Morning everyone!
Welcome to another edition of the Doctor's Note, where we talk about what's on our minds when it comes to your health. This week, we wanted to talk about Low Dose Naltrexone.
What is Low Dose Naltrexone?
Low Dose Naltrexone is a prescription compounded medication that I've been using for years for various disease states. It's used in extremely low doses (1-4.5 mg), which actually changes its use. I'll explain that later in the note.
I put patients on Low Dose Naltrexone mainly to treat autoimmune disease states. People who ache, feel tired, and hurt. Low Dose Naltrexone can help people with:
- Inflammation
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Hashimoto's thyroiditis
- Crohn's disease
- Chronic fatigue
- Fibromyalgia
- Lupus
- Cancer
Low Dose Naltrexone versus Naltrexone
This might get confusing, but now I'm going to try to explain the difference between Low Dose Naltrexone and Naltrexone. As the name implies, the only difference is the dose. But the dose changes who and what it's for.
Naltrexone in high doses (50-100 mg) is an opiate antagonist. This means that it blocks the affects of opiates when you take them. Naltrexone has been used for 25 years by drug treatment centers for addiction medicine.
Naltrexone versus Naloxone (Narcan)
Naltrexone is not, however, Naloxone (or what you might know as Narcan). Naloxone is the life saving drug that we use on people who are having an overdose. It will literally save you life in just a few minutes.
Naltrexone is a cousin of this. It's a long term blocker. It doesn't save lives, but it will block the effects of opiates so that you don't want to take them.
How does Low Dose Naltrexone work?
The reason I'm writing a Doctor's Note on Low Dose Naltrexone is that it helps so many of my patients. A very low dose of naltrexone helps your body's own immune system fight disease and pain.
Advantages of Low Dose Naltrexone:
- No side effects*
- Safe
- No drug interactions**
- Inexpensive
*The only side effect I've seen is vivid dreams in a minority of patients that I've put on it.
**You CANNOT take Low Dose Naltrexone if you are on opiate narcotics.
Your immune system has many different functions. One of its functions is to fight infections and viruses. Another function is to suppress the growth of abnormal cells like cancer cells.
When patients ask me how Low Dose Naltrexone works, the best way I can explain it is that it helps your body release its own endorphins. It helps you feel good on your own without having to take anything else. It also decreases neurotoxins in the brain, and lowers oxidative stress.
That's all for this week! If you want to dive deeper and learn more about Low Dose Naltrexone, I encourage everyone to go over to the podcast and check out the conversation that made up this Doctor's Note. To listen to the conversation, check it out
HERE.
If you want to talk to me about Low Dose Naltrexone, please don't hesitate to give one of the numbers below a call. We'd love to help!
