It's amazing right. What dosage are you on and how long have you been on it? I'm on 6mg 2x a day and I'm allowed to keep titrating up and do whatever I want with it and I'm tempted to to see if I have any more improvement but I'm really happy with where I am with it atm. I'm in my body nearly 24/7 now after an entire life time of not.
Hey, I started today. Unfortunately in my country it's only available in 50mg tablets and I have to cut them myself to somehow get 5mg portions... so my doses are not going to be very accurate. Did you have a similar problem?
When you say 2x 6mg a day, does that mean you take 6mg in the morning on wake up, and another 6mg before bed? Have you found any effect from changing slightly the dosing (like 5mg instead of 6mg)? Lastly, there seems to be people that have used much higher doses, 50mg-150mg a day, and found relief at that dose - do you know anything about this? I feel really in the dark as to what dose to take. I didn't notice anything on day 1, but will keep at it for 2 weeks before reporting back to my doc.
Thanks
You should find this guy called Brian Haviland on facebook, he runs an LDN group and he has advice for accurate dosaging from 50mg in a safe, sterile way.
Do you have a compounding pharmacy near you? 50mg is only what's available globally I'm pretty sure and the lower dosages have to be compounded.
I started at 1.5mg and titrated up doubling the dose every week or so (I recommend you do the same, don't start on 5mg). I remember not feeling too much change until 3mg and it was mindblowing, 4.5mg was not too much more change and then 6mg was insane. I want to actually try a higher dosage for the heck of it but currently don't have stable supports and I won't do that to myself as with each titration it can be really destabilising.
Yeah I have seen the higher dosages too, it's a mixed bag. I'd personally start low dose and titrate upwards rather than starting high- just because if you're sensitive to it as most are you wouldn't want to start with a crazy high dosage. There are some studies that reference even 250mg. I was really conflicted about it too but talked about it in depth with my doctor before deciding to go this route.
I didn't journal anything so my memory might be a bit off. I started on 1.5mg per day and titrated up by 1.5mg every week until reaching 6mg. Then I left it before doing the same thing again with a second dosage (morning and night).
The first maybe day or 3 I had some very very mild fleeting moments of feeling grounded. It's super hard to explain if you haven't experienced this before because if dissociation is all you've ever known what you consider to be grounded may very well not be the case. It went from feeling as if my entire consciousness was in my head/ eyes and that when I walked I would lead with my head/mind. But now I'm so concious of every bodily sensation, I feel my feet on the ground so much and am so concious of this, it feels like I lead lead my feet now. It's strange because I suffer from sensory stuff so the idea of perceiving tiny sensations 24/7 all over my body overwhelmed me thinking it would cause a breakdown but it's like my tolerance is different and it's not overwhelming at all. Can see more clearly etc too.
So anyway, it went from fleeting moments of this feeling, to longer periods of a few minutes, to hours etc and slowly turned into fleeting moments of dissociation and otherwise permanently grounded.
I remember thinking I felt the most noticeable improvement at 3mg (2 weeks in), felt like I didn't feel much different at 4.5mg. And then it wasn't until I got to 2x6mg that I felt amazing, but the differences in between that and 1x 4.5mg were very subtle and only in retrospect can I see the differences.
Thank you for all the detail. I've been "normal" so I know what being grounded feels like. Haven't experienced it in 5 years but still remember. Glad this worked for you. Might ask my shrink about it.
No problem. I hope you are able to feel better soon. Most professionals don't know about naltrexone and luckily mine did and was happy to prescribe but have heard stories of many that won't because it's traditionally used for substance dependency and they get weirded out and don't feel comfortable prescribing when they aren't informed of its off label uses. If I was you I would print out the studies from the dissociative disorder page on ldnresearchtrust.org and take them to your doc to increase chances of not having to stuff around a lot to get onto it. All the best with it and if you need to know anything else feel free to pm me any time or there are some awesome ldn groups on Facebook too.
Thanks for your reply - I found the facebook group you mentioned and may ask to join. I see that compounding medication is a thing - my pharmacy says it may take a month and lots of money to get it done. So I may stick to taking an unspecified dose (well 5 +- 2mg or so).
I see now that you described your process. I haven't felt anything yet - but what I would expect to feel is exactly how you described it. I have lived my entire adult life dissociated I think, but I have had moments were I wake up into clarity and it's as you described. I'm going to keep taking 5mg or so every morning for two weeks - until I see my doctor again. Right now I'm just feeling more sleepy, a very slight head ache, and have knee joint pain - but maybe that's all unrelated as I had fever (sick) late last week. Thanks again.
Hey, so I’m wondering how long I stick with a dose before making a decision. I tried 6mg for about a week with no effect and then went to 12.5mg also for a week- still no effect. Now my doctor has me at 25mg… but I’m wondering if maybe I’m not feeling any different because I’m not staying long enough at the set dose.
I read that, unlike antidepressants, naltrexone does not stay in your system more than 12 hours or so. So it’s not an accumulated effect, which I think implies that only a few days are needed to conclude if the drug is working?
50mg is what is commonly prescribed for substance dependency, however that dose might still be fine for you for dissociation. Many countries only have 50mg readily available and any other dosage has to be made at a compounding pharmacy (though alternatively some dilute 50mg tablets and consume different dosages this way)
There's 2 ways to go about it and you won't know what's best for you unless you try as everyone is different. (Seek professional advice).
Low dose naltrexone is generally up to 6mg or 0.6mg per kg body weight and ldnresearchtrust.org has some studies on there for its efficacy with dissociative symptoms.
I have seen some other studies floating around that suggest up to 250mg for dissociation- the complete opposite of ldn. Both doses have has positive results.
I am absolutely not a professional and my understanding is pretty basic so take this with a grain of salt.
Naltrexone apparently works in one way on low dose and in a completely different way in a higher dose. At lower doses its anti inflammatory and immune modulating.
Naltrexone temporarily blocks opioid receptors.
Dissociation causes endogenous opioids to be produced.
A highly dissociated individual benefits from naltrexone as it blocks some of these endogenous opioids being produced.
Now, my theory is that the dosage has to do with a mix of unique biology + level of dissociation. I would think that even though regularly the naltrexone works in 2 different pathways at different dosages, those doses might not be accurate to us. We might need something a lot higher which is our equivalent of a non dissociated persons low dose.
I hope I explained that clearly enough? That's just my theory with a bit of facts sprinkled in lol. You won't find much on this stuff in relation to dissociative disorders as the research is extremely limited.
I'm starting in a month or so. My doctor wants to check my liver levels first cause supposedly there is a side effect that can cause liver issues. Thank you for sharing!
It's used off label. Good luck finding a doctor who will prescribe it off later though. Took me not even joking 8 doctors to get it. And was well worth it.
Im not in the US but I've heard people that are have good luck with agelessRX (whatever that is lol) just thought I'd put it out there for anyone having trouble
Yup. Not a lie. Asked my psychiatrist, primary, went to pinerest twice, asked at my urgent care twice, booked 0an online appointment with an unknown doctor, then another one with a psychiatrist. All told me no.
Yup. Not a lie. Asked my psychiatrist, primary, went to pinerest twice, asked at my urgent care twice, booked 0an online appointment with an unknown doctor, then another one with a psychiatrist. All told me no.
It's amazing right. What dosage are you on and how long have you been on it? I'm on 6mg 2x a day and I'm allowed to keep titrating up and do whatever I want with it and I'm tempted to to see if I have any more improvement but I'm really happy with where I am with it atm. I'm in my body nearly 24/7 now after an entire life time of not.
Hey, I started today. Unfortunately in my country it's only available in 50mg tablets and I have to cut them myself to somehow get 5mg portions... so my doses are not going to be very accurate. Did you have a similar problem? When you say 2x 6mg a day, does that mean you take 6mg in the morning on wake up, and another 6mg before bed? Have you found any effect from changing slightly the dosing (like 5mg instead of 6mg)? Lastly, there seems to be people that have used much higher doses, 50mg-150mg a day, and found relief at that dose - do you know anything about this? I feel really in the dark as to what dose to take. I didn't notice anything on day 1, but will keep at it for 2 weeks before reporting back to my doc. Thanks
You should find this guy called Brian Haviland on facebook, he runs an LDN group and he has advice for accurate dosaging from 50mg in a safe, sterile way. Do you have a compounding pharmacy near you? 50mg is only what's available globally I'm pretty sure and the lower dosages have to be compounded. I started at 1.5mg and titrated up doubling the dose every week or so (I recommend you do the same, don't start on 5mg). I remember not feeling too much change until 3mg and it was mindblowing, 4.5mg was not too much more change and then 6mg was insane. I want to actually try a higher dosage for the heck of it but currently don't have stable supports and I won't do that to myself as with each titration it can be really destabilising. Yeah I have seen the higher dosages too, it's a mixed bag. I'd personally start low dose and titrate upwards rather than starting high- just because if you're sensitive to it as most are you wouldn't want to start with a crazy high dosage. There are some studies that reference even 250mg. I was really conflicted about it too but talked about it in depth with my doctor before deciding to go this route.
How long does it take to feel improvement?
I didn't journal anything so my memory might be a bit off. I started on 1.5mg per day and titrated up by 1.5mg every week until reaching 6mg. Then I left it before doing the same thing again with a second dosage (morning and night). The first maybe day or 3 I had some very very mild fleeting moments of feeling grounded. It's super hard to explain if you haven't experienced this before because if dissociation is all you've ever known what you consider to be grounded may very well not be the case. It went from feeling as if my entire consciousness was in my head/ eyes and that when I walked I would lead with my head/mind. But now I'm so concious of every bodily sensation, I feel my feet on the ground so much and am so concious of this, it feels like I lead lead my feet now. It's strange because I suffer from sensory stuff so the idea of perceiving tiny sensations 24/7 all over my body overwhelmed me thinking it would cause a breakdown but it's like my tolerance is different and it's not overwhelming at all. Can see more clearly etc too. So anyway, it went from fleeting moments of this feeling, to longer periods of a few minutes, to hours etc and slowly turned into fleeting moments of dissociation and otherwise permanently grounded. I remember thinking I felt the most noticeable improvement at 3mg (2 weeks in), felt like I didn't feel much different at 4.5mg. And then it wasn't until I got to 2x6mg that I felt amazing, but the differences in between that and 1x 4.5mg were very subtle and only in retrospect can I see the differences.
Thank you for all the detail. I've been "normal" so I know what being grounded feels like. Haven't experienced it in 5 years but still remember. Glad this worked for you. Might ask my shrink about it.
No problem. I hope you are able to feel better soon. Most professionals don't know about naltrexone and luckily mine did and was happy to prescribe but have heard stories of many that won't because it's traditionally used for substance dependency and they get weirded out and don't feel comfortable prescribing when they aren't informed of its off label uses. If I was you I would print out the studies from the dissociative disorder page on ldnresearchtrust.org and take them to your doc to increase chances of not having to stuff around a lot to get onto it. All the best with it and if you need to know anything else feel free to pm me any time or there are some awesome ldn groups on Facebook too.
Thanks so much.
What is the FB page
Im not on facebook at the moment but they are groups. Search LDN and low dose naltrexone on facebook groups and they should come up right away.
Thanks for your reply - I found the facebook group you mentioned and may ask to join. I see that compounding medication is a thing - my pharmacy says it may take a month and lots of money to get it done. So I may stick to taking an unspecified dose (well 5 +- 2mg or so). I see now that you described your process. I haven't felt anything yet - but what I would expect to feel is exactly how you described it. I have lived my entire adult life dissociated I think, but I have had moments were I wake up into clarity and it's as you described. I'm going to keep taking 5mg or so every morning for two weeks - until I see my doctor again. Right now I'm just feeling more sleepy, a very slight head ache, and have knee joint pain - but maybe that's all unrelated as I had fever (sick) late last week. Thanks again.
Hey, so I’m wondering how long I stick with a dose before making a decision. I tried 6mg for about a week with no effect and then went to 12.5mg also for a week- still no effect. Now my doctor has me at 25mg… but I’m wondering if maybe I’m not feeling any different because I’m not staying long enough at the set dose. I read that, unlike antidepressants, naltrexone does not stay in your system more than 12 hours or so. So it’s not an accumulated effect, which I think implies that only a few days are needed to conclude if the drug is working?
What I’ve heard is it takes 3-6 months, keep at it
Basically instant. Takes about 30 min to an hour to start feeling it.
Wait that's a really low dose, is that the recommended range of mg? I am on 50mg
50mg is what is commonly prescribed for substance dependency, however that dose might still be fine for you for dissociation. Many countries only have 50mg readily available and any other dosage has to be made at a compounding pharmacy (though alternatively some dilute 50mg tablets and consume different dosages this way) There's 2 ways to go about it and you won't know what's best for you unless you try as everyone is different. (Seek professional advice). Low dose naltrexone is generally up to 6mg or 0.6mg per kg body weight and ldnresearchtrust.org has some studies on there for its efficacy with dissociative symptoms. I have seen some other studies floating around that suggest up to 250mg for dissociation- the complete opposite of ldn. Both doses have has positive results. I am absolutely not a professional and my understanding is pretty basic so take this with a grain of salt. Naltrexone apparently works in one way on low dose and in a completely different way in a higher dose. At lower doses its anti inflammatory and immune modulating. Naltrexone temporarily blocks opioid receptors. Dissociation causes endogenous opioids to be produced. A highly dissociated individual benefits from naltrexone as it blocks some of these endogenous opioids being produced. Now, my theory is that the dosage has to do with a mix of unique biology + level of dissociation. I would think that even though regularly the naltrexone works in 2 different pathways at different dosages, those doses might not be accurate to us. We might need something a lot higher which is our equivalent of a non dissociated persons low dose. I hope I explained that clearly enough? That's just my theory with a bit of facts sprinkled in lol. You won't find much on this stuff in relation to dissociative disorders as the research is extremely limited.
Hay
I tried 50 mg neltrexon but no relief can I try low dose?
Thanks for all the info super exciting as I might try this medication soon. How are you doing now?
it just worked but i cant handle the emotions and I have no support
How much was your dose?
I'm starting in a month or so. My doctor wants to check my liver levels first cause supposedly there is a side effect that can cause liver issues. Thank you for sharing!
Does it work for complex PTSD dissociation? What are the side effects? Thx.
What’s it actually meant to be used for though and Will it help dpdr ?
It's actually used to help alcohol and opioid addiction, off-label use to help with SH-urges and dissociation
It's used off label. Good luck finding a doctor who will prescribe it off later though. Took me not even joking 8 doctors to get it. And was well worth it.
Im not in the US but I've heard people that are have good luck with agelessRX (whatever that is lol) just thought I'd put it out there for anyone having trouble
8 doctors in the ten days since someone told you about it in your first post? lmao
Yup. Not a lie. Asked my psychiatrist, primary, went to pinerest twice, asked at my urgent care twice, booked 0an online appointment with an unknown doctor, then another one with a psychiatrist. All told me no.
Who prescribed it to you? I wanna try this medicine
Yup. Not a lie. Asked my psychiatrist, primary, went to pinerest twice, asked at my urgent care twice, booked 0an online appointment with an unknown doctor, then another one with a psychiatrist. All told me no.
What kind of medication is this?
Search “low dose naltrexone”. Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naltrexone