Ask Larry:

Your Question: I was wondering, there’s been a lot of debate on when to take LDN. I was taking it in the morning, then I read it should be taken at night between 9-11pm or something to that effect. So now I’m taking it at night, I’m on 1.5 for Hashimotos, for 2 weeks, and I would like to up my dose. What’s the best time to take it? And can I have alcoholic beverages while taking this?

Larry’s Response: “Historically” the time to take LDN is at bedtime. The idea/theory being that the body produces endorphins during sleep, usually 4 to 5 hours after falling asleep – maybe 2am to 3am. Like most theories, this hasn’t been scientifically tested. However, anecdotally, many people report that it works when taken at bedtime.

However, some of our customers have used LDN during the day and I recall at least one person telling me she took it twice daily – once in the morning and again later in the evening.

The final decision about how to use the treatment is up to the user – you. As much as modern medical science would like all of us to respond identically to a treatment, the truth remains that we’re all 100% unique, even though we’re all “just snowflakes”.

What works for the vast majority of people doesn’t necessarily have to work for me, or you.

Dosing. When all of this LDN activity began (15+ years ago), Dr. Bhari prescribed 3 mg for everyone and most users were happy. Then, some folks online got the idea that more is better – and the wave of 4.5mg users came through.

Then the ultra conservative prescriber entered the foray, accompanied by their built-in fear of overdosing (as if 3mg, or even 4.5mg, would be harmful when the common doses until today had been 150mg to 300mg per day). The conservative doctors start low and tell their patients to increase.

Our customers ask about increasing and I usually explain that if they don’t have a bad experience for a couple of days go ahead and add another 1.5mg. A couple of days later they can add another 1.5mg. If they don’t see any difference I suggest dropping back to 3.0mg. Why take more if it doesn’t make a difference? The exact dose isn’t highly relevant.

Alcohol? Naltrexone use is associated with endorphin receptors that are sensitive to opioids (narcotics). Alcohol isn’t an opioid. I wouldn’t expect a problem with low to moderate alcohol use.