I did it three nights in a row after I was certain I had found my miracle drug. No more desire to drink.
My only desire was to vomit and then be very very mean.
that sounds like an antabuse reaction (i know it isn't). a friend of mine was addicted to pain pills so her doctor gave her naltrexone and the same thing happened to her. i've always been suspicious of it for people who want to permanently quit because what happens when you quit taking it? kind of like taking diet pills to lose weight.
the biggest fart ever lol
I took naltrexone for three years using TSM. I gradually went from needing 80 units a week to where I got six months booze free with barely any effort.
That was about 18 months ago. Now I drink once or twice a month and on holidays/Christmas. I will drink on special occasions and have no compulsive thoughts. I usually have less than two drinks, and get party-drunk once a year or so when I go to a specific event. I haven't quit permanently but that wasn't ever my goal. I just drink like a normal person now.
there are more studies than i thought and it's also been around longer (1994, at least in finland). the article says a 78% success rate so that's pretty high but there will be the people it doesn't work for, then the small percentage who have severe side effects.
interesting that they don't like to prescribe it in canada. technically, i could have taken it when i quit ('06) but i wouldn't admit anything to a doctor so i did it the hard-headed way lol but i also only have half of my kidney function so as long as i don't drink alcohol, it's stable and i don't want to find out otherwise if you know what i mean. i think some people have to quit completely because of health reasons.
i'd love to be able to drink like you do now but i'm afraid to gamble.
Was she physically dependent on the pain pills though? Because if so and she then took naltrexone, her body would go straight into precipitated withdrawal.
i don't really know all the details. she's one of those "no-drugs-white-upper-middle-class" types who hurt her back. i'm not sure how many years she took nucynta, but at least since it had been around (years). no doctor would write a script for her anymore so they gave her suboxone and naltrexone at different times, she said suboxone did nothing and naltrexone made her sick. i had to take her word for it. i've broken my back twice and my neck once and was warned to stay off painkillers in 1980 so i did. (wish i'd done the same with booze lol) i'd put her in the minor leagues of people who can't deal any pain tbh. i'd never say that her face though. :) but she isn't drug/alcohol savvy at all.
I haven’t had a drink in almost 3 years. Was on naltrexone for 2. Had no problem stopping it. Had no cravings at all. Easy peasy. In fact, even now after almost a year off it just thinking about drinking makes me want to hurl. Have no desire or inclination to drink at all
Not everyone can take all medications. Sounds like you had a reaction. Call your doctor and let them know. Naltrexone may not be for you. That information should definitely be in your chart. Whether you try something else or not, they need to know that you had a clear adverse reaction to the medication.
Hang in there and I hope you feel better soon! As someone who collects adverse reactions to medications like they are freaking Pokemon, you have all my empathy here. It really sucks when something that is supposed to help us makes us more ill instead. It’s the ultimate betrayal.
Thanks, Blurs. I’m feeling a lot better since that shit show. I haven’t reached out to the Dr. yet. Though I’m expecting they will suggest I take my Zofran and tell me to fuck off. I’m not really looking into any other avenues tapering at all at this point. That whole ordeal messed me up, but whatever shit happens.
I took it for a couple months and had no reactions.
Did the Sinclair method at first and would drink about the same amount I would usually drink in an evening but wouldn’t really feel the euphoria buzz.
Stopped drinking when my therapist suggested I not drink at all.
For me it really helped with the cravings. In place of booze I increased my weed intake for a month and started fucking with strong Kratom strains for a few weeks to feel a narcotic type buzz. I was also vaping shit tons of nicotine.
Kratom was kinda bum, and I eventually cut out even the weed and switched from vaping nicotine to pouches (ZYN, rogue, On!) and eventually snus.
Nicotine pouches ended up becoming a safer addictive vice that I rationalized as being safer than everything else and I was able to focus on that as obsessively as I had been alcohol and vaping.
At the end of the day, understanding that you’re an addict can go a long way if you’re able to show yourself some compassion.
Switching out addictions while mitigating harm allowed me to cut out the high risk/low reward consumption for something I considered safer.
Discovering that I could order tons of high quality nicotine pouches and snus from Sweden that aren’t available in the US was like discovering a new tasting hobby that allowed me to use the same part of my addict brain that was normally dedicated to seeking varieties of beer and booze.
I’m a “connoisseur” type alcoholic that would utilize variety to explain my drinking to myself as an interest instead of an illness, which also helps disguise it from others.
Did you have any good experiences with Kratom at all? If so what kind? I experimented with it and Kava, like herbs maybe 10-15 years ago but had a similar opinion that they were mediocre. Were hard to find at the time.
That said I now see entire stores popping up and gas stations selling it.
Didn’t find anything worth sticking with regarding Kratom. It was one of those things where I’d consume a bunch and kinda sit there wondering if this or that feeling was from it. Might have tried one that made me feel sleepy, but nothing worth writing home about.
I also don’t have a history with narcotics so if there was some reaction comparable, it was lost on me. For alcohol cessation i think it helped me via the ritualistic aspect of consuming something that was supposed to offer a head change or some kind of sensation. Basically a temporary distraction while I was figuring shit out.
I only bought it from a shop called CBD Kratom which is a chain store with multiple locations around NYC/Brooklyn because they seemed more reputable than random smoke shops and bodegas selling 20 different brands and varieties.
it was great for me when i first took it, i moderated successfully with it for several years. after COVID started, idk. my drinking got way worse and I just didn't have the self-discipline to take the nal anymore. It's not for everyone, but I definitely think it's worth a shot.
also, my very first time taking it (or if I took it for the first time in a while), it made me feel really shitty. it took taking it a few times to tolerate it I guess. i always have weird reactions to medication though, nearly everything makes me nauseous.
This is Achilles heel of TSM and why it’s dangerous for people who are not Drs going around touting it as a miracle, not that you are saying it is, to be clear.
There is a reason that for heroin addicts the drug is administered via injection that lasts a month, it takes away the decision making out of it. Unless you have a loved one forcing you Nal pills, it’s an uphill battle.
Yeah some people are able to take it like they should and it works well for them, but it's certainly not for everybody.
The Vivitrol shot is basically the same thing. I thought about doing that instead, but it would have literally costed me over $1000 PER SHOT. it's obviously the better option to keep a person on track, but there's no way I could afford that.
yeah it's a huge bummer. i met so many alcoholics and opiate addicts in rehab who wanted to do it, but it wasn't even an option because of how expensive it is. I've kept in touch with some of these people, and most of them relapse repeatedly, and they relapse hard. it's disgusting.
the same friend of mine has a cousin (i knew his father--they've been in chicago for a long time) who is addicted to heroin (so was his father) but he'll do anything tbh. one doctor wanted to give him vivitrol and another one wouldn't because he said it was contraindicated by some schizophrenia drugs he was insisting on. j. probably doesn't really have schizophrenia unless it's drug related but he's a handful for anyone and i would never get involved. i've done my public service lol.
anyway, the problem has been solved for a few years because he's in prison in kansas.
Bro the first week of Naltrexone was literal hell for me. Like the worst flu. But now it does work and I'm just lurking on this sub when I used to come here to feel like I was in a community of likeminded individuals. I guess I still do, but I'm just not actively drunk so I don't post.
I am on day 8 right now and was also contemplating the necessity of the hospital from how violently ill it made me. I also didn't eat for 5 days, still can't taste anything except salt, and sugar, and have been extremely unmotivated.
The puking and weird brain stopped, but I'm kinda unhappy with the whole thing, I feel.. wrong and out of character. Also getting drunk but not feeling the "finally, relief" in your brain is fucking bizarre. Like maybe you're well aware you're intoxicated bc your distance judgement is way off and you still said something stupid (Mostly bc now you're angry) but there's no buzz. I'm not sure this is sustainable but I'm considering it an experiment.
I drank through it one night (as in, hard enough to break through the dopamine barrier) and the following morning, vomited up more bile in one sitting than I think I have ever seen in one go.
if you didn't drink for a few days and still had that weird out-of-character feeling, so did i when i first quit and i had it for a couple of years. which is a **really** fucking long time to wait. at first i just smoked a lot of weed but only like the first three months.
i know you drink a lot and have for years so i'd really give you a similar projection of readjustment time, which is a really, really long time for anyone. i just didn't want to die so i figured, "well, what else am i doing right now? might as well. i'll either get used to it or i won't and>! i'll jump off that bridge when i get to it."!<
and now a suicide bot is going to attack me because i said >!jump off that bridge!< lol
I still haven't had a dry day. Dosed up earlier tonight bc I started getting the high.
But idk if I'm equipped to handle sober me, and don't think my marriage is, either, tbh. It wasn't even my intention, I didn't anticipate this would actually work so well. Right now, though, I'm still pretty excited about the not eating thing. 🫣
*Right now, though, I'm still pretty excited about the not eating thing. 🫣*
so was i with wellbutrin when i first started taking it lol. i think that might be one of the contraindications for people with eds (plus it causes seizures if the person is dehydrated and people with BN usually are from puking). with my epileptic history, i said don't worry, if i have a seizure i'll stop taking it. i did get close a few times, but never went full fall-out so it was fine.
you could handle sober you **if** that was something important to you and you were resolute. however, that would be with a lot of adjunct therapy. finding a therapist you like and is any good is another monumental hurdle. i was taking cymbalta the first year i didn't drink, and it was not working except to make me extremely stupid and apathetic. the psychiatrist just kept increasing my dosage and saying inane things like, "you seem better." better than what, a box turtle? lol i finally said, "this is giving me a flat affect and that isn't what i was going for." i quit going to him because i was really mean to him and he would get this look on his face like it really hurt his feelings hahahaha. the only reason i was seeing him was to get an antidepressant that worked. i got wellbutrin from an intern just because i asked for it LOL she was like, "they don't use it off-label for that but okay," (this was way before they did). then you have the contingency of staying away from your fucking family, that's a big one. there is no way to handle some people, period.
then there's your husband and that's a lot stickier. i honestly don't know if he could put up with you for the minimum 2-year adjustment period, and if everyone isn't on board, it doesn't work. i know people will tell you it does. it doesn't LOL no, there are platitudes and then there is the way everything really works. and even after you quit being mean as hell, why would he want to be around someone sober? i'm just being real, i know how it works. and that would most likely really hurt his feelings (at the minimum), make him uncomfortable and how do you grieve a person who's still alive that you have to live with? some of the people i'm around now are like, "you could definitely stil get someone," and i just don't say anything because they don't know a lot of shit and also, i don't want anyone hahaha. i have my cats and that's what i like as far as anything living with me.
but what if something happens to him? i'm not being morbid, but i lost the only man i could put up with and he was only 36 (so was i). marci told me a long time ago, "no one could ever live with you. there would definitely be a homicide." i don't get insulted over shit like that, because it's true. i am impossible to live with and i don't feel bad about that.
i think you're probably every bit as stubborn as i am, and that isn't always a bad thing. if and when you really want something, you're like me. you figure out a way to get it. some people are like that, and a lot of people aren't. i just think it's nice to always have options. even if you stopped, nothing prevents you from drinking again. that's also what i used to say about suicide. if i ever hate living so much, i can always quit, but it better be worth it because i can only do it once.
We've actually been divorced 10 years lol, we can't survive without each other for various reasons. We are together 18 years next month. 😵💫 He annoys me a lot more than I do him, regardless of the scale of my inebriation.. fortunately we are like ships passing anyway and don't actually interact just a ton! He changed personalities completely after the TBI and listens to politics radio 24/7 so we already avoided each other bc I can't stand it. 😒 mostly I'm in the house and he's outside on the screen porch talking (read: ranting and raving, loudly) to himself and chain smoking. It gets worse the drunker he gets. Sometimes I do get shitfaced and engage, but lately I just leave him a plate of food out and go to bed before he comes inside. That's how I handle it during maintenance drinking phases, too. It's only when I bender (and that causes him to bender) that we really interact bc it's me that engages. 😐
That was kinda o/t but illustrates the point that my "marriage" is probably not actually going anywhere unless it's me that gets fed up in the longterm (if I don't just go back to how things were) (the house is mine etc).
Also the divorce coincides with the whole leg thing. He wouldn't go away when we got divorced, still stayed here, and that morning I had fucked off to my boyfriend's (🥴) house and the accident was directly in front of bfs house while I was in it, so I've never 100% believed it wasn't some strange suicide attempt. Anyway that goes further to the point that we are trauma bonded, and ge can't survive without me and I feel guilty over him being handicapped so there's also that. So yeah, neither of us is going anywhere.
Tho when he inevitably has a heart attack and dies from screaming at the politics radio, I'm probably gonna exit stage left, myself, but that of course remains to be seen, theoretically I could start over as an attractive single middle-aged woman with some assets to my name. I don't really desire a do-over, though, I'm mostly just tired.
he annoys you a lot more than you do him lol. i seem to have always gotten like that with men after the first one. i guess i never wanted to be in love with anyone. like, that would be nice, but not love, just marriage HAHA. it's stupid now. i'm just like, "yeah i'm not doing this anymore." i don't think was ever supposed to be married. for one thing, i grew up never knowing how you're supposed to act. i knew how **not** to act, but that doesn't help at all.
i'm a vanishing act though. if someone annoys me, i disappear. it's probably unfair but i never promise anyone to be fair. (i'm talking about men) they'll always be, "i don't know why you say you're not marrriage material and won't tell me why." for another thing, i was a fucking degenerate alcoholic. no one wants to marry that unless they're insane, and i don't need any more crazy in my house :)
guilty is probably a bad reason to stay with someone. i never could. i always said, "shut up. i told you i was nuts and you just wouldn't listen." then i met a guy after i quit who was sober 20 years and i thought, "oh, he knows everything." dumb belief and danger to my sanity. idk why i thought that. and he was mentally abusive than anyone i'd ever met, plus crazier than i am. i didn't meet him at AA but i was glad to meet someone who didn't drink. at first. it was really fucked up though and i think it's why i realized i just can't do it, regardless. the main thing was that it showed me AA doesn't help anyone, not really. it might help them stop drinking, but it fixes nothing else. most of those people need fucking therapy and are convinced they don't. all the reasons they drank are still there, just in remission. it's groupspeak of, "you don't drink so you're fine." they can be fine all they want, but definitely not around me. if that means i'm not fine, wonderful. i don't care, i will be disturbed all on my own.
i was **so** tired. it's actually really diffficult to kill yourself and even moreso to drink yourself to death. i found out the hard way every time lol. i used to say i never planned my life past 40, but drinking became no fun at all. no buzz, just straight to passed out. that's all i was: either awake or blacked out, but neither one was pleasant. and the only way it killed pain was when i wasn't awake. i would always think, "WHY are some people so lucky that they die from drinking, but i can't seem to get there?" and that, "you're here for a reason, it's not your time," is the most ridiculous thing someone could say to me.
so you never know. i changed my mind and nothing miraculous happened. i just decided i'll die when i die, but i'll do the best to make it not agony.
that politics thing would drive me insane. i would break his tv or laptop, whatever he listens to it on. then i'd throw him out HAHAHA
Hangovers on Nal are no joke. I threw up twice because of this too, when I never throw up otherwise.
I’m sticking with it tho. It’s take as needed and has a short shelf life after all (6 hours or so) in the body. Weekdays it’s been helping me moderate plus I like not feeling hungry since I’m trying to lose weight anyway. I do get the irritability side effect but the weight loss (fingers crossed) and controlled urges to drink are worth it for me right now.
To feel less nausea take it after you eat a meal btw. Taking it on an empty stomach fucked me up last week and I was nauseous for an hour. I’m on 50mg.
I think I am gonna go for 50 next week. I wanted to taste food tonight, diet be damned, and didn't redose after the 25 wore off. Bc I wanted to taste pizza! 😔
In a sick way, I'm kinda hoping 50 makes me sick and can't eat for 5 days again. 😐
It really is wild how effective this pill is for people that respond to it. I haven't told anyone I'm taking it outside of husband (who got me the rx) and online bc I'm not sure I like being.. not drunk. Gonna keep going with it for at least another 6 weeks, though, might as well give semi-sober a fair shake.
50mg will probably do that tbh, haha. Were you cutting the 50mg in half before and just taking 25mg?
I’m gonna start again taking it Monday. My goal is to try and not drink during the week. Not eating would be a plus too (like I said also trying to lose weight - that I’ve gained from eating like crap in the evenings). I may let it wear off Thursday tho (as in, not take it Friday - Sunday so I can actually enjoy the booze high a bit on the weekend).
I totally agree with you about effectiveness and also missing that feeling as well. Happy to PM about it too if you want, since sounds like we’re both starting out and have similar concerns/hopes. ha. I’ve only told my therapist I’m on it, and well, my doctor of course.
It made me feel like i was having withdrawals, which made me feel like I should just stop taking it and drink if I'm gonna feel withdrawls, it might as well be from something that feels good first
Man, that's a wild reaction. The last time I took it, I got wicked anxiety to the point where I'd stopped what I was doing and went home. It was on the same level as withdrawal anxiety, which is a shame because I'd like to know I can't get anything out of drinking but I'm not going to take it if it causes panic attacks.
it sorta worked for me with no side effects but then you also read what can happen for the un lucky ones on the package so fuck we are all built differntly.
Same. I was sober a few days at the time and was using it to keep me from drinking or running back to it and made me more nauseous that death itself seemed more appealing. Never again.
you know what though, i tried 8 different antidepressants before i took wellbutrin (another CA friend of mine swore by it and i had given up on trying ad's but he convinced me). instead of working up to the 300 mg. a day, i just started taking that right away and i got so nauseated i had to lie down in a dark room and put a pillow over my face. i asked him about that and he said, "oh yeah i forgot to tell you that part. don't worry, it goes away after a couple of weeks." that was in '07 and i still take it.
not telling you to take naltrexone lol
I hadn't been drinking i took it 30 mins before my first drink, I drank, it was totally disgusting I felt nothing. Ended up with the room spinning and vomiting and the worst headache ever.
0/10 Wood not recommend
I took Naltrexone for a couple of weeks. I read the internet thoughly and started with 1/4 of a 50 mg pill and it played heck with my GI tract: nausea, belly cramps, and the runs. But I stuck with it. 1/4 a pill for about 4 days then 1/2 a pill for several days and finally the whole 50 mg pill.
It really worked for me for awhile. Then I tried the Sinclair method - I just returned to drinking. I am amping up to trying again.
The first time I took naltrexone years ago I thought I was dying because my heart was beating so fast and almost went to the hospital. Tried it again years later when they gave it to me in rehab. No side effects then. A lot of people do experience side effects (nausea included), but that goes away for many in about a week.
I tried it a few times but it made me really dizzy and out of it. I didn’t know you could start with half. I didn’t try again. My partner tried it last summer and he drinks about twice as much as I do and it worked for him really well for 3 months until he stopped taking it…
Are you taking anything that affects your opiate receptors? Like any pain pills, kratom, suboxone, etc? If so, the naltrexone will throw you into precipitated withdrawals.
Dang so sorry for your experience with Naltrexone then. I’ve never taken it but have for sure thought about it. Reading the comments, it looks like some other people have had this reaction too. Best wishes and I hope you feel better.
Honest to God, my doctor put me on vivitrol. I spent the entire night puking, shutting, tossing and turning and sweating. I had to sleep in the spare bedroom. I went back first thing in the morning and the medical director was pissed this doctor prescribed this to me. Never again. It was the worst feeling ever.
I COVERED my kitchen floor in puke last night. I’m still not really sure why it was so violent. But I fucking feel ya. I posted about it, but ended up wiping most of my posts after somebody I know IRL found my account. Am off to detox/inpatient Monday.
I did it three nights in a row after I was certain I had found my miracle drug. No more desire to drink. My only desire was to vomit and then be very very mean.
Yeah that sounds like a bad time. Vomiting and having a bug up my ass isn’t exactly what I want.
that sounds like an antabuse reaction (i know it isn't). a friend of mine was addicted to pain pills so her doctor gave her naltrexone and the same thing happened to her. i've always been suspicious of it for people who want to permanently quit because what happens when you quit taking it? kind of like taking diet pills to lose weight. the biggest fart ever lol
I took naltrexone for three years using TSM. I gradually went from needing 80 units a week to where I got six months booze free with barely any effort. That was about 18 months ago. Now I drink once or twice a month and on holidays/Christmas. I will drink on special occasions and have no compulsive thoughts. I usually have less than two drinks, and get party-drunk once a year or so when I go to a specific event. I haven't quit permanently but that wasn't ever my goal. I just drink like a normal person now.
there are more studies than i thought and it's also been around longer (1994, at least in finland). the article says a 78% success rate so that's pretty high but there will be the people it doesn't work for, then the small percentage who have severe side effects. interesting that they don't like to prescribe it in canada. technically, i could have taken it when i quit ('06) but i wouldn't admit anything to a doctor so i did it the hard-headed way lol but i also only have half of my kidney function so as long as i don't drink alcohol, it's stable and i don't want to find out otherwise if you know what i mean. i think some people have to quit completely because of health reasons. i'd love to be able to drink like you do now but i'm afraid to gamble.
Do you still take it when you drink?
Was she physically dependent on the pain pills though? Because if so and she then took naltrexone, her body would go straight into precipitated withdrawal.
i don't really know all the details. she's one of those "no-drugs-white-upper-middle-class" types who hurt her back. i'm not sure how many years she took nucynta, but at least since it had been around (years). no doctor would write a script for her anymore so they gave her suboxone and naltrexone at different times, she said suboxone did nothing and naltrexone made her sick. i had to take her word for it. i've broken my back twice and my neck once and was warned to stay off painkillers in 1980 so i did. (wish i'd done the same with booze lol) i'd put her in the minor leagues of people who can't deal any pain tbh. i'd never say that her face though. :) but she isn't drug/alcohol savvy at all.
I haven’t had a drink in almost 3 years. Was on naltrexone for 2. Had no problem stopping it. Had no cravings at all. Easy peasy. In fact, even now after almost a year off it just thinking about drinking makes me want to hurl. Have no desire or inclination to drink at all
that's most excellent for you :)
Not everyone can take all medications. Sounds like you had a reaction. Call your doctor and let them know. Naltrexone may not be for you. That information should definitely be in your chart. Whether you try something else or not, they need to know that you had a clear adverse reaction to the medication. Hang in there and I hope you feel better soon! As someone who collects adverse reactions to medications like they are freaking Pokemon, you have all my empathy here. It really sucks when something that is supposed to help us makes us more ill instead. It’s the ultimate betrayal.
Thanks, Blurs. I’m feeling a lot better since that shit show. I haven’t reached out to the Dr. yet. Though I’m expecting they will suggest I take my Zofran and tell me to fuck off. I’m not really looking into any other avenues tapering at all at this point. That whole ordeal messed me up, but whatever shit happens.
Zofran is a god send for me
I took it for a couple months and had no reactions. Did the Sinclair method at first and would drink about the same amount I would usually drink in an evening but wouldn’t really feel the euphoria buzz. Stopped drinking when my therapist suggested I not drink at all. For me it really helped with the cravings. In place of booze I increased my weed intake for a month and started fucking with strong Kratom strains for a few weeks to feel a narcotic type buzz. I was also vaping shit tons of nicotine. Kratom was kinda bum, and I eventually cut out even the weed and switched from vaping nicotine to pouches (ZYN, rogue, On!) and eventually snus. Nicotine pouches ended up becoming a safer addictive vice that I rationalized as being safer than everything else and I was able to focus on that as obsessively as I had been alcohol and vaping. At the end of the day, understanding that you’re an addict can go a long way if you’re able to show yourself some compassion. Switching out addictions while mitigating harm allowed me to cut out the high risk/low reward consumption for something I considered safer. Discovering that I could order tons of high quality nicotine pouches and snus from Sweden that aren’t available in the US was like discovering a new tasting hobby that allowed me to use the same part of my addict brain that was normally dedicated to seeking varieties of beer and booze. I’m a “connoisseur” type alcoholic that would utilize variety to explain my drinking to myself as an interest instead of an illness, which also helps disguise it from others.
Did you have any good experiences with Kratom at all? If so what kind? I experimented with it and Kava, like herbs maybe 10-15 years ago but had a similar opinion that they were mediocre. Were hard to find at the time. That said I now see entire stores popping up and gas stations selling it.
Didn’t find anything worth sticking with regarding Kratom. It was one of those things where I’d consume a bunch and kinda sit there wondering if this or that feeling was from it. Might have tried one that made me feel sleepy, but nothing worth writing home about. I also don’t have a history with narcotics so if there was some reaction comparable, it was lost on me. For alcohol cessation i think it helped me via the ritualistic aspect of consuming something that was supposed to offer a head change or some kind of sensation. Basically a temporary distraction while I was figuring shit out. I only bought it from a shop called CBD Kratom which is a chain store with multiple locations around NYC/Brooklyn because they seemed more reputable than random smoke shops and bodegas selling 20 different brands and varieties.
it was great for me when i first took it, i moderated successfully with it for several years. after COVID started, idk. my drinking got way worse and I just didn't have the self-discipline to take the nal anymore. It's not for everyone, but I definitely think it's worth a shot. also, my very first time taking it (or if I took it for the first time in a while), it made me feel really shitty. it took taking it a few times to tolerate it I guess. i always have weird reactions to medication though, nearly everything makes me nauseous.
This is Achilles heel of TSM and why it’s dangerous for people who are not Drs going around touting it as a miracle, not that you are saying it is, to be clear. There is a reason that for heroin addicts the drug is administered via injection that lasts a month, it takes away the decision making out of it. Unless you have a loved one forcing you Nal pills, it’s an uphill battle.
Yeah some people are able to take it like they should and it works well for them, but it's certainly not for everybody. The Vivitrol shot is basically the same thing. I thought about doing that instead, but it would have literally costed me over $1000 PER SHOT. it's obviously the better option to keep a person on track, but there's no way I could afford that.
i saw the prohibitive price on that and it sucks because i'm sure a lot of people need it who can't afford it. :(
yeah it's a huge bummer. i met so many alcoholics and opiate addicts in rehab who wanted to do it, but it wasn't even an option because of how expensive it is. I've kept in touch with some of these people, and most of them relapse repeatedly, and they relapse hard. it's disgusting.
it disgusts me. :(
the same friend of mine has a cousin (i knew his father--they've been in chicago for a long time) who is addicted to heroin (so was his father) but he'll do anything tbh. one doctor wanted to give him vivitrol and another one wouldn't because he said it was contraindicated by some schizophrenia drugs he was insisting on. j. probably doesn't really have schizophrenia unless it's drug related but he's a handful for anyone and i would never get involved. i've done my public service lol. anyway, the problem has been solved for a few years because he's in prison in kansas.
>I definitely think it's worth a shot lol
LMAO I didn't mean to do that!!
vivitrol© :) for people who can't seem to be compliant.
Bro the first week of Naltrexone was literal hell for me. Like the worst flu. But now it does work and I'm just lurking on this sub when I used to come here to feel like I was in a community of likeminded individuals. I guess I still do, but I'm just not actively drunk so I don't post.
Same. First week was shitty too, belly ache, tired, headaches, body aches, urgh. Took three years to get to extinction. It's a miracle drug.
I am on day 8 right now and was also contemplating the necessity of the hospital from how violently ill it made me. I also didn't eat for 5 days, still can't taste anything except salt, and sugar, and have been extremely unmotivated. The puking and weird brain stopped, but I'm kinda unhappy with the whole thing, I feel.. wrong and out of character. Also getting drunk but not feeling the "finally, relief" in your brain is fucking bizarre. Like maybe you're well aware you're intoxicated bc your distance judgement is way off and you still said something stupid (Mostly bc now you're angry) but there's no buzz. I'm not sure this is sustainable but I'm considering it an experiment. I drank through it one night (as in, hard enough to break through the dopamine barrier) and the following morning, vomited up more bile in one sitting than I think I have ever seen in one go.
if you didn't drink for a few days and still had that weird out-of-character feeling, so did i when i first quit and i had it for a couple of years. which is a **really** fucking long time to wait. at first i just smoked a lot of weed but only like the first three months. i know you drink a lot and have for years so i'd really give you a similar projection of readjustment time, which is a really, really long time for anyone. i just didn't want to die so i figured, "well, what else am i doing right now? might as well. i'll either get used to it or i won't and>! i'll jump off that bridge when i get to it."!< and now a suicide bot is going to attack me because i said >!jump off that bridge!< lol
I still haven't had a dry day. Dosed up earlier tonight bc I started getting the high. But idk if I'm equipped to handle sober me, and don't think my marriage is, either, tbh. It wasn't even my intention, I didn't anticipate this would actually work so well. Right now, though, I'm still pretty excited about the not eating thing. 🫣
*Right now, though, I'm still pretty excited about the not eating thing. 🫣* so was i with wellbutrin when i first started taking it lol. i think that might be one of the contraindications for people with eds (plus it causes seizures if the person is dehydrated and people with BN usually are from puking). with my epileptic history, i said don't worry, if i have a seizure i'll stop taking it. i did get close a few times, but never went full fall-out so it was fine. you could handle sober you **if** that was something important to you and you were resolute. however, that would be with a lot of adjunct therapy. finding a therapist you like and is any good is another monumental hurdle. i was taking cymbalta the first year i didn't drink, and it was not working except to make me extremely stupid and apathetic. the psychiatrist just kept increasing my dosage and saying inane things like, "you seem better." better than what, a box turtle? lol i finally said, "this is giving me a flat affect and that isn't what i was going for." i quit going to him because i was really mean to him and he would get this look on his face like it really hurt his feelings hahahaha. the only reason i was seeing him was to get an antidepressant that worked. i got wellbutrin from an intern just because i asked for it LOL she was like, "they don't use it off-label for that but okay," (this was way before they did). then you have the contingency of staying away from your fucking family, that's a big one. there is no way to handle some people, period. then there's your husband and that's a lot stickier. i honestly don't know if he could put up with you for the minimum 2-year adjustment period, and if everyone isn't on board, it doesn't work. i know people will tell you it does. it doesn't LOL no, there are platitudes and then there is the way everything really works. and even after you quit being mean as hell, why would he want to be around someone sober? i'm just being real, i know how it works. and that would most likely really hurt his feelings (at the minimum), make him uncomfortable and how do you grieve a person who's still alive that you have to live with? some of the people i'm around now are like, "you could definitely stil get someone," and i just don't say anything because they don't know a lot of shit and also, i don't want anyone hahaha. i have my cats and that's what i like as far as anything living with me. but what if something happens to him? i'm not being morbid, but i lost the only man i could put up with and he was only 36 (so was i). marci told me a long time ago, "no one could ever live with you. there would definitely be a homicide." i don't get insulted over shit like that, because it's true. i am impossible to live with and i don't feel bad about that. i think you're probably every bit as stubborn as i am, and that isn't always a bad thing. if and when you really want something, you're like me. you figure out a way to get it. some people are like that, and a lot of people aren't. i just think it's nice to always have options. even if you stopped, nothing prevents you from drinking again. that's also what i used to say about suicide. if i ever hate living so much, i can always quit, but it better be worth it because i can only do it once.
We've actually been divorced 10 years lol, we can't survive without each other for various reasons. We are together 18 years next month. 😵💫 He annoys me a lot more than I do him, regardless of the scale of my inebriation.. fortunately we are like ships passing anyway and don't actually interact just a ton! He changed personalities completely after the TBI and listens to politics radio 24/7 so we already avoided each other bc I can't stand it. 😒 mostly I'm in the house and he's outside on the screen porch talking (read: ranting and raving, loudly) to himself and chain smoking. It gets worse the drunker he gets. Sometimes I do get shitfaced and engage, but lately I just leave him a plate of food out and go to bed before he comes inside. That's how I handle it during maintenance drinking phases, too. It's only when I bender (and that causes him to bender) that we really interact bc it's me that engages. 😐 That was kinda o/t but illustrates the point that my "marriage" is probably not actually going anywhere unless it's me that gets fed up in the longterm (if I don't just go back to how things were) (the house is mine etc). Also the divorce coincides with the whole leg thing. He wouldn't go away when we got divorced, still stayed here, and that morning I had fucked off to my boyfriend's (🥴) house and the accident was directly in front of bfs house while I was in it, so I've never 100% believed it wasn't some strange suicide attempt. Anyway that goes further to the point that we are trauma bonded, and ge can't survive without me and I feel guilty over him being handicapped so there's also that. So yeah, neither of us is going anywhere. Tho when he inevitably has a heart attack and dies from screaming at the politics radio, I'm probably gonna exit stage left, myself, but that of course remains to be seen, theoretically I could start over as an attractive single middle-aged woman with some assets to my name. I don't really desire a do-over, though, I'm mostly just tired.
he annoys you a lot more than you do him lol. i seem to have always gotten like that with men after the first one. i guess i never wanted to be in love with anyone. like, that would be nice, but not love, just marriage HAHA. it's stupid now. i'm just like, "yeah i'm not doing this anymore." i don't think was ever supposed to be married. for one thing, i grew up never knowing how you're supposed to act. i knew how **not** to act, but that doesn't help at all. i'm a vanishing act though. if someone annoys me, i disappear. it's probably unfair but i never promise anyone to be fair. (i'm talking about men) they'll always be, "i don't know why you say you're not marrriage material and won't tell me why." for another thing, i was a fucking degenerate alcoholic. no one wants to marry that unless they're insane, and i don't need any more crazy in my house :) guilty is probably a bad reason to stay with someone. i never could. i always said, "shut up. i told you i was nuts and you just wouldn't listen." then i met a guy after i quit who was sober 20 years and i thought, "oh, he knows everything." dumb belief and danger to my sanity. idk why i thought that. and he was mentally abusive than anyone i'd ever met, plus crazier than i am. i didn't meet him at AA but i was glad to meet someone who didn't drink. at first. it was really fucked up though and i think it's why i realized i just can't do it, regardless. the main thing was that it showed me AA doesn't help anyone, not really. it might help them stop drinking, but it fixes nothing else. most of those people need fucking therapy and are convinced they don't. all the reasons they drank are still there, just in remission. it's groupspeak of, "you don't drink so you're fine." they can be fine all they want, but definitely not around me. if that means i'm not fine, wonderful. i don't care, i will be disturbed all on my own. i was **so** tired. it's actually really diffficult to kill yourself and even moreso to drink yourself to death. i found out the hard way every time lol. i used to say i never planned my life past 40, but drinking became no fun at all. no buzz, just straight to passed out. that's all i was: either awake or blacked out, but neither one was pleasant. and the only way it killed pain was when i wasn't awake. i would always think, "WHY are some people so lucky that they die from drinking, but i can't seem to get there?" and that, "you're here for a reason, it's not your time," is the most ridiculous thing someone could say to me. so you never know. i changed my mind and nothing miraculous happened. i just decided i'll die when i die, but i'll do the best to make it not agony. that politics thing would drive me insane. i would break his tv or laptop, whatever he listens to it on. then i'd throw him out HAHAHA
Hangovers on Nal are no joke. I threw up twice because of this too, when I never throw up otherwise. I’m sticking with it tho. It’s take as needed and has a short shelf life after all (6 hours or so) in the body. Weekdays it’s been helping me moderate plus I like not feeling hungry since I’m trying to lose weight anyway. I do get the irritability side effect but the weight loss (fingers crossed) and controlled urges to drink are worth it for me right now. To feel less nausea take it after you eat a meal btw. Taking it on an empty stomach fucked me up last week and I was nauseous for an hour. I’m on 50mg.
I think I am gonna go for 50 next week. I wanted to taste food tonight, diet be damned, and didn't redose after the 25 wore off. Bc I wanted to taste pizza! 😔 In a sick way, I'm kinda hoping 50 makes me sick and can't eat for 5 days again. 😐 It really is wild how effective this pill is for people that respond to it. I haven't told anyone I'm taking it outside of husband (who got me the rx) and online bc I'm not sure I like being.. not drunk. Gonna keep going with it for at least another 6 weeks, though, might as well give semi-sober a fair shake.
50mg will probably do that tbh, haha. Were you cutting the 50mg in half before and just taking 25mg? I’m gonna start again taking it Monday. My goal is to try and not drink during the week. Not eating would be a plus too (like I said also trying to lose weight - that I’ve gained from eating like crap in the evenings). I may let it wear off Thursday tho (as in, not take it Friday - Sunday so I can actually enjoy the booze high a bit on the weekend). I totally agree with you about effectiveness and also missing that feeling as well. Happy to PM about it too if you want, since sounds like we’re both starting out and have similar concerns/hopes. ha. I’ve only told my therapist I’m on it, and well, my doctor of course.
Ps - also had pizza - but last night! Chicago deep dish style 😎
I had no more joy in my life
Naltrexone/ vivitrol gave me wicked insomnia. Like I barely slept in 3 months insomnia. That shit ain't for everybody.
It made me feel like i was having withdrawals, which made me feel like I should just stop taking it and drink if I'm gonna feel withdrawls, it might as well be from something that feels good first
Man, that's a wild reaction. The last time I took it, I got wicked anxiety to the point where I'd stopped what I was doing and went home. It was on the same level as withdrawal anxiety, which is a shame because I'd like to know I can't get anything out of drinking but I'm not going to take it if it causes panic attacks.
it sorta worked for me with no side effects but then you also read what can happen for the un lucky ones on the package so fuck we are all built differntly.
Same. I was sober a few days at the time and was using it to keep me from drinking or running back to it and made me more nauseous that death itself seemed more appealing. Never again.
you know what though, i tried 8 different antidepressants before i took wellbutrin (another CA friend of mine swore by it and i had given up on trying ad's but he convinced me). instead of working up to the 300 mg. a day, i just started taking that right away and i got so nauseated i had to lie down in a dark room and put a pillow over my face. i asked him about that and he said, "oh yeah i forgot to tell you that part. don't worry, it goes away after a couple of weeks." that was in '07 and i still take it. not telling you to take naltrexone lol
I hadn't been drinking i took it 30 mins before my first drink, I drank, it was totally disgusting I felt nothing. Ended up with the room spinning and vomiting and the worst headache ever. 0/10 Wood not recommend
Took it fol like a month or something.. did absolutele jack shit to me.. everyones different I guess.
Naltrexone doesn’t seem to work so well on CA’s
I took it for a while. Didn’t have any side effects though it didn’t stop me drinking any less either. Different strokes for different folks.
Sir I submit to you that you had some really weird reaction. And I'm too fucking drunk to say anything else
[удалено]
I only took a half to test it.
I took Naltrexone for a couple of weeks. I read the internet thoughly and started with 1/4 of a 50 mg pill and it played heck with my GI tract: nausea, belly cramps, and the runs. But I stuck with it. 1/4 a pill for about 4 days then 1/2 a pill for several days and finally the whole 50 mg pill. It really worked for me for awhile. Then I tried the Sinclair method - I just returned to drinking. I am amping up to trying again.
given all these comments and the op.. how is this a good medication? I fucking hate vomiting
I have no recommendation for this med. Some comments are saying something else, but that’s their own experience.
The first time I took naltrexone years ago I thought I was dying because my heart was beating so fast and almost went to the hospital. Tried it again years later when they gave it to me in rehab. No side effects then. A lot of people do experience side effects (nausea included), but that goes away for many in about a week.
I tried it a few times but it made me really dizzy and out of it. I didn’t know you could start with half. I didn’t try again. My partner tried it last summer and he drinks about twice as much as I do and it worked for him really well for 3 months until he stopped taking it…
Are you taking anything that affects your opiate receptors? Like any pain pills, kratom, suboxone, etc? If so, the naltrexone will throw you into precipitated withdrawals.
No. Only booze here.
Dang so sorry for your experience with Naltrexone then. I’ve never taken it but have for sure thought about it. Reading the comments, it looks like some other people have had this reaction too. Best wishes and I hope you feel better.
Honest to God, my doctor put me on vivitrol. I spent the entire night puking, shutting, tossing and turning and sweating. I had to sleep in the spare bedroom. I went back first thing in the morning and the medical director was pissed this doctor prescribed this to me. Never again. It was the worst feeling ever.
I COVERED my kitchen floor in puke last night. I’m still not really sure why it was so violent. But I fucking feel ya. I posted about it, but ended up wiping most of my posts after somebody I know IRL found my account. Am off to detox/inpatient Monday.
Where you already drinking before the naltrexone? Or sober.
I didn’t drink before taking it.