Naltrexone as a Tinnitus Treatment

Start with 5 mg. You have to get it from a compounding pharmacy or divide it up yourself since they only come in 25 mg and 50 mg. I called my doctor for some today, and am waiting to hear back. I'll start low.

 

I saw people starting with 12 mg or even 25 mg. I just need relief that much... And if it works very well, maybe I can cut back? Wouldn't that be a good solution?

I also found Flupirtine but no one answered yet to my post if it is the correct version...

 

Yes, you can make your own dose.

 

If LDN is successful for some patients, why did they stop deeper investigations and testing it in larger testing groups?

I will try LDN from the middle of May for three months. Starting with 5 mg and then increasing to 10 mg.

 

I hope you get some relief from your suffering. Thinking of you.

 

My doctor flat out refused to consider this option for me - said there wasn't enough evidence. So in effect keep on suffering.

 

Q: How to convince a doctor to prescribe Naltrexone off-label?

A: I said I was drinking too much alcohol and wanted to stop. It worked.

→ https://www.tinnitustalk.com/posts/646932/

I'm sorry to have to advocate lying to your doctor, but if it helps you and harms no one else, do it.

 

How much Naltrexone do you take for your tinnitus and how long have you taken it for? Did it help? Did you increase your dose regularly and, if yes, what was the protocol?

Thank you so much!

 

I started after @Johnny Karate posted his success story. So I have been on it since mid-April 2022.

I used a pill splitter and started with a 1/4 crumb for 3 or 4 days, went up to a half-pill (25 mg), and after one week went up to 3/4 of a pill, and have been at 50 mg (one full pill a day) for about 2-3 weeks now. I had a couple of days of weird side-effects at the beginning, but they went away. I have no side-effects now and my liver is tolerating the Naltrexone. It hasn't helped my tinnitus or hyperacusis yet. It can take up to two months to work. If I go three months and it doesn't help my tinnitus, at least I can say that I gave it my best shot. But I am still hopeful that it will lessen the severity of my tinnitus. I have not given up.

In the meantime, I continue to meditate daily, twice a day, which helps more than anything else. My tinnitus is severe now, loud and screechy, but meditation still helps me focus on everything else, not the tinnitus.

 

So beautiful you can meditate!

I just heard Naltrexone can lower your immune system over time, as it is a medicine for autoimmune disorders as well.

 

It doesn't lower the immune system. It modulates it.

 

My pharmacy is now doing the low dose compounding, so that I can start with 5 mg. I will combine it with Abilify which Dr. De Ridder suggested. He said it’s fine to combine both. A friend of mine will do the same protocol and start with me. I hope it does something!

 

There's an extensive study on cancer proliferation & immune response in cell cultures/animals/humans that shows that the (continuous) use of high dose Naltrexone seems to have a negative effect on the immune system. There's of course some room for nuance, as the researchers of the same study also state that the intermittent use of LDN seems safe and perhaps even has a positive influence.

Naltrexone's Impact on Cancer Progression and Mortality: A Systematic Review of Studies in Humans, Animal Models, and Cell Cultures (Liubchenko et al., 2021)

Background: Naltrexone (NTX) is an opioid antagonist traditionally used as a treatment for alcohol and opioid use disorders, but various studies have documented its involvement in cancer progression, exploring possible anticancer potential, when administered at high doses or as low dose naltrexone (LDN). Herein we present a systematic review of cancer-related outcomes from case reports, clinical trials, and retrospective and prospective studies conducted using cell cultures, animal models, and human subjects receiving NTX/LDN.

Methods: A systematic search of NTX in cancer therapy was conducted. Outcomes including tumor size and number, latency to tumor development, survival duration, progression of disease, and scan results were assessed in clinical and animal studies, and cell number was used as the outcome measure of culture studies.

Results: Several case reports demonstrate notable survival durations and metastatic resolutions in patients with late stage cancer when administered an average LDN dose of 3-5 mg/day. Animal and cell culture studies suggest an overarching principle of NTX involvement in cancer pharmacophysiology, suggesting that high doses and continuous administration can foster cancer progression, whereas low doses and intermittent treatment may hinder cell proliferation, impede tumorigenesis, and have potential anticancer efficacy.

Conclusion: This review emphasizes the value of potential future research on NTX in cancer therapy, and warrants need for a better understanding of underlying mechanisms. Future controlled studies with more robust sample sizes, particularly in humans, are needed to fully elucidate its potential in cancer therapy.

 

It seem they have investigated NALTREXONE in a larger group:

The Management and Outcomes of Pharmacological Treatments for Tinnitus

"Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, is usually prescribed for opioid and alcohol addiction. However, it has also been tried with people who suffer from chronic pain disorders. Since pain and tinnitus appear to have similarities, as previously stated, naltrexone was tested on a group of people suffering from tinnitus. One-hundred and sixteen participants completed a placebo-controlled trial. Over the course of four weeks, 86 participants, split into three groups, received 5, 12.5, or 50 mg of naltrexone. Thirty participants did not receive treatment. Ten participants dropped out because they did not take the treatment or did not attend appointments (leaving 76 subjects in the naltrexone group). In the 50mg group, six out of 16 participants had a significant reduction in tinnitus distress.Intensity did not change in any group. Placebo participants saw no reduction in distress or intensity."​

Not so much success I think. However, I will start it by next week.

 

50 mg is a lot, isn't it? How long can you take that dose and not harm your immune system?

 

Dr. Ridder suggested to take 5 mg and then increase to 10 mg if no effect. I also wonder why he didn't suggest to increase to 50 mg? As far as I remember, in their study the higher dosage showed more success than the lower dosage?

However, it looks like @Johnny Karate has success with 25 mg. But I will not go that high.

If 10 mg doesn't show effect, I will give up.

 

Yes, they achieved the best attenuation at the 50 mg doses, consistently. 50 mg is the standard dose for on-label use of Naltrexone. I have been taking 50 mg daily for two weeks. I sleep better than I have in a long time, but no effect on my tinnitus. I began in mid-April. If I see no results after 12 weeks, I will discontinue.

 

I hope you get relief with this combo.

Can I ask why do you think Dr. De Ridder has recommended 5 mg LDN to start with?

I spoke with him recently, and he has recommended I start with 1 mg.

Is there a particular reason why you would do the combined regime? He suggested Abilify on another occasion to me, but not alongside the LDN.

I will be cheering you on from afar. Hope you get relief.

 

Thanks for documenting your experiences with Naltrexone. I am disappointed for you that it hasn't improved your tinnitus.

Has your initial panic settled down?

I feel for you that your tinnitus hasn't responded.

I would take the better quality sleep though. That is good to hear.

You are probably aware of the trial undertaken at the University of Arizona, that demonstrated neuro/cochlea inflammation as a potential therapeutic target for tinnitus?

I am fairly certain that LDN and Naltrexone have different modes of actions. If you have met your tinnitus as a result of noise damage (in the context of the above mentioned study), I wonder if LDN might be an option to consider?

I hope you do well.

 

Hi Deb,

I don't know why he recommended 5 mg and not 1 mg or 50 mg. He also told me that combining it with Abilify is no problem.

I take only 2 mg of Abilify. It's a dirty drug combo which might show better results. My hopes are not so high though.

 

I have been using LDN for a couple of weeks now after seeing this thread.

I started on 0.25 mg for 1 week (wanted to play it safe) and have increased slowly to 0.75 mg in the morning and 0.75 mg in the evening.

Within the first week I started to have moments of quiet. Not for very long (10-20 minutes) but still it was some welcome relief! The gaps of silence have been getting longer but they come in waves, again not for very long. And my screeching tinnitus just finds a way through the silence.

Hoping when I increase the dosage these breaks will get longer. I need a bit of luck. Struggling pretty hard these days...

 

Yes, that only lasted for a couple of days at the very beginning. No side effects since then, except suppressed appetite, "culinary anhedonia," (just made that up -- on Naltrexone, eating gives me no joy and I have lost weight) and better sleep. (Keep in mind that I already take a combination to sleep: 12.5 mg of Doxylamine Succinate and 1 mg time-released Melatonin. But now I want to add Low Dose Naltrexone to that.)

It took eight weeks for a couple of the subjects in the De Ridder / Vanneste study. But the longer I go with this, the less likely it seems that it will do anything for my tinnitus. I am on day 35.

That started on the low dose. And it is the reason I would like to keep taking it at a low dose. I also noted that it had a seemingly mood brightening / mental clarifying effect at the very early, low dose, before I titrated up to 50 mg. Perhaps I should have just stayed at the low dose.

I am planning on going forward with LDN if the high dose continues to be ineffective.

Thank you.

 

Hi @EDDTEKK,

Hope you are doing well. Have you tried LDN? Also, is Abilify helping you?

Thanks.

 

I have been taking the combination for 1 week now. No change in tinnitus or distress.

 

I’ve been on LDN for 4 months. My tinnitus has gotten worse while on it.

 

@danielthor, did LDN show you any signs of relief over the 4 months?

 

Do you have how much hearing loss? What is the cause of your tinnitus?

 

No.

 

Blasted myself with AirPods. It started as hyperacusis, ended up with severe reactive tinnitus.

I have severe candida overgrowth though, and experts claim it can inhibit some of the immune-modulating effects of LDN. This seems only to be true in cases where candida affects the immune system. It hasn’t in my case, but dunno.

I would still try it though if I were you.

 

How long were you in total silence to help the reactive tinnitus to settle down?