How it went
Did it last?
- 13 of 50 said the benefit wore off (including the 3 who relapsed).
- 10 of 50 needed to keep doing it to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 11 | 22% |
| Near-full | 4 | 8% |
| Substantial | 15 | 30% |
| Partial | 16 | 32% |
| Relapsed | 3 | 6% |
| No benefit | 1 | 2% |
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | 7 | 29% | |
| Severe | 25 | 40% | |
| Very severe | 8 | 25% |
10 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention Low-dose naltrexone, per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 184 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | 12 | 682 | 17.6 |
| 2011 | 24 | 704 | 34.1 |
| 2012 | 16 | 1,491 | 10.7 |
| 2013 | 19 | 1,708 | 11.1 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,352 | 4.3 |
| 2015 | 7 | 2,158 | 3.2 |
| 2016 | 23 | 1,431 | 16.1 |
| 2017 | 29 | 3,110 | 9.3 |
| 2018 | 21 | 2,201 | 9.5 |
| 2019 | 14 | 1,075 | 13.0 |
| 2020 | 62 | 2,581 | 24.0 |
| 2021 | 23 | 1,867 | 12.3 |
| 2022 | 10 | 1,166 | 8.6 |
| 2023 | 13 | 1,000 | 13.0 |
| 2024 | 6 | 1,237 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 13 | 1,019 | 12.8 |
| 2026 (so far) | 13 | 840 | 15.5 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
All 50 accounts
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Has anyone achieved remission or recovery from treatment by any doctor?
Took 25mg of spironolactone plus 4.5mg of low-dose naltrexone (LDN), while already on physiologic cortisol replacement for non-functioning adrenals, following the approach from the Campo and Taylor 2021 clinical trial. The page does not state how long they…
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ME/CFS patient substantially improved with spironolactone 100 mg daily
Poster combined spironolactone 25mg/day with LDN, a GLP-1 agonist and NP thyroid and states plainly "My CFS is cured, yes cured...my health is amazing," while noting he still needs cortisol supplementation. Because several drugs were changed together it is…
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Blood and circulation
Combined having a problem tooth pulled with a long-running Linus Pauling-style protocol for peripheral artery disease, Ayurvedic remedies, infrared light therapy, a course of 32 magnesium-sulfate infusions, and low-dose naltrexone above 2mg per day. Had PAD…
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Treatments. Yes, they do exist.
In this follow-up post, Encephalogirl (Michelle) lists an expanded regimen: low-dose naltrexone, low-dose Abilify, guanfacine, about nine months of tenofovir as part of a planned minimum one-year antiviral course, six weeks of low-dose rapamycin at 1mg once…
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Long Covid Healing Resources
Followed a 10-point Mayo Clinic-informed protocol: a TruVaga vagus-nerve-stimulation device for 2 minutes three times a day, guanfacine at 0.5mg twice daily (with room to increase to 1mg twice daily), L-arginine 2000mg twice daily, vitamin C 500mg twice…
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Caitlan's 1-2 punch works with her severe ME/CFS
Combined low-dose naltrexone with neuroplasticity retraining work through Miguel Bautista's program, for severe ME/CFS of several years' standing. Exact doses and full illness timeline are not given in the excerpt. The site frames this two-pronged approach,…
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Caitlan's 1-2 punch works with her severe ME/CFS
Caitlan was a healthy personal trainer who became bedbound after a vaccination followed by a stomach bug, developing severe neurological and cardiovascular ME/CFS symptoms. She tried IV therapy, hyperbaric oxygen and stem cells without lasting success. She…
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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Turns Mathew's Long COVID / ME/CFS / POTS Around
Mathew developed long COVID with ME/CFS and POTS after a COVID infection in February 2020 and cycled through severe crashes for four years, at times 20 hours a day in bed, despite midodrine, low-dose naltrexone, Abilify and Paxlovid. In late 2023 he…
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Creatine - An Alternative Mitochondrial Energy Source for ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Long COVID?
Creatine monohydrate, started at 10g/day for about a month then dropped to a 5g/day maintenance dose, alongside 1.25mg low-dose naltrexone. He had moderate ME/CFS for 8 years before starting. Within weeks he noticed sustained benefits, later calling it the…
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Clinical trials explore how Low-Dose Naltrexone could help people with Long COVID
Kate Herbert, a nurse with Emerge Australia, first tried low-dose naltrexone at 1.5mg daily but stopped after two weeks due to insomnia, nightmares and anxiety, then restarted at a much lower 0.25mg daily, which she has continued taking. The article does not…
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Drugs Get Mathew Most of the Way and Hyperbaric Oxygen Does the Rest
Dr Mathew Robinson, a university professor, developed long COVID with ME/CFS and POTS after infection in February 2020 and spent 20-22 hours a day in bed. Midodrine, low-dose Abilify and low-dose naltrexone under Bateman Horne Center care brought him to…
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Rapamycin / Sirolimus for ME / CFS and Central Sensitization
Alivenotkicking, on sirolimus since November 2023 at 1mg building to 3mg weekly, says he does feel more active and less easily fatigable. He immediately qualifies it: he is also on low-dose naltrexone which has definitely helped a lot, so it is hard to say,…
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Radical Rest and Beyond
The author of Encephalogirl (who signs as Michelle) treats her ME/CFS-related dysautonomia and POTS with guanfacine and low-dose Abilify (titrated from 0.5mg down to 0.25mg after migraines, then back up to 0.5mg), an increased dose of low-dose naltrexone, a…
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My Recovery Journey from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
Mediterranean diet was adopted as one strand of a broad, multi-modal recovery program that also included intermittent fasting, low-dose naltrexone, structured pacing and vagus nerve stimulation, with no separate dose or duration given for the diet itself. He…
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Amber's Long MCAS, POTS, MCS, ME/CFS Recovery Story
Amber had digestive and allergy problems since childhood that became severe MCAS, POTS, MCS and ME/CFS after a marathon at thirty and a bad flu-shot reaction at thirty-one, leaving her homebound and fainting daily despite seeing more than a hundred doctors.…
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An ME/CFS Expert Helps a Long-COVID Patient Recover
A nineteen-year-old developed POTS and mast cell symptoms after a mild PCR-confirmed COVID infection, leaving him with a wellness score of 45 out of 100 and out of in-person classes for about fifteen months. Under Dr Peter Rowe at Johns Hopkins he was…
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Impact of extended-course Paxlovid in established Long COVID (Case 11)
Case 11, a 33-year-old woman roughly three years into severe Long COVID/ME since March 2020, initially bedridden and dependent on caregivers and later "mostly housebound," had a 5-day Paxlovid course in May 2022 that brought significant improvement, ending…
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Impact of extended-course Paxlovid in established Long COVID (Case 4)
Case 4, a 51-year-old man about 6 months into Long COVID with fatigue, daily headaches, brain fog, mental exhaustion, PEM, racing heart, palpitations, tinnitus and visual/sensory disturbances, took a 15-day extended Paxlovid course in March 2023 alongside…
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Impact of extended-course Paxlovid in established Long COVID (Case 2)
Case 2, a 45-year-old woman about 11 months into Long COVID with orthostatic intolerance, tachycardia, short-term memory loss, word-finding trouble, fatigue, PEM and MCAS symptoms, took a 15-day extended course of Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) in…
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Jason's Eclectic Mix of Treatments Returns Him to Near Normal Health
Jason Boyce fell ill in the early 2000s with what he believes was a flu or EBV infection and spent sixteen years bedbound for days after exertion and unable to play with his kids. He assembled an eclectic mix of treatments, crediting nebulised hydrogen…
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List of ME/CFS Recovery and Improvement Stories (page 4-5 discussion)
unicorn7 used a De Meirleir-style multi-part protocol (SIBO antibiotics, LDN, B12, subcutaneous immunoglobulin, mesalazine, plus strict pacing) to move from moderate to mild ME/CFS, and reported repeating that same moderate-to-mild recovery a second time…
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Sarah's Story
Sarah tried an extensive list of treatments without full success: many hyperbaric oxygen sessions (costing "thousands" and giving only temporary relief before triggering relapses), acupuncture, kinesiology, diet changes, breathing exercises with osteopaths,…
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Abilify plus LDN returns retired clinical psychologist to 80% health for two months
Marvin, a retired clinical psychologist, took low-dose Abilify (0.5 mg) combined with low-dose naltrexone (2.5 mg) from a compounding pharmacy after 11 years of fatigue, post-exertional malaise, cognitive problems, and unrefreshing sleep. The combination…
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Eight years of sickness is history. My son once again has a mother, my husband has a wife, and I've got a life!
Lotte attended a three-day Lightning Process course with practitioner Live Landmark, learning "basic neurology and about the functioning of the brain" and using the method several times a day, after eight years of ME/CFS requiring 12-18 hours of rest daily…
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REMISSION! (suspected enterovirus, Dr. Chia treating)
Under Dr. Chia's care for suspected enterovirus, .jm. built up to running 40 miles/week by an April 2021 update (up from an initial "REMISSION!" post 18 months earlier), with insomnia and Raynaud's resolved, while tapering oxymatrine down to a maintenance…
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Abilify Shows Promise in ME/CFS Study (Dian)
Dian takes Abilify at 4.5 mg along with low-dose naltrexone (LDN), a combination she has used for two years. She has had ME/CFS since a bout of mono as a teenager and is now 54; she went from needing a wheelchair or walker to walking 2 to 4 miles a day,…
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List of ME/CFS Recovery and Improvement Stories (page 8 discussion)
2Cor.12:19 has used 1mg LDN with turmeric for 6 years for significant pain relief from ME/CFS, osteoarthritis and axonal polyneuropathy, rarely needing additional pain medication - notable enough that a treating neurologist was surprised at the lack of…
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How I solved my neuroinflammation
Built up to pramipexole 2mg nightly over four weeks alongside LDN, as-needed ibudilast, ALCAR and curcumin, reporting about an "80% improvement" in neuroinflammation symptoms -- migraines down from 3-4/week to at most one, and PEM severity/duration cut by…
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From Very Severe to Moderate in Two Months
Martin, tube-fed and very severely ill for 2.5 years, started Abilify (titrated 2 to 4mg) with LDN 4.5mg and Celebrex 100mg in September 2020 and improved from very severe to moderate within about two months, coming off the feeding tube and regaining enough…
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Adrienne Dellwo Shares Her Fibromyalgia Remission Story
Adrienne Dellwo's regimen included low-dose naltrexone at 3mg (compounded, versus a standard 30mg dose per the article), plus rhodiola rosea, L-theanine, vitamin B and D, a custom herbal blend and acupuncture from her rheumatologist, meditation, yoga, a…
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The Temporary ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Recovery Stories - What Can They Tell Us?
She received Myers' cocktail IV infusions as one of dozens of treatments tried, alongside things like LDN, CBD oil, and hormone therapy, with no specific dose or duration recorded. She had been ill with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and POTS for over fifteen years,…
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The Temporary Recovery Stories (Judi)
Commenter Judi Warner described three separate temporary remissions from her ME/CFS: about a month after starting CPAP, about three months on low-dose naltrexone, and about a month on low-THC CBD oil. Each faded, and no further detail on severity is given.
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So, here I am, never better!
Tried Kenny De Meirleir's treatment over about eighteen months, low-dose naltrexone (LDN), a self-help course at Aker University Hospital, and was referred to Mette Johnsgård, before eventually taking a Lightning Process course with follow-up support; De…
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Cumin (Cuminum cyminum): Possible PEM Blocker
Wishful found that eating about 2-2.5 teaspoons of ground cumin before strenuous exertion (2+ hours of chainsaw work) blocked PEM entirely for roughly 8 days of continued heavy activity, before the effect abruptly stopped working, as it had once before after…
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Easy Does It For Nathalie: A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Improvement Story
Tried Low Dose Naltrexone (immediate but partial relief from stiffness), a six-week high-dose course of Famvir that gave no benefit, and three years on Valcyte (valganciclovir), which brought her "back to life" out of a bedridden state within weeks but left…
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GREAT Tips to improve (6 years experience)
Six years in, this poster describes a partial turnaround in energy timing and sleep - waking naturally without an alarm - after combining a supplement stack with a self-imposed "dopamine challenge" restricting stimulation after 6pm. He's explicit this is "my…
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My recovery after my one and only crash.
Combined a strict elimination diet (no gluten, dairy, processed food or fructose) with Lyrica at 225mg per day, low-dose naltrexone, ketotifen, antihistamines, B12 with methylfolate, rifaximin plus neomycin for SIBO, hyperbaric oxygen, and later tDCS.…
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Aggressive Rest Therapy: My Experience
Cheesus started Aggressive Rest Therapy about a year into a mild-to-moderate case and saw rapid improvement over roughly five months, then overdid it and drove himself into a horrendous two-year crash. By this post he was severe again and using low-dose…
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Whats FINALLY worked for me.
After eight years severe enough that she could stand only minutes and needed help toileting, and with co-diagnoses of babesiosis, candidiasis, leaky gut and POTS, this poster spent about a year on IV/oral artemisinin and curcumin, 4.5mg LDN and 450mg/day…
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How I recovered.
Combined a multi-part protocol -- twelve $325 Oxford "homeostasis" peptide shots starting September 2013, a rotary diversified (Theron Randolph) elimination diet, vitamin D, low-dose naltrexone, Remeron, the Gupta amygdala-retraining program, and removing…
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Ten Years of healing: No more congestive heart failure, FMS, CFS and minus 100 pounds
After roughly a decade disabled to the point of managing only 8 minutes of rebounding exercise a day, she followed the Deadlock Quartet methylation protocol and reported "doing so well." A year later, in a separate thread, she described "massive…
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My Valcyte pilgrimage
About two years into illness with a persistent CMV infection (titer 107 against a normal range of 0-18), severe brain fog, extreme fatigue needing 12+ hours of sleep, and tachycardia and breathing trouble so bad she "felt like I was dying," started Valcyte…
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Latested Updated Regimen
Built an elaborate daily/weekly amino-acid, vitamin, mineral and chelation regimen (sodium ascorbate and amino acids with every meal, weekly LDN, sublingual B12 forms, EDTA chelation, periodic Tindamax courses and liver flushes). An earlier version of this…
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Does anyone consider LDN to be a cure??
Took 1mg LDN for 3-4 days at a time, over the last 4 months. Reports his white blood cell count doubled and he had "more energy," but muscle pain got worse over the same period -- a mixed, uncertain result rather than a clean win, which he presents with…
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Does anyone consider LDN to be a cure??
Has taken LDN for about 2.5 years and says it "helped me with fatigue and stamina" enough that she "would not want to give it up." She is explicit it isn't a cure, estimating LDN only helps "about half of us," and the improvement is ongoing/maintenance…
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EECP Treatment is Very Helpful/My Daughter Helped Alot
As reported by her father: after 1.5 years on LDN, she started EECP sessions in late May (about 5 months of treatment by this post) along with immune-building supplements from Dr. Enlander. Her father describes a "night and day" change -- energy up, blood…
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Low Dose Naltrexone (fiikus.net)
Index entry credits Finnish author Maija Haavisto with low-dose naltrexone for ME/CFS improvement; the archived page was blocked when fetched, so no further detail on duration of illness, severity, or durability beyond the index listing is available.
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Payton Foeller's Story
She credits low-dose naltrexone (LDN, though she says it "helped somewhat, not a gamechanger"), talk therapy, brainspotting therapy, and mind-body work drawing on Dr. John Sarno's TMS framework, polyvagal theory, trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness,…
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Cedar Brown's Story
She recovered from ME/CFS, alongside POTS, mold illness, IBS and anxiety, using a combination of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), the Edison Effect Program by Anj Garneri, Trauma Healing Accelerated and somatics work, pacing, IFS parts work and mold remediation,…
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Abilify plus LDN Returns Retired Clinical Psychologist to 80% Health for Two Months
Credits abilify and low-dose naltrexone. An unnamed patient had ME/CFS and reports a partial improvement. Improvement explicitly described as lasting two months.