A drug which is normally used to treat heroin addiction can deliver "life-changing" results for a range of medical conditions, sparking calls for it to be offered more widely to patients.
Medical experts claim that low-dose naltrexone (LDN) has been used successfully for people with a variety of conditions which affect the immune system, including multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.
At the first European conference into the drug which was initially prescribed in larger doses to block the effects of heroin use, speakers from around the world, including America and Israel, will hear results of trials into the drug and will call on GPs and other health professionals to prescribe it more widely.
It has since been used in doses of between 1mg and around 4.5mg to treat patients with multiple sclerosis and other conditions affecting the immune system.
It is given in a liquid form and patients currently tend to pay privately for the drug, which costs around £15 a month.
Dr Gilhooly said that around half of his patients who receive LDN had been prescribed it for chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, a similar condition in with patients suffer from fatigue and chronic pain in their muscles.
Doctor Speedy and ME in search of medical honesty
I don't know why naltrexone makes me personally nervous. I truly don't. But I admit, I'm curious all the same. Tramadol works pretty well for my fibro and scoliosis/DDD pain but sometimes "pretty well" isn't enough.
ReplyDeleteThis post by Dr Speedy has made me very excited - thanks Dr Speedy, as ever. I acknowledge the history of the drug and its original 'application', but after six years of ME(CFS???) [yes, I'm a relative novice!] I'm ready to try anything that comes with medical/scientific backing - as long as it's not CBT/GET!
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