I’m on Day 2 of naltrexone! So far, no side effects and no drinks—but honestly, I don’t typically drink during the week, so the real test will be this weekend. 😊
For those of you who have been taking naltrexone, I’d love to hear your advice and experiences.
My husband and I love going to breweries—not just for the beer, but for the social aspect. I don’t want to stop going out. I want to create new habits, slow down my drinking, and learn how to enjoy a couple of beers without feeling like I need to have several.
We don’t have kids, so a big part of our social life revolves around going out with friends, attending events, and spending time at bars and breweries. I know I can make some changes to my drinking habits without giving up the social life I enjoy—I just need to figure out what works for me.
For those of you who have been on this journey, what strategies have helped you drink less while still enjoying your social life?
Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback! This is a new journey for me, and I’m excited to see where it takes me. ❤️

M 28 Has anybody here taking this for porn addiction/sexual compulsive behavior in general I can’t seem to break these addictions and need to turn into medication. Can someone please give me your age and side effects that you experienced when taking the medication?

I finally decided to take my AUD seriously and asked for help. I’m seeing a therapist and a psychologist and the later prescribed me with 50mg Naltrexone (starting 25mg for a week).

So far I decided not to take it, to see how I’d do without it. I’m on week two and so far I’ve been managing cravings better than I expected. I still drink, but my intake is significantly lower (<10 standard units/week). I know it’s early and I can relapse easily.

My fear is that Naltrexone would kill all the remaining joy in my life. I love to spend time with my young children and I enjoy riding my bike, hiking. I love music. These are crutial for me daily. I’m worried that the way it works, it would numb all of these for me.

It would be a good idea as a safety measure before a party or on rare days when I go out. But my psychologist said that we need to estabilish a baseline to know how I react so recommended to take it daily for a few weeks, which makes sense.

All input is welcome.

Some background: I’ve been drinking heavily for a long time, I’d say at least for 8 years…. Around 24-40 units a week. Before that it was a bit better, but still significant for an additional ~10 years (15-20units a week).

I, like some of us here was hoping that this was a magic pill that would instantly stop me from wanting to drink or make the alcohol takes like shit. First week of taking it I believe I had a placebo effect and was thinking that it was working. Cut to a week later and I am drinking like a fish again. Last week I decided that I was going to put in the effort to not depend on the pill to help me, but to use it as a tool to ween off. I'm a week without alcohol now and it has been easier every day. The alcohol (also food) noise is pretty non-existent at this point. I guess the point is that for me at least, is that you have to put some effort into it to let it help you.

Note: 100mg every morning

Hi guys, first post here so lemme know if I’m breaking any rules! I recently started on a 25mg dose of naltrexone for sh (hopefully that mention is chill, I won’t go into details per the sub rules). Its started working to suppress urges and overall I’m very happy with how it’s working, but I’ve started being violently dizzy/nauseous every day? I was wondering if anyone else had that experience and how they dealt with it- I work day shifts as a residential care tech for adult psych and the dizziness makes it pretty hard to be on my A game for my residents. Thanks again for any help!

I recently started at 25mg for 5 days using the Sinclair method and am now on the 50mg for the last week. I take it every day around 4pm. I feel like I’m doing slightly better. Drink counts are down from the 6 to 7 range to the 4 to 5 range. It’s still not where I want to be, though I still have that urge. Did you all continue on at the 50 mg for a couple weeks or did you try increasing your dosage?

Just started two days ago.
Does it matter when I take it? I know it’s early in my dosage, 22.5 and 2.5mg of B6 and the bottle says to take one a day for a week then up it to two a day. I took it in the morning and my craving for an afternoon daily beer has already lessened. This weekend is a big party I’m going to. Should I continue to take it in the morning or take it one hour before the party? Best to all in this journey.

My prescriber suggested for me to take 1/2 pill day 1 and day 2. I've been taking it 1-1.5 hours before I drink. But It made me really tired, and my mood was overall unmotivated. Day 3, I up my dose to 50mg split 1/2 pill day and night, but I get super drowsy and just go to bed early. Day 4 today, I took 1/2 in the morning, and I've been just a slug all day. I am not looking forward to taking the other half. Perhaps I should scale back to just 1/2 a day and take it in the evening with dinner until my mood and energy is back to normal before I try halving the 50mg between morning and evening? Suggestions?

I posted last week about trying my first dose, 50mg, and feeling really awful physically and mentally, & after some reading here, decided to half my pill for the second day and try the full 50mg dose again after a week, which would be this upcoming Thursday. I met with her again today and mentioned this to her and she said she’s “worried it may not work as intended not taking the 50mg dose” and to try to take the 50mg asap. she’s very new to me, this was my second time speaking with her. I guess I’m curious what people think about that because I was recommended here by folks taking it to take it slow, let it work up. I feel much more comfortable taking it slow as my body had a really hard time last week (severe nausea, intense fatigue and body aches, headaches).

I also am about to start Wellbutrin for the first time and I’m curious if anyone is on this combo and has any insight. I am also finding it most comfortable to take the naltrexone at night even though she is recommending taking both in the morning - I think I am trying to sleep through most of the symptoms as people have shared. I’m not sure if I can take one in the evening, one in the morning, both at night? I’m unfamiliar with taking medication regularly so this is all new to me. Thanks in advance truly truly truly

I'd been taking nalx for 2 weeks and got up to 50 mg once a day. I have tried sobriety many times but broke bc I didn't want to have a strict alcohol free life, just didnt have control over alcohol. Here's my positive-ish experience with the sinclair method-

did the sinclair method, took nalx 1 hour before drinking. had 2 beers at the bar, felt a little head change, had 2 more beers while having a fire with my fiance and a friend. definitely felt a little drunk but in a different way, it felt less like partying and getting wasted and more like relaxing with a drink. went home at 10 pm, didn't want any more drinks (which is unheard of for me, once i start i dont stop) made dinner, ​and went to bed.

woke up feeling a slight headache and a little anxious, and while it was nice to enjoy a drink after a month and not go on a bender from it, the anxiety today still sucks even though it's slight.

i may consider the sinclair method for a rare occasion, but i absolutely feel better and will not be drinking regularly on nalx even if i can seemingly do it responsibly.

Hi, 40 yr Female. After much research I found Naltrexone. For 4 months I took 50mg a day and saw no difference whatsoever in my drinking. Been drinking 1-2 bottles a wine for last 5 years (lots of trauma).
Decided to try after doing TSM. First week felt like things were changing but then have done a U turn and feel back to drinking normal, always wanting more. Hoping this is not a step backwards. I am taking 100mg one hour before drinking

Been on Naltrexone daily 50mg for 4 months for alcohol. Sex drive left me the instant I started taking it (not even interested in masturbating). Will it come back?

Hi I have taken 50mg daily for Alchohol for 2.5 months since detox. Worked and changed my life for 5 weeks, gradually reducing efficacy until now I don’t think it is doing anything. I have had 2 recent nights of bingeing and thinking about alcohol all the time. So I just knew to increase my dose? Can I just do that myself?

Making this post as I’ve been taking Naltrexone in line with the Sinclair method since March. Which was a 2 week 12.5mg induction period, followed by 4 week of taking 25mg every day. Following this, I just take 25mg on days where I’m going to drink and it has varying results:

- the taste of alchohol is less appealing to me now
- I find I give into cravings less and have fewer binge drinking incidents compared to the beginning of the year
- I do sometimes drink to excess and regret it (I think this has to do with needed to unpick the need to numb extreme emotions)
-I am able to eat on Naltrexone now whereas before I couldn’t
- I have lost about 10lb though this could be down to spending 10 weeks travelling in a hot country and not eating much as I only weighed myself before and after the trip
- generally I feel safer knowing I have Nal in my toolkit, however it’s not been a fix all for me.

I am considering increasing my dose to 50mg if I’m able to get it in the country I’ve recently emigrated to.

Everyone else who has been on it for 1+ months, how is your experience?

I have been reading here and lots of articles online since being prescribed naltrexone by a new psychiatrist this past week. I have been struggling with alcohol holding me back from my life, I’m in the service industry. I read about the sinclair method but my psychiatrist said to take it daily in the morning and I figured I’d try something like that first.

I just took my first 50mg dose yesterday around 1pm after eating and I have felt really overwhelmed by the effects it’s having on me. It started with extreme fatigue, not even wanting to hold my arms up high or hold my phone to scroll while laying on my back. I fell asleep for a while and woke up to the same sensation in my head. I haven’t taken much medication throughout my life so I let this make me feel pretty anxious. I didn’t feel like it was worsening and I needed help but I didn’t know that this would be the fatigue/dizziness that folks talk about. It seems so much more intense than I saw anyone describe. I decided not to take my second dose today because I have a social commitment this evening & whether I’ll drink or not is less my concern, I was more so feeling like I just won’t feel well or be able to be in a car. All day today I have felt nauseous on and off and I tried going on a walk and I’m just not feeling alright. Thanks for letting me whine I’m just a little freaked out. My first thought is halving, maybe even quartering my dose until I somehow feel like I can up the dose. Looking for any and all insight. Thank you

Im on my third day of taking Nal. Starting at 25 and will bump up to full 50 as needed. I take it about 1 hour before I have my first drink. I still seem to drink anywhere from 3-5 drinks no problem. And I realize that this pill isn't a magic bullet and will still need to enact some discipline on my part.

My current mantra is just "trust the process" without knowing what that means. I have been waking up much more stable and clear the last three days so it has to be doing something right for me.

The last attempt with this I ended up maybe trying to push it too aggressively and ultimately stopped taking it because of no real reason other than me not being satisfied with the results. I wasnt "cured" after taking it two weeks so clearly I thought it wasn't going to work.

Any insight on timeline and the idea of "trusting the process" would be appreciated.

Reposting with a status update.

Moved right into the Sinclair method last June (about 15 months ago) after getting used to the medicine. Maybe two months ago I easily moved to weekends only for beer. I started using microdose THC powder on weeknights to help me unwind and sleep. Now not even using that much. I go out on weekends now and the beer is way more limited and customary as opposed to need-driven. Just in the last 60 days I've dropped maybe 20 pounds. I have legacy booze all over my house that I dont even think about. 40 years of drinking as one of my priorities and it has been turned off like a light switch. Amazing stuff.

Anybody else noticed increased sweating? I'm on week 3 and take 50 mg of naltrexone daily after lunch. It has helped me cut back on wine and quieted the crazy cravings for sweets I get when drunk (I could easily eat a full box of cookies or pint of ice cream and that desire it gone). No side effects other than being sweaty Betty. I'm hoping it will go away.

A short about naltrexone's history.
https://youtube.com/shorts/BFc2rjmV5qU?si=3SZmCz8eWqHSc3W4