The LDN Book: How a Little-Known Generic Drug -- Low Dose Naltrexone -- Could Revolutionize Treatment for Autoimmune Diseases, Cancer, Autism, Depression, and More

by Linda Elsegood

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) holds the potential to help millions of people suffering from various autoimmune diseases and cancers, and even autism, chronic fatigue, and depression, find relief. Administered off-label in small daily doses (0.5 to 4.5 mg), this generic drug is extremely affordable and presents few known side effects. So why has it languished in relative medical obscurity?

The LDN Book explains the drug's origins, its primary mechanism, and the latest research from practicing physicians and pharmacists as compiled by Linda Elsegood of The LDN Research Trust, the world's largest LDN charity organization with over 19,000 members worldwide. Featuring ten chapters contributed by medical professionals on LDN's efficacy and two patient-friendly appendices, The LDN Book is a comprehensive resource for doctors, pharmacists, and patients who want to learn more about how LDN is helping people now, and a clarion call for further research that could help millions more.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Science

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2016

Reviews

[s_evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The science of how LDN works presented in this book is way over my head, but I appreciated the summary of how this medication has off-label uses that have been studied with very positive results. It is infuriating that the studies have not been done with larger sample sizes as the small studies, case studies, and friends have had amazing results for IBD and other autoimmune diseases with this fairly benin drug. I also appreciated the chapter about how to talk to your doctor about using this medication, as well as a chapter from a compounding pharmacist who has learned about and processed orders for LDN (which is sometimes very low dose!)

[Juniper · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is a tricky one to rate... while the potential presented in the book is exciting to consider, studies and testing to the standards of industry are not plentiful. it's always worth being cautious when something sounds too good to be true, and especially when vulnerable populations - like the chronically ill - are the audience.

having said that, i was glad to read the book -- i had heard about LDN treatment a few years ago, and was recently reminded of it by a friend. i think it is worth me discussing with two of my doctors, to hear their take. luckily, one of them focused on pharmacology too, in addition to their primary specialty, so i feel he will be well-informed on this off-label use of naltrexone.

[Marella Mylet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is literally the best book I've ever read in my life. I tore through it and used up an entire brand new highlighter marking things that were important and exciting. READ IT.

[Madelyn Miley Passmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not going to lie, a lot of this book was way over my head. I’m an RN, but all the neurotransmitter and receptor stuff has never been my forte. What I did get out of this book was a new option for treating my autoimmune disease. I was very grateful for the hope that came from reading the individual stories of symptom relief with LDN. I gave it a shot with my provider and so far so good! The book has the dosage recommendations for different conditions so I could see how high I could go. I also really appreciated the list of side effects and how long they generally last. This helped me get through the first week, just knowing my head would clear up in a week or two. When I picked up my prescription the pharmacist knew very little about this niche drug, so I was grateful for this great tool to educate myself. This book has empowered me. I love that so many smart people are saying no to chronic illness and are figuring out a way to fight and regain quality of life.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a lot of solid information backed by studies to show the MANY off label uses for LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone).
A lot of this information in the book was very technical, and even with multiple re-reads I still found parts of it were over my head. Still, it was so fascinating to me there were time I would read a section, pause to google research, pause to wiki definition/meaning, pause to check ldnscience for descriptions, and read again. I like to joke that it's the best book that I'll never fully understand.

I felt the best chapter was the one on how to talk to your doctor. Even with all that information about LDN that I brought to them, my local doctors refused to prescribe it. My pain clinic doctor wanted to prescribe it for me, but LDN isn't on the list of allowed medications at the group practice where he works (it's "being considered", but that could take months or longer). I turned to LDNScience.org where there's a section that lists prescribing doctors - since none were near me, I had to turn to telemedicine and consult with ldndoctor (both dot-com and on Facebook) to get my prescription.
It hasn't arrived from the compounding pharmacy yet, but I am excited to try it.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and informative book about low dose naltrexone. I read the beginning chapters of the book but skimmed through or skipped the subsequent chapters. The most relevant part of the book, I found to be the explanation of this physicians discovery and treatment of her patients with LDN. She devoted chapters to using the medication for multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune diseases. The LDN book was written in 2014, since then the FDA has approved the use of LDN for Fibromyalgia. Under that umbrella is chronic pain and osteoarthritis. This is my particular interest. There are articles on the Internet about the specific use of LDN for chronic pain. It is miracle drug that most of the medical community is unaware of. Therefore this book is a very important documentation of the amazing benefits of the use of LDN that have yet to be discovered by most. Thank you Dr Elsegood for writing this book. I do hope more read and discover.

[C.A. Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I've heard for years about how LDN is essentially useful for every kind of chronic illness, but because I didn't understand the mechanism of action and because it claimed to be useful for everything, I never thought of it for any one condition and therefore almost never prescribed it. This book explains both the mechanisms we know and the mechanisms speculated, and describes how they can be useful for individual illnesses including various kinds of autoimmunity, depression, and cancer. I'm far more inclined to prescribe and endorse it now, especially because its benefits come from the rebound action of the body rather than the primary action of the drug--meaning it actually helps the body to heal itself (pretty much the same mechanism of action of homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and most other naturopathic therapies.) This is also the reason that there are very few side effects to speak of -- the side effects are the whole reason it's prescribed!

[Mwalkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that is so important I was not able to finish it before sharing it. My friend did the same. She ended up purchasing another for me.

Because LDN is not a financial shining star, it will never be marketed to its full potential for helping people. It is up to people like the author of this book, and you and I, to get this information to people who need it.

My advice - get it and share it.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written/edited with a large bibliography and many footnotes for further investigation. It's a good starter for learning about this topic.

[Wendy]

Very interesting. Would love to try for fibromyalgia and rls but it is daunting to think about trying to get a doctor who will let you.

[Ladonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have an auto immune disease and the practitioner I see for treating recommended LDN therapy for me and this book as a resource to learn more about it . I feel like this book was intended for medical practitioners so for the lay person to be reading it, there is a lot of medical terminology and references in it. I had to keep Google close by to look up definitions of words I didn’t understand as I was reading. Reading this book made my brain hurt, however it was full of so much good information that I pushed through. I realized the best time for me to read it, was first thing in the morning when my brain was fresh. It ended up being extremely informative, and I would highly recommend it for anyone with the various conditions listed on the cover of the book who want to know more for themselves or others who have those conditions. It would make a great gift for the doctors and nurses in your lives to expose them to LDN treatment to help and get the word out. An extremely interesting and informative book.

[Clover Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings on this book. It reads more like a research paper on many different ailments, than a book specifically about the use of LDN with these ailments. I appreciate the in depth analysis of causative factors, the science behind these disorders, and different types of treatments/helpful tips, however it wasn’t what I was looking for.

One huge problem I have with the book is how it talks about Autism. It refers to Autism as a psychiatric disorder, when Autism is a neurological/developmental disability. It also speaks highly of medicating Autistic children for their “unusual behaviors”, and uses the word retarded multiple times. And basically speaks to using LDN (alongside ABA therapy) as away to “normalize” autistic children. This is all such outdated information for 2016, and is honestly pretty offensive. Maybe volume two fixes this issue, but I won’t be reading it 🤷‍♀️

[Denise Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s rare that I read a textbook. With that said, I was prescribed this drug (low dose naltrexone) and felt compelled to educate myself. Historically this drug was used in higher doses to treat opioid and alcohol withdrawal. Now, in much lower dosage(s), researchers, along side open minded doctors, are finding it to be a bit of a panacea. Much of the book was way over my head. No shame in my game; I am not a scientist. What I did take away was this; LDN is an inexpensive drug that seems to address some cancers (both treatment and prevention), most autoimmune disorders and to a certain degree, dementia and Alzheimer’s. Why, oh why, haven’t we all heard about this drug? Simple. There is no money to be made.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew nothing of this. These book have really enlightened me. I found them to be of great interest and I have already had some discussions with my consultant. I had never heard of LDN, it is a cheap, safe, generic drug which can be used for autoimmune disease, ms, lupus, chronic fatigue and a host of other ailments.
The series of 3 books explains the origins of the drug and the research into its efficacy. Promoting further research to what is a remarkable generic drug available to help many sufferers.
Highly recommended a read.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in this book mainly because of the section on thyroid disorders and how such disorders affect weight loss, weight gain, depression, etc. The book explains how LDN works and is a good resource for persons with health problems. I did not read the entire book. Will keep it as a resource.

[Yycdaisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compilation of informative articles on the use of LDN for various conditions. Somewhat repetitive as the different authors re-hash the basics, however one can skip to the article that covers the condition of interest.

[Denise Hlavka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable information!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please understand that this is a collection of medical papers, and this reads like a textbook. Personally I found it to be informative, but I also work in the medical field.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, but definitely written for physicians or a medically-knowledgeable audience.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book packed with details about LDN for various uses, including cancer and autoimmune diseases.

[Carie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to read without having a medical educational background but still informative enough to the average person.

[Linda Elsegood]

This book is a very good guide for people with Autoimmune Diseases and Cancer to learn about LDN. (Low Dose Naltrexone)