CKJ1975

First time posting....I have tried naltrexone a couple times and while it works for the cravings, reduces the pleasure of drinking, it makes me feel hopeless and depressed for days after taking it. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I had a lot of hope in taking it after watching “One little pill”

Harley1973

They gave me that while I was in detox. I really didn’t see it doing anything as far as cravings. I have not taken it since I’ve been home.

CKJ1975

I should have worded it better: it took the pleasure away from drinking but I still consumed three drinks through the evening. I was in a social setting that almost required alcohol to tolerate the people. I never get buzzed but felt pensive, anxious, and annoyed. Then the following day I just felt worthless and pathetic. I didn’t have a hangover or anything like that. Everyone says how natrexone is amazing with no side effects, but I’ve had only a negative experience for the most part

biminiblue

I've never taken anything to help with alcoholism, but it sounds like it isn't working for you.

For the record, you already have everything you need inside you to quit without a drug.

If I didn't like it, I wouldn't take it.

Harley1973

I have never drank on it, the only time I took it was in my 7 day inpatient detox. So my only experience is that it didn’t help with cravings in my opinion.

biminiblue

My understanding is that Naltrexone just blocks the dopamine receptors so drinking doesn't hit those pleasure centers.

It's not supposed to fight cravings, it's supposed to slow intake. Another reason I don't see the point. It's moderation - not sobriety.

andyh

it gets prescribed for both. I was never terribly convinced by the anti-craving effectiveness, but it does get prescribed for that, in conjunction with abstinence.

andyh

unfortunately the dopamine-blocking effect of Naltrexone can also block dopamine from healthy pleasure-giving activities for some time after taking it, as well as from drinking. you'll need to decide whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for you.

biminiblue

I guess if we define "cravings" as what happens once I start drinking - then I agree - it would be effective, and would likely work for that. But that allows for moderate drinking, by definition.

But if abstinence is prescribed along with it, then the "craving" would be defined as, "Before the first drink."

I thought the OP and Harley were talking about that mental obsession to drink (the first drink.) Which, Naltrexone doesn't seem to be effective for, and is not its selected use - correct? That is more a mental obsession/compulsion - the first drink. Then the craving kicks in after that first drink. This is how we generally talk about it on this site, yeah? I don't think that's what OP & Harley were saying. Was it?

CKJ1975

Of course I would choose the “easiest”
Solution to this condition but in doing so, it was after a lot of research. It started by watching a ted talk with Claudia Christian which was fabulous. Then I downloaded “one little pill” and it seems that naltrexone really makes recovery possible for a lot of people. It’s following the Sinclair method which has the highest success rate. Sadly, I don’t think it will work for me. My brain is too unstable for any meds. After how I felt the couple days after taking it, I can’t imagine even trying again. I have no one else to ask about this as I’m rather endeavoring on sobriety by myself. I’m lucky that I even got a script for it as many doctors are unaware of hesitant to prescribe it.

CKJ1975

I would say the craving for me begins when I wake up and plan my drinking after my work day. I never took naltrexone until an hour before my first drink, but I habitually stopped for “groceries” every evening all the while anxiously awaiting cracking open a bottle of wine. It’s so hard to explain TSM, but they use the term “pharmacological extinction”.
It’s a very appropriate term

biminiblue

Yeah, that's what I thought you were talking about.

The Sinclair Method is off topic in this forum, as this is a sobriety forum.

I think you will find what works for you, but for most of us that is total complete continuous sobriety.

CKJ1975

Thank you, I will explore further and dig in the previous posts to see what I find.

biminiblue

I would call that the mental obsession.

The craving starts after that first drink.

Cut it off at the mental obsession point and avoid the rest.

Change your thoughts, change your life.

nez

Lots of good input there. Be sure to listen and file it away under useful.

andyh

Naltrexone does get prescribed for "before the first drink" cravings. I'm not sure whether there's any basis for this being effective - some people report that it is, but whether this is just placebo effect I don't know.

I'm not going to get into the whole taking-it-with-drinking & pharmacological extinction/Sinclair Method thing as it'll just get deleted

JenFromNyC

i only had naltrexone in a rehab setting,

CKJ1975

You’re absolutely right and while I think I could do that, I just fall back into the same hole again and again. I feel so good when I go a week or so without, but I justify it as a reward and then it’s worse than the time before. And what’s worse is I hide all this so my family doesn’t even know i am like this, or at least I don’t think they do. It has to stop at some point and I am only kidding myself

ScottFromWI

There are a lot of posts here about naltrexone and other drugs like it. Many are supposed to help with desire/cravings to drink alchohol. And there are certainly videos and other advertisements that promise positive results.

The reality though is that they are all designed to be used in conjunction with a recovery method/plan of some kind. AKA, there is no "magic pill" that will make you simply not have a drinking problem anymore. Many of them can have unwanted side effects too, just like any drug can.

CKJ1975

I had so much hope that it would work. I’m reading a lot of valuable info on this forum and it took a lot of bravery for these people to put it all out there. I am grateful for that. I hope I will have progress to report some day sooner than later