If you have heard the buzz about low dose naltrexone over the years, you aren’t alone. Have you been asking yourself, “How does low dose naltrexone work?” Your compounding pharmacy can give you more information about how it could impact your life.
Naltrexone is a prescription drug that is used to treat opioid addiction and other types of substance abuse. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its use for these issues alone. However, there are many off-label, lower-dose uses that can greatly benefit patients suffering from a wide variety of conditions.
Low dose naltrexone (LDN) is not approved by the FDA, so the only way to obtain a prescription is to have it filled at a compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies can formulate custom medications based on a patient’s needs.
At The Healthy Choice compounding pharmacy, we have the capability to formulate low dose naltrexone for you if your physician believes it could help alleviate the symptoms of your health condition. Read on to learn more about the purpose of low dose naltrexone and how it works in the body.
The Purpose of Low Dose Naltrexone
Naltrexone is used to treat substance abuse conditions like alcoholism and opioid addictions. Although these are the only FDA-approved uses, in lower doses, naltrexone can greatly benefit individuals who are suffering from a variety of medical issues, including:
- Multiple sclerosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Anxiety disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Breast cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- Hypothyroidism
- Ulcerative colitis
- Lyme disease
- Lupus
This is just a small list of conditions that could benefit from low dose naltrexone. If you have an inflammatory condition, autoimmune disease, chronic pain, certain types of cancers, an anxiety disorder, or other medical condition, low dose naltrexone may be a good fit for you.
How LDN Works
Low dose naltrexone works by binding to the opioid receptors in the brain. There are two parts of low dose naltrexone: Levo-Naltrexone and Dextro-Naltrexone. The Levo-Naltrexone is an antagonist for your brain’s endorphin receptors, which causes them to increase the production of endorphins.
Because the increased endorphins control your body’s immune system response, the Dextro-Naltrexone reduces the speed of the unwanted cells that grow in your body, causing your medical condition.
It is important to note that this is only effective when taken in low doses of naltrexone. Overwhelming your body’s endorphin receptors will diminish the control the endorphins have on your body’s immune system.
Contact a Compounding Pharmacy in New York
If you are interested in learning more about whether low dose naltrexone is a good fit for you, contact your physician and your compounding pharmacist at The Healthy Choice compounding pharmacy in New York to discuss your options.
You can submit the convenient contact form at the bottom of this page or give our office a call at 914-238-1700 to further discuss your individual needs.