Low-Dose Naltrexone

A friend has suggested I look into the use of low-dose naltrexone for treatment of my intractable chronic migraines. I'm not finding much solid evidence of its successful use in treatment of chronic migraine. Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge of its use for migraine?

Thanks so much!

Becky

bump.....

Hi Becky,

There's not much online, is there?

My GP today was shocked about my neuro using Namenda as a preventative for me. There are so many off-brand uses for all the med's aren't there?

Charlotte

Yep, I just tried to look it up for ya online but I didn't find too much info.
I'll keep my ears open though.

Yeah, before I mention the Naltrexone to my doctor, I want a little research information on it.

What information I have found looks like the low-dose Naltrexone is proving beneficial for chronic pain of several different types. I'm hoping it might be beneficial for my chronic migraines as well as the degenerative joint disease (kill two birds with one stone).

Becky

I had to send an email update to my doctor in Chicago, and I asked him about the Naltrexone.

He said he had not heard of its use for treating migraine. It was his opinion that he didn't know how/why it would work for migraine because of the mechanisms by which the drug works. He said he would not have a problem if I found someone out there to prescribe it for me.

Hmmmm.......

Becky

Two pages of posts here:

http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/ndph-support-forums/medicine-treatments/926157-naltrexone

Cheryl

Thanks, Cheryl. It sounds like a very new treatment with little history for use in migraine. I'm going to keep it on my list for my next appointment and bring it up again (can't hurt).

Becky

Hi Becky,

Did you ever try LDN for migraine? I came across some evidence that led me to believe that it may be beneficial. After discussing with my neurologist, he agreed to prescribe it to me and it seems to be helping. I came across your post after trying to find more information on it. For the last 4-5 years, I've had chronic intractable migraine with aura. After reading about LDN for fibromyalgia, I checked on it for treating other conditions and whether it has any impact on glutamate neurotransmission or calcium channels. I found that some researchers found that it was effective in preventing "kindled seizures" in rats. This is an animal seizure model where rats become hypersensitized to seizures and some have proposed that the mechanism may be similar to transformed chronic migraine. So, I've been taking LDN and have gone from 3-5 migraines/week to 1 per month while on it. This isn't enough to say it's "a real effect" in the world of clinical investigation, but I'm quite encouraged! My neurologist is, too. He's started prescribing it and so far, it seems promising.

Good Luck!
Todd