Anyone on or starting a naltrexone journey?

[ohthejoysoftoddler]

I'm hoping to start naltrexone next week, I'm nervous but excited to get started. Anyone else on the journey and wants to share?

@IAmAnAlcoholic yes, of course, I’d be happy to.. I imagine it’s different for everyone, but for me I found the reasons I want to drink in the first place don’t go away, it’s just that when you do drink it’s not so satisfying. So I’ve found I’ve had to look quite deeply at why I was drinking in the first place, where the patterns came from, and that can be unsettling and upsetting. Also I’ve found when I do have more than one or two drinks it seems to affect me much more, and some of mornings after have been pretty awful if I’m honest. But I hope that doesn’t put you off, for me the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s an amazing tool, but it’s not a magic bullet.

Got my consultation booked for Tuesday, already have a liver test so hoping for a quick turnaround.

Good luck @RubyRobin82! Hope it goes well- my meds came through incredibly quickly, so fingers crossed for you too

Good luck Ruby. I had my GP consultation today. I have had a recent blood test so had liver function results, the prescription has already been issued and paid for. The pharmacy should be sending them out tomorrow and I have my first counselling session on Friday. I'm scared and excited. I need to find something to fill my time and keep my mind busy so have got out the adult colouring books I filed away unused over Covid!

@IAmAnAlcoholicI am about 2 weeks into this with rethink drink. I wasn’t sure if it was working initially but now I think it is. I went to the pub with some friends on Sunday and so was planning to drink. Started with a beer then shared a bottle of wine between 3 with the meal. Usually I would have been leading the charge to order another bottle but I just felt full and tired. Stuck to water while the other 2 ordered themselves a drink. I don’t think that have happened before.

How are you getting on @RubyRobin82 and @kohlrabislaw? I took my first naltrexone this evening.

Just came across this thread, I'm a GP. It's often red listed so we can't prescribe, and/or there isn't the support available to go with the prescription. It isn't that we don't want to help.

Well I’ve been logging my units and without a doubt the graph is trending down. I’d say I was drinking a bottle of wine 5 or 6 days a week, with some extra gins at the weekend. Last week I logged 15 units. I’m managing 3 days a week no alcohol. Just don’t even feel like it. Drinking on weekends out of habit (keeping husband company partly) and my habit is still to pour another glass but I’m definitely not getting the ‘buzz’ and so finding it much easier to stop after a couple of glasses. It’s early days but feeling like things are changing.

@metalbottle what do you mean by red listed?

As in GPs not allowed to prescribe. And even if it isn't, as a GP I can't offer the support that needs to go with a naltrexone script, so it isn't safe for me to prescribe. The only thing I can safely do is to refer to the local alcohol team (or for acute admission if e.g. acute DTs), there is nothing else that I can safely offer.

Here are two examples of naltrexone on formularies not to be prescribed in primary care https://www.greatermanchesterformulary.nhs.uk/chaptersSubDetails.asp?FormularySectionID=4&SubSectionRef=04.10.01&SubSectionID=A100

www.westhertsformulary.nhs.uk/chaptersSubDetails.asp?FormularySectionID=4&SubSectionRef=04.10.03&SubSectionID=A100

i think I’m ready to engage with this programme and. I’ve worked out I can just about afford it if I put it on the credit card. Who is everybody using and what’s the cost including the cost of the medication? I’m on a really limited income but I can’t carry on the way I am. I went to a party at the weekend and apparently disappeared for a whole hour and I have zero recollection of who I was with or where I was. This isn’t sustainable anymore but I’m on a budget so need the cheapest possible option.

@GreenGodivai am with Rethink Drink and I think it’s £649 for 3 months. That includes the prescription but the actual cost of the pills is on top of that. £80 for one month supply. Yes it’s expensive but I worked out I was spending more than that on booze. The Rethink Drink coaches are absolutely brilliant, the support could not be better. You can have a free intro chat with them. https://www.rethinkdrink.co.uk/

Hi @GreenGodiva , I'll PM you

Only started last week as tablets arrived just as I was going on holiday. Took 4 half doses last week to get used to it, no real symptoms experienced. Took a full tablet Sunday, yesterday and today, it’s a weird feeling that you can taste it but don’t get the hit I expect to relax. Went to bed last night with massive anxiety as the drink didn’t calm my nerves. Guess I just need to keep with it and see how it goes. How are you all getting on.

How are you getting on?

Hi @notanotherroast

It seems to be going ok for me- somehow I’ve managed not to have a drink for the last month, and no-one’s no surprised than me! I was worried I’d be one of those people it didn’t work for, but I started in December and somehow I still haven’t finished my first pack of pills. Although I did have some major slip ups early on. How’s it going for you?

@SnowShapes7that is absolutely amazing. Well done. I’m just starting week 9 now and units are still trending down. I’m still drinking but it’s not holding the allure it was. It’s not as ‘fun’ and it’s easier to stop and much easier to decide not to drink at all. It’s just not taking up the headspace. I did have an occasion recently where I drank a fair bit at a party and I felt absolutely horrendous the next day. Previously I would have managed much better but it was really awful!

Thank you @kohlrabislaw, I’m so glad the units are trending down for you. I agree about how horrendous you feel when you overdo it! I think that, coupled with not getting the buzz anymore really helped me break the cycle, and be happy to take a break from drinking completely. I was trending down too, then after feeling really awful after overdoing it just made me want to stop for a bit. It’s so weird having the ‘wine noise’ volume turn down in your head, isn’t it? Previously it felt overwhelming at times, and then suddenly it’s just not there! But on the plus side that means I don’t feel like I’m missing out or having to white knuckle it!

I'm back on it. I had a stressful period and stopped taking it and my brain reverted to old habits so the drinking crept up again. Started a half yesterday and only 2 small glasses of wine so that's a win. I realise I need to take it consistently to rewire my brain. I also need to be patient with it to get over the flat feeling initially and push through.

How are people managing their feelings now they don't drink? I realise my triggers are boredom, stress and anxiety - but hopefully less alcohol will help anyway

@Justwanttobebytheseai used wine as a reward to relax at the end of the day. I’ve now found a drink I really like… Mother root and dash water in a fancy glass with ice. Not for everyone but works for me. I pour it after work and sit down in a quiet room and spend half an hour with a comforting book ignoring everything else.

Sounds good - I def need to have a different 6pm routine that doesn't involve wine.

What's dash water?

Hey, just coming back to update and see how everyone is getting on. So I'm a month in now and consistently drinking 1/3 less than I was before. Some nights a bit less, some a bit more. I keep a water bottle next to my wine glass and I'm finding I want to drink loads of water instead of just guzzling wine. I'm getting hangovers for the first time in years, I was struggling to hold back the tears when Bruce said it's because my tolerance to alcohol is dropping. Generally the wine noise is quieter. I'm stopping drinking and going to bed earlier, getting better sleep, getting up at a decent time in the morning instead of hitting snooze in a hazy fog and have more energy. And my mind set is changing - I've got a couple of evenings out coming up and instead of planning to get a uber home I'm thinking meh, I'll just have a lime and soda and drive home. I've got a long way to go but I am so so glad I found this thread and signed up to Rethink Drink.

@IAmAnAlcoholic that’s fantastic!! And after such a short amount of time. Well done 👍

It’s fruit flavoured sparkling water in a can. Overpriced tbh but better for me than wine. And I’ve started making my own homemade mother root which I like, though no one else does! https://www.nordickitchenstories.co.uk/2026/01/22/spicy-ginger-switchel-recipe/