LDN Video Interviews and Presentations

 

Erin Panian, PharmD, BCPS - LDN Radio Show November 2023 (LDN; low dose naltrexone)

Have you always wanted to be a pharmacist? 

I wanted to be a doctor first and foremost but when I got into college, I did an internship in the ER and figured out quickly that I tend to pass out when there's blood.  It wasn't the right path for me.
A non-hands-on approach would be a little bit better. My mom was a pharmacist and I shadowed her a few times. I thought it was neat, the knowledge of medications and what they were doing and I thought it was a fun field to get into. So, that's when I went to pharmacy school. I had a compounding rotation in my sixth year of pharmacy school. I just thought it was so fun. It's something new every day.
We get to figure out problems. Helping somebody figure something out was a lot of fun for me. To this day, it's still something I enjoy the most about the job. We always get the patients who have trouble finding help anywhere else, we're always able to try and help them. It's a very rewarding and fun job. I've been doing it now for 17 years.
Could you explain to our listeners what it is you do in pharmacy school and how many years? I know you said in your sixth year I believe seven isn't it now?
When I went to school it was six years, it's seven now. Each school is a little bit different. When I went to a pharmacy school you could start from day one and just finish, whereas a lot of other places have you do like a pre-pharm program. You might do two or four years in pre-pharm and then actually enter pharmacy school for three or four years. Mine was six years and then I did a residency training afterwards. That was at the VA. I switched over to compounding but did some more residency training after school. Some people do a year or two. I did one year and then I just entered straight into compounding from there.

What kind of things do you learn in pharmacy school? Walk us through it so we can understand what training a pharmacist has to have to become a compounding pharmacist.

It's not a lot of compounding. You get a class on compounding. One class out of those six or seven years and you learn the basics. I think the pharmacy school here has a couple of newer machines and technology that we use currently, but back when I went to school it was all very antiquated in terms of what they taught you for compounding because they didn't teach you much. It was still using an old ointment slab, a very sort of old-school Pharmacy. I always talk about compounding being an old-school Pharmacy, but with new inventions and fancier machines to help us make it more accurate, and a little faster. A lot of pharmacy school is going through all these other medications that you would see anywhere, whether it be at the hospital, Walgreens, or  CVS. It’s going through different medical conditions and learning about those, learning how the drugs work for those conditions, learning how the drugs work in the body and how they break down and get to the different tissue levels. It doesn't prepare you fully for compounding.

I always say when somebody comes to work for us it's about 75% on-the-job training because with compounding there's a lot of stuff out there that people haven't done before. A lot of what I depend on is kind of a network of compounders that you can communicate with.
I'm part of a list of Compounders from across the world and people would send an email out to everybody:” I have a patient that needs this, I can't find any data on it. What have people done? “
You kind of take your background information of conditions and different disease states, then you take your information of the drugs that you're able to utilize or the bulk chemical powders that you're able to get. Through that information, sometimes you have to figure out a unique way to give the medication to the patient or a unique dosage. It's a lot of on-the-job training and it's one of those jobs that the longer you do it the better you are. You've done a lot more. As experience goes along you get used to some of the questions, a little bit faster at being able to figure out some of the problems.

What about drug interactions? I mean that must be part of your course.

It definitely is, and it's one of the trickier parts, to be honest. As a cash-only pharmacy, we do have to make sure to take a good medication history with the patients. With people that bill Insurance, a lot of times insurance does that drug utilization review and that interaction review for you automatically.  So, when you bill the insurance company it will see even if the patient didn't get that drug at your pharmacy, it will see they got it at another pharmacy and it will alert you to the fact that it's going to interact.  Here, we don't have that because we're cash only and we don't bill insurance on that, but we're able to take a thorough medication history of the patients and there's a lot of stuff that are your common interactors that will interact with a lot of drugs.  So, anytime we see that we always make sure to be even more thorough and make sure that they give us everything they're on so we know to be able to check through those interactions and make sure it's not something that's not going to work out for the patient. 
In your pharmacy, just go through the different options that a patient can have for LDN.  
Our most common form is tablets because a lot of times patients are going to begin on a lower dose and then work up.  Tablets make it very convenient because you can split them in half.   I even have some patients that split them in quarters. Therefore, they can start with one tablet or a half tablet and then increase up as gradually as they need to, to reach their target dose.  I do find the tablets are the easiest and they are the most common with us. We also do capsules.  The only downfall with that is you can't split them. You're kind of stuck with doing one or two or three multiples or something like that. 
We can make different liquids. Liquids are nice in terms of being able to dose them because with liquids the options are endless.  If you have a 1 milligram per 1 milliliter, you could use 1 mil to get the 1 milligram dose.  If you wanted to start at 0.1 milligrams, you'd only have to use 0.1 ml. If you wanted to go up to a target dose of 4.5 then you could go up to 4.5 MLS.  You could do all your doses with just one liquid.  The only downfall is the taste.  It's not the worst-tasting medicine.  It's not the best-tasting medicine. Everybody is different in their palatability tolerances.  You've got excipients. If somebody is sensitive to the excipients. Storage it's not as convenient. Some of them are room temperature but still just keeping a liquid around can also be a little messy.  If you spill some it can be sticky. A lot of times people just prefer taking a tablet or a capsule over a liquid. We've also done cream, so any sort of topical.  We can do gels and creams. 
There is an LDN eyedrop.  That is something we were looking into providing to patients.  Being an eye drop, it comes with a little more stringent rules and testing. We do have a sterile room that we can make it in.  It's about getting the formula down and getting the testing done on it and getting that out to patients. Suppositories. I mean LDN I've seen done in almost every single dosage form we have available. We've done a sublingual, something that you can dissolve underneath your tongue.  Some patients get some GI side effects from Naltrexone so the sublingual dosing under the tongue is a good way to help mitigate those side effects.

What about fillers that you use in your preparations? 

Our most common filler is cellulose.  We do have some patients that are allergic to cellulose and from there if they need something else done, we work with them.  Generally, if just a lone script comes across, we're going to default to cellulose unless the doctor or the patient has alerted us that the patient needs to be worked with and they don't want a cellulose filler. Many times, we'll work with the patient and see what they want or need.  Whether it be with a capsule, the possibilities are pretty much endless.  We can choose something of their liking. 
Probably the second most common filler would be rice flour.  We see that a lot, but we can also do tapioca.  I've done inulin before, crushed salt, arrowroot, all sorts of different fillers, oat flour, the possibilities are endless with capsules. Fillers for liquids get a little trickier. Naltrexone is water soluble so theoretically you can just put the Naltrexone in water and dispense it to the patient. However, when it's just in water without a preservative, it can only be good for 14 days and it has to be refrigerated.  Not only do they have to get it refilled every 14 days, but they have to pay for it every 14 days. That can get a little cost-prohibitive, considering a lot of times we're dispensing up to three months for a patient and not just 14 days at a time. 
Fillers for non-water liquids. We can do oil, if they're tolerant of different oils. Again, we just come across different palatability and tolerances.  Some people just don't like that oil feel. Another liquid's available that has data on it and it's a little bit better mouth feel, but it does have different excipients in it that people may not be able to tolerate. 
So, there are lots of different options that we can work with patients to try to figure out what's going to work best with them.
We want them to get the advantage of the medicine without reacting to the excipients. We want to make sure that they're going to get the advantage of the medication. 

What disease states would you say your patients are using LDN for? 

The most common we see is any sort of autoimmune disease and that can kind of run the gamut. We have some doctors that if their patient has any sort of autoimmune condition, Low Dose Naltrexone is one of the first lines for them. GI diseases, so anything from all sorts of colitis to Crohn's, IBS, IBD.  We see a lot of Naltrexone for that. Restless leg syndrome is another common one. 
Fertility. We see a lot in women's health and we have some doctors that will prescribe it for patients having trouble conceiving or having trouble keeping pregnancies, or having a lot of miscarriages.
Depression. We see it from some different psychiatrists around town. Those are probably the most common ones that we see and then you'll have random ones thrown out there because it can be used for so many different things.  Pain is another one. We see it a lot for anything from fibromyalgia to nerve pain, to CRPS (chronic regional pain syndrome). 
We do see it a lot for pain too. I think those are the main things.  That doesn't encompass everything it can be used for.
When you talk to patients, what do you tell them about LDN and the expectations? Some people are so desperate to find an answer, they want it to work on day one. 
Oh, I know. I feel so bad for them when I tell them it's probably not going to be day one, this can take several weeks to work.  You know it is working, it's not just a Band-Aid, it's helping to work in the underlying mechanisms with inflammation and modulating the immune system.  I have had some patients call me after one day and they're like:” This stuff is miraculous!” but that is not the norm. 
Normally it's going to take a little bit to work and some patients get frustrated, because like you said, they're so ready to have an answer and they want to feel better and they've already been through so many other things. Generally, I always tell patients to give it a good three-month trial at their full dose.  Don't just give the one milligram a shot for two weeks, make sure to work up if you're able to tolerate it.  Make sure to work up and then give it a good shot at the full dose. I tell them it's not going to work for everybody but it is a great option that we've seen change lives.  It's not expensive, and the side effects are minimal and mild, generally.  I always tell them it's worth a shot. Especially with some of these patients that have just been through the gamut of doctors and treatments.  Many of them do give it a shot.
We see it very successful in a lot of patients and then I have some patients that will stop it just to say, “Oh I think I can come off of it now.”  Once they are off it for a while they are like:” Oh no I can't, I need that back.  I feel much better on it.”  It kind of helps confirm and reaffirm to them that it is actually helping them.  Well, I've been taking LDN nearly 20 years and people are worried about the long-term effect of taking LDN, but LDN generally is in your system for like four hours.  So, every day you're getting like a 20-hour break.  

What do you say to people when they ask you how long can you take LDN?

It's been studied in Low Doses now for probably about 40 years.  I always tell them that we do have data over 40 years now and that it's still not showing any long-term adverse effects. The benefits of it should outweigh any potential effects. I can't even really think of any long-term effects that they've seen from patients being on it for a long time.  You may get side effects at the beginning.  Whenever you're on it you might have some of those as you're working up, however, generally, I'm not seeing any and I don't think there's any data out there on the long term that there is any harm to taking it long term. after 40 years of studies. I always refer them to the LDN Research Trust because it kind of shows all the different studies that have been done. They love that source because a lot of my patients want to look this up, they haven't heard of it before.  So they'll see the studies for themselves and see what’s all being done and see no adverse effects of it.  It helps give them a little peace of mind also. I think that does help. They are also used to, here in America, all those commercials on TV and these drugs that come up and all the side effects are like death and brain tumors. We haven't seen any of that with this over 40-plus year study. You can feel a little better with that also. 

Well, being English, when I come to America, you have a lot of commercials on your stations and there's a really nice advert promoting some drug.  Then very quickly at the end they're saying:” Possible side effects could be heart attack, stroke, cancers.” 

I know it's terrible, possible death! You think:” Why would anybody, after such a lovely advert that makes you think you’re to feel so much better, add that you could die?
I know. I know. People just remember that jingle or something that was at the beginning.

With LDN, when you said that you could potentially have some side effects while you're titrating up when you first start, what do you tell people those side effects could possibly be? 

I see vivid dreams the most. A lot of times I warn them about the vivid dreams right off the bat and a lot of times the doctors have done that warning too.  It seems to be the most common one that the doctors warn them about, too.  We have seen that it works as well in the morning, so a lot of doctors will just proactively write for it in the morning rather than having a patient take it at bedtime. It does work on those endorphins that come at night so it does make sense that the dreams would be more vivid because those endorphins are coming out then.    I tell them that's the most common. 
The majority that I see might be dizziness, jitteriness, constipation, or diarrhea.  General stomach upset is one is one of the main ones. I tell them it's fairly mild if they do experience it, give it a couple of days before they increase their dose.  Hopefully, those side effects will kind of disappear.  If they don't and if they're up at a dose like three to four milligrams, that might be the dose they stay on. We don't have everybody that gets up to the target dose of the 4.5 but that may just be something they have to do lower than that.  I’ve seen a couple of people with anxiety, but I don't see that as much. The vivid dreams that come out probably more than anything but usually that can be mitigated by taking it in the morning. 
I never had vivid dreams, but some say these dreams are so fantastic they don't want them to end.
I have had a couple of people that enjoy them so well. I'm sure that your body gets used to it and the vivid dreams stop anyway.  Good if you can enjoy it while you can. I can't really remember dreaming. I can probably remember one dream every three years.  I'm sure I dream but I just can't remember.

Could you tell us what you think is the most common dose when somebody is stabilized on LDN? 

Four point five (4.5)  is the most common we see. Many of our patients can get up to 4.5.  It is by far the most common that we do.  The one milligram and the 4.5 are probably the two most common doses that we do. The one milligram is for when they're just starting to work up and they need that smaller dose to be able to tailor their work up. We do have a majority of patients who tolerate and can stay on the 4.5.  The two to the four milligrams anywhere in there, whether it be 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4.  We do have some patients that stay on there and they're probably all about the same, to be honest.  It seems like our majority of patients are at 4.5 and then after that, it's anywhere from two to four, and those are all about the same in terms of quantities and where patients are stable. So, 4.5 is generally the most common. 

Now there are a few doctors that prescribe a higher dose than 4.5. Do any of your doctors do that?

They do, but not as much.  I do see it occasionally, like a 4.5 twice daily. Every once in a while, we do have some doctors that will go up to a five or a six. I do see the five or the six in some doctors and patients feel they're so close on the 4.5, they have faith that five or that six is going to really push them to feel they're optimal.  When they get put on the five or the six, they find it works better for them so they do stay on that. So, we do see that occasionally.  I don't know that there's much data on going above 4.5 but we do see every once in a while, for patients or doctors who think that extra little push will help. 
 

 

Leonard Weinstock, MD - Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The Roles of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and Mucosal/Systemic Inflammation (2017 Conference) (LDN; low dose naltrexone)

 

 

Deena - Canada: Update on her UCTD (Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease), Chronic HSV2/Shingles, Chronic Pain, IBS, Histamine Intolerance, Vestibular Migraine, and Insomnia (LDN; low dose naltrexone)

 

Deena - Canada: UCTD, Chronic HSV2/Shingles, Chronic Pain, IBS, Histamine Intolerance, Vestibular Migraine, Insomnia (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.

Deena from Canada has suffered from Lupus and a very weak autoimmune system for years. Various doctors mis-diagnosed her conditions, and finally she found out the truth. Through research, she learned about Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) through Linda Elsegood’s books on LDN. She has had remarkable improvements in only 3 months and is so thankful to the ldnresearchtrust.org. She recommends this drug to anyone with autoimmune conditions. Listen to the delight in her voice during this  interview with Linda.

Review by ken Bruce

Terry - US: Lupus, Chronic Fatigue, Irritable Bowel, Anti-Aging (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.

Unable to accept her diagnosis of Lupus, while also suffering from chronic fatigue, irritable bowel, digestive issues, brain fog, muscle issues, body temperature issues, Terry did her research and became interested in nutrition, anti-aging, and healthy living in general.  After talking to many people, including scientists, she was interested in all modalities of healing and wellness opportunities. 

Terry was introduced to Low Dose Naltexone (LDN) and immediately felt a difference in the function of her brain. Terry is 65 and feels she is now able to do a lot of things that others her age can’t do. She says that when she took the LDN, it gave her a definite boost to her brain.  Terry now exercises and has the energy to do things that she otherwise would not be able to do.  Terry says that Low dose naltrexone definitely contributes to her feelings of wellness and energy.

For more interviews with people whose lives have benefited from LDN please visit https://ldnresearchtrust.org/ldn-videos

Dr Sarah Zielsdorf, LDN Radio Show 2016 (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.

Dr Sarah Zielsdorf shares her Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) experience on the LDN Radio Show with Linda Elsegood.

Dr Sarah Zielsdorf is a relatively new prescriber of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), yet her knowledge of autoimmune diseases etc. is certainly convincing throughout this interview. 

Having Hashimoto's and Hypothyroidism gives her the perspective of the patient. Her “extra" education in Functional, Integrative, and Holistic medicines makes her very qualified to treat a host of illnesses. She prescribes LDN, but does thorough tests to arrive at the best combination of treatments including diet, exercise, detox, and proper medications.

This is a summary of Dr Sarah Zielsdorf’s interview. Please listen to the rest of Dr Zielsdorf’s story by clicking on the video above.

Sara - US: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Fibromyalgia (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.

Sara from the United States has rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. She was 24 years old when symptoms first started, but wasn't diagnosed until a year later.

Sara quoted that it absolutely changed her life, she found the right medication, but did develop very severe irritable bowel syndrome and seemed to come out of nowhere. Sarah was officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia in February 2010.

Sara first read about Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) a few years ago before the Fibromyalgia, she found lots of information online, found our website and wanted a prescription for LDN after being skeptical of it. Her Rheumatologist would not prescribe Sara with LDN, because it was not FDA approved. But if Sara’s GP was willing to prescribe LDN, she saw no problem with that. And she would partner with him. After 3 days of being on the LDN medication, Sara felt absolutely fantastic. A few days after, she started seeing an increase in pain and fatigue, which then resulted with depression and anxiety. But this was due to being started on a higher Mg dosage. Sara rated her life a 3,4 out of 10 before her LDN mediation, she says that LDN is very cheap, and nothing has been more effective than LDN.
Please watch the video to the whole interview, Thank you.

Any questions or comments you may have, please contact us.

Pharmacist Masoud Rashidi, LDN Radio Show 11 Dec 2019 (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.

Linda Elsegood:  I'd like to welcome my guest, Dr Masoud Rashidi.  He was from California, the owner with his wife, Dr Anna.  They own their own compounding pharmacy in Folsom.  Thanks for joining us today, Masoud. 

Masoud Rashidi:  Thank you, Linda, for having me on the show.

Linda Elsegood:  Could you tell us what made you decide to get into pharmacy?

Masoud Rashidi:   It started back in high school.  My dad knew a pharmacist, and I was able to shadow with him for a day.  It was interesting how you can help people and get to know them.  I wanted to pursue pharmacy after that.

Linda Elsegood:  Wow.  That's amazing, isn't it?  So how long have you been a pharmacist now?  Did they know about LDN?

Masoud Rashidi:  I've been a pharmacist for 15 years now, since 2004.  That's when I graduated from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California.  That's where I received my doctorate degree and started working a few months thereafter.  I started working at a chain, like everybody else out of school.  They did not know about LDN.  After a few years, I started working at a chain in California.  A couple of years later, I decided to explore, because there was a need for a compounding pharmacy in town.  There was none available at the time.  So, we had rotations back to school to learn about compounding, but we still didn't know about LDN until I began compounding and started our own company in 2007.  That's where we became involved in compounding LDN.

Linda Elsegood:  So, in your pharmacy, what forms of LDN do you offer?

Masoud Rashidi:  We provide a few different ones.  Mainly, we do capsules in many different dosages.  We also do lozenges.  We've compounded a topical, such as a transdermal application; also a liquid, both in aqueous solution or oil, depending on the situation  The kid may take the oil or not, so we go from there, depending on what flavors we can incorporate into the different formation.  We pretty much do every possible dosing that is available right now.

Linda Elsegood:  And what strength do you normally start with?  Do you do a micro-dose?

Masoud Rashidi:  Yes, we do micro-dosing; actually we've done a few of them.  Our most common one, of course, is the typical dosing, 1.5 mg, 3.0 mg, and 4.5 mg, but the last few years everything has changed.  We’re doing so many different doses every day.  We've done from 0.1 mg all the way to 9.0 mg.

With micro-dosing, we do from 1 microgram to 5, 10, depending on where are going to end up with that particular patient and their needs.  We've been doing both, like several different dosing, and we send our products to third-party testing to ensure potency and quality.

Linda Elsegood:  Having spoken to so many pharmacists, it's very difficult to say that one microgram of LDN is very difficult to know.  It's very hard to prove.  You have to find the right people to have it tested.  Lots of people, I'm sure, who take LDN are not aware of all the efforts that compounding pharmacies must go through.  Would you like to tell us a bit about that? 

Masoud Rashidi:   We received two different chemicals of Naltrexone from a couple of different wholesalers.  Then we send it for testing after compounding to determine the best one to use.  It’s not a requirement to do all this testing, but we go above and beyond to make sure we get the right dosing.  We send samples to the third-party lab to be tested to see if it is within range.  Legally, you can have 10% variation on the capsules, but in our lab, we like to keep it less than 3% to be even more accurate.  When we send it out, we tried to keep it less than 5%, especially when you get to low doses.  Ten per cent is a lot of variation when dealing with one microgram, so we try to keep that even lower than what's legally allowed to ensure higher quality.  In the past, they've rejected a chemical because it had too much water content.

Linda Elsegood:  What kinds of doctors are you dealing with?  Naturopathic doctors, pain specialists, MD’s, and other prescribers?

Masoud Rashidi:  Yes, you are right on.  One of our biggest prescribers is a nurse practitioner who specializes in women's health and sees many people with Hashimoto's and autoimmune.  We have an MD, after going to the LDN Research Trust Conference a few months ago, has become big on LDN.  We have a few naturopaths.  I go to different doctor's offices and educate them on LDN.  In California, unfortunately, a lot of naturopaths cannot prescribe; they must have oversight MD’s.  They must find a naturopath who can prescribe it because not every naturopath in California can do so.  We do have MDs, nurse practitioners, a variety of different doctors, even paediatrics.  One of our best cases was an autism patient, with a prescribing MD.  It was amazing.  Every time I think about it I get goosebumps because of what happened.  A few days later, the mom calls and says, “Oh, my kid is actually communicating with two siblings!”  It was three days later at 0.1 milligrams.  It's been about three months, and she's one of the best advocates for LDN.  She calls us all the time.  This child is talking more and more with the siblings and the parents and having eye-to-eye contact.  The mom said it was life-changing, and that's what we hear all the time.  My life has changed after LDN.  It's rewarding when you hear those words, and that's why we keep doing what we're doing.  We continue to conduct seminars for the public and for the doctors to increase awareness.  It's been very good for the patients, and our goal is to increase awareness on how great it is and how it can help in so many ways, especially with all the research articles available now.

Linda Elsegood:  What case studies do you have, feedback from patients, and their conditions?

Masoud Rashidi:  One of the biggest ones we get is RA or rheumatoid arthritis.  They get a lot of good response.  After a week or two, they can move their fingers, and they don't have much pain.  They've tried all these different drugs, and nothing works.  Now after a week or two, it's amazing sometimes.  For some patients, it takes a few months, but sometimes, within a week they call you back, and it's like, “Oh my God, what is this? This is working amazingly.” 

One amazing result was an MS (multiple sclerosis) patients.  I was brand new to compounding, six months.  We didn’t have that many employees, so we knew every patient that came in the door. He comes in with a wheelchair.  He’s tried everything.  We consulted with MS experts, and that's how we started with LDN, just speaking with them.  I kid you not, three months later, he comes in, WALKS into the pharmacy.  I'm like, whoa!  He was in tears.  He says, “I’ve been in a wheelchair for so many years.  I've tried all these drugs, and nothing has worked.  This has been amazing.”  That's when we started promoting LDN more, talking to different doctors about it.  We get to a lot of good feedback like that.  There are just too many of them to share.

Linda Elsegood:  What about patients with GI problems?  Have you had any feedback from those?

Masoud Rashidi:  Actually, we’ve seen IBS, IBD, Crohn’s disease, and things like that having really good results.  Of course, as we all know, not every drug is going to do 100% for every patient.  But we’ve had about 80% good results.  The funny part is that they’ve tried all other drugs that are commercially available, and nothing has worked.  At this point, they contact us.  After so many doctors, so many drugs, and they come in and then have good success with LDN.  Every time we do our seminars, people come in and ask, “Oh, would it work for this?”  So, we start researching.  Our latest question, Mom called us and said, “Okay, my daughter's addicted to narcotics.  They put her on Suboxone.  What can I do with LDN?  She's now more addicted to Suboxone than she was addicted to narcotics.”  We're researching that right now.  It's amazing how one drug can treat so many different conditions.

Linda Elsegood:  Definitely.  Still talking about GI, do you have any patients using it for SIBO, (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)?

Masoud Rashidi:  I've read a lot about it.  We have a patient wanting to try it, but the doctor was not willing to prescribe it.  We referred care to this new physician.  This is our first case, and we'll find out hopefully soon.

Linda Elsegood:  What about Lyme? Is that something you've seen 

Masoud Rashidi:  Lyme…yes, we have.  So many people go undiagnosed, and then they get diagnosed, and they don’t know what to give them.  Then they're on pain meds and stuff like that.  We had a Lyme patient, we talked to her doctor and put her on LDN.  It has helped her a lot with her symptoms.  We've had quite a few patients, but she was a really severe case with multiple issues.  About two and a half months later she was off many of her medications, and she was feeling much better.  She could resume driving, not being on all these different drugs.  Previously, she was depressed.  Now she gets up, and she can do things in the morning.  We’ve had other cases with very good results as well.

Linda Elsegood:  Okay. And have you got vets around who prescribe LDN for animals?

Masoud Rashidi:  I've talked to quite a few veterinarians in town.  We’re writing a protocol on how to use LDN for pets.  One veterinarian has used it, and it helps with all the issues that humans have.  There are a lot of articles on that.  We've been starting them on the lower doses.  We do make it mostly liquid in an oil suspension so that it lasts longer.  We have had a few now.  The vets have been very happy, and the owners have been happy.  The dog had arthritic pain and could not move as much.  We gave him the LDN, the veterinarians prescribed it, and then a month or so later the dog is doing much better.  Veterinarians talk to each other.  We get more questions from different veterinarians every day and hope that we can get more awareness of LDN for pets.  It works for them.  We've seen results, few, not many, but I've read a lot of research studies on it.  I am hoping that it's going to become more popular sooner rather than later in the pet world, too.

Linda Elsegood:   Right.  It's all to do with raising awareness and making the doctors feel comfortable.  Not surprised that you have so many MD’s prescribing LDN.  Again, they are traditionally trained and many of them take some convincing to look outside the box.  You were saying ND’s in your area often can't prescribe the LDN.  What about physician assistants?  Are they allowed to prescribe?

Masoud Rashidi:  Oh yeah, they do.  We have one who's a big proponent of it because he's seen really good results.  He's a functional medicine PA.  He involved the doctor and everybody else.  It's contagious when you see good results.  They tell each other, and they start calling it in.  Yes, we have quite a few PA’s that prescribe.  Not as many as I want.  They're coming on board because we’re holding seminars in large scale now.

Linda Elsegood:  Yes, PA’s tend to have more time to listen to patients than doctors.  It's amazing what these service providers are doing.  We'd be lost without them.  

Masoud Rashidi:  You're absolutely right.  As far as they have more time to spend with the patient because doctors have a lot of other things going on at the same time. 

Linda Elsegood:  When you have a chronic disease, let's say MS or lupus, even fibromyalgia, trying to get the diagnosis isn't easy.  And then you’ve got to find somebody to help you to get the right treatment because obviously everybody is different.  It also helps to have that patient, doctor and pharmacist relationship, doesn't it?  You know, the triangle.  Presenting LDN to more doctors and letting them know that you're there to answer any questions or queries they may have I would think helps them become more confident in prescribing LDN.

Masoud Rashidi:  That's true.  Even in our patient's seminar, we had last month, we had four prescribers show up at the seminar that was for the patient.  It was very interesting.  In future seminars, we may broadcast on Facebook Live or somewhere, so more people can be reached who cannot come in.  All our seminars are free.  We do this for awareness.  We have people come in and share their stories.  Patients talk to each other, and then they start getting up and talking to the whole group.  That's amazing, too, because then they are hearing from the patient, not from us.

Linda Elsegood:  Of course, patients, as soon as they learn about LDN, they then go and find a doctor or educate their own doctor.  I think patients also play a big part in raising awareness of LDN, especially when they have good results.

Masoud Rashidi:  Exactly.  We give them a whole binder.  We've seen that patient take those binders to their doctor and show them some of the research studies, because some doctors are still thinking of Naltrexone as a whole dose Naltrexone and they're like, “Oh, you don't need it.”  We tell them, take this to your doctor, and that has helped.  You are absolutely right.  Patients are the best advocate for this whole thing because they see results.

Linda Elsegood:  We’ve come to the end of the show.  Thank you so much for having been my guest today.  It really was a pleasure speaking with you.

Masoud Rashidi:  Thank you for having us, and it was a pleasure speaking with you.  

Linda Elsegood:  Thank you. 

This show is sponsored by Doctors Masoud and Anna Rashidi.  They graduated in 2004 from Western University with a Doctor of Pharmacy degrees. Soon after in 2007, they opened the PCAP accredited Innovative Compounding Pharmacy located at 820 Wales Drive, Suite 3, Folsom, California  95630.  To better serve the community, for more information, please call (866) 470-9197 or visit www.icpfolsom.com.  

Any questions or comments you may have, please email me.  Linda, contact@ldnresearchtrust.org  I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for joining us today.  We really appreciate your company.  Until next time, stay safe and keep well.

Liz - England: Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Sjögren's Syndrome (LDN, low dose naltrexone) from LDN Research Trust on Vimeo.

Liz from England shares her Sjögren's Syndrome and Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Story on the LDN Radio Show with Linda Elsegood.

Liz first started to notice her symptoms of Sjögren's Syndrome around 12 years ago when she began to get pains in her stomach. Despite numerous tests, doctors dismissed her condition as IBS and wasn’t given any medication. 

While also having troubles with fatigue and sleep, Liz’s quality of life began to decline until she found Low Dose Naltrexone.

“I was going to bed at night and getting up the next morning with huge bags under my eyes. Within a few days of beginning LDN, I was able to sleep properly again which was a great help for my husband. 

To anyone thinking of trying LDN, it really doesn’t do any harm. Even if it only improves your life a bit, it’ll be worth it.”

This is a summary of Liz’s interview. Please listen to the rest of Liz’s story by clicking on the video above.

 

Jennifer from the United States shares her experience using Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) to treat Hashimoto’s, Ankylosing Spondylitis, and Lyme disease.

She first noticed symptoms in January of 1999. She thought she had the flu, but was sick for a week with a high fever and migraines. After that, she didn’t feel as if she’d recovered. When she went back to the doctor, the only thing that came up on testing was kidney failure. At that point, she had to stop playing hockey and drop out of night school for college, and it was difficult to work her full-time job. She had problems with fatigue and focusing. Over 14 years she saw over 40 different doctors and had over 60 tests done, but the doctors never found much that they could diagnose. However, her health continued to decline. Doctors ran tests for Lyme disease, connective tissue disease, other types of autoimmune disease, and Marfan syndrome, but they couldn’t come up with a good explanation for her symptoms. Eventually Jennifer developed Hashimoto’s and Ankylosing Spondylitis. Her doctors also found she had two mutations of the MTHFR gene. 

In 2012, she went to the Cleveland Clinic and saw a neurologist who recognized her autoimmune conditions. He recommended a gluten-free diet, which was helpful in reducing her rheumatoid factor. At that time, she still suffered from fatigue and chronic urethritis, which was very painful. Finally she saw a urologist who recognized she had an infection in the walls of the urethra, and put her on antibiotics. However, the antibiotics weren’t very helpful in relieving her symptoms.

By 2013, her symptoms would flare and subside, but she began having IBS issues as well as increasing cognitive problems and migraines. She couldn’t walk right, she couldn’t talk right, and her writing was illegible. She felt that she had a lot of symptoms of Lyme disease, but the infectious disease doctor said she didn’t have it. She then went to a lung doctor who tested her again. This time her tests were negative for IgM, positive for IgG, and positive for bartonella, anaplasma, and mycoplasma. He started her on low dose naltrexone in October of 2013. They started at 3 or 4.5 mg, which was too high of a dose, so they went down to 0.5 mg, which was a better dose. She learned that she reacted badly to the higher dose of LDN because of her chronic Lyme disease, parasites, and systemic candida. Within a year, she responded to the LDN and her doctor was able to gradually increase her dosage to 3 mgs as her health issues resolved.  

Just before starting LDN, Jennifer would rate her quality of life at about a 1 on a scale of 1-10, due to constant pain, fatigue, and sickness. 

In terms of side effects of LDN, Jennifer had vivid dreams for the first week, but after that, she’s had no ill effect from the LDN. She does find that it works best for her to take LDN in the early evening, around 6 or 7 pm.

Jennifer noted positive effects from the LDN in the first week of taking it. She was able to lower her blood pressure medicine, and her IBS issues resolved. She also was able to get off all of her allergy medicine, including Singulair and two inhalers. Initially, her pain levels increased, but after the first two weeks, the pain went away. The LDN has allowed Jennifer to get off of about 90% other medications, and she’s lost over 30 pounds. 

At this point, her quality of life is significantly improved, though she’s still dealing with the Lyme disease and coinfections that had gone undiagnosed and untreated for over 14 years, so on a scale of 1-10, she’d rate her quality of life at about a 5. She would definitely recommend that patients with her conditions give LDN a try--she tried LDN instead of going on the biologic Remicade, and she’s glad she did. The LDN regulated her immune system rather than suppressing it. It might seem to make some symptoms worse at first, but in her experience the LDN just brought forward underlying health issues that needed to be addressed. As those issues are addressed, her quality of life continues to improve. 

This has been a summary of Jennifer’s story. Please listen to the interview for the full story.