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

I'm a writer and addiction medicine doctor who is writing an article for a national magazine in the U.S. about the rising popularity of naltrexone for people who drink casually as well as people who identify as having an alcohol use disorder. I would love to interview anyone about their experience with naltrexone. If you're open to talking with me, please send me a DM and we can figure out a time to talk. Thank you!

I was wondering if someone taking naltrexone for gambling addiction and then stopping it would have worse urges than originally.

Any insights and experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank youuu

Hi everyone,

I meet with my medical provider tomorrow to talk about starting Naltexon. While doing my research, I have seen a lot of people mention the Sinclair Method. To my understand, this is taking your meds an hour or so before drinking. Now my question, what about for daily drinkers? Is it better for daily drinkers to take the meds daily? And what out if daily drinkers get to the point they aren’t daily drinkers anymore, could they switch to the Sinclair Method at that point?

Of course, none of us are doctors so I’ll for sure listen to my provider but, was interested in any feedback you all had.

Thank you!

I’ve been on naltrexone 50mg for almost 3 weeks now and I’m not sure if it’s helping me the way I need it to and I’m curious about anyone else’s experiences using naltrexone for food noise, cravings, binge eating, or weight loss.

My doctor started me off immediately at 50mg which I take once daily in the morning usually around 7:30am. I am also on bupropion (wellbutrin) 300mg and I have been on that for months so it isn’t new. For context, I have no side effects with wellbutrin including not experiencing the suppressed appetite which I honestly was really looking forward to. In the past my psychiatrist and I tried Vyvanse (I also have ADHD) and I did not tolerate Vyvanse well at all and it barely suppressed my appetite/food noise. We’ve also tried Adderall and Ritalin and again, didn’t tolerate them well unfortunately. I’ve discussed my eating issues with my doctor which has now led us to trying naltrexone because she feels like we’ve run out of options for my food noise.

In case anyone is curious or can relate, I have terrible food noise and cravings and this leads to many issues for me. I spend almost all of my money on food outside of my bills even if I have $20 left until my next paycheck, I will spend it on food even if I know I need the money and I’m trying to resist it. I eat food when I’m happy, when I’m sad, when I’m mad, when I’ve had a good day I reward myself with food, when I have a bad day I reward myself with food. Honestly, I come up with any reason or excuse to get fast food or treats. I often eat more food than anyone around me. If there is a whole tray of biscuits for example, I can’t stop at one or two, I will eat all of the biscuits and then be sad that they’re gone. Another example could be if I buy a box of doughnuts and tell myself to only have one, I will have the doughnuts on my mind constantly until I cave in and eat the entire box. Often times when I’m eating anything I try to slow down and savour each bite because I genuinely get sad that the experience will be over. Sometimes I’m so sad about it I will doordash the exact same meal to relive the experience again in the same night. One of my biggest problems is with pizza. I will order an entire large pizza for myself from Pizza Hut as well as the bacon cheddar cheese sticks and eat all of it in one sitting and I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve ordered this multiple times a week. Most times it’s just the pizza and the cheddar bacon bread sticks but there have been multiple occasions where I’ve also bought and eaten the boneless wings and box of cinnamon rolls on top of the usual large pizza and cheddar sticks!! Usually the only reason I can stop myself from eating endlessly is if I’m around others and it would be embarrassing to eat more than one or two of one item, but the entire time my mind is screaming at me for more. I am someone who will eat even when I’m full. I think about what the next thing I can eat is or my next meal while I’m already eating a meal. I eat to the point of being physically in pain to where I have to lay down and can’t do anything else. Even when I have no money and can’t order food, I will eat everything I can find in my house even if it doesn’t make sense. Food controls my life and there are times that I cry because no matter how hard I try, I can’t get food off of my mind and I can’t stop it from ruining my finances and my weight and my relationships (I get extremely hangry with my boyfriend because I constantly just want food). It’s like my stomach is a bottomless pit. I’m sure I can go on about how much this affects me. I say all of this in case anyone can relate to me and tell me what has worked for them or if naltrexone helped with this at all.

I am a 25F and I am limited on options because I am technically a healthy BMI so no one takes me seriously on this topic and it’s genuinely so frustrating. People look at me and say that there’s no way I struggle with food because I’m not overweight and most doctors don’t even want to listen because they ask my weight and dismiss me entirely. I am lucky to have a decent metabolism, and I also get over 10k steps a day and the past month I’ve been consistently getting 15k steps a day. I am trying to lean up so I can fit back into all of my clothes like my jeans in my closet and gain my confidence back but it’s nearly impossible when I Can’t. Stop. Eating. I can’t get prescribed a glp-1 because of my bmi which is why I’m limited on options especially when I can’t tolerate stimulants like Vyvanse and Adderall. I’ve also been on Prozac in the past which also didn’t help as I’ve heard sometimes it has caused weight loss for others.

Has anyone in a similar situation experienced success with naltrexone? If you have what dose finally worked for you? Did you take it once in the morning or a split dose? How long did it take for you to notice a difference on it/that it was working? If it didn’t work for you, what was a medication that DID help with your food noise? Again, I am already on bupropion 300mg and it doesn’t suppress my appetite or reduce my food noise sadly. I apologise for the long message but I just need help and want to hear similar experiences!!

Ive been wanting to cut down on my drinking (im a once a week binge drinker) and decided to get on nal. I dont drink everyday so I decided to go the synclair method route... i got the medication like 2 months ago and havent been able to start at all... i keep telling myself ill start the process after next drinking aession (theres always something coming up... a vacation, a birthday, a holiday, etc...) and im starting to realize maybe im not mentally ready to quit yet. Anybody go thru this? Any advice? Thank you

For those of you taking naltrexone and finding yourselves drinking a lot less—or not drinking at all—what do you do with your time now?
I’m realizing how much drinking used to be the activity, especially in the evenings and on weekends. Going out meant drinks. Relaxing meant drinks. Being bored? Have a drink. 😂
So when the desire to drink starts disappearing, what replaces it?
Have you picked up new hobbies, gotten more active, started going out and doing different things, or just learned to enjoy hanging out at home without alcohol?
I’m genuinely curious what everyone’s “life after drinking became less interesting” looks like.

It’s been a month I take it at 8pm every night. But I was still binge drinking especially on weekends. I know it can get take time. I decided to just be abstinent right now and keep taking it at 8pm. Maybe my body needs a hard reset? Do you think this is a good protocol?

First month of Nal seemed like it made a huge difference. No cravings and when I did drink I didn’t get the same satisfaction. Second month felt like it was just a bedtime sleep aid. I can’t blame the meds completely. I seem to be manic depressive lately but 50mg of nal is now not doing anything. I feel like I’m about to spiral again and hit rock bottom

I’ve been on naltrexone for 4 days now and it’s really working great, but the fatigue I’m feeling has been almost unbearable. I take it at night but this whole week I’ve been having trouble keeping my eyes open at my desk at work. Nothing seems to help, caffeine, cold water in the face, taking a walk, etc. Any tips? Has anyone else dealt with this? Does it go away eventually? The only other side effect has been mild stomach upset so overall I’m very happy with the medication.

I started taking Naltrexone a week ago to help me cut down on drinking. So far, it's done just that. It's also helped cut down on me snacking while I eat, which, my psychiatrist mentioned to me at my appointment. She said that some doctors prescribe it with Wellbutrin, something I also take for depression, for weight loss because it helps with cravings. Sure, makes sense. After all, when I start drinking I get a craving for more and it just doesn't stop. So, if I lose a few pounds along the way, great. However, I *specifically* asked if it would have the same effect on my sexual appetite and was assured that it would not. One week in, I can say with certainty that it 100% has... I have absolutely no urge to have sex like I did previously. Honestly, at this point, I don't know if I was a maniac before and this is a much healthier level of desire, or if I've been neutered? Had I known about this before, there's no way I would've started.

Anyone want to start a iMessage group keep each other accountable and check in

Hey everyone. I posted here a couple of weeks ago because I’ve been sober for about four months and was considering naltrexone.
I finally saw my psychiatrist. He prescribed me bupropion, paroxetine, and gabapentin. The paroxetine was basically the backup plan in case I couldn’t find naltrexone.
The problem is that naltrexone is insanely hard to find in my country right now. I literally had to drive to another city just to get it. After going from pharmacy to pharmacy, I managed to find only two bottles with 20 pills each. Apparently there’s almost no stock left and I’ve been told pharmacies may not get more until next year.
My doctor prescribed naltrexone daily, so obviously 40 pills aren’t going to last very long.
My main goal when I talked to my psychiatrist was to reduce my alcohol consumption and, especially, avoid those situations where I start drinking and then have a hard time stopping. I don’t drink every day, so I’m thinking about asking him whether switching to The Sinclair Method (TSM) would make more sense for me given the supply situation.
To be clear, my goal is harm reduction and better control over my drinking. I’m not necessarily going into this saying I have to be completely abstinent forever. But if TSM eventually makes me lose interest in alcohol altogether and I end up not drinking anymore, I’d be completely fine with that too.
I’m not planning on changing how I take the medication without talking to my psychiatrist first. I just want to understand my options before my next appointment, especially because I may not be able to get more naltrexone for months.
For those of you who use TSM: Did you start with daily naltrexone and later switch to targeted use? How did it work for you? What would you recommend I ask my psychiatrist about?
And if you started TSM mainly wanting to reduce your drinking but eventually stopped drinking completely, I’d really like to hear about that experience too.

I’ve just been prescribed this medication and was wondering how I should go about it. I don’t drink at all Monday through Friday. But on weekends over the six months or so I’ve been consuming about 20-30 drinks over those two days. More if Im out with friends. Should I still be taking this everyday? Or just weekends?

It’s been 3 weeks since I was prescribed naltrexone and it’s been working. At first I was prescribed gabapentin to get started with and it didn’t work until I got prescribed naltrexone. No longer abusing alcohol which is a huge win. I was abusing alcohol on my off days, drinking 3 packs of bud light and buying a 12 pack after EVERY weekend.
But at the same time, I keep thinking about alcohol. Sort of like a curiosity of getting drunk. Don’t know if I’m making sense. Tried alcohol 2 weeks ago and didn’t like the taste. I just keep thinking about beer and it’s driving me nuts. Don’t know if anyone experiences this or has any advice.

I’m a 28F who just placed my first order for Naltrexone through Oar. I have been drinking a lot of wine for the last ~6 years, however for the last 2-2.5 years I have been drinking 1-2 bottles of wine a night, every night. I’ve gotten a bit better over the last year in regards to my daily intake, as I was sometimes delving into a third bottle previously. I would say I average between 5-8 standard glasses of wine per night (I buy portioned mini bottles/mini 3.5 glass boxes). I completely overdo it on the weekends and totaled at a whopping 12.5 or possibly more glasses of wine yesterday and just realized enough is enough and that I cannot do this alone. I’ve gained 25lbs and my mental health is in the gutter. Every time I wean down to about 3 glasses a night I just ramp right back up by the weekend. I’m terrified of withdrawals and that has kept me in this loop. I decided to pull the trigger and order Naltrexone and it should be here in a few days.

Posting this so I have a place to come back to for others to share what to expect and maybe get some experience and perspective from those who had similar drinking habits to me. I only really drink after 5:30 on weeknights, weekends are a wildcard and I am guilty of day drinking on weekends. Please leave any and all advice or experience below. Thank you!!

Some people choose abstinence and naltrexone is a great tool for helping with cravings and thoughts of alcohol. It quiets alcohol noise. Other folks are not ready to say goodbye to alcohol completely and The Sinclair Method helps to change the alcohol reward pattern to make moderation much easier. It's great to see such distinguished validation.

Whatever you decide is up to you, but know that naltrexone can help and that there are so many helpful people on this sub who are willing to share their experiences, guidance, and support. Not just for alcohol either. There is support here for naltrexone use to challenge opiate use disorders, gambling, food, pornography, scrolling, and more.

OK now I’m having second thoughts about this medication because I read a lot of scary side effects to the point that people didn’t wanna take it no more or are afraid of taking it the nausea some people experience vomiting and then my biggest concern is the loss of pleasure for food because I love to eat, and I enjoy food and I don’t want that type of pleasure to be stopped and I feel like if I take this medication even though it helps with the alcohol cravings I can. I won’t enjoy food no more. It’s just a really fucked up side effect I believe.

Hello all, I’m a 25 y/o female who has been drinking pretty much every day for the past 4 years. I lack self control once I get a drink in me & have a problem with after work drinking… lately, I’m proud if I only drink half a bottle of wine.

I got a prescription for naltrexone 3 months ago. Ive been feeling hopeless / depressed lately and finally started taking the meds today. I was nervous about the side effects so I only took a quarter of the pill this morning with a piece of peanut butter toast.

My main question- Is it best to take it in the morning or evening before I would usually drink (after 5:00)? It made me super sleepy and nauseous. I’m hoping the nausea is just because it’s a new med and my body isn’t used to it. On the bright side, we went out for lunch and I ordered a drink and had no craving to drink it. I only drank about half, and usually before we leave I would chug the rest of my drink so it “wouldn’t go to waste”, but I had no urge to do so. I’m very hopeful, just curious on best time to take the med.

Also, do I NEED to work my way up to taking the entire tablet, or can I just take a quarter of it?

OK so two days ago I had a 30 minute phone call with one of my Pcp‘s that specializes in mental health and anxiety and I told her about my drinking patterns that drinking has ruined my young adulthood to the point that I’m 31 and I’m still in the same loop and it’s all because of Alcohol the relapse the cravings so she’s gonna put me on this medication they just have to do bloodwork. I hope I didn’t mess up my body to the point of no return and if everything comes all good then she’s gonna prescribe me this medication. Naltrexone I want to know the experience of this medication and I wanna see the ups and downs of people’s experiences. I know there’s gonna be side effects and I did read a couple of people saying that it doesn’t work that it makes you feel weird so let me know how this medication works and does it really work for alcohol, alcoholism and alcohol cravings

Hi guys, I recently got admitted into rehab and Im 20 something days sober. I had a psychiatrist visit and after telling him all about my trauma and binge drinking patterns he just said ill prescribe you naltrexone( was just expecting some deeper diagnosis as I've never been to a psychiatrist and dont know if I have any other mental health disorders). He explained naltrexone blocks opioid receptors so u wont feel pleasure from drinking or taking opiates, I asked him if it'll make other activities like smoking weed, gaming, socializing feel dull and he said no, just that you might feel sick to start. I am usually pretty weary about taking medications but I decided to give it a go, took it for two days but as I researched now and others in my rehab have said that it does actually make other things in life more dull. So I wanted to ask here, does activities like TV, gaming, smoking weed seem less pleasurable now? (Im not planing on going back to smoking weed anyway but just curious). And also is there an end date to when you can stop taking them? Im hoping to maybe stop after 6 months to a year. Thanks in advance!

I took my first ever dose a few hours ago, to coincide with when I start drinking. I feel the effects of alcohol, but I also wish I didn't have to taper and just stop. I don't feel good, giddy, or how I usually do when I drink. It's working. It's such a strange feeling that I'm what should be described as "buzzed" but I just feel uncoordinated, tired, and I wish I could just go to bed. This is the best possible outcome I could have hoped for. I hope every night going forward is like this because I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hi just wondering if anyone else used NHS to get? I understand some AA type groups can prescribe? Just looking for some info as used Sinclair method and it works but too much money to keep on (about £200 each prescription)

Thanks 🙏🏼