Hi all. Thanks for this forum.

I have just heard about TSM and it makes a lot of sense. Before I talk to my doctor, I want to get some advice from the forum.

My average current daily habits include waking to tea, then coffee and cigarettes, then a mild morning joint or two, then two panafen+ pills (25.6mg codeine, 400mg ibuprofen), then cigarettes, joints and strong tea through-out the day, until around 3-6pm when I open a bottle of wine and finish it, or nearly so, by 8.30pm. It must be noted that I don't need the pain pills but they make the edges of the day a bit softer. I rarely exercise, but I want to change this by returning to the C25k running program soon.

My questions.
Besides its effect on my wine consumption, what other habits will naltrexone affect? I understand I will have to stop with the codeine, that's ok. What about pot? What issues should I be aware of?
Can naltrexone be taken with varenicline (Chantix) for smoking cessation? Some studies have been conducted into their coefficiency, so it seems to be safe at least, but has anyone here done so?
How can I most effectively incorporate endorphin-producing exercise into my regimen while taking nalterxone?

Thanks muchly. I am really keen to make this work for me.

Kerri

You can't take Codeine if using Naltrexone. Nal is an opiate blocker. What ever you do make sure the Codeine is out of your system before taking Nal. I made this mistake once and its not nice. I though I was going to die.

Naltrexone doesn't affect cigarettes. Those work via a different mechanism. Chantix is supposed to help for a lot of people, but when I tried it I landed in the emergency room. The doc there told me that he'd been seeing a lot of that, so I don't think I'm the only one. If I were you, I wouldn't start naltrexone and Chantix at the same time -- you'll want to know which is producing what side effects.

I suppose naltrexone might reasonably interfere with pot, although I'm not aware of any research on the subject -- only alcohol and heroin have been well-studied. The pain pills, as already mentioned, really should be ditched before you begin.

I wouldn't think tea would be affected. Caffeine isn't an opiate. My coffee seems to have about the same effect as it ever did.

If you really want to be clever with the exercise, you need two alcohol-free days in a row. Day 1 is a naltrexone day (and you drink), day 2 is what some call a washout day (don't drink, but a bit of nal is still sloshing around, and day 3 is when you engage in the endorphin-producing habit you want to reinforce. You could, of course, also exercise on day one before you consume the nal.

Glad to see you with us.

Thanks for the info.

Any idea how many days I need between taking codeine and then taking Nal?

Not a clue. What's the half-life of codeine?

Not a clue. What's the half-life of codeine?

Doh! Great question, melissa1928. I went looking and found this, plus some other info that I should know about my little habit (which fortunately less than 10% of the daily max dose). Giving myself 2-3 days is probably enough.



I am looking forward to ditching two habits with the one pill.

there's a bit more to it than half life. it usually takes a drug 5.5 times the half life to completely clear. to be on the safe side I,d wait a week. trust me its not a nice feeling.

Thanks for the math, Thomas. I didn't know that. And the heads up about miscalculating.
5.5 x 3hrs. Is that how it works? 16.5 hours. I don't know much about half lives.
I am hoping 48hrs may be enough. I want to start Nal ASAP.

I would think three days would be enough, at that half-life, but if it's as unpleasant as all that then it might be wise to wait longer. This is a big deal, after all. We're beginning a lifetime commitment. Waiting a few more days to get a really solid start makes sense to me.

3 days might work. Personally I'd wait a week. The pain you'll go through if your not clear isn't worth it. If you've ever had RLS multiply that by 100 and you'll have some idea. I had to walk about all night and at some point was trying to sleep standing up whilst swinging my arm about.