Calling All Low Dose Naltrexone Experts

[caya]

Where does one get LDN? Is it Rx or OTC? Is it liquid or solid form? Thanks for any info you kind folks can throw my way.

Caya

[Curious]

caya...i sent a copy of your post to one of our members. he has been on ldn for awhile. ( for ms) he is traveling right now, so it might be a few days.

[Sharship]

Hi...I'v been on LDN for a few years....and I am in remission with my MS!
The naltrexone is a capsule and it is compounded at the pharmacy. The "low dose" is what makes it unique ...in very high doseages, naltrexone has been used to control substance abuse...in very low doses it has been proven to favorably impact autoimmune diseases, cancers and other chronic diseases. Look up Dr. Bihari's web site at: www.lowdosenaltrexone.com

Some medical docs/neuros aren't willing to prescribe this medication....others, however, realize the positive impact it has and have no problem prescribing it. I have found a doctor of osteopathy who prescribes it for me and he gets the prescription filled at a compounding pharmacy that mails it to me. The cost is about $1 a day....$30 a month. Worth every penney! Good luck finding a doc who will prescribe it for you. Sharon

[LarryLDN]

LDN = most awesome medical breakthrough since penicillin -- Skip's Pharmacy

[thebrick]

As a multiple autoimmune (7) disease patient who also has bone marrow cancer, LDN has been the ONLY thing that has REALLY helped. I will tell anyone that listens my story and what LDN has doen for me. I have talked to dozens of people that have started LDN after listening. For the first time in nine years, my cancer is in remission... and ALL of my diseases are getting better. I have been on it about six months. I am able to reduce daily medications and also my IV treatments will be reduced shortly.

If there is anything I can do to help or any questions I can answer, please just yell.
Barbara Yodice, Founder of the Autoimmune Information Network
www.aininc.org :D

[SammyJo]

I personally know 4 men with Parkinsons who have started LDN at my recommendation and all are doing better. Two since Jan 2007, the other two started in the past 2 months. The biggest improvement is in sleep quality, they are "sleeping like a baby". Also large reduction in PD medications.

NIH had a meeting 4/20/2007 where the discussed the research potential for LDN across many conditions, including PD.

A human trial has begun at UCSF for MS, and one is ongoing in Italy.

We are making progress!

SammyJo
http://LDNers.org

[Curious]

caya...you could post this on the ms forum here too.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17

[Maureen]

Can you tell if the LDN is making you feel more fatigued, or, is it in fact, making you feel a bit more energetic?
Maureen

[ashleyk]

Hi Caya, if you want to find more information on LDN and how to go about obtaining a prescription etc, your best bet would be to join the yahoo ldn chat group below. There are some people there that can help but the site is somewhat scattered. The problem with LDN is that most docs will not prescribe and it can be expensive if you have to pay a doc for a consult for an Rx. In the meantime, maybe you could look at the "dextromethorphan" thread on this site.
Regards, Ashley
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/lowdosenaltrexone/

naloxone=naltrexone, more or less
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15791005&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12183682&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=10773035&dopt=Abstract

dextromethorphan, interesting
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15790998&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12649371&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=14734632&dopt=Abstract

[geraldo]

Does LDN conflict with any of the standard PD meds?
jerry

[maryfrances]

I'll try anything...............how do we get it if our doctor won't prescribe it?

Mary

[LarryLDN]

get another doctor? til you do?

[Kathie]

My husband has been on LDN for over 2 years now for his PD. When he first started LDN at the 4.5 mg dose, he was able to reduce from 2 caridopa/ levidopa down to one a day with no loss of function (along with one 5mg of selegeline). There has been no problem with taking LDN along with these medications.

However, earlier this year, he did a trial with the new PD drug rasageline (which meant he had to get off his selegeline first). However, he did not find that the rasageline was doing the job so after 6 weeks quit taking it and went back to the selegeline. During that time period however, he had declined somewhat and now has to take 2 to 3 carbidopa / levidopa a day instead of the one he was taking prior to the rasageline. I did read on some forum AFTERwards, that LDN and rasageline may not be compatible to take together.

So while he has been on LDN, we have not seen noticeable progression, except for this time period when on the rasegeline.

[Kathie]

Mary,

Specialists, it seems, often are reluctant to prescribe LDN because they want to see clinical trials, and there are none for LDN and PD. Your best bet is to find a general practitioner or alternative minded doctor, and take some printouts from the website at www.lowdosenatrexone.org with you. My family has found two general practitioners who will prescribe it. They seem more openminded and are more likely to say it can't hurt you and are willing to see if it will help you.

And here are some sites you can go to where someone has put together some ldn info packets for doctors. These are more specific to MS but may still be helpful.

http://p220.ezboard.com/fldnlowdosenaltrexonefrm10.showMessage?topicID=21. topic

Maureen's Complete Guide PDF
Maureen's info to help with Doctors
www.larrygc.com/ldn/ldndoctorsfolder.pdf

Maureen's Doctor Folder
Maureen's info to help with your Doctors (if you can't read PDF files)
www.larrygc.com/ldn/ldndoctorsfolder.doc

Maureen's Patient Guide (additional information)
Maureen's info to help us talk to our doctors
www.larrygc.com/ldn/ldnpatientguide.doc


Kathie

[LarryLDN]

http://www.gazorpa.com has those files updated, too.

I will never take anything Other than LDN, no messing with success for me.

Just getting back from a life-changing vacation, I now have reason to stay healthy for a few more decades. LDN forever, hopefully without complications. One batch at a time, if the next 4 years can be as good as the last, me and my LDN will do just fine.

[CTenaLouise]

I am glad to hear you are doing great!
what do you feel about stress and MS? does stress bother you?
My sister Jana, -can't take the stress -
and she is still on copaxone which she gives herself daily injections...
I gave one to her yesterday...
she can't use the autoinjectors it scars her.


peace to you! ;)

[proudest_mama]

I'm afraid, like Maryfrances, that my doctor won't prescribe it. I'll ask, and let you know. Is there anything out there, over the counter, that equals it? What about availability in either European countries and/or Canada. My husband is leaving for Canada tomorrow and has another business trip in a few weeks to Scandinavia.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks ...

[ashleyk]

To answer proudest-mama's question if there is something else out there beside LDN, maybe there is, it's dextromethorphan in the form of cough syrup bought in any drug store over the counter. Some people on this forum take about 5mg nightly (about one teaspoon). According to the work of Dr. Hong's group at the NIH, LDN and DM are opioid receptor antagonists and work in similar ways at low doses (femtomolar or 10 to the -14) to slow or stop neuroinflammatory disease.
Ashley

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15790998&dopt=Abstract
Femtomolar concentrations of dextromethorphan protect mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons from inflammatory damage.

Li G (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Li+G%22%5BAuthor%5D), Cui G (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Cui+G%22%5BAuthor%5D), Tzeng NS (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Tzeng+NS%22%5BAuthor%5D), Wei SJ (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Wei+SJ%22%5BAuthor%5D), Wang T (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Wang+T%22%5BAuthor%5D), Block ML (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Block+ML%22%5BAuthor%5D), Hong JS (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_Abstract&term=%22Hong+JS%22%5BAuthor%5D).

Neuropharmacology Section, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA. guorongl@med.unc.edu

Inflammation in the brain has increasingly been recognized to play an important role in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Progress in the search for effective therapeutic strategies that can halt this degenerative process remains limited. We previously showed that micromolar concentrations of dextromethorphan (DM), a major ingredient of widely used antitussive remedies, reduced the inflammation-mediated degeneration of dopaminergic neurons through the inhibition of microglial activation. In this study, we report that femto- and micromolar concentrations of DM (both pre- and post-treatment) showed equal efficacy in protecting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced dopaminergic neuron death in midbrain neuron-glia cultures. Both concentrations of DM decreased LPS-induced release of nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, prostaglandin E2 and superoxide from microglia in comparable degrees. The important role of superoxide was demonstrated by DM's failure to show a neuroprotective effect in neuron-glia cultures from NADPH oxidase-deficient mice. These results suggest that the neuroprotective effect elicited by femtomolar concentrations of DM is mediated through the inhibition of LPS-induced proinflammatory factors, especially superoxide. These findings suggest a novel therapeutic concept of using "ultra-low" drug concentrations for the intervention of inflammation-related neurodegenerative diseases.

PMID: 15790998 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15791005&dopt=Abstract

[LarryLDN]

I am glad to hear you are doing great!
what do you feel about stress and MS? does stress bother you?
My sister Jana, -can't take the stress -
and she is still on copaxone which she gives herself daily injections...
I gave one to her yesterday...
she can't use the autoinjectors it scars her.


peace to you! ;)

Hey! Been to NY? Look me up, I'm unattached :)

Yes, STRESS is a big key... nothing can battle that well, but LDN keeps much of the stress levels down.

I quit smoking, my last cigarette was 4/26/06

One year, three weeks, four days, 1 hour, 46 minutes and 27 seconds. 11702 cigarettes not smoked, saving $3,218.11. Life saved: 5 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 10 minutes.