Hooped

Has anyone had any experience in being prescribed this for alcohol addiction? After many bouts of extended sobriety followed by seemingly inevitable 'slips' a counselor (who is a nurse specializing in Addiction Services) strongly suggested I take this drug, particularly over the coming holiday season. Only been on the drug for 3 days but am experiencing quite bad nausea. By the way, Im 6 weeks sober :-)

KG77

Did they have you start slow? I started at 50 mg per day and after 4 days had such bad migraines and other sx that they recommend i stop for a couple days, then start again at a half a pill for 5 days, then a full pill every day. It seemed to do the trick. Also, for several months i got the shot (once a month at a far lower dose, but long lasting) until my clinic stopped offering that and i'd have to drive across town to do it (went back on the pill form then) but something to look in to. Never had side affects on the shot (other than loss of appetite which for some people might be ok, me... not so much... and i get it on the pills too, so no avoiding that.) PS congratulations on six weeks that's awesome!

Hooped

I'm on my 3rd day, They gave me a 3 month prescription of 50mg tablets, one a day. If the nausea doesn't go away I will try splitting the pill to a 1/2 dose. Did it work for you (as related to alcoholism)?

SoberLeigh

I don't have experience with Naltrexone.

Just want to say that it is really good to see you.

Congrats on six weeks

Dee74

No experience here either but congrats on 6 weeks Hooped- good to see you

D

Verdantia

Hi, Hooped. I used naltrexone and it really did help; I did drink on two occasions-the first time I opened a beer and couldn't finish it, which was most unlike me. The second time I managed to get drunk on 7 beers but it was a very unpleasant buzz. For me the drug worked as advertised. I did have a low-grade headache and felt kinda blah and queasy for about a week but it wasn't bad enough for me to stopping taking it; it eventually went away. Wishing you all the best.

MindfulMan

My general psychiatrist suggested it, but my addiction program psychiatrist said my sobriety seemed fairly strong without it, but if I started experiencing cravings to consider it. It seems to work for a lot of people. Your doc should help you sort out any side effects you're having.

Welcome on the Sober Bus.

DesertDawg

Hooped,
I was prescribed Naltrexone as a "precaution" when I finished inpatient and IOP. Like you, it made me nauseous, and I just gave up on it. I have stayed sober without it, and my doctor even stated that, given the progress I had made, he was only prescribing it on an "It can't hurt anything" basis, and said if I had reservations, I didn't need to take it. Three days of nausea was enough for me to stop taking it. However, I also wasn't feeling any cravings anyway, so your mileage may vary.

Behappy1

I took it as well and he definitely helped. It made me sick too. I ended up breaking the tablets in quarters for a few days and took the whole dose throughout the day. Then 1/2’s morning and night. My pharmacist and dr ok’d this. I also had to be sure to take it with food, which helped.

Forward12

There is also campral and antabuse, though these are just tools to get you going.

ZenButterfly

Yes, I was on it. I experienced a lot of stomach upset also. Eventually got off of it and onto Campral which also seems to be effective for me and with no noticeable side effects.

bradly22

I have heard really good things.

andyh

like others have said, starting with half, or even a quarter tablet for a few days & working up to a full dose can help reduce side-effects. also, taking the tablet with food can be helpful.

Dee74

Just a reminder people - experience only please - I've heard really good things too - and bad things as well. Thats neither here not there.

and please no recommendations . Stay clear of medical advice.

Dee
Moderator
SR

Hooped

Thanks for the replies. I've been taking it for a week now. Still some nausea but not as often. No idea if it is working or not, but haven't really had any desire to drink other than a couple of wishful thinking moments. I'll continue taking it for the 3 months as advised by the nurse. The really good news on my part is the Doctor did blood work before prescribing it and my liver enzymes have dropped from 3 times normal to smack dab in the normal range....must be those daily smoothies Ive been making for 2 months...fresh fruit laced with fresh cranberries and healthy eating (lots of fruit and vegetables) ...but yippie! I was very concerned that my liver was damaged with cirrhosis. :-)

scarly

Im on Vivitrol....Naltrexone is the generic form of the same drug. Ive been on it for almost two months. No nausea........yet, anyway. Have had some unexplained aches and pains though.

steadystate

I've tried Naltrexone in the past. The idea is that you take some before drinking, and since the drug blocks the happy neurons, the alcohol doesn't give you a happy buzz but rather an unpleasant "low". If you keep it up long enough, you're supposed to get re-programmed to not like booze. In my case the stuff pushed me into worse depression, since those "happy" neurons are knocked out of commission to register normal non-alcohol happy stuff. But then I am very prone to depression, and I've heard it works great for lots of folks.

I hope I didn't violate forum rules with this; certainly didn't mean to. Just offering up my own experience, also how the stuff is supposed to work.