Presenter: Natalie Gustafson, PharmD

Original Date: September 24, 2016

Traditional naltrexone has been used for decades to help patients struggling with addiction to opiates. However, this is a limited application of naltrexone’s potential in pain management using much lower dosages. Low dose naltrexone (LDN) works entirely differently than its traditional use. Understanding its mechanisms of action and literature in various pain conditions, including fibromyalgia, neuropathy and arthritis, can help practitioners ascertain which patients might benefit from LDN. One of the challenges of trying to use LDN in pain management is that many of these patients are currently on opiates, potentially significant drug interactions. This talk discusses strategies to help patients transition from opiates to LDN more safely using alternate analgesics, including topical pain medications. In addition, for patients who are on opiates a newer area of research has analyzed using naltrexone in microgram dosing, termed ultra low dose naltrexone (ULDN). We also discuss how ULDN can reduce opiate tolerance or even lessen severity of withdrawal symptoms.

1.5 Pharmacology CEUs approved by OBNM