LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) helps many people control or overcome their health issues, especially those associated with inflammation. Tiny doses taken daily at bedtime relieve MS symptoms, reduce arthritis pain, control incontinence, reduce symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Disease, minimize skin eruptions associated with psoriasis, and a wide range of other health problems, including Lyme Disease.

The drug is safe in the doses used; usually in the 3.0 mg to 4.5 mg range. While there are warnings about possible liver problems when using naltrexone, the consensus is that harm is only associated with the original commercial strength product, which has been used in doses of 150 mg or more.

When asked if LDN would work for a certain condition, Dr. Bahari would often say to give it a try. From his perspective it would probably help the person and it wouldn’t do any harm even if failed. When needed LDN can be used by people of all ages, from small child to octogenarians and beyond.

Compounding pharmacists make LDN because it isn’t commercially available. The retail price is in the neighborhood of a dollar a day, which is reasonable especially in a world of drugs costing hundreds of dollars each month.

What about veterinary use? Can LDN help an arthritic dog or a cat with cancer? As Dr. Bahari would say, why not give it a trial. It won’t do any harm and it’ll probably work.

We agree and we’ve seen LDN prescriptions for animals, mostly dogs and cats, but there’s no reason to exclude any animal who is suffering from a chronic inflammatory condition. Yes, The Compounder pharmacy has dispensed LDN for veterinary patients.

Smaller animals seem to benefit from smaller doses, 0.5 mg to 1.5 mg for example. Larger pets might do well using the common human strengths; 3.0 mg and 4.5 mg. While the effective doses seem related to the weight of the “patient” there isn’t yet a specific discussion about which doses work best. As the animal patient gets larger – take horses for example – it may be best to use much higher doses. Regardless of the health situation or the size of the patient, Naltrexone seems a reasonable treatment to try.

Generally, small animals (cats, gerbils, rats, and such) can safely use 0.5 mg to 1.5 mg per day.
Medium to large animals (dogs) can safely use 3.0 to 4.5 mg per day.
BIG animals (horses) might need more. How much? I don’t know.