Immunity & Inflammation

Immunity and inflammation care in Houston, taken seriously

Autoimmune conditions, chronic inflammation, post-viral syndromes, and complex inflammatory illness make up some of the most under-served categories in conventional medicine. Patients with fibromyalgia, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, long COVID, and similar conditions often spend years cycling through specialists, accumulating diagnoses faster than they accumulate treatments that actually help.

The Tide offers a complementary approach — not a replacement for rheumatology, gastroenterology, or other specialty care when needed, but a clinical layer focused on chronic inflammation, which may include off-label medications such as low-dose naltrexone after evaluation. We coordinate with your existing specialists when relevant. We work alongside your existing care, not against it.

Who immune and inflammation care is for

You may be an appropriate candidate if:

• You have a diagnosed autoimmune condition (Hashimoto’s, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, IBD, MS, psoriasis, etc.) and want to discuss complementary options alongside your specialty care
• You have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome / ME-CFS, or chronic pain that hasn’t responded adequately to standard treatment
• You are dealing with long COVID or post-viral syndrome symptoms that have persisted for months
• You have chronic gut inflammation, IBS, or unexplained inflammatory markers
• You are interested in Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) and want a provider who will evaluate whether it is appropriate and monitor it
• You have unexplained chronic symptoms — fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, recurrent infections — where inflammation appears to play a role

You may not be the right fit if you have severe acute autoimmune disease that needs urgent specialist management, if you are looking for primary management of a complex condition that requires rheumatology or gastroenterology coordination, or if you are seeking experimental therapies without legitimate evidence base. We will tell you honestly when our service is best as a complement to specialty care versus when it could be your primary intervention.

How we approach immune and inflammation care at The Tide

Comprehensive baseline workup. Standard panels plus targeted markers: hsCRP, ESR, ANA and other autoimmune markers when relevant, full thyroid panel including antibodies (TPO, Tg), comprehensive metabolic panel, complete blood count, fasting insulin, vitamin D, B12, ferritin, and inflammatory cytokine markers when clinically appropriate. For long COVID and post-viral concerns, we add markers relevant to those specific syndromes.

Provider consultation. Forty-five minutes to discuss your full clinical picture: existing diagnoses, current treatments, symptom patterns, what has and hasn’t worked, your specialists’ opinions, and what realistic options look like. Patients with complex chronic illness often have lengthy histories and specific concerns. We listen to all of it.

Coordination with existing care. If you have a rheumatologist, gastroenterologist, neurologist, or other specialist, we coordinate. We will not interfere with appropriate specialty management. We add complementary tools and communicate with your team when relevant.

Treatment options across multiple categories:

• Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) — Compounded low-dose naltrexone, used off-label; compounded LDN is not FDA-approved. It has been studied in conditions such as fibromyalgia, with limited evidence, and may be considered after evaluation. The mechanism, evidence, and clinical use are detailed in our Resources article.
• Peptide questions — Patients often ask about immune and gut peptides. We prescribe only medications with a lawful pathway — FDA-approved drugs, or compounded medications that meet federal and Texas compounding requirements — and we explain why we don’t offer others.
• Targeted nutritional and lifestyle interventions — Correcting vitamin D deficiency, omega-3 intake, sleep, stress management, and dietary patterns.

Structured monitoring. Follow-up at 6 to 8 weeks to assess response, then every 3 months for stable patients. We track patient-reported symptoms, inflammatory markers, and condition-specific outcomes. We adjust the plan based on what we observe.

Long COVID specifically

Long COVID has become one of the largest under-served patient populations in modern medicine. Most patients have spent months or years cycling through specialists who acknowledge the condition exists but have limited tools for treating it. LDN has been proposed for post-viral syndromes, but evidence is preliminary and benefit has not been established; LDN is not FDA-approved for long COVID.

We approach long COVID as legitimate medical territory. We will not pretend any single intervention reliably resolves it. Where appropriate, LDN may be discussed off-label alongside supportive care while we work with your other providers on the broader management picture.

What to expect

Outcomes vary substantially. Any change from LDN, if it occurs, is usually gradual over several weeks, and some patients notice no benefit. We discuss realistic expectations during consultation.

We are honest about the limitations. These therapies do not cure autoimmune disease. Benefit has not been established for many of the conditions discussed here, and many patients notice no benefit. We monitor carefully and adjust based on actual response, not on hope.

What we don’t do

We do not replace appropriate specialty care for complex autoimmune disease. We do not promise cures. We do not pretend the evidence base for these therapies is more robust than it actually is — much of it rests on mechanism and small trials rather than large RCTs. We do not push high-frequency or aggressive protocols beyond what evidence supports. We do not work with research-only compounds.

Cost and what is included

Immune and inflammation care is a cash-pay service in most cases. Pricing covers consultation, comprehensive lab review, ongoing physician oversight, and follow-up monitoring. Medication costs are separate. LDN is dispensed through licensed compounding pharmacies and is generally affordable (under $50/month at most pharmacies).

Why The Tide is different

Most Houston-area clinics offering LDN are functional medicine practices where it sits alongside many other interventions, often without rigorous monitoring or specialist coordination. The Tide treats LDN and immune-modulating therapy as serious clinical work. We coordinate with your specialists. We monitor labs. We adjust the plan based on response. Our clinic at 6909 Grand Boulevard is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center, with proximity to the major Houston specialty practices that complex chronic illness patients often see.

If you have searched for “LDN Houston,” “low dose naltrexone Houston,” “autoimmune clinic Houston,” “long COVID clinic Houston,” “fibromyalgia clinic Houston,” or “Hashimoto’s clinic Houston,” and you want a clinic that takes complex chronic illness seriously, this is the right place to start.

Frequently asked questions

What is Low Dose Naltrexone?

Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist; standard 50 mg naltrexone tablets are FDA-approved for opioid use disorder and alcohol dependence. LDN is a compounded low-dose preparation and is not FDA-approved. At low doses it is thought to act through different pathways, including opioid receptor signaling and microglia; this is still being studied. Evidence for this off-label use is limited, consisting mainly of small trials, most in fibromyalgia. We discuss the mechanism, evidence, and realistic expectations in detail during consultation. Our Resources article on LDN goes deeper.

Will LDN replace my current medications?

Probably not, and we do not recommend stopping any prescribed medication without coordination with your specialist. LDN is most often used alongside existing treatment — for example, alongside levothyroxine in Hashimoto’s, alongside DMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis, alongside biologics in IBD. Any change to other medications is a decision for your prescribing specialist, not us.

How long until I know if LDN is working?

Your provider typically reassesses around 12 weeks. If there is no benefit by then, we discuss stopping. We are honest about this rather than continuing therapy indefinitely without response.

Are there side effects?

The most common side effects are vivid dreams or sleep disruption in the first 1 to 2 weeks of starting therapy — these typically resolve as the body adjusts. Some patients experience mild GI upset or headache initially. Your provider can adjust the plan if these occur. Severe side effects are rare. LDN cannot be combined with opioid pain medications since it would block their effect.

Can I do this if I have multiple sclerosis?

LDN has been studied in small MS trials, mainly on quality-of-life measures; it is not a disease-modifying therapy and is not FDA-approved for MS. We coordinate with your neurologist if you have MS. We do not replace disease-modifying therapy without your neurologist’s involvement. Any off-label use alongside your existing treatment is decided with your neurology team.

What about long COVID specifically?

Long COVID is a heterogeneous condition with multiple proposed mechanisms. LDN has a proposed theoretical basis, but clinical trial evidence is preliminary and benefit has not been established. If LDN is considered, it is off-label, time-limited, and reassessed with careful symptom tracking.

Do you treat conditions other than autoimmune disease?

Yes. We evaluate patients with fibromyalgia and chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome / ME-CFS, long COVID and post-viral syndromes, chronic gut inflammation, and persistent low-grade inflammation. Treatment options, including any off-label use, depend on your evaluation.

What is the first step?

Book a consultation. We will review your full clinical picture, discuss what you have tried, and decide together whether our approach fits your situation. We will not prescribe in the first visit. Prescription decisions follow your baseline labs and a clinical decision. The consultation itself is the start of an evaluation, not the prescription.