Low-dose naltrexone

My nomination for most unsung little anti-inflammatory without all the awful side effects of NSAIDs (I used to eat advil like candy): low-dose naltrexone, ak

Naltrexone has been around forever, but in very low doses it’s used off-label for its anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects, for a surprisingly enormous range of conditions. The evidence is stronger for some uses than others, but it’s inexpensive, generally well tolerated, and one of those generic drugs that makes you wonder why more people haven’t heard of it.

I’m on it for endometriosis pain. Our integrative vet has both of our dogs on LDN as part of their cancer-prevention/wellness regimen, and it also potentially does double duty for some of their other health issues. They’ve had zero problems with it. Our pet insurance even covers it because our vet found research supporting its use for one of their existing conditions.

If you enjoy going down an off-label-medication rabbit hole as much as I do, the LDN Research Trust has a frankly wild list of conditions for which LDN is being used or studied. And Joe Graedon recently wrote about LDN for The People’s Pharmacy, which is a great place to start.