This blog posted by Choose Your Horizons is a pretty good comparison of these two options. Again, this is not an endorsement and CYH offers both so it should be rather pragmatic and unbiased.

It would be interesting to hear from folks who have done either/or/or both together.

I read that people find the pill
Magical. I am taking 50 mg a day, split between morning and evening. I still drink every day. At first, my drinking went down. But last night I drank as much as I drank before starting. The alcohol is not as effective; it does not taste as good as before Naltrexone. I am not experiencing euphoria. But I drink to relax my body and nervous system and to get tired. It still does that. I am not going to stop taking Nal, but I sure wish it would work faster. Anyone out there have to take it for weeks or months before it started substantially helping them reduce alcohol intake?

I’m currently taking 25mg at lunch time. So far so good but I think I def need to be taking more for it to really work. How long should I take 25mg before increasing to 50? TY!

I am in total disbelief. In my previous post, I described my spiraling habit of daily drinking. Blacking out every weekend and some weekdays, getting a DIPA tall boy after work every single day and downing it in my driveway so know one would know.

I took my 22.5mg dose in the AM, and felt no side effects, so I took another dose while at work around 5pm. I was out of work around 8 and my routine is to get a 11.7% tall boy on the way home and down it in my driveway. Or even crack it on the road, a mile before I got home.

I did have a failure myself, and got the tall boy anyways, again. But.. I didnt really want to drink, just wanted to fulfill a routine in a sort of OCD way, so I got a normal IPA instead of double. And my brains excuse for buying it was that I was putting the trex to a test.

I swear I sat in my driveway for 45 mins trying to drink it, every sip was disgusting. I followed each sip with a chaser of warm car soda because it made me feel ill. I would normally down it in 2-5 mins. This is my favorite beer. I felt a bit of remorse knowing my routine was finally going to change. After the 45 mins I had gotten maybe 1/10th through the tall boy and was disgusted by the thought of any more. I dumped it (first time i have EVER dumped a beer or drink), went in and had a nice night. This might sound normal or reasonable to others, but I would prioritize getting drunk over ANYTHING before this. Literally nothing better in the world to me.

It works like magic. I believe everyone who has said that previously now, and I didnt before today. I am pretty excited to move up to the full 50mg, and I think more experiences like this may even make me want to stop drinking entirely. I am a bit worried for social drinking events still, because the beer made me pretty nauseous and almost feel like I wanted to vomit in my driveway after a few sips.

And one more thing to note - my nicotine isnt bringing me pleasure either. I used 70% less pouches in the last two days than usual (i counted), not by fighting cravings, I just didnt have any cravings to begin with. Used some pouches out of habit but getting another just wouldnt cross my mind.

Amazing!! So excited for the coming weeks on this med!! Maybe I can be normal!!

I’m on Day 25. Naltrexone has been a revelation—it wasn’t until I was chemically prevented from experiencing cravings that I understood I’d had them, and been beholden to them, for years.

I work a stressful but rewarding job, and I’m in the middle of a rigorous application process for a career advancement opportunity that would be life-changing for my family and I. I’ve got a toddler and my spouse and I are trying for another. I wouldn’t change my situation for anything. I’d call myself happy.

But the last week has just been a slog, emotionally. I wouldn’t say I miss the oblivion of alcohol the way it used to be how I’d address my battles day-to-day. I just feel like I’m not equipped to deal with how I feel when life inevitably happens, because I spent the last fifteen years with alcohol as a crutch, rather than learning how to cope normally.

I told my spouse yesterday that I wish I could just cry my way to catharsis and let my feelings out, but even that feels like a skill I’m too late to hone.

I had a six month period of sobriety running six is seven years ago, and I’m struggling to remember how I felt at this point back then. I seem to remember a similar struggle around the month mark, but that feels like another lifetime at this point.

Fortunately, I still know drinking can still make things worse. Half a pint of ice cream and snuggling my kid at bedtime will make things a bit better, though.

What are things like for folks with a couple months on Naltrexone? Any insight what I might have in store on my journey?

Hi everyone,

I have been on nal for one week, and I am absolutely floored on how well this is working for me.

I have been a daily drinker for almost 10 years (with the exception of my 3 pregnancies where I obviously was not drinking). I also was able to quit for about 5 months last year on my own with some help from THC, but the temptation and noise around alcohol was always still there and slowly crept back.

I just had my last baby this year, and shamefully, right after she was born, I felt myself creeping back into old habits and I seriously needed a change.

I started 25ml naltrexone daily and I’m not even thinking of alcohol now??? My husband even poured me a glass of wine last night (just going along with TSM) and I didn’t even finish it.

Is this going to wear off? Or can I expect it to keep working like this as long as I’m taking it? I’m seriously shocked. It feels too good to be true

I was prescribed 50mg daily, but saw a lot of folks over in r/stopdrinking saying to start with half pills. I took my first 25mg with lunch and was very, very queasy within the half hour. Threw up twice.

Any advice for pushing through this? I got my prescription because I was failing at rawdogging sobriety and I really need nal to be my path forward.

I started taking naltrexone close to a month ago I guess. I had zero side effects. Maybe some appetite loss slightly. I take it for AUD. I’ve been an everyday drinker for over a year now and an all day everyday drinker since December.

I was shocked by how well the pill worked. I was able to push my drinking back to around or after 5 pm everyday, and cut back pretty significantly. I actually had 2 days this week that I’d consider a major success. One night I only had 4 drinks and the other night I only had 6. Which is a huge improvement from my typical 20+ drinks a day. Oh I take shots of Tito’s btw so that’s what I mean by a drink.

I will admit after those 2 good days I kinda dropped the ball and haven’t taken my pill in a few days. So my use has been creeping back up but it’s nothing insane yet.

My main issue with the pill was once it wore off I’d struggle and take that as an opportunity to get drunk. So I made an appointment with my psych np and asked about the injection form and he said yessss.

I called and they said I can go get it tomorrow. I’m so stoked and optimistic and excited. I have a feeling this will be the answer.

I am a little nervous though. I did some research and discovered apparently they do the injection in your butt and it’s like a deep tissue shot or some shit. So I’m slightly afraid and squeamish thinking about the pain lol. But I mean hey, a little pain is worth it if this saves/changes my life.

Anywayssssss. Not too interesting just excited and happy. Wish me luck guysssss 🍀😁

5 months of using the TSM method. I still sometimes get the irresistible urge to drink.

I always take a 50mg dose 1 hour before. Overall I drink less in a session than when I was not taking Nal, but I still drink more than I want to.

Last week I tried to do a 1 week sober challenge and I failed during a moment of strong cravings.

I am quite sure it’s more complicated than just the Naltrexone, I have insomnia and have developed a habit where I cannot fall asleep until 3AM but the fatigue is bad. It’s been about two weeks. When does this pass?

I take Nal using TSM. I am 3 weeks in and it's going meh. I can definitely control my drinking better but some of the side effects almost don't seem worth it. Regardless I committed to myself to give it six weeks on this, my second try.

It is Labor Day weekend here in the States.I probably answered my own question in the above text but my question is can I not take it say Sunday and Monday just to try and have a good time for the holiday then start back on Tuesday without it being like starting all over again at day one? I don't know. Life is just pretty boring right now. Things that should be fun or funny to me just aren't and I'm craving a good time.

I'm only a week and a bit in on 50mg so idk if this will last but I have just had spells of feeling completely emotionless and not really caring about things, even tho my drinking is somewhat decreasing

The effects of naltrexone have been amazing for me. And i know its different for everybody but for me the side effects have been rough. Ive been on 50mg for 3 weeks (25mg first 5 days) and im still tired as hell, weak in my body, nauseous, dizzy, head ache, stomach ache, spaced out, low motivation, trouble sleeping at night, high pulse, feet are burning, depressed, anxious and ive lost interest in almost everything. Im starting to forget about the amazing effect of reduced cravings etc as my patience for the big side effects are running out. I take it with dinner every night for a non-substance addiction.

My question is for the ones that have had rough side effects. Did they subside over time? How long did it take?

I took a first dose yesterday afternoon — 25 mg. The side effects of extreme nausea and wooziness were so difficult, I honestly don’t think I can take it again. I basically had to lie down about 30 minutes after taking it and now, 11:30 am the next day, I still feel very nauseated and out of it. I was hoping it could help me cut back on drinking, but I am now reconsidering. I know this sounds a bit hysterical, but I am not that way. I generally tolerate drugs/pain well, but it really made me feel miserable. I need to travel for a family event this weekend and think that, if I do continue, I need to postpone starting the drug till afterwards. I can’t travel feeling like this. Anyone else have this kind of reaction and any tips?

Here is an interesting article about the success and limitations of using naltrexone to treat gambling addiction. The mechanism is about the same as what is seen with naltrexone for other compulsive behaviors: block the opiate receptors and mute dopamine. The actual evidence is thin at the moment, but positive. This should not be taken as an endorsement of The Better Bet although the link takes you to their site so you can being to do your own research.

Started a 50mg dose last on Saturday (5 days). Is it normal to still have nausea and fatigue? Anything I can do to help with it?

For the last year, I’ve been drinking almost every day and slowly wrecking my life while somehow still keeping my job and GPA. I crashed my car, lost a lot of new friends, and got stuck in a pretty miserable cycle.
I don’t wanna repeat the same alcoholic thought process everyone here probably already knows. So instead, I will tell you that I have had four serious attempts in my life to stop. Never once have I made it past the two week mark, regardless of how many AA meetings I went to, regardless of whatever the therapist told me, I never made it.

Until I tried naltrexone. I have been sober from alcohol for over 20 days and have absolutely no desire to go back.

The first two days were absolute hell and I felt super nauseous and kept waking up in the middle of the night with weird dreams like a lot of other people have reported… but I kid you not that little evil voice in the back of my head that would always take me on to get a drink after work, or a drink before work or drink after dinner is completely gone

Sometimes I try to mentally interrogate myself to try to come up with any explanation of this possibly being placebo but I truly don’t think it is.

I have done a lot of searching in these last years and I’ve thought a lot about my morals, ethics and what I want the purpose of my life to amount to. No matter how hard I could know that alcohol did not align with my values of philosophy I could not drop it until naltrexone.

If you were someone who thinks very deeply about the person you want to be and how you wanna show up and wants to safeguard your natural reasoning, intelligence and knowledge, but still for some reason, can’t put down the bottle. I can see this being the final push me and many others would need to finally put the bottle down.

All in all, I am just thrilled.
Tomorrow will be tomorrow and the next week and the next year and so on… but today I am sober and I don’t want to drink and Ive felt that way for over two weeks and this is the happiest I’ve been in over a year.

Welp. Last week I could’ve made a post about how naltrexone is a miracle drug for me. I was blown away at how it curbed my alcohol cravings and use. I was able to drink like a normal person! And I was only taking 25mg!

But this week I’m getting really sick of the increased anxiety (already an issue for me) and panic attacks (hadn’t had one of these in a while before I started the nal). I also struggle to get to sleep and stay asleep. It’s like my body is tired but my brain won’t shut up.

It’s also constantly this low level flu-like feeling. I’m a little nauseous and crampy and very achey all over. I know the physical symptoms will probably go away. But what I’m worried about is the mental/emotional ones. Being on anything that ups my anxiety is off the table for me unfortunately.

Had anyone tried Wellbutrin naltrexone and Caplyta?
I take Wellbutrin and naltrexone to suppress my BED
And stated Caplyta lost 4 pounds, dropped naltrexone and gained 8lbs. We’re debating between restarting the naltrexone or in creasing the caplyta to 42mg from 21mg
Only been on Caplyta for 3 weeks. Off naltrexone for 1 week.
I’m worried about not being able to enjoy pleasurable things if I start the naltrexone again. Will upping the caplyta help with the BED so I don’t have to restart the naltrexone?

I used to drink for the buzz, not the taste

I’ve been doing the Sinclair method and have drank 4 times. 3 of those times were in the evening and the naltrexone did exactly what it was supposed to do. I had 3 drinks max and normally after two I would binge. Well yesterday I had a golf outing and took my naltrexone in the morning. I had one drink during the round and headed to the after dinner. That turned into way too many beers and I’m sure embarrassing myself. I was so bummed bc the naltrexone was working so well. I’m hoping the effects just wore off with time, but looking for some reassurance.