Naltrexone depressive leanings

[Too much too young]

Hello all,

I am new here. I am 46 and have basically drank too much over a long period of time. I drank 4/5 beers or bottle of wine a night and more on weekends. I never drank in the day and have no trouble with the law. I am a heavy drinker not an out of control binger.

I would like to start Naltrexone, but I am afraid that depression may grab hold of me. I have in the past and now taken Prozac for my depressive states. Not full time, but at times.

If I am understanding correctly (which I may not be doing) Naltrexone blocks the endorphins and so no high. OK, but if you are inclined towards depression would that cause a fall?

Anyone know about this?

Thanks guys.

[KatieSmiles]

Naltrexone depressive leanings

Hi tmty

I've been taking Naltrexone almost every day for the past five months and I actually feel better than I have in years.

I have also taken prozac and wellbutrin for depression in the past and my GP cautioned me that Naltrexone might cause me to feel depressed and to watch for symptoms. So far so good, no signs of depression setting in.

As well, I'm drinking far less than before, so that could be a contributing factor to my general feeling of well-being.

[dirty birdy]

Naltrexone depressive leanings

I'm a pretty depressed fella and taking naltrexone made my depression 10x worse. That being said when i took naltrexone i took it while drinking and from what i here drinking on naltrexone can make hangovers a lot worse, so that may be the cause.

[Greg]

Naltrexone depressive leanings

I was scared off naltrexone due to fears of it blocking all my endorphins, and theoretically causing depression to be worsened that way. I suffer from depression independent of my alcohol or drug use, and it did seem to worsen when I tried naltrexone, but I may have been talking myself into feeling worse too, all due to the endorphin blocking fear. Also my depression fluctuates a lot, and it may have just worsened at the same time by coincidence. An addiction doctor I see once told me he thinks it's "dreadful stuff" but he treats a lot of heroin addicts and he was talking about them, not alcoholics.

Ukblonde and others here say they feel happy about their results with the drug, so I'd say it's an individual thing, like all bad drug reactions really.

[Heavy Fuel]

Naltrexone depressive leanings

I have taken naltrexone daily for almost two months. I feel the best I have felt in years! I am actually very happy most of the time! When I started taking naltrexone, I was almost despondent. I see all the posts about this, and would like to point out to you all that alcohol is a depressant. The longer you drink the worse your depression will be. Worse, the negative outcomes we all suffer from alcohol make us feel bad for the obvious reasons. I can feel my depression lifting. Hope is a beautiful thing!

In so far as worries about “blocking all endorphins:” that isn’t something I would worry about. First, the drug has a short half life, that’s why you have to take it one hour before drinking. The effects seem to mostly wear off for me in about 10-14 hours and fully in about 16. Second, you don’t take this drug every day forever. It is only taken when you plan on drinking. The idea is over time you stop drinking so much and you have days where you don’t drink. Later in the process when you have AF free days, the second day your system is very sensitive, so you are to engage in endorphin inducing positive behaviors and retrain your brain.

That’s the part I think a lot of people don't understand: it isn’t taken EVERY DAY FOREVER. Only when you drink. And then one hour before hand. It isn’t like bacaflen and other drugs. The process is more about not getting the chemical reward for drinking. And then, over time, the cravings stop. You aren’t addicted anymore.

Yes, the lingering blockage of endorphins makes hangovers worse. I don’t care if I have a really bad hangovers. I only get them when I binge, so it’s a kind of negative reinforcement to me not to binge. Anything over about nine units and I feel awful the next day. But then again, normal people would feel awful the next day, too.

There is a lot of misinformation about naltrexone and TSM. If you are interested, I recommend reading Drs Eskapa and Sinclair’s book, “The Cure for Alcoholism” and make up your own mind. Just remember, if you want the same results as Dr. Sinclair’s experiments produced, you should expect to follow his protocol. Simple: naltrexone one hour before drinking. Then drink as much as you want. Over time, those numbers will go down.

Good luck with whatever you choose! I wish you the very best!

[Too much too young]

Naltrexone depressive leanings

Thanks for the replies. I do understand that alcohol itself is a depressant so that may reduce the problem (reducing/giving up).

I will come clean as any skirting around the issue here seems silly.

I have given up for a year and am already planning on starting to drink again. I miss the social aspects but not the money/illness/embarrassing aspects. I was never a passing out kinda guy but I was drinking heavily.

I am wanting the world I guess, but .... I want to be a social drinker again. I want to go out with my Brother and have a couple of beers or a couple of glasses of wine with the occasional meal. Not every night, 2 a week will do.

Anyway as silly as I feel asking for this I am willing to hear reality so how about it?

Thanks

[KatieSmiles]

Naltrexone depressive leanings

Hi tmts

There is a link at the bottom of my signature to the TSM site. There are a few people who have been abstinent for a while and like you, would like to have the occasional drink and are trying Naltrexone with some success.
You might want to visit the site and ask how they are doing.