Will Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Be Helpful for Long COVID? 

Will Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Be Helpful for Long COVID? 

I'm a long COVID  sufferer who has been on LDN for four weeks now up to 1.5 milligram and experiencing an amazing increase in energy for more than 24 hours. 

In order to also address osteoarthritis should I think of increasing the dose or just continue and look for possible results?  With the long COVID there is a lot of science and research being done specifically and because of how this virus turns off  protective mechanisms.  The two mechanisms potentiates the inflammation and the susceptibility to this virus and some people have more susceptibility because of their pre-existing issues.  

When it comes to dosing the dose amount is not as important as your success.  If you're at 1.5 milligram and you're doing well then stay there.  It goes with the saying, if it ain't broke so don't fix it.   That dosage of 1.5 milligram will address the inflammation associated with osteoarthritis as well as the long COVID. LDN is one tool that is used for long COVID. We also use melatonin and vitamin D and omegas.  In some situations we use peptides.  It is important for the  practitioner  to  hone in on your specific set of issues associated with long COVID. 

If one and a half is working for you you may find that one and a half milligrams twice a day might be even more helpful.  You will know by what’s going on with your symptoms and your energy. 

Another questions:  I have been taking LDN since February.  These are tablets that dissolve 0.5 mls, tapering very slowly and now on a capsule in the last two months of 4.5 milligrams.  I have started to get some soreness return in my legs from long COVID, as well as  fatigue and pain.  Would I need to increase to higher dose?  When COVID came many people did need to readjust their dose of medications because virus just attacked your body and so different things are always changing.  We saw a lot of patients adjust their dose.  Even after they had COVID they adjusted their dose either higher or lower depending on what their symptoms were and what they were feeling and then some of them even did twice a day dosing while they had COVID and then dropped back down.  It depends on where you are in this COVID phase. I have seen  where patients have jumped up to twice a day during COVID if they had a long COVID phase.  Then later they would drop back down after they felt like they were back on maintenance. 

With COVID there's a lot of things that change just with LDN.  So yes your dose more than likely needs to be adjusted.  

What's your experience using LDN to help damage to the autonomic nervous system following long COVID?  Does LDN mask the symptoms or help cure the damage?  Neither.   LDN doesn't mask anything.  It does work along the pro-inflammatory pathways to reduce those chemicals that actually cause the inflammation.  But remember, LDN doesn't cure anything.   If you remove  LDN then all of that comes right back.  It will work while you have LDN on board and once you take it away that benefit is gone.  LDN does not  mask the symptoms.  It is not a Band-Aid.  It works right at those areas where there are pro-inflammatory cytokines that are causing the inflammation and those are reduced.  We also see where LDN will bind to those pain receptors to actually minimize our ability or our feeling of pain but when we have long COVID it also helps to reduce inflammation at the cellular level.  Inflammatory areas are happening; it's usually on the cell wall or within the mitochondria inside that powerhouse of the cell and LDN will work right there.  When you have LDN on board you can actually affect what's happening and usually minimize the symptoms associated with long COVID.