Is Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Useful in Raynaud's Syndrome?

Is Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Useful in Raynaud's Syndrome?

Is LDN useful in Raynaud's syndrome?  Raynaud's is a very interesting situation where the tips of the fingers or toes either blanch and  become  white  or they become more reddish or purple and it has to do with the changes in blood flow to that area.  It depends on what is causing the Raynaud's.  If it's diagnosed as an autoimmune then LDN can definitely be helpful because it can reduce the inflammation.  What we have seen every once in a while is those individuals who are diagnosed with Raynaud's actually have other hormonal imbalance, changes in cortisol, changes in sex steroid hormones, situations where there's other inflammatory processes.  LDN will decrease the inflammation associated with vessel walls so it can always be beneficial in that situation but it's not necessarily the only medication that's used.  What we have also seen prescribed is either pentoxifylline or nifedipine in a topical route and that can be applied directly to the tips of the fingers or the hands or even the feet.  

We use those medications to help dilate the blood vessels so that you get better blood flow and then you get less numbing, less tingling and the color stays normal and that doesn't happen right away.  It does take a little bit of time to change and we offer a variety of strengths and bases that those medications go into to help with rain outs.  Sometimes it is associated with heavy metal toxicity so again working with an environmental specialist, someone who's very well versed in toxicology can be helpful.  There isn't just one cause right now, there's several but I think Low Dose Naltrexone is worth giving a shot.