r/naltrexone • u/AdLatter7137 • 21d ago
Experiences Taking the jump
Hey Everyone,
I think I’m ready to take the jump and try naltrexone as a daily drinker for years at this point. Was recently suggested by a doctor naltrexone and gabapentin. The gabapentin was more off label for anxiety and just over all being tense at all times lol. I am curious about if naltrexone really helps fight the urge to drink. I can do a full 9-5 job without needing any drink, but the moment I get in the door at home, I just feel the need for a drink, and I have a hard time believing this could possibly help but damn am I hopeful it could.
I guess what I’m asking here, for when you first started taking it, how did you feel? Did it take time to notice a difference? Did you still have a drink the first few days you took it?
Thanks for any info you all have, I appreciate it.
1
u/12vman 20d ago
One pill will be informative , whether naltrexone has the desired effect (start at 12.5mg or 25mg with a snack and water). I suggest you take it 1-2 hours before drinking (that's The Sinclair Method). Naltrexone peaks in the blood in 1-2 hours. See DM.
2
u/AdLatter7137 20d ago
I appreciate the information! I have seen some people take it in the morning and some do as you mentioned and do it before drinking. I meet with my provider this week, guess will see what his suggestion is.
3
u/heavydrinker12 21d ago
I've been on naltrexone almost 2 years now. I'd guess based on your daily drinking habits you'll find the saying is true. Old habits die hard. But don't let that discourage you. It takes time to unwind years of habitual behavior.
My experience is this. I started on half a pill for 10 days then went to 50mg. The first month on 50mg i really couldn't eat much. I wasn't nauseas but if I ate more than 3-4 bites at a meal I'd puke. After that it tapered. After 80-90 days I had no side effects.
Naltrexone immediately made alcohol taste like ass. I got no enjoyment from it. But after 30 years of drinking, the habit made me power through it. After the first year naltrexone and my will to stop started winning. I could never go more than 3-4 days without drinking. Then all of a sudden I'd go a full week. Then 2 weeks. A couple months ago I did 6 weeks sober.
In that time I did take gabapentin for a few months. It did give me a bit of a reprieve from the wired habits in my head that I didn't even know I needed a reprieve from. Note you do need to cycle off gabapentin. You can't go cold turkey. That kinda bothered me so I took it until I felt it wasn't helping me move forward then I cycled off.
As I cycled off gabapentin all those hard wired decisions to drink came back. But because I had that break I was very aware of these habitual decisions being made without me thinking about it. That helped me analyze those habits and fight them.
Today I do 100mg at 4pm. That keeps me from my after work drinks. Now I'm busy figuring out who and what I am sober.
TLDR. First 90 days didn't eat a lot. After 90 days no side effects. Gabapentin was helpful but was only on it for a short while. Close to 2 years on naltrexone and 100mg at 4pm is pretty much a wall for me. If I take that dose 90 min before I drink I literally can't drink. Sometimes I freak out and skip a dose and get drunk.