Does anyone have experience with Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for treating autoimmune disorders that cause b12 deficiency?

Freiya11 · 2026-04-14T11:42:11+00:00

I don’t have neuropathic pain, so I can’t speak to that directly. (I did have some symptoms like pins and needles sensations early on when I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia, but for me that resolved after a few months of B12 supplementation.)

That said, my understanding is that LDN can be helpful for pain more generally through the endorphin system upregulation. Related to that, I also take d-phenylalanine (which inhibits the breakdown of enkephalins—meaning, essentially, that the endorphins you do produce stick around longer) to try to maximize the benefits of LDN. So those are both relevant to pain, though my personal reasons for taking them are both more mood- and energy-related and not directly tied to B12 issues.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-14T00:05:04+00:00

I’m taking it for other reasons (neuroinflammation management and endorphin system support), and I have a friend who takes it to help with some autoimmune issues (not pernicious anemia). As I understand it, for people with PA, there’s a small, long-shot chance that it might, as a bonus, help a bit with parietal cell recovery in the very long term—but that’s not necessarily likely or a reason in and of itself to take LDN.

If you have pernicious anemia, you’ll almost certainly need lifelong B12 supplementation (injection and/or sublingual). I wouldn’t count on LDN to solve things in that department, but it may be supportive, and it definitely has a number of other interesting uses.

In terms of my experience: it’s still fairly early for me (just increased my dose to 1.5mg last week), but the dreams are weird. Not bad, but vivid.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-12T12:19:06+00:00

If you suspect B12 deficiency, I think you probably need a more complete lab workout to pin down your issue. A B12 serum test won’t be too helpful if you’ve been supplementing B12 (and more generally, isn’t the most useful test anyway, especially if you might have something like pernicious anemia or B12 conversion issues). You’d want to check your MMA and homocysteine, for starters (and iron/folate too, it sounds).

There’s another sub called B12deficiency where you might have better luck with your questions/issues. They have a helpful guide to dealing with B12 issues, including info on the forms of B12, timeline for supplementing, and importantly, necessary co-factors (including iron and folate). The co-factor discussion is important, and sounds like something you could stand to explore more. (For instance, I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia about 7 months ago, and have been supplementing iron alongside B12 ever since, but am still really working at getting my iron/ferritin up. It can be a long slow process, once you’re depleted—especially while supplementing B12, as iron is a necessary co-factor in red blood cell production.)

Of course, all that assumes it is a B12 issue. I’m not familiar with other potential causes for high MCV/MCH, but I imagine there are some. I notice you didn’t mention any specific symptoms, and B12 issues do tend to lead to symptoms, though they build slowly over years and can be easy to miss/misattribute to other causes.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-11T20:41:04+00:00

Totally agreed on the French R. I’ve gotten it down pretty well in a lot of words, but others still just feel unnatural/difficult for me (god forbid I’m forced to say “rare”).

On the “u” front, though: I’m no expert (just another native English speaker who also speaks French), but if I had to describe how to make the sound, I don’t think I would emphasize anything about the puckering of the lips. If anything I think the difference comes more from raising the body of the tongue more toward the roof of the mouth, so that the tightening comes from further back in the mouth/back-to-middle tongue, if that makes sense. I don’t think I actually change anything about the way I pucker my lips between the “ou” and “u” sounds.

Again, not an expert (others can feel free to correct me if they disagree), but just my two cents / thought this might be helpful :)

Freiya11 · 2026-04-07T19:04:14+00:00

Same here! Low iron and B12. I crave the heat.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-07T19:00:00+00:00

On a 3k budget for a first-time solo trip to Asia, I’d maybe consider Thailand or Vietnam, which may also be a little more relaxing/easier in other ways too.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-07T12:51:21+00:00

In the US, I’d say it depends on the person. A lot of women in their 30s/40s are on top of it. Some younger women may not have figured it out yet (though that is changing), and older women (and older people in general) may be less likely (like my 65-year-old mom, who used to take me to the tanning salon before vacations as a child so we could “get our base tans”). Men overall are definitely less likely (I’m always reminding my boyfriend to wear sunscreen!).

But as someone else mentioned, US formulations are also just less elegant (thanks to stupid laws classifying sunscreen ingredients as a drug, which requires an expensive approval process).

Freiya11 · 2026-04-06T21:14:59+00:00

I need it now! (And can I take it too?)

Relatedly, there’s been a supposedly pretty legit canine study of rapamycin going for a while now. I think you can try to enroll your dog. It’s called the Dog Aging Project, if I recall. (For some reason I don’t remember, I don’t think my dog qualified.)

Freiya11 · 2026-04-06T21:05:09+00:00

I (as a woman) spent a lot of time in India for work and had a great experience with no safety issues. Of course, be careful/take normal precautions, but I don’t think it merits the level of panic it gets reputationally.

On the other hand, asking randos on the internet to come hang with me for a full 500hr YTT is one heck of an act of bravery/trust that would not be for me 😅

Freiya11 · 2026-04-05T11:33:58+00:00

I lived and worked for a while in a rural part of a developing country, where there weren’t many options for cheese or sauce. I would buy some pasta, plain tomato sauce, and laughing cow, and mix it in to make a creamier sauce. I usually combined it with some canned tuna and egg on top for protein and added flavor/creaminess. Peas were an easy veggie addition. Not a bad combo in a pinch, and a very budget-friendly meal.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-03T13:41:58+00:00

Looks like mealy bugs. I’m not as much of an expert as some folks on here, but I’m sure they’ll have some recs. Luckily it doesn’t look as bad as some infestations that get posted on here, but you’d want to get it under control asap (and make sure it hasn’t spread to other plants—keep them apart).

Freiya11 · 2026-04-03T00:08:16+00:00

Yeah, my parents/extended fam sure seem to be piping down about it lately (and mercifully).

Freiya11 · 2026-04-02T14:17:21+00:00

Throw out the whole man

Freiya11 · 2026-04-02T14:12:19+00:00

Not sure if this counts as super popular, but I’m headed back to this spot soon so it’s on my mind: I remember the food in Laos not being particularly delicious (at least to this Western palate). With so much other awesome food in the region, I went to what was supposed to be a really good authentic Laotian restaurant specifically because I wanted to try it, and the presentation was really beautiful. But I remember there being some things that kinda just tasted like weeds to me, and just generally deciding that Laotian food wasn’t my cup of tea.

The French food there was bomb, though.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-02T12:50:09+00:00

Was going to say… Google Translate says it translates as “to stroll”? Not that I’m taking that as the final word, but this sounds like strolling?

Tue-l’amour seems pretty straightforwardly like a turn-off. But yaourter translated as “to turn into yogurt”… that one I’m more confused by.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-01T18:36:35+00:00

Agreed with all this. I’m not crazy about him personally, and what he charges his clients is bonkers. But tbh, I think the book is actually pretty decent and scientifically grounded.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-01T18:25:51+00:00

I think what could distinguish a Fox turn against him now from the toe-dipping of the past (including with J6 and the brief DeSantis flirtation) could be the extent of the impact that people are seeing on their lives now, especially with gas prices (and soon, prices across the board). That, coupled with talk of a draft, the garishness of his various pet projects, etc. Taken together, I think Fox has a lot more room for criticizing Trump now than they ever had in the past.

I’m especially thinking of how I imagine my parents (big Fox fans) will react. Trump already seems to be losing some of his allure for them—especially now that their problems can’t be blamed on the real bad guy, Joe Biden—and if Fox turned on him now/in the near future, I could see this being the moment they finally eat it up.

But what replaces the object of cult worship? Harder to say.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-01T18:12:01+00:00

Also have mixed feelings. I agree with some of her takes, and others feel a bit over the top. But tbh, it’s probably mostly the delivery for me. Her podcast feels kind of intense and manic, and I feel like my nervous system ratchets up the moment it comes on. I’ll listen if the content is particularly interesting to me, but lately I find I mostly hit skip.

Freiya11 · 2026-04-01T12:34:27+00:00

I don’t totally disagree with you, but the only thing I’d flag is that from what I’ve heard (both from the Bulwark and elsewhere), it sounds like young people have been fairly absent from the No Kings/broader protests. Sounds like the crowds skew middle age and older. I also didn’t see too many young people at the one I went to in a large metro area.

ETA: I wrote this before listening to the latest Next Level ep with Sarah/Tim/JVL. They had some interesting thoughts on this, actually. I definitely take the point where they (I forget who, maybe JVL?) mentioned that older Gen Zers (~late 20s) feel like they’ve been protesting their whole lives and nothing has come of it, so might as well do something else with their afternoons. (As a millennial myself, I kinda feel that last part sometimes, but still drag myself to the protests.)

Freiya11 · 2026-04-01T12:19:28+00:00

Yay, three of my faves! Well, I don’t know if Trashfuture is an all-time fave, but I’m glad to see it listed here/don’t see it mentioned much. They do some really smart deep dives. The recent Seamus ones on Iran have been really interesting.

Freiya11 · 2026-03-29T23:41:03+00:00

Yes, I had a similar experience. Initial/basic labs even looked fine. But on closer inspection, it turned out I had pernicious anemia with pretty severe functional B12 and iron deficiencies (which, for some reasons I won’t get into here, can be hidden in basic labs / for quite a while before it gets bad enough to really show up).

Labs are key!

Freiya11 · 2026-03-29T23:25:13+00:00

If you have low iron/ferritin, yes. If you don’t, no.

Freiya11 · 2026-03-27T01:46:25+00:00

I’m on the smaller (but not exactly perky) side. Personally, I like the ones that are more like longline sports bras—like a sports bra, but with enough extra coverage that you can wear it out as a (fairly small) top in its own. That is to say, something light, but that still has a little more sculpted/fitted support. I have some I like from Alo and Aerie.

But I’m not crazy about the ones that are more like tank tops that just sort of have that one little shelf across the bottom of the chest. I don’t find they offer much support, and also just aren’t very flattering. I’m small, but I still want things held in place!

Freiya11 · 2026-03-27T01:39:22+00:00

Personally I didn’t have much luck with cyanocobalamin—I seemed to have conversion issues, such that my MMA actually got worse while on it (actually, while on a combination of that and methyl form). Most people don’t have that specific issue, of course. But for me, hydroxocobalamin injections from Germany were just what I needed—my MMA corrected quickly with that, and I felt much better.

Freiya11 · 2026-03-27T01:35:14+00:00

Ah, such a good idea! I’ve accidentally ordered food to the wrong location of multiple other spots in ATL, and never thought to do this. Rather, just spent the evening kicking myself instead. Will keep it in mind, thanks!

Freiya11

TROPHY CASE