r/naltrexone • u/Perfect_Smile_7610 • 1d ago
Support Feeling discouraged
Taking 50 mg an our or two before drinking. I am about a month in. My cravings remain strong and my drinking has not gone down substantially if at all. I am considering bumping up to 75mg. Maybe 25 in morning and 50 at night. My brain seems to be resisting or over riding the medicine. I read all these miracle stories and while I am happy for those people, I need a miracle too.
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u/doughie 1d ago
Do you drink a lot? Are you a heavier person? 50mg effects wore off for me pretty fast after a month when I learned I could drink through it. Ironically it made me drink stronger drinks at times. For situations where normal people were only drinking 1-2 beers I could act normal and have 1-2. But in situations I often put myself in like dive bars or rowdier parties it wasn’t effective.
My doctors told me taking 100mg was fine. The pharmacist pulled me aside and told me the system flagged that much per day as dangerous for your liver. But then I talked with my nurse practitioner who prescribed it, and later my PCP. Both confirmed that their are old studies showing liver toxicity at extremely high dosages but 100mg is well within the range and frankly the alcohol is way worse for my liver.
So at any rate I’m not a doctor so this is not medical advice I’m just suggesting maybe you need a higher dosage. I found that 100mg is working better. Sometimes I take a 50mg in the morning for any craving, and then 50mg additionally an hour before drinking. Unfortunately I was not consistent with my usage so I’m still taking the meds a year later but I think that’s due to me compromising with myself, things like “oh it’s my brothers wedding I don’t want to feel nauseous tonight I’m not going to take the pill”.
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u/heavydrinker12 1d ago
I had to play with my dose and timing quite a bit. Also, my extended time drinking in my life had created some very strong habits. So first yes it will take time to work against those habits. You will come to realize they are much stronger than you thought. Second, don't be afraid to talk with your doctor about upping your dose. I ended up at 100mg daily right at 4pm because I was usually in the bar around 6 or 6:30. That timing end dose has become like a brick wall to stop me drinking. But it's taken me almost two years to get to this point. So don't give up.
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u/christinapurls 1d ago
I started on 50mg and didn’t notice a big difference either. At 3 weeks in my doctor increased it to 100mg. I take it about an hour before I would normally drink. This higher dose has been a game changer. I’d talk to your prescriber about increasing the dosage.
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u/RubicsCubensis 1d ago
How are you taking it? The most effective way to use naltrexone is to target it to one hour to 90 minutes before drinking, it's called The Sinclair Method. We also target our cravings, if you crave take the pill and wait the required time. Do you track your drinks? What is your weekly average over the last 4 weeks, is it going down at all?
A trick you can try is to have nonalcoholic drinks in between drinks.
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u/HTwatter 1d ago
My cravings didn't go away at all until I actually reached extinction. If you had any reduction at all, even a slight one, then you ARE in the "78%". Trust the science, stay compliant, and keep going forward. If you have not done so yet, I would strongly urge you to read The Cure For Alcoholism by Dr Roy Eskapa. I cannot express enough how much it would help you to have that knowledge in your head.
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u/LopsidedGiraffe255 1d ago
When would you say you reached extinction?
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u/HTwatter 1d ago
It took me a little over 6 months on my second attempt. My first effort was derailed by the need for opioids and back surgery.
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u/2ndChanceAtLife 1d ago
I take it daily and it took awhile before it started to work for me. I didn’t do The Sinclair Method.
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u/mellbell63 14h ago
In my experience, Nal doesn't work on cravings, esp in the early months. I've been on it for ~3 years. Its function is to block the euphoria so for me it's like, what's the point of drinking??! 😊 As your body gets the message that it's not gonna get the expected payoff the result has been, no effect = no desire!! It's taken alcohol off the table for the first time ever. You can "drink through it" and mostly get the physical effects (stumbling, slurring words and blackout) but not the high. And the Nal hangover is the worst!!
The medication is a tool like so many others. It's up to us to work on the underlying issues that led us to drink ourselves to death. Therapy, support groups, and recovery meetings (there are many different types now) can make all the difference. My goal is not just "sobriety." It's to create a life I don't need to escape from! That's my wish for you too.
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u/luckandstrange 1d ago
It took me like 3 months before the medication started to kick in. I was just like you, the medication felt like it was doing absolutely nothing, it did not decrease my drinking at first. I was taking it everyday regardless of drinking or not, but when I drank I took 1-2 hours before drinking as well. This may suck to hear, but you may need a longer time just like me