Quote:
Originally Posted by gabbycakes
I just googled this medication and I don't understand why it is used together with opioids. Here is what it said," Naltrexone is in a class of medications called opiate antagonists. It works by decreasing the craving for alcohol and blocking the effects of opioid medications and opioid street drugs."
This states it blocks the effects, does that mean that is also blocks the active agents that help with the pain? I'm totally confused! It also said it is used for off label use and such just like other medications are. But this is scary.
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Ok, I'm not a doctor, or even a chemist, so I don't understand some of the technical stuff either. Maybe someone else here does(?) The information I get is from reading this same stuff (and some discussions from patients who've been involved).
As I understand the material, the addition of LDN
supposedly blocks the euphoric effects (those that cause addiction) but not the therapeutic effects (those that alleviate pain) and also
supposedly reduces/eliminates tolerance (needing more opioid for the same effect over time).
This sounds great, and
will be if it turns out to be true, but it's (as we know) off-label, controversial (not universally believed/accepted) and under study.
A lot of drugs are used off-label routinely nowadays. That's how (just one example) viagra was discovered. Gabapentin, which many people are using to control the pain of Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) was originally an anti-siezure medication, and initially, use for PN was "off label". Topamax is an anti-convulsant, but is showing some promise off-label as a migraine prophylactic.
Undoubtedly, there are some bad off-label medication stories too. Like anything else, each has to be examined and validated on its own merits, which can take time and risk, depending on how desperate we are, how effective the drugs are for these off-label uses, and what risks we are willing to take for relief.
I'm as hopeful as we all are.
Doc