What Is Low Dose Naltrexone?
Low-dose naltrexone, otherwise known as LDN, is considered to be an off-label use of the medication naltrexone. It’s commonly used today as a prescription therapy within healthcare facilities to help patients suffering from diseases such as Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis. However, LDN also has been suggested to help those dealing with a plethora of other health-related conditions such as inflammation. There are many online companies today, such as AgelessRx, that specialize in certain prescription therapies such as LDN.
Naltrexone dates back to the 1980s when it was first FDA approved to help treat patients who were suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. After further research into naltrexone, it began being used experimentally in a much lower dosage for other health concerns such as auto-immune disorders, anxiety, cancer, depression, and obesity in adults. Today, LDN is prescribed to individuals with varying health concerns, typically in a dosage of 10 milligrams or less for everyday use.
How Does LDN Help with Long-Haul COVID?
Ever since COVID first made its debut, researchers have studied ways to help minimize the long-haul symptoms of COVID. Naltrexone is known to have analgesic effects, thus showing promise to be beneficial in reducing inflammation that many patients experience with COVID. When prescribed in a low dose, it works to block the body’s nonopioid receptors such as TLR-4 (Toll-like Receptor-4). In turn, this helps to reduce the cytokines that are pro-inflammatory which can help to reduce the long-haul symptoms of COVID often experienced for weeks, and even months after exposure.
LDN also helps to increase the OGF (Opioid Growth Factor) levels within the human body, which is an endorphin that plays a key role in our body’s immunity and cell growth. When our bodies absorb LDN, it works to help repair our damaged cells caused by viral replication and improve our immune systems overall.
However, the biggest benefit of LDN’s use when it comes to long-haul COVID is its potential to eliminate the cytokine storm among those suffering from post-COVID symptoms. Cytokine storms trigger ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome), which is among the leading causes of death and/or suffering among COVID patients. LDN works to suppress the high levels of cytokines in the body and to eliminate viral replication entirely. In turn, this can help to minimize the damage that COVID has on the body and its overall functioning.
Other Benefits of Taking LDN
Of course, there are several other unique benefits associated with taking low-dose naltrexone, as well. Outlined below are a few of the key reasons that patients have been prescribed naltrexone at a lower dose.
Encourages Weight Loss
Naltrexone has been proven to help treat obesity among adults. As previously mentioned, naltrexone was first prescribed to individuals dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. The concept of treating obesity is relatively the same. It helps to reduce users’ overall desire for food, just as it helps to reduce the cravings for drugs and alcohol among addicts. LDN also works to minimize the body’s overall insulin resistance which also plays a key role in weight loss.
Improves Quality of Sleep
LDN helps to block opioid receptors within our brains. When these opioid receptors are blocked, our endorphin production increases. As our bodies begin to produce more endorphins, it helps users to see an improvement in their overall pain and inflammation, and as these symptoms minimize, the quality of sleep tends to go up. LDN also works to reduce the cortisol levels present in the body, especially when they’re at their peak in the evening hours. When we rid our bodies of this cortisol surge, it helps to improve the overall quality of sleep. It also helps to regulate the cortisol levels to spike in the mornings, thus causing us to be more awake and alert during the day.
Helps with Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is typically caused by inflammation, and LDN helps to reduce inflammation levels in the body. Cytokines, as previously mentioned, are an inflammatory increasing chemical commonly prevalent in the body. However, as cytokine levels increase, they tend to cause inflammation in various bodily tissues. Inflammation causes individuals to suffer symptoms of chronic pain and body aches. When we take LDN, it works to reduce those cytokine levels, thus reducing the level of pain experienced by users.
Helps improve mental health concerns
Last, LDN can help to improve overall mental health among users. Mental health concerns are a very commonly experienced issue in today’s world, and they can cause individuals to have a serious disinterest in things they used to enjoy. However, in a study published by The National Library of Medicine, LDN was tested on 15 patients who suffered from mental health-related issues. Of those 15 patients, 11 of them stated that they felt immediately better mentally after taking LDN. Another 7 of those 15 patients stated that they even experienced long-lasting improvements in their overall mental health after being prescribed LDN for treatment.
LDN plays a critical role in several health-related issues today. It may be especially beneficial when it comes to its potential ability to help with the long-lasting symptoms individuals are experiencing post-COVID. If you’re experiencing long-haul COVID symptoms, LDN may be a great treatment idea for you!