248 replies to this topic

[Omega 3 Snake Oil]

I'm on it for chronic Lyme. Have noticed increased fatigue since started about a month ago. Going to stick with it though, as many times treatments that work on Lyme initially cause a worsening of symptoms.

[BarryF]

For a long time, I've suffered from (offically diagnosed) atypical depression - feeling tired all the time no matter how much sleep I get, excessive sleepiness, and increased appetite. For the past 9 months, this has been treated quite effectively with Fluoxetine (Prozac). I specifically asked my doc for Prozac (told him it worked for my "sister"), because statistically, it is the SSRI least likely to cause sedation and mostly likely to cause "insomnia", aka excessive wakefulness, aka precisely what I needed to not be tired all the time.

 

So, prozac fixed my tiredness, but it definitely came with a few of its own problems. After an admittedly rough initial adjustment period of ~6 weeks, (besides the benefits it has given for mood, etc...) I began to experience the following effects:

• REM sleep was likely entirely supressed - Prior to prozac, sleeping was one of my all time favorite activities; I cherish my time spent in the land of dreams. On prozac, I either did not dream at all or could not remember them by the time I woke.
   
• No matter how tired/not tired I was, I would always awaken after roughly 6 hours of sleep - Early this year I had to adjust my sleeping pattern, so I stayed up for 28 hours and went to bed at 9pm, expecting that I'd fall into a nice long catchup sleep. No dice - I woke up after 6 hours, on the dot. Only getting 6 hours a night really concerned me because I workout heavily throughout the week, and all the science tends to suggest that you need plenty of sleep to build more cells and get those sweet, sweet gains. 
   
• There were sexual side effects - Getting to have a "happy ending" took a tedious amount of time, and when I did get there, it wasn't even a happy ending. More like an okay ending.
   
• My sexual urges declined - I like this effect, because it has freed up my time and energy for other things. Just thought I'd mention it incase anyone reads this and rushes out to get some prozac. Or who knows, maybe you'd like this effect too

These effects had been continuous and consistent for the past nine months.

 

Now I'm still on Prozac but as of two weeks ago I started taking 4.5mg of Naltrexone every night before bed, and experienced the following changes:

• Dreams (and thus REM sleep) returned! Sometimes they're vivid, sometimes they aren't. Close to how things were before prozac.
   
• More sleep - my favorite change. I can now get eight hours of sleep! And when I want to, I can easily press the snooze button and get just a little more.
   
• Very happy endings! - The journey still takes a while, but the reward is incredible. Without a doubt, it even feels better than before I was on prozac. The increased sensitivity to endorphins is real
   
• Sexual urges - Same as on prozac. I still don't mind. 

 

So that's my experience so far. Prozac and LDN seem to produce an excellent synergy in my case.

 

 

Over the next few weeks, I plan to experiment with increasing my dose of Naltrexone. Studies show that it upregulates mu, and delta opioid receptors moreso than kappa (which is good, because it doesn't seem like you'd want kappa receptors to get too upregulated  - I chew lots of peppermint gum. Hopefully that'll be enough menthol to keep the kappa at bay    ).
In humans 50mg doesn't fully inhibit delta receptors, and I can't find any data on what dosage does, but judging by the available literature on safety as long as I continue to avoid the most common things that are known to hurt the liver, e.g. opiates, alcohol, cigarettes and acetaminophen, etc... gradually moving up to 100mg and beyond should be relatively safe.

 

Edited by BarryF, 21 February 2016 - 07:49 AM.

[Omega 3 Snake Oil]

I've been taking 4.5 mg LDN for around four months. I take it for chronic fatigue due to Lyme disease. I have seen some improvement but I'm not sure how much was from LDN and how much from herbs and bee venom. I eventually developed adrenal issues from the bee venom, like I made myself allergic to it, and reading about how LDN triggers allergies, I wonder if it contributed (though I think the selegiline may have affected my HPA axis).

I take mine right before bed and have noticed I do sleep a bit better. Insomnia has been maybe my biggest issue.

[jack black]

Cool thread. I've read all 9 pages of it. I just started taking LDN, the standard ~4.5mg dose. I didn't know it works at lower doses.

Anyhow, I did have some dreams the first night, but nothing super vivid. I noticed more sedation and being a bit tired next morning, but otherwise no other changes. Will continue the same dose for at least a week to look for benefits if any.

[jack black]

update:

After taking the LDN for a week, there are only 2 positive things i noticed:

1. Easier falling asleep. I'm taking melatonin and Mg at late evening already, but they don't work much. it's either LDN itself or in combination with those.

2. More regular BM next day. I have a bit of IBS and can have more than 1 BM a day. With LDN it's only one, but a good one.

 

Nex week I'll escalate with DL-phenylalanine. Supposedly increases endorphins?

[vaarmen]

Hi LC community!

I have been doing some research on LDN and came across to the major active metabolite of Naltrexone 6-beta-Naltrexol. It is known that 6-beta-Naltrexol has a half-life of about 13 hours, and that Naltrexone undergoes much first pass metabolism which make the plasma levels of 6-beta be much higher than Naltrexone. 6-beta is reported to have lower affinity for mu opioids, but not too low and combined with the large AUC it can even have more effects on the receptor than Naltrexone itself (controversial). The problem with the 6-beta is the longer half-life, as it means opioid receptors will be blocked the next day as well after a bedtime dose.

What is your take on the above information?
Do you know how significant is 6-beta-Naltrexol in LDN effects?

How long do you feel dysphoria after taking an LDN dose. Does small amount continue up to 24 hours or more?
What if the effectiveness of LDN is because of constantly blocking Opioid receptors rather than causing rebound and desensitization?
Has anyone tried LDN with Naloxone rather than Naltrexone? It has shorter half life and no active metabolites as far as I know, so could potentially cause more rebound and less blockade the next day after a dose.

Any insight will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 

[Astroid]

Hi LC community!

I have been doing some research on LDN and came across to the major active metabolite of Naltrexone 6-beta-Naltrexol. It is known that 6-beta-Naltrexol has a half-life of about 13 hours, and that Naltrexone undergoes much first pass metabolism which make the plasma levels of 6-beta be much higher than Naltrexone. 6-beta is reported to have lower affinity for mu opioids, but not too low and combined with the large AUC it can even have more effects on the receptor than Naltrexone itself (controversial). The problem with the 6-beta is the longer half-life, as it means opioid receptors will be blocked the next day as well after a bedtime dose.

What is your take on the above information?
Do you know how significant is 6-beta-Naltrexol in LDN effects?

How long do you feel dysphoria after taking an LDN dose. Does small amount continue up to 24 hours or more?
What if the effectiveness of LDN is because of constantly blocking Opioid receptors rather than causing rebound and desensitization?
Has anyone tried LDN with Naloxone rather than Naltrexone? It has shorter half life and no active metabolites as far as I know, so could potentially cause more rebound and less blockade the next day after a dose.

Any insight will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 

 

One does not want to lower the immunity longer than 4 hours.. at all.. Every !  The result you want is the REBOUND... not the Suppression. I would not use this product. 

update:

After taking the LDN for a week, there are only 2 positive things i noticed:

1. Easier falling asleep. I'm taking melatonin and Mg at late evening already, but they don't work much. it's either LDN itself or in combination with those.

2. More regular BM next day. I have a bit of IBS and can have more than 1 BM a day. With LDN it's only one, but a good one.

 

Nex week I'll escalate with DL-phenylalanine. Supposedly increases endorphins?

 

Search Histamines + IBS

 

A friend had this and I search to discover this link. 

 

TMG Lowers Histamines. 

[NDM]

1. Is anyone here from the USA and shopping at alldaychemist at least occasionally (once every 12-24 months)? They currently sell naltrexone (Naltima 50 mg) at USD 2.00/per capsule and I am willing to pay you double that 4.00/capsule for ordering them for me on your next regular order and shipping them to my address in Canada from the USA: alldaychemist has a policy of no shipping to Canada so this is the only way for me to get access to naltrexone (I use it for a low-dose naltrexone regimen which I take regularly for mood and sleep quality). 

I have already used this strategy a few years back, but my US “partner” is no longer a student, so earning a quick and easy 50-150 USD no longer interests her. The last few tablets of Naltrexone I have expired in April this year, so I really need to order a fresh set. I would pay you promptly via Paypal (double your buying price for the tablets + shipping cost to Canada). 

 

2. Alternatively, if you know of some website where I could order Naltrexone without a prescription and have it shipped to Canada directly, please let me know. 

 

[Bike_to_120]

Recently was purchasing a CGM at agelessrx.com and came across LDN on their site. Been suffering from chronic pain for decades and thought I'd give LDN a shot. After researching it lots of claims about cancer as well. Was diagnosed with a low grade prostate cancer a decade ago and see claims about tumors shrinking. I monitor this every year with a MRI so will see if this makes a difference. Also hoping it takes down inflammation biomarkers. AgelessRX provides 1.5 mg tablets which are to be gradually increased from 1 to 2 to 3 a night over a months period.