Low-dose Naltexone has been helpful

[Pat L]

I've been on 3 mg for about 20 months now and this medication has been very helpful for me. I was able to reduce taking acetaminophen from 1 to 3 capsules daily to about 3 per week. I haven't noticed any side effects or changes in my weight either. In addition, I have some relief with a couple of other chronic conditions that are auto-immune related. I get it from a compounding mail order pharmacy, and as others have mentioned, it is not yet covered by insurance. If you haven't tried it yet, it is definitely worth a try.

 

[JayCS]

Hi Pat, and welcome! Encouraging to hear LD N helping you too.

Interesting that acetaminophen helped your fibro pain (I assume) before and still helps, I think most don't get an effect from it.

Is it only pain it helps you with? For me it's more energy and sleep, rather than pain.

I'd be curious how lose dose you started, cos I think starting lower than 0.5mg helped me get over first side effects quick.

Oh, and why you stopped at 3mg, instead of increasing to the usual 4.5 or even up to its occasional "double", 9mg.
I definitely didn't expect how it brought my energy up from 10 to 20% immediately, and increasing to I think around 2mg to 30%, but increasing even more didn't improve more. Whilst some people have to wait 2-3 months for it to work at all.

 

[Auriel]

Hi Pat (welcome to the forum)
️do you have chronic fatigue with your fibro,/pain or both? What does acetaminophen do for fibro? (it's not a name I've heard of before) I take gabbapentin for mine (it takes the edge off + gives me a window of opportunity to get anything done) @JayCS what brought your energy levels up to 20%? (I need to know)
Auriel, in bed, dosed up, with leg pain, ps hope you like it here! Hope you stay a while ️️

 

[JayCS]

@JayCS what brought your energy levels up to 20%? (I need to know)

LD N has brought my energy up from generally 10% to generally 30%, as I'm logging here.
Up to 20% was what it did immediately upon starting it.

 

[Auriel]

Ok , let's all wish eachother all feeling much better (I believe in thing's like that) ok bedtime now

 

[Pat L]

My gyn is the doctor who prescribed this, and she has since left the practice. I started with 3 mg and no other doctor has suggested a change. Since this is working fairly well, I've stuck with it. However, it's good to know that there might be an option to increase the dosage. I will pay more attention to my energy level and decide if it's helped with this. I also take a homeopathic sleep aid, so I cannot say there's been any change there. I know I've been lucky that acetaminophen had been providing some relief, as I've declined taking some of the other medications for FM due to reading about their side effects. Thanks for responding, Pat

 

[Pat L]

Yes, I do have chronic pain and fatigue. Acetaminophen is just the name for Tylenol. I've been lucky it provided some relief. I has fewer side effects than some of the prescription medications. Many years ago I tried gabbapentin, but stopped after deciding it wasn't helping much. Thanks for your reply.

 

[JayCS]

My gyn is the doctor who prescribed this,

Hehe, and my cardio mine, always asks what she can do for me, trusts me.

I started with 3 mg and no other doctor has suggested a change. Since this is working fairly well, I've stuck with it. However, it's good to know that there might be an option to increase the dosage.

Normal is to start with 1.5mg and increase to 4.5mg. 0.5mg is where med-oversensitive people start, increasing to 9mg is what people try if they don't have any effect. 3mg isn't a "normal" dose, I'd think just an average one, a good guess. if side effects were too much, someone could dose down, if main effect isn't enough someone could dose up.
The doc who discovered the effect after weaning many people off the 50mg found the best effect happening at around 4.5.
There is no good research on it yet proving effects and doses, but good trials are now up and running.

Yes, I do have chronic pain and fatigue. ............ I will pay more attention to my energy level and decide if it's helped with this.

But fatigue is apparently not a major issue for you... and...

I also take a homeopathic sleep aid, so I cannot say there's been any change there.

...same here, at least any more - does it work that well?

I admit after trying rhus toxicodendron for pain unsuccessfully and the teas for sleep, I didn't bother looking for "my" more specific homoeopathic remedy.
Remedies for different kinds of bad dreams to nightmares or for worries seem predominant, but I have neither.
Interesting: zincum metallicum might be good for someone with restless legs.
I see acidum nitricum might be good for someone waking up every half an hour (well in my case every 1-1.5h).
Cocculus may also be interesting for those of us like me who always did/do too much, esp. for others.
And I see nux vomica (which I already have) can help sleep as well as nausea and bladder, so I'll now try that properly.

I guess trying a homeopathic complex would save looking for one certain one, but people and paths will differ, esp. me.

My supps did help, as did using "light" properly, but LD N is together with that definitely putting the icing on the cake.
However after increasing caused problems I see how fickle that is, so I'm actually thinking about trying homoeopathy.
There can never be too much icing on the cake in our condition....

Acetaminophen is just the name for Tylenol.

Or known here as Paracetamol, a name derived from the substance name aceaminophen.

 

[Auriel]

Thanks for your reply.

You're VERY welcome , does the sleep you take have Valerian?

 

[Pat L]

I've been on 3 mg for about 20 months now and this medication has been very helpful for me. I was able to reduce taking acetaminophen from 1 to 3 capsules daily to about 3 per week. I haven't noticed any side effects or changes in my weight either. In addition, I have some relief with a couple of other chronic conditions that are auto-immune related. I get it from a compounding mail order pharmacy, and as others have mentioned, it is not yet covered by insurance. If you haven't tried it yet, it is definitely worth a try.

Adding on, I was asked if I also have chronic fatigue. There are many times that I feel much fatigue, but I've come to the conclusion that after quietly assessing this, it's the pain I feel that makes me think I am so fatigued. When the pain lessens, my energy returns.