Low Dose Naltrexone Dosage for Weight Loss (Explained)

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Jay Campbell

5x international best selling author | menโ€™s physique champion | founder of the Jay Campbell Brand and Podcast.

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Meet The Author

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Jay Campbell

Jay is a 5x international best selling author, menโ€™s physique champion, and founder of the Jay Campbell Brand and Podcast.

Recognized as one of the worldโ€™s leading experts on hormonal optimization and therapeutic peptides, Jay has dedicated his life to teaching Men and Women how to #FullyOptimize their health while also instilling the importance of Raising their Consciousness.

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Table of Contents

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[Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before starting LDN or any other medication for weight loss. The information presented here is based on current research, but individual results may vary.]

Obesity isn’t just about the numbers on your scale anymore – it’s literally becoming a matter of life and death.

And I’m not being dramatic here.

The World Health Organization (WHO) (which the USA just exited ๐Ÿ™Œ) dropped some serious stats that’ll make you think twice:

Excessive weight is claiming nearly 2.8 million lives every single year and causing disabilities in 35.8 million people!

Here’s the frustrating part… just telling people to eat less and move more is not cutting it anymore.

Lifestyle changes alone often fall flat when it comes to fighting serious obesity.

And if you’re looking for help from medications, your options are pretty limited – the FDA has only given the green light to a handful of weight loss drugs.

But there’s a medication called Naltrexone that’s been catching the attention of researchers and doctors alike.

At very low doses, it might be a game-changer for people struggling to lose weight.

Female in workout attire drinking from a glass in the kitchen.

TL;DR – Low Dose Naltrexone Dosage for Weight Loss

Short on time?

Here’s what you MUST know about using low-dose Naltrexone for weight loss:

  • Low-dose Naltrexone (LDN) refers to the use of 1.5-4.5 mg of the medication Naltrexone per day.
  • Weight loss protocols often use 4.5 mg LDN (individually) or a slightly higher dose of 8 mg Naltrexone in combination with 90 mg Bupropion (as found in the FDA-approved medication Contrave)
  • Both doses are much lower than the typical 50 mg dose used to treat addiction.
  • While not approved for this specific use, LDN shows promise in supporting weight loss by impacting appetite, metabolism, inflammation, and more.
  • LDN is most effective when combined with diet and exercise.

Want to learn more about optimizing your weight loss journey?

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Low Dose Naltrexone – What Is It and How Does It Work?

First things first: What exactly is Naltrexone?

Naltrexone is a prescription medication that belongs to a class of drugs known as opioid antagonists.

This means it binds to certain receptors in the body to block the effects of opioid drugs like heroin or prescription pain medications.

While regular Naltrexone was originally FDA approved at 50mg doses to help people struggling with alcohol and drug addiction, LDN uses about 1.5mg to 4.5mg daily.

When you significantly lower the dose of Naltrexone, the medication seems to take on entirely different therapeutic properties in your body.

Donโ€™t worry; I wonโ€™t bore you with complex biochemical terminology,

Let me break down the science in simple terms:

The Endorphin Effect: At low doses, LDN creates a mild, temporary blockade of your opioid receptors. Your body responds, “Hey, we need more endorphins!”

This triggers whatโ€™s called an “opioid rebound effect” – your body starts producing more of its natural opioids (endorphins) and even increases the number of opioid receptors.

The Inflammation Connection: Research suggests LDN might work through novel anti-inflammatory pathways.

Dr. Ian Zagon and his colleagues have extensively studied this mechanism, showing how this temporary opioid blockade can help regulate your immune system.

Here’s what makes LDN particularly intriguing; Unlike its higher-dose parent drug, LDN appears to help with conditions that are notoriously difficult to treat, including:

  • Post-COVID syndrome
  • Autoimmune conditions
  • Chronic pain syndromes
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Weight management challenges

This “less is more” phenomenon isn’t unique to Naltrexone.ย 

Researchers discovered something similar with morphine back in 1987, where tiny doses (about 1/10th of the normal amount) produced different effects from regular doses:

  • At 100 ฮผg/kg, morphine worked as expected, providing clear pain relief
  • At 50 ฮผg/kg, the pain relief was less pronounced
  • At 30 ฮผg/kg, it didn’t work any better than saline (salt water)
  • But at around 10 ฮผg/kg, something unexpected happened – the morphine increased pain sensitivity (called hyperalgesia)
  • This effect was strongest at 6 ฮผg/kg

This discovery, which has been replicated in multiple studies since then, shows us that there’s a precise “window” where opioid medications can produce completely opposite effects from what we’d typically expect.

The same principle applies to LDNโ€”it’s that precise “mini-dose” that appears to create its unique therapeutic effects.

Person preparing to take a green pill with a glass of water.

Common Uses of LDN in Everyday Life

Researchers and doctors alike have been captivated by the benefits of low-dose Naltrexone beyond weight loss, especially when it comes to managing chronic conditions.ย 

Take fibromyalgia, for instance.

Dr. Manasa Irwin highlighted in a recent American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) letter that this might be LDN’s most promising application yet.ย 

This is significant since up to one-third of fibromyalgia patients face substantial disability, primarily due to pain.

LDN has also shown effectiveness in other conditions:

Condition Study Type Year Key Finding
Crohn’s disease Pilot study 2007 A daily dose of 4.5 mg showed better quality of life and improved symptom control over 12 weeks
Multiple sclerosis Phase II pilot trial 2008 Successfully reduced muscle stiffness with minimal side effects
Multiple sclerosis Randomized placebo cross-over trial 2010 Eight-week treatment with 4.5mg daily improved mental wellbeing and reduced pain symptoms
Multiple sclerosis Randomized placebo cross-over trial 2010 While the quality of life showed no major changes, the treatment proved to be safe
Crohn’s disease Randomized control trial 2011 Twelve-week treatment with 4.5mg showed better disease control and reduced inflammation versus placebo
Fibromyalgia Randomized control trial 2013 Treatment with 4.5mg demonstrated superior pain reduction compared to placebo
Multiple sclerosis Retrospective review 2015 Lower dose of 3.5mg reduced fatigue in 60% of patients; three-quarters reported stable or improved life quality
Multiple sclerosis Retrospective review 2016 Found to be both cost-effective and safe for ongoing treatment
Fibromyalgia Pilot trial 2017 Ten weeks of 4.5mg treatment lowered inflammation markers and improved pain management
Fibromyalgia Open-label trial 2018 Three-month treatment resulted in 40% symptom improvement

Research shows LDN’s potential in managing several other chronic inflammatory and central pain sensitization conditions, including:

One practical aspect to consider is that LDN requires compounding pharmacy preparation and may not be covered by insurance.

The medication itself, however, is relatively affordable.

Most patients can expect to pay less than $100 monthly out of pocket for their prescription.

Close-up of a person in workout attire measuring waist circumference for weight loss tracking.

How Naltrexone Supports Weight Loss

As we said earlier, LDN by itself isn’t FDA-approved for weight loss.

However, it’s a key player in an FDA-approved weight loss medication called Contrave.ย 

This medication combines Naltrexone HCl with bupropion HCl (you might know this as Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant).

In Contrave, Naltrexone is dosed at 8 mg per tabletโ€”that’s a bit higher than what doctors usually prescribe for autoimmune conditions (1.5mg to 4.5mg).

This FDA approval for weight loss makes it particularly interesting, especially since some of its other uses, which weโ€™ll discuss in the next section, aren’t as well established.

Coming back to the question, how does Naltrexone help with weight loss?ย 

Like Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, or other GLP-1 supplements scientifically proven for fat loss, Naltrexone doesnโ€™t directly affect your bodyโ€™s fat-burning mechanism.

It takes a more holistic approach to weight management with:

1. Appetite Control

A double-blind placebo-controlled study published in Physiol Behav (1997) involving 20 male volunteers produced some compelling results.

They used a disguised digital balance connected to a microcomputer that constantly monitored food consumption.ย 

The system would pause feeding every 50g to allow for appetite ratings.ย 

Here’s what they found with a 50mg Naltrexone dose:

  • Participants significantly reduced their food intake compared to both the placebo and the initial familiarization day.
  • The eating rate decreased noticeably.
  • Food pleasantness ratings dropped.
  • Naltrexone specifically eliminated the initial stimulation of appetite (the positive linear component) without changing other eating patterns.
  • This worked consistently whether participants ate pasta with cheese sauce or tomato sauce.

The science behind this suggests that Naltrexone affects the endogenous opioid systemโ€”basically, it reduces some of the pleasure you get from eating, which makes it far more likely you’ll cut down those extra calories.ย 

2. Insulin Sensitivity

A clinical trial published in Experimental Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes dropped some impressive numbers.ย 

After taking Naltrexone:

  • Fasting insulin dropped by 40% (meaning your body needed less insulin to control blood sugar after an overnight fast)
  • C-peptide levels decreased by 50% (a marker that shows how much insulin your body is producing – less C-peptide means your body needed to make much less insulin)
  • The insulin response curve improved by 34% (shows how efficiently your body handles sugar after meals – a better response means better sugar management)
  • Glucose effectiveness increased significantly (your body got better at managing blood sugar even without insulin)

All of these effects translate to better weight management.

Person administering an injection to their thigh with a blue insulin pen for diabetes management.

3. Sleep Improvement

Sleep and weight are more connected than you might think.ย 

A clinical study published in C R Acad Sci III examined 12 patients with Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS).ย 

After receiving 50mg of Naltrexone at bedtime, here’s what they found:

  • Four patients saw an immediate improvement in sleep apnea symptoms (their breathing during sleep got better right away)
  • Three more patients saw improvements within one month of treatment
  • The remaining five patients improved after three months of treatment

The study was later expanded to more patients maintaining treatment for over 2 years.ย 

The research showed significant improvements in:

  • Sleep Apnea index
  • Number of apnea episodes
  • Duration of breathing interruptions
  • Severity of low oxygen events

More research is needed to confirm if lower doses have similar effects.

4. Thyroid Function

There’s an interesting connection between Naltrexone and thyroid health: It helps reduce inflammation, which can improve T3 to T4 conversion

Better thyroid function often means better metabolism and more weight loss.

Now, here’s the thing about weight gain – it’s never just one issue. That’s why:

  • Not all weight loss medications work for everyone
  • LDN often works better as a second or third-line treatment
  • It’s sometimes more effective when combined with other weight-loss medications

And like any other weight loss medication, you absolutely need to pair it with diet and exercise changes!

Two people performing squats with medicine balls in a gym workout session.

Optimal LDN Dosage for Weight Loss

Standard Naltrexone tablets come in 50mg doses – way too high for the low-dose benefits we’re after.ย 

You’ll need a specialty pharmacy to compound it into smaller, more appropriate doses.

Start at a lower doseโ€”typically around 1.5mgโ€”and then adjust based on your response.ย 

For weight loss, the sweet spot usually falls between 3 and 4.5mg taken once daily.

Aim to take LDN in the evenings, ideally an hour before bed.

This timing works well because your natural melatonin production helps enhance Naltrexone’s effects (plus, it’s just more convenient for most people’s schedules).

Remember, though, you’re uniqueโ€”what works perfectly for someone else might need tweaking for you.

Meanwhile, while LDN alone can be effective, many doctors now recommend considering Contrave, the FDA-approved weight loss medication we discussed earlier.ย 

This combination works better with a structured dosing schedule that looks like this:

  • Week 1: Start with just one tablet in the morning with a low-fat mealย 
  • Week 2: Add an evening dose – one tablet in the morning and eveningย 
  • Week 3: Increase to two tablets in the morning, one in the eveningย 
  • Week 4+: Reach the full dose of two tablets twice daily

Evaluate your progress after 12 weeks of treatment.ย 

If you haven’t lost at least 5% of your starting body weight by then, stop the medication. Further treatment probably will not provide additional benefits.ย 

However, if you achieve significant weight loss, you can continue treatment for up to one year.

Special considerations:

  • If you have moderate to severe kidney problems, you’ll need to stick to a lower dose of one tablet twice daily
  • For moderate liver issues, the maximum is just one tablet per day
  • The medication hasn’t been studied beyond 56 weeks of use

If you’re dealing with any of these conditions, you absolutely need to work with a qualified healthcare provider first.

Tip: Always take Contrave with a low-fat meal to ensure proper absorption and lower the risk of potential side effects.

Healthy weight loss plan essentials: fruits, vegetables, water bottle, and notebook on a wooden table.

LDN Weight Loss with Other Weight Management Options – Comparison

Let’s look at how Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) stacks up against other common weight management medications:

LDN vs. Phentermine

  • Phentermine appears to have more robust short-term weight loss results, with studies showing average weight reductions of 6.7 kg (about 14.7 lbs) over 14 weeks compared to placebo.
  • However, phentermine can only be used short-term (a few weeks), while LDN can be used longer-term.
  • Phentermine works by suppressing appetite through noradrenaline (a neurotransmitter) stimulation, while LDN works through different mechanisms, including appetite and inflammation regulation.

LDN vs. GLP-1 Agonists (Like Semaglutide)

  • GLP-1 agonists show significant weight loss benefits – studies indicate an average of 15.8% body weight reduction over 68 weeks with Semaglutide.
  • LDN tends to have more modest weight loss effects when used alone.
  • GLP-1 medications mimic natural hunger-regulating hormones, while LDN works through different pathways.

LDN vs. Orlistat

  • Orlistat shows moderate weight loss results of 5.6 kg over 6 months compared to 2.4 kg with placebo.
  • Orlistat blocks fat absorption (about 30% reduction), while LDN works through appetite and inflammation regulation.
  • Orlistat requires vitamin supplementation and has significant gastrointestinal side effects, while LDN typically has milder side effects.

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  • 100% natural plant-based ingredients developed through extensive research funded by a $25 million New Zealand government grant
  • No serious side effects reported in studies
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Clinical studies show an 18% reduction in calorie intake compared to placebo

Personally, I use 3-8 capsules daily to effectively control my appetite during extended fasting intervals, like those in 30 Days 2 Shredz.

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White capsules on a spoon and scattered on a yellow background.

Tips for Using Low Dose Naltrexone Effectivelyย 

Here are some pointers for making the most of LDN.

Start low and go slow:

You’ll want to begin with a lower dose and gradually increase it.

For most conditions, you can start with 1mg daily for 14 days and then increase by 0.5-1mg every two weeks until reaching 4.5mg or your highest tolerated dose (according to the LDN Research Trust guidelines).

Know that your ideal dose might be unique:

The Marcus study found that effective doses can vary significantly between individuals, ranging from as low as 0.1mg to 5.6mg per day.

Don’t get discouraged if a standard dose doesn’t work for you – your “sweet spot” might differ.

Time it right with other medications:

If you’re taking short-acting painkillers like co-codamol or tramadol, leave a 4-6 hour gap before taking your LDN.

You’ll need to be extra careful with certain medications like sustained-release opioids or anti-rejection drugs, which may not be compatible with LDN.

Be patient with side effects:

You may experience gastrointestinal issues, sleep disturbances, and vivid dreams.

Most of these side effects can be managed by adjusting your dose (like taking it earlier in the day) or having it with food.

If you are considering LDN, ask your prescribing practitioner for personalized guidance. Following their supervised protocol gives it the best chance of working well.

Person standing on a weighing scale, tracking body weight.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Let’s address some common questions about LDN and weight loss.

Is LDN Safe for Everyone?

Naltrexone (especially when combined with bupropion) has proven to be remarkably well-tolerated by most patients.

The researchers dug through 191 articles and zeroed in on 14 high-quality studies, including a meta-analysis and ten randomized controlled trials (the gold standard in medical research).

Here are the results they found. You shouldnโ€™t take LDN or maintain caution if:

  • You’re currently taking opioid medications (including some pain medications)
  • You have active liver problems (Naltrexone is processed by your liver)
  • You’re pregnant or breastfeeding
  • You have a history of seizure disorders
  • You’re dealing with acute kidney problems

Are There Long-Term Side Effects of Low Dose Naltrexone?

The most common side effects tend to emerge early on and resolve quickly by adjusting timing or dosage.

Data on LDN over months or years remains limited, but smaller trials report no serious long-term adverse events. As with any medication, ongoing monitoring is advised.

Can LDN Be Used for Other Conditions Besides Weight Loss?

Yes! As touched on earlier, LDN holds promise for several chronic illnesses:

  • Autoimmune Diseases: Hashimotoโ€™s thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and inflammatory bowel diseases.
  • Chronic Pain Disorders: Those with fibromyalgia, migraine disorders, nerve injuries, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and joint conditions may benefit as well.
  • Mood Problems: Some evidence highlights LDN improving major depressive disorder and associated conditions like bipolar disorder, OCD, and PTSD.

Conclusion

LDN is showing incredible promise in tackling two of the biggest health challenges we face todayโ€”weight management and chronic inflammation.ย 

While scientists are still uncovering exactly how it works, the results we’re seeing so far are pretty convincing.

Especially when you combine it with:

  • Smart nutrition choices
  • Regular exercise routines
  • Stress management techniques
  • Strategic supplementation

…that’s when the magic really happens.

LDN amplifies all the good work you’re already doing.

I had an informative conversation about this on my podcast with Shawn Wells (aka “the world’s greatest formulator”).ย 

We dove deep into everything from BDNF stimulation to metabolic flexibility and how LDN fits into the bigger picture of optimal health.ย 

Check out our complete conversation on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

You won’t want to miss his expert take on this game-changing compound.

Where to purchase LDN?

For now, I recommend Profound Health’s NalPro (use code Jay15 to take 15% OFF your purchase)

(There are also alternative sources, which you can find here and here)

Within the coming months, BioLongevity Labs will also have it in stock!

Remember, your journey to optimal health is unique to you.ย 

If you’re ready to take it to the next level, I invite you to join my Fully Optimized Health Private Membership Group.

You’ll get exclusive access to cutting-edge protocols, expert insights, and a community of high-performers committed to living their best lives.

As always:

Raise Your Vibration To Optimize Your Love Creation!

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