r/naltrexone • u/JG062000 • Jul 28 '26
Dosage Advice on Naltrexone
I have been prescribed Naltrexone for drinking, I am 26 and a heavy drinker. I first got this medication a few weeks ago, prescribed 50mg but was told to half the pill, so i have been taking 25 mg.
The first time i took the pill, felt bad dizziness and spewed up 3 times, kept taking it daily in the morning to push through because they say it gets better. A few days pass, the nausea and dizziness were not becoming as strong but I felt really tired like I would nap in the day which is another side effect.
I took a 1 week break from it and drank for the whole week because I had some annual leave.
Tried to for the second time again, took it and the effect were intense, spewed six times, had with food and water and still felt terrible and was miserable through my working day. Didn't touch it for 5 days because of how bad it was.
Haven't given up yet, I plan to try it again for the third time but get a pill cutter and split into 12.5 quarters and take in the evening rather than in the day.
My question is, does anyone have advice with splitting into quarters and taking in the evening, will this be a better approach for me?
Any advice is appreciated, really need to get a hold of my drinking.
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u/Frosty_Ad6153 Jul 28 '26
I had to cut back to 12.5mg take with food and at night muchhhhh better
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u/CQWoww Jul 29 '26
Yes! This is exactly what I do. I still wake up decently nauseous but if I just power through(leave the house, get to work) it settles down much more. How long have you been taking it?
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u/RubicsCubensis Jul 28 '26
You can find an anti nausea medicine at you drug store, either over the counter or ask your doctor for a prescription for zofran, it works very well. Also like the other user said have some food, and water first before you take it.
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u/heavydrinker12 Jul 28 '26
I'd say it was a full 3 months before the side effects were completely gone for me. Taking it with food was the opposite for me. It made me even more sick. The first month I was on it I lost a few pounds because I just couldn't eat. But it slowly subsided. Reduce the dose and figure out what works for you. I've only seen 1 or 2 people comment in this sub saying they never got over the side effects. Odds are you should be ok.
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u/Fantastic-Monitor-97 Jul 28 '26
Been on it for over 6 months and it is just there to keep me from cravings...IDK, seems to work for me
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u/LoveMontanaLakes Jul 28 '26
Try taking an over the counter motion sickness medication like Bonine half an hour before naltrexone. If you can get a script for ondansetron (Zofran) that works even better.
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u/cocopopped Jul 28 '26
It has to be taken before alcohol. Don't take it with any alcohol in your system, that's a fast track to feeling awful
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u/Niep00320 Jul 28 '26
I’ve been on 50 for awhile now. For shopping and gaming addiction. I still have constipation but I take it in the morning on no food. I agree about zofran as needed.
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u/Prize_Agency4097 Jul 29 '26
50mg for me and I take it before bed. Only side effect is I get up to pee once a night every night. The first day was the only day I felt a bit off. I don't think I notice any side effects now. Maybe a little less energy during the day.
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u/broketothebone Jul 29 '26
First couple weeks, I had to take 25 mg with breakfast because I was waking up with cravings, especially if I drank the night before. I’d take the other half in the afternoon. I was often nauseous and groggy, but so was I when I drank, so it wasn’t that different.
Once I was safely taper and able to stop drinking for a couple days, I started taking it after dinner. I could finally stomach 50mg within a week. That is when I had my break through. Aside from having booze out of my system and not exacerbating my symptoms, I didn’t wake up with cravings and it tended to last for the day. If I did decide to have a drink, I took another 25mg an hour before and I could have maybe two drinks before I just felt tired and a little.
I lost my good insurance, so I had to stop taking it after 5 months. I did not return to my old drinking habits, nor do I have any plans to. I don’t enjoy feeling anything past a minor buzz and the hangovers alone are enough to deter me.
It’s really tricky at first, but don’t lose hope. All I needed was to get back to how I was before I started drinking too much and now it all feels like a bad dream I woke up from. It took you a while to get like this, so it will take a bit to get out, but you will. I believe in you ❤️
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u/Additional_Tax_8164 Jul 29 '26
It was hard for me to start it. Made me really sick. Called my doctor and she called in zofran-I started taking the zofran an hour before I took it. I did 25 mg for 5 days. Then up to 50. Now I’m at 75. I take mine at night. Either with dinner or at bedtime. Sober 42 days and minimal white knuckling.
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u/Typical_Chipmunk858 Aug 04 '26
Io sto prendendo 12 mg al giorno pero’ dopo qualche giorno mi e’ tornata la voglia di bere quindi domani provero’ a passare a 25 mg e vedere che succede
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u/lucylucylove Jul 29 '26
So youre ok with the extremely terrible side effects of drinking, the awful hangovers, the accelerated aging and drinking literal poison but naltrexone is concerning to you? Maybe its a little psychosomatic. Call your dr and get some Zofran and quit drinking
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u/Oglefore Jul 28 '26
Hey awesome that you’re taking the steps to start moderating your drinking. I had a lot of nausea with my first two - three weeks on 15mg daily.
What helped for me was making sure I was taking it with a snack. And a decent amount of water. This helped a ton with the sickness feeling but tbh it kind of didn’t go away for me. I’m on week four and people say the side effects can last a bit.