Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
There aren’t many times when I’m excited for the possible uses
of a prescription drug. Most medications have too many unintended consequences
and treat symptoms rather than the cause of a particular disease. Health and
recovery come from treating the causes of disease, whether that is
inflammation, lack of essential nutrients, or physical inactivity. Obviously
not all disease can be treated this way and medications are a necessary option
if no others exist. Most times though, other options exist.
That brings us to Naltrexone. It was approved by the FDA in 1984 for use as
an opioid antagonist, helping heroin and opioid addicts recover from their
addictions by blocking the effects of those drugs. The dosage used for these
people is 50mg or greater per day.
In 1985, Dr. Bernard Bihari, a medical doctor from New York,
discovered the effects of much smaller doses of naltrexone (called low dose
naltrexone or LDN) on the body’s immune system.
He found that doses as low as 3 mg taken at bedtime enhanced the
patient’s immune response to HIV. By the mid-1990’s he found that patients in
his practice with cancer often times showed dramatic benefit. People with
autoimmune diseases such as Lupus showed quick control of disease activity
while taking LDN.
Dr. David Gluck says this, “LDN may well be the most
important therapeutic breakthrough in over fifty years. It provides a new, safe
and inexpensive method of medical treatment by mobilizing the natural defenses
of one’s own immune system.”
LDN boosts your own immune system, activating the body’s own
natural defenses. What controls the immune system and how does this drug boost
the immune system? A growing body of
evidence suggests that one’s own endorphin secretions (our internal opioids)
orchestrate the immune system. This is why opioid abuse (see last article) has
a very detrimental effect on the drug user’s health.
Therefore, in general, LDN can help almost any disease which
has as its origins a deficiency in autoimmune response. LDN helps restore the
body’s normal production of endorphins as the major therapeutic action.
Most likely, your doctor has never heard of LDN
applications. It hasn’t been submitted to the FDA for these uses as of yet,
therefore there haven’t been any drug reps presenting it to the doctors. This
is actually good news because the pricing of LDN is about $45 a month to take.
If the drug reps were pushing it, you know it would be considerably more
expensive.
LDN is not made by a drug company, but needs to be
compounded by a pharmacist from the higher dose pills manufactured for its’
original purpose. Even with this requirement, it is inexpensive. Make sure the
inert fillers contains no calcium carbonate which can interfere with LDN
absorption. You also do not want a time release formula because you may not get
the full effect, quickly, as needed.
In the next article on LDN, we will look at specific
diseases and research backing the use of LDN in those diagnoses.