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low dose naltrexone treatment

Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 | Last Active: 22 hours ago | Replies (15)

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@shirljk

Hello,
I started taking Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) probably 5 years ago. I take it fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. I believe it helps tremendously with the Fibromyalgia; I think the side effect on not having constant debilitating muscle and joint pain translates into less fatigue. When I had Covid in November 2023, I went to Mayo Clinic, the long covid program a number of months later. I was asked about taking the LDN, was it helping my Long Covid. I said I couldn't tell because I was on it before I got long covid. I believe that it does help, because I have not experienced a recurrence of pain. Fatigue increased for months, but that is more manageable now. Unfortunately, I don't think it helped with the dizziness, I agree that not overdoing it and pacing myself is the biggest help with that. I am quite sure I would have pain and headaches if I were not on LDN. I went off it twice at my doctors request, and the Fibromyalgia and general pain, headaches came back, which brought back more fatigue. He said he just wanted me to test it to remember why I'm on it. I am on the recommended 4.5 mg. for Fibromyalgia, took me several weeks to get up to that amount. In my experience, it is rather benign drug, I have no side effects and very low dose and is amazing for me to keep me out pain. And I don't take any prescription medicine except a compounded thyroid med, because I get side effects from any I have tried.

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Replies to "Hello, I started taking Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) probably 5 years ago. I take it fibromyalgia..."

I’m interested re. your last comment about ’compounded thyroid med’ suggesting your are hypothyroid and likely Hashimoto’s too? A Dr.Lowe ( now dead) who specialised in hypothyroidism believed under medicated T3 lead to fibromyalgia…but his protocol did not work for me. I have both thyroid ailments , plus fibromyalgia (and type 3c diabetes from septic shock/ acute pancreatitis), and had LC nearly 5 years. I tried LDN and cannabis oil before LC but no obvious change to pain/ fatigue, now LC has made the fibromyalgia worse and I’ve got dysautonomia ( postural hypotension with syncope, but high HR too), no sense of smell.…tried a wide range of LC supplements/ drugs without improvement and currently trying ‘low and slow’ vagus nerve stimulation device. I’ll give the vTENS device a good trial, and if no improvement will try LDN again. It’s so slow to try to do one hopefully improvement one at a time!

I have been taking LDN (4.5 mg) since December. After 2 months, I found relief from my shortness of breath and lack of energy, enabling me to walk distances that I was not able to walk for the last 4 years. (Covid in August 2020) I do find that after walking, my legs are achy at night. Extra Strength Tylenol helps. I have been taking 50 mg of Imipramine for Fibromyalgia since before Covid. At one point, I weaned myself off it because there were studies that said it was not good for Long Covid - big mistake!! I am back on it and feel much better. With LDN, I still have problems with dizziness and balance. I do have POTS, IBS, etc. I'm not all better but am glad I walk distances again!!
Hope that helps!!

I am on naltrexone at 2 mg a day, and I can second that it has helped with the fibromyalgia-like muscle aches and pains that Long Covid has caused me, but it hasn’t really helped me with much else (fatigue, autonomic dysfunction, chest pain, headaches). It’s a good tool for the LC treatment toolkit, but it is not a panacea for all LC symptoms in my experience.