Good day

It's been a while since I visited the forum, but now I really need some help. I managed to find doctor who seemed willing to help me access Naltrexone. 1st step - I had a liver function test, and the results were great - virtually 100% okay. Apparently I have some kind of weird gene which prevents liver damage (thank goodness!). 2nd step - he had to apply to the MCC ( Medicines Control Council) for permission to import Nal. The drug used to be available in South Africa, but the patent expired, and was not renewed, or some such story. Now if you try to import medications without the blessing of the MCC you run the very real risk of having your parcel confiscated by our customs officials.

2 days ago my GP phoned me with what he thought was good news. He had been speaking to a colleague of his, a Dr Sandy Pillay, a psychiatrist, who had said, "don't worry about going the MCC route - there is already a medication freely available in South Africa which will do the same as Naltrexone. It's called Suboxone." My GP said the I should visit Pillay and get a script from him. (Suboxone is a Schedule 7 drug and normal GPs are not allowed to prescribe it). He also said that if we went to the MCC we would probably have to wait a long time, while my application went from person to person, etc; (South African government departments are notoriously inefficent); and wer might have a problem getting the MCC to prescribe Nal, because my liver test outcome was so good. He said that Suboxone was the answer!

Well, of course I was excited and happy about this turn of events, until I went onto the Internet to investigate. From what I found out, Suboxone is useful for people who have serious drug addiction problems, with heroin, cocaine, eg, and you are NOT allowed to drink alcohol while taking it. While I KNOW that Nal and TSM is the way to go, I am feeling EXTREMELY frsutrated.

I have 3 questions. (1) Am I wrong about Suboxone being useless for treating alcohol addiction? (I am sure that it's no good, but I am trying to be reasonable (2) I live near Durban, in Natal, South Africa. Does anyone know of any local doctor who has managed to get Naltrexone prescribed by the MCC? (3) While I am the most law abiding person around, I have even considered getting a friend from the UK to send me Nal as a "gift". Obviously, I would pay all costs, and it would be sent anonymously, so he wouldn't have a problem with the law, but there is still a danger that it would be confiscated on arrival in this country, and I could possibly also end up in trouble. However, I am so desperate now that I am prepared to buy Nal "under the counter" as it were, as long as it is the proper medication, and has not been "doctored". Does anyone know of any chemist / pharmacy in the Natal area that would stock Naltrexone, and would sell it without a prescription?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance, everyone. All the best to you all.

Jeanette.

Hi Jeanette - sorry your post went so long unanswered. When you first wrote on the board Lena responded with this: "Dr. Eskapa (author of the book on TSM) is from South Africa and I think he may not be far from you. He is not a medical doctor but would be very knowledgeable about the availability of naltrexone in SA. You can hit the "Members" button (top right, under the banner), find his name (near the beginning of the list), and email him through the link on his profile page.

Many of us here use River, but I think naltrexone might not be much cheaper through them. Many of us here have found alldaychemist to be reliable, and far less costly than River.

Best wishes for success. Please keep us posted."

Did you have any success contacting Dr. Eskapa? He could probably lead you in the right direction. I can't answer any questions about the sub drug you mentioned but he certainly could. Honestly, if you can't get it any other way, you might try the friend route. You also might try Reliable RX. They ship to Canada when no one else does so they might ship to you! The drugs actually come from India via alternate routes - sort of like what your friend would do. Make sure you get enough to get by because if you are having issues obtaining, you don't want to run out! It should cost about $20 for 10 pills so $60/month and then shipping costs so obviously the more you order the more beneficial for shipping.

Good luck.

Hi Jeanette,

I would stay away from Suboxone ( Buprenorphine) as there is no research done (as far as I am aware) that it is suitable towards TSM. I have checked out the British National Formulary (BNF) and Buprenorphine is described as an opoid 'partial agonist' as opposed to Naltrexone being an opoid 'antagonist'. Point being that there is a difference. I may be missing something but i don't ever recall reading that suboxone has been used in TSM but someone please correct me if I am wrong. i believe suboxone is used as a 'substitution therapy' for opoid dependent people rather than naltrexone that is used for blocking pleasure in opoid users and TSM.

I would get the second opinion from a physician who is very familiar with TSM or you could ask Dr Eskapa about research on suboxone.

Cheers and let me know how you get on!

Galoot

Hi Jeanette
I looked up Buprenorphine on mayoclinic.com, and to me it looks like it is only used to help prevent severe withdrawals from narcotics --- in the same way that methadone is used to prevent severe withdrawal from heroin.

It also looks like Buprenorphine could kill you if you drink alcohol while taking it. I'm surprised that any doctor would suggest it to combat alcohol dependency.

If I were you, I think I would have the friend from UK send it. Since Naltrexone is such a benign drug - with no potential for abuse or addiction - surely you could not get into any really *serious* trouble if it were confiscated? Perhaps with some research you could find out what the worst-case scenario would be?

I just started the Naltrexone last week and am (so far) getting impressive results. Best of luck to you. I'll be sure to let you know if I come across any info that might be helpful.

sincerely,
Shelly

Hi Jenette. I am from South Africa too! Please email me if you found a doctor to prescribe! Sue@mehelpme.co.za