The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada Endorses LDN?

In an article on their website entitled Opioid boost may ease Crohn’s symptoms, the CCFC gives Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) a positive review. Of course they are cautious and don’t really endorse LDN, but this is at least a step in the right direction.

Dr. Keith Sharkey – the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada Chair in IBD Research – believes it is worthwhile for patients interested in LDN to consider and discuss this treatment option with their doctors. “Talk to your doctor and ask whether it’s safe and appropriate for you,” he said. And he goes on to suggest that “further clinical trials are absolutely warranted and low-dose naltrexone has to be tested in a multi-centre study.”

LDN acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory and we’ve seen direct results of improved ESR and CRP with LDN.  The clinical trial showed that it improved symptoms for 88% of those in the study, but 33% saw complete remission with endoscopic confirmation of mucosal healing within 12 weeks. All with no dietary changes.

It is important to note that the CCFC may never have paid any attention to LDN if it were not for the tireless efforts of Sara Craig who manages a support page on Facebook. Sara made the effort to collect LDN success stories from people like me and she presented them to the CCFC at a conference in October of 2011. It appears that her efforts were fruitful as she got Dr. Sharkey to do some research.

Since Naltrexone is an FDA approved drug, LDN can be prescribed “off-label” by your doctor right now, there is no reason to wait to begin using LDN. You can learn more about LDN, and find doctors that will prescribe it at http://www.ldnscience.org and http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org If you are set on working with your current doctor, you could bring them the published results from the small clinical trial that was done at Penn State by Dr. Jill Smith. In fact, Dr. Smith will consult with your doctor if they call her office – 800-243-1455.

If your doctor still won’t cooperate, you can email Crystal Nason – angelindisguiseldn@yahoo.com with where you live, and she will give you a list of LDN prescribing doctors. Of course, you can always get Naltrexone yourself without a prescription via a number of online pharmacies – http://www.alldaychemist.com & http://www.unitedpharmacies.com have the cheapest prices. You can get a years supply of LDN for about $100.

LDN is not a magic cure for Crohn’s but combined with other safe strategies it can make a huge difference. LDN, along with the SCD, GAPS or Paleo diet should be the first line of treatment. Maybe with exposure like this we’ll see some progress.

Thanks Sara!

Does it work?

The short answer is – Yes!

Although it’s an experiment of 1 and admittedly not at all scientific, I thought it would make sense to report on the recent results from my daughters blood work. It turns out that the strategy we are following – borrowed heavily from the Core Strategy I outline in this blog –  is working.  While no plan is perfect, its nice to know that this one is safe and effective.  We set a goal about 18 months ago…to find a way to provide some diet flexibility beyond the strict SCD program that we had successfully implemented in the past. It does appear that the addition of LDN and key supplements has made some diet flexibility possible. I’m sure we’ll have to make adjustments over time, but we’re pretty pleased with the results!

Here is the plan:

• Wheat/Gluten grain and mostly dairy free diet – potato & rice are well tolerated. (I’m sure there is some cheating going on, but not that much.)
• LDN – 4.5mg capsules each night
• Monthly B12 injections
• Daily supplements: Vitamin D3 10,000 iu, Boswellia/5Loxin 150mg, Curcumin/BCM95 500mg, Krill Oil 1,000mg & Bacillus Coagulans (DuraFlora – 2 capsules)

Here are the blood results:

• Vitamin D level – 25(OH)D = 79 (I think we are in “theraputic level” territory)
• C-reactive protein (CRP) = .56 (is a protein found in the blood, the levels of which rise in response to inflammation) anything under 1 is considered a low level of inflammation.
• The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), = 18 also called a sedimentation rate (SED) , is a common blood test  that is a non-specific measure of inflammation.  For women, anything under 20 is considered in the normal range.