had Lyme disease for many years: the LDN has
greatly increased her feeling of well-being and her physical energy.
Skip's Pharmacy in Florida, www.skipspharmacy.com is experienced with LDN and charges $10 - $15. for a month's supply (depends on the dosage) which is about 1/2 of the usual cost. They often use FD&C food coloring, colored capsules and/or surcrose. Their hypoallergenic versions usually use sucrose as a filler.
The College Pharmacy in Colorado Springs, CO, http://www.collegepharmacy.com/
will compound LDN hypoallergenically any way you like, for not much more money than Skips, especially when you order a 90 day supply. They never use artificial coloring. A good pharmacist contact at the College Pharmacy is Deb, 800/888-9358, extension 118. I have used College Pharmacy for more than 15 years, and have been very happy with their compounding services and with their care in fulfilling my special needs. When College Pharmacy ships LDN, they include a cautionary warning sheet that includes: "Those patients who are taking thyroid hormone replacement for a diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis with hypothyroidism will need to begin LDN at the lowest range (1.5 mg for an adult). Be aware that LDN may lead to a prompt decrease in the autoimmune disorder, which then may require a rapid reduction in the dose of thyroid hormone replacement in order to avoid symptoms of hyperthyroidism."
LDN should not be taken while taking narcotic medication or purposely immunosupressive medication.
www.lowdosenaltrexone.org provides a wealth of information about LDN, and includes contact info for a number of other pharmacies that supply LDN.
Additional LDN sites:
www.ldners.org
www.webspawner.com/users/sideeffectsofldn/index.html
www.crystalsmstmldn.org
www.myspace.com/lowdosenaltrexone
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/06/can-ldn-really-help-multiple-sclerosis-rheumatoid-arthritis-and-other-autoimmune-diseases.aspx
http://jeffreydach.com/2007/08/01/low-dose-nalotrexone-ldn-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx
www.ldn-help.com
FOR A LIST OF MD's in your area that prescribe LDN, email your request and location to:
CrystalAngel6267@aol.com
EXCELLENT BOOK: The Promise of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy
(Available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble).