Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is associated with a wide variety of health problems. Addressing these issues demands a multifaceted and holistic approach that has to be carefully calculated for each person with the disorder. Low dose naltrexone can be an effective way to help with several issues related to adrenal fatigue. If this medication is right for you, then taking it could be a step towards your ultimate recovery.
Naltrexone is an opiate antagonist, which means it counters opiate effects. It’s often used for opiate and alcohol abuse cases because it cancels out the good feelings produced by abusing these medications. However, when it’s used as low dose naltrexone, it can have very different effects. This medication is referred to as low dose naltrexone when the daily doses are within 1-5 mg. This is one-tenth of the normal FDA approved dose.
Some of the differing effects of low dose naltrexone are pain relief and anti-inflammatory action. This is why this medication is often used to help manage symptoms of certain cancers, central nervous system disorders, and autoimmune diseases. It can also help balance endorphin levels, aiding mood disorders.
Some of the diseases that low dose naltrexone can help with are:
Low dose naltrexone is usually taken by mouth every evening between 9 pm and 3 am. The dose ranges from 1.5 mg to 5 mg capsules. This causes a block of the opioid receptors between 2 am and 4 am which increases endorphin production and helps regulate the immune system. This medication can be supplied only with a physician’s prescription, and it’s important that you work with a doctor if you’re thinking of trying it.
Researchers aren’t sure why low dose naltrexone seems to have the effects it does on the body. Further research is needed to identify the exact mechanism and how this can be used to create more effective programs to alleviate pain and inflammation.
The most common theory is currently that low dose naltrexone may induce a small and temporary opioid blockade. This blockage encourages the body to upregulate endogenous opioids and opioid receptors. This means that your body increases the levels of enkephalins and endorphins, which are natural opioids in the body. Exposure to low dose naltrexone also increases the sensitivity of opioid receptors and causes these substances to have stronger effects on the body.
Further research is needed to determine the accuracy of this theory. However, it could account for the analgesic effects of this medication when it’s taken in low doses.
Despite the benefits of low dose naltrexone, its use is still experimental. At this stage, there are massive gaps in the research and most of the studies are either too small to be significant or have not been replicated. However, what research there is on this topic seems promising.
Low dose naltrexone has been tested on fibromyalgia symptoms. This condition causes chronic pain as well as fatigue and cognitive disruptions. Fibromyalgia isn’t technically an inflammatory disorder, but it includes indications of inflammatory processes. In a 2009 study, low dose naltrexone was shown to reduce pain significantly in 6 out of 10 participants. A second study was performed which confirmed these results.
The effects this medication has on inflammation have also been shown through studies on Chrohn’s disease. This is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects both the gut and the entire body. Low doses of this medication not only reduced self-reported pain in these cases, but it also decreased objective markers of inflammation. The response rate in these studies was even higher, with around 80 percent of participants exhibiting improvements. There are also studies that show the same anti-inflammatory effects in multiple sclerosis and complex regional pain syndrome.
Most medications can cause side effects depending on your individual condition and body chemistry. Full dose naltrexone can cause adverse liver effects and may affect other medications, which is why it should be used with caution. However, low dose naltrexone has a very low incidence of side effects, which is why it’s become so valuable in medical circles. Some patients experience very vivid dreams during the first week of taking this medication, but these can be eliminated with decreased dosages. Another benefit is the fact that low doses of this medication don’t cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it. These benefits give it an obvious advantage over other medications to reduce pain and inflammation.
The safety and effectiveness of this medication make it a good choice if you’re suffering from pain and inflammation due to AFS.
Chronic, widespread inflammation is one of the most serious problems associated with adrenal fatigue. When you’re healthy, inflammation is a natural process that helps protect your body against invaders. But when the Inflammation circuit becomes unbalanced through AFS, this changes. Chronic inflammation is a very dangerous thing and has been linked to heart disease, cancer, metabolic disorders, and other health problems. Unfortunately, it’s also very difficult to tell when you have high inflammation levels, especially when the cause is something as intangible as stress.
Stress is a key cause of inflammation as well as AFS. Stress is very common and is often caused by a combination of factors such as work, relationships, lifestyle factors, and environmental pollutants. Fortunately, there are natural processes in your body that are designed to help you cope with stress. The primary process for this is known as the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response, which makes essential changes in your body in stressful times. However, this is a short-term solution, and it can start to cause problems when stress becomes chronic. Everyone’s body is different and has a different tolerance for stress. When you reach your tolerance, your NEM stress response becomes overworked.
The adrenal glands are a key part of the NEM stress response and become fatigued with overuse. These glands produce cortisol, an essential hormone when you’re stressed. Cortisol affects the entire body, so, when the adrenals start to struggle to produce the cortisol that your stressed-out body demands, the effects can be catastrophic and affect every circuit in your body. If this situation isn’t corrected, then AFS can cause widespread and worsening circuit malfunctions and imbalances. The adrenals can even start to degrade in the later stages of this disorder, which can be life-threatening.
The Inflammation circuit can quickly start to malfunction when you have AFS, which is why low dose naltrexone could potentially be so valuable. This circuit consists of the gut, the immune system, and the microbiome. These systems work in tandem and rely on each other to keep the body healthy and free of damaging invaders and threats. When it’s healthy, the Inflammation circuit does its work quietly in the background to help you cope with stress and other issues.
But when the Inflammation circuit becomes unbalanced, associated problems occur. In AFS, high levels of cortisol cause the overactivity of the immune system, which creates rampant inflammation. This constant overactivation has been known to bring on autoimmune diseases and other related issues. That’s why these disorders are so closely linked to AFS.
As the health of the immune system degrades, the gut will naturally follow. The quality of the tasks it performs and its general health will degrade because of circuit imbalances, stress, and a poor diet. The microbiome in the gut and throughout the body will also become unhealthy because of the overgrowth of bad bacteria and the ill health of the other two systems in this circuit. All of these issues activate the immune system further, causing additional stress and inflammation. The Inflammation circuit gets caught in a spiral of poor health and increasing dysregulation.
Generally speaking, low dose naltrexone may help to reduce or eliminate some of the problems associated with AFS. Even a small alleviation of AFS symptoms will be helpful because it reduces overall stress levels and demand for cortisol, allowing your adrenals to start healing from the overwork. Some of the problems this medication can help with are:
People with AFS often experience ongoing or chronic pain. This is often due to a variety of causes including infections, headaches, digestive problems such as constipation or diarrhea, and fatigue. The NEM stress response activates in response to pain, seeing it as a threat and a stressor. By safely and effectively reducing general pain levels, this medication may help to decrease adrenal activation and reduce general stress levels, helping AFS recovery.
A low mood, anxiety, and other mental disturbances are very common with AFS. They can cause general distress and decreased quality of life as well as additional stress for your body to cope with. Because low dose naltrexone increases endorphin levels and the sensitivity of endorphin receptors, it could help improve your mood.
Circuit imbalances are a key problem in AFS. Imbalances in the Inflammation circuit often cause rampant inflammation when you have AFS. This inflammation can damage your body, cause additional stress, increase the demand for cortisol, and further fatigue the adrenal glands. Low dose naltrexone may help to lower inflammation levels and allow this circuit to begin the process of rebalancing itself. Helping to balance this circuit will relieve stress and help your body get back to its natural state of health.
You should never take any medication without a doctor’s supervision, and that goes double when you have AFS. When you have AFS, your body is unbalanced and very sensitive. This means that it could react badly or paradoxically to the addition of low dose naltrexone. If your body can’t cope with the added trauma of taking the medication, you could experience some very frightening and even life-threatening symptoms. So make sure you talk to a trained medical professional who understands AFS before making big changes like this one.
There are some disadvantages to using low dose naltrexone to reduce or eliminate the pain or inflammation associated with AFS. This includes the fact that further research is necessary before the mechanisms by which this drug works are recognized and acknowledged by the general medical community. However, these disadvantages may be overshadowed by the health benefits that this medication can offer. So, if you’re struggling with pain or autoimmunity, then talk to a medical professional about whether this medication could be right for you.
© Copyright 2019 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
Naltrexone is a medication that’s often used to help alleviate opioid addiction. However, when small amounts are used, medical studies are showing that the effects can be paradoxical. This means that low dose naltrexone could be an easy and safe way to alleviate pain and inflammation.
