Posted on 09/11/2015 1:25:51 AM PDT by UnwashedPeasant
For many people, the drug Naltrexone is an instant cure for alcohol cravings.
It is available cheap as a 1-pill-per-day generic drug or as an expensive 1-injection-per-month specialty drug. If you or someone you know is an alcoholic, check it out.
It is an opioid receptor antagonist.
Its effectiveness depends on whether you have a specific expression of an opioid receptor gene. For some people, it works instantly and there is zero craving. For other people, it is less effective or does not work at all. It appears to work for most American Indians, Asians (60-70%), some whites (30%), and very few blacks.
It is not habit-forming (unlike methadone). It does not induce nausea if you drink alcohol (unlike Antabuse/Disulfiram). It is safe for impaired livers if taken at the standard dosage (excessive doses may be risky for the liver). The side effects may be lower than the side effects from consuming alcohol. In general, side effects seem to be mild headaches and nausea for the first several days, but this can be reduced by starting at a reduced dose of 12.5mg tablet for a day, then 25mg for the next 2 days, then 50mg per day thereafter. It might render some pain killers ineffective, so use it with caution before surgery.
Look at the astonishing user reviews:
webmd.com reviews
drugs.com reviews
There is another similar drug called Nalmefene. It also is an opioid receptor antagonist. Compared to Naltrexone, it has a longer half-life, greater oral bioavailability and no observed dose-dependent liver toxicity. Nalmefene and Naltrexone have different receptor activity, so if one does not work for a particular person, the other one might.
It appears to work for most American Indians,
...
That’s racist.
Do you have experience with Naltrexone vs Nalmefene?
I would say most of the patient reviews say Naltrexone is life-changing or did nothing. I think every alcoholic should give it a try. The side effects are miniscule compared to the benefit if it works for that person.
Do most doctors prescribing Naltrexone require the patient to be in some kind of therapy or program?
That would be like requiring a diabetic to join weight watchers in order to get their insulin.
I don’t know because I don’t really prescribe it, but my understanding is like anything else, it works better in combination with counseling or rehab programs. There is no magic bullet cure.
LOL “Case Closed”.
“They even go so far as to berate others “
They berate other’s what? You left out a part of speech.
If this really does work for most Native Americans, this could seriously save some Indian Reservations from despair. I’m not being flippant...
“Much of what you said describes the typical alcoholic. Most alcoholics will never admit to it and never seek help.”
What are you talking about? I can quit any time I want to.
“Most functioning alcoholics say the same thing even in a braggadocios manner such as you just did. Ill never be like them is another common statement. They even go so far as to berate others who have the same problem they do.”
Yeah, those poor saps, who think they aren’t alcoholics but really are - those guys REALLY have a problem, I totally agree with you.
That sounds horrible! I’m sorry to hear you had to go through that.
This FR thread is about a cheap, easy-to-get drug (Naltrexone) that can instantly block or vastly reduce alcohol craving. The success rate is higher for people with a certain genetic pre-disposal for alcoholism.
I am pinging you to this thread based on your participation in a similar thread. This is a 1-time ping. This is not a regular ping list. If someone has a ping list for Alcoholism, please ping to this thread. Thanks!
If you take the alcohol out of an alcoholic you are left with the -ic (ick). Unless they have a program to clean up the ick in their lives they will be back to drinking in short order.
This is why AA has the success rate that it does. It gives people a way to clean up the ick in their lives and so remove the psychological dependence once the physical dependence has been relieved.
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Thanks, Unwashed Peasant.
Interesting concept, but reminiscent of a very old joke.
If there was a pill that cured alcoholism ...
... and it took only one pill to get well ...
... and if more than one was counteractive or harmful ...
... an alcoholic would take ten of them.
Alcoholism is a threefold disease (or call it condition, or whatever suits you). It is also deadly.
First is physical craving. A drug may help here, to get through the first few days of craving. But at that point, the physical ends.
The second aspect of the alcohol addiction is mental obsession; the idea won’t leave the mind. The idea of need for the drink.
Immersion in therapy like AA helps many people occupy themselves during mental obsession, and to realize there may be a different future for them.
The third and final aspect is spiritual. A moral recognition, that you owe yourself and others better behavior. God (of your own understanding) didn’t create you to kill others by drunk driving, or to be a burden on others, or to cheat, lie, etc.
AA is far from perfect. The people in attendance are far from perfect. But there you will meet people who got sober, stayed sober, and are happy with that.
I have 21 years, 8 months and 7 days clean and sober. For years I went to AA a lot. Now I go to 2 or 3 meetings per week. I need to see both sides, the newcomer and the old timer.
For what it is worth, I do NOT practice medicine without a license. People with depression may benefit from medicines for their depression, and that helps them stay sober. (Dual Diagnosis is mental illness plus substance addiction. If you think this applies to you, see a specialist.)
This thread is apparently about a drug. The drug has been around for years. If you want a doctor to prescribe it for you, see an addiction specialist.
My advice: Quit drinking cold turkey. Go to 2 or 3 meetings per day at the start. Move into sober living, and follow their rules.
If you drink again, do not drive. Keep going to AA even if you drink. Don’t disrupt the meetings.
Keep Coming Back.
After two trips to detox within a month, I finally gave these a try after five years of heavy drinking (1/2 gallon of vodka at first, down to controlling about 6-10 drinks a day). Worked instantly. I took 25 mg on empty stomach, 115 lbs, female. Became dizzy, disoriented; ate a small meal, the dizziness, disorientation muted. Took 25 mg more a few hours later and did not experience same effects. Have taken for a week now and only experienced one intense urge craving which is nothing compared to 24/7 intense urge/cravings. I wish I had known about this sooner. Currently, abstaining, but I hope that if a relapse does come, that this will prevent a serious relapse as I have heard others infer this medication helps to accomplish. If I had known about how effective this was, how this could change my life, I would have began taking it along time ago even before I decided to stop drinking to at least reduce the amount that I was using. One star done for effectiveness only because I experienced one episode of cravings for about an hour and half. Without lasting more than ten minutes of not drinking when a craving hit before, now, I had mental clarity, and was able to make a decision for myself of whether I wanted to take a drink or go run on a treadmill. I chose the treadmill which before never even occurred to me as a plausible option since my cravings were so intense that I could get a drink faster than putting my running outfit on and I always chose the prior. This pill provides me the option to choose, something I never (felt) like I had before.
I learned this morning that Tenn Care subsidizes it for two years. And judging from drug busts, there is a thriving secondary market.
I do know that there was a Recovery ping list at one time and I was on it but I cannot remember who kept it.
As to the subject at hand, I’ll go with “psychic change” that CAN be accomplished via rigorous honesty and humility.
But, perhaps a “softer, easier way” has finally been discovered. I don’t plan to experiment with it, though.
+10 And there we have it.
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