Greetings everyone. I bought Revia many years ago online, took it once, didn't notice much difference so forgot about the bottle. I found it again in 2013 and it worked beautifully, even though well expired, a couple of times so I ordered Nordit online. Wow. The side effects were so bad when I took Nordict that I felt like I was losing my mind. Post is here for more details on that episode: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3424

A month or so after that episode, I surprisingly got pregnant, so naturally stopped drinking. My daughter is now 2 and I'd like to give TSM another shot as I believe in it and did feel the effects, at least twice, when I took the Revia. I have many questions:

1) Does anyone think that getting an actual prescription of Naltrexone, made by a pharmacy other than one in India, would be preferred? Would the quality and consistency be better? Less side effects? Also, any thoughts on comparison of SE between Revia and other forms of Naltrexone?

2) If I do go that route (prescription vs. ordering online), I do not want it on my record. If I go to an approved TSM doctor and pay for everything out of pocket, I won't have to worry about it being on my medical records, correct (just want to be sure)?

3) I don't have a thyroid (had cancer) and am actually going to see a thyroid specialist this summer. In addition to getting on an optimal dose of thyroid hormone replacement, one of their specialties is weight loss. I have gained some weight as a result of my thyroid being removed, and they recommend Wellbutrin with low-dose Naltrexone, and I mean really low dose. The Wellbutrin could be a welcome addition as I do suffer from periods of depression, but I am wondering how taking LDN daily would, if at all, effect TSM.

4) Can I take 50 mgs of Naltrexone while breastfeeding? Having trouble weaning my daughter...

Thank you in advance for any responses. Much appreciated. I hope you are feeling the weight of addiction being lifted via TSM.

Welcome Hopefulwoman,

1) a lot of people on this forum have gotten nal from one of the online pharmacies and seem to be having good results, so I would have to say the quality and consistency are the same. I have only taken Revia once, and generic from what walgreens gives me (from India), and I have not noticed a difference in side effects, but the coating is a little harder on the generic so I wait longer than 1 hour.

2) If you go to any doctor (TSM or not) it will be on your medical record. I think the only way it wouldn't be on your medical record is if you went to a doctor and didn't use your insurance and when you filled your script you paid cash at a smaller pharmacy. Minnemom (who isn't active at this time) was thinking about going to a clinic that used TSM that was self-pay (they didn't take insurance) and decided against it at first because they did tell her it would be on her medical record, but later decided to go ahead with therapy (I believe at that clinic).

3) LDN is a touchy subject for some of us and I personally think 50 mg should be tried at all times for TSM, for that is the recommended dose; however, some do fine with 25 mg (not LDN) and have not moved up past that amount and are seeing really good results. The amount that you would work up to with the Contrave is 32 mg which is higher than LDN. Starting out on Contrave you would be at 8 mg, which would not block your receptors long enough to cover the length of time your body would need to process alcohol, which (in my opinion) would not help you long term with TSM.

It sounds like you are going to an alternative doctor and he/she will be sending you to a compounding pharmacy for the LDN or VLDN which can become costly.

If you are looking for a weight loss solution, it would be a lot cheaper to have the script written as two separate scripts for the nal and wellburtin. A lot of doctors would do that if asked especially if Contrave is not covered on your insurance or the copay is outrageous. Very few insurances will pay for a compounding LDN or VLDN, and I am unsure if regular pharmacies are compounding it yet.

4) Taking anything while breastfeeding is something you should discuss with your doctor or pharmacist (not a bunch of drunks); in my personal opinion no to drinking any alcohol (not even pump/dump) or taking any type of drugs while breastfeeding, but I am not a medical professional.

If you haven't read the book (or haven't done so recently) please do so, for it can be very helpful.

I hope my answers help,

Jaba

Hi Hopefulwoman, welcome back.

It's odd that you had no SE's on the Revia, but did on the Nodict (I don't think there's an "r" in there, but if your package says so, let us know).

If you got a RX, you'd have your choice of generic or Revia, so maybe the best of both worlds? Using a GoodRx.com coupon, local cost for 30 Nal is $40, Revia is about $100.

LDN (1-5mg) stays on your receptors for about 2 hours from what I've seen (and I've seen very little), best to do some more sleuthing about that. If so, and you took the combo early in the morning, then you would simply follow the Golden Rule if you drank in the evening.

The part where you took Revia a couple of times, that kinda throws me. If you haven't read the book, someone can get you an electronic copy.

Hopefulwoman,

This is just a thought, but maybe you are allergic to one of the fillers in the Nodict?

I have done a lot of research on thyroid meds and how you have to be optimal, and allergies are something that can really effect someone including the fillers that they put in drugs.

If you haven't been to the "stop the madness" website, please do so, for it can be very helpful.

I think tackle one thing at a time. Get your thyroid numbers optimal and then move forward. It will take time to get them there, and if you are going to change meds it will take time for you to feel better. I think it took me about a year to really notice a difference, but I was going through the change and that just threw a wrench in everything (it won't take you that long).

Have the doctor do an allergy test on you to see if you are allergic to some of the fillers in drugs and food allergies (just a suggestion).

But most of all take your time and do not rush into anything. Your daughter is the most important thing right now, and getting her weaned is going to be hard (on you and her), but is a must. That alone will help you mentally and physically, for I never realized how draining it was on me until I stopped...I couldn't imagine breastfeeding without a thyroid, my heart goes out to you. And, please take time for yourself; as a mother myself I know just how easy it is to put everyone in front of your needs (to the point I drank a lot because of it).

Remember we are always here to bounce ideas off of, and to help you anyway we can,

Jaba

Articles I found about breastfeeding on nal:

http://www.drugs.com/breastfeeding/naltrexone.html

http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/further_q_and_a.htm

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2

http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/dr ... ions-durin

This is the Revia drug info: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/a ... eid=172953

this is about Contrave: http://www.rxlist.com/contrave-side-eff ... center.htm

Here is a link to what fillers are in Nodict: https://www.riverpharmacy.ca/faq/does-n ... ngredients

I hope this will help with your decision.

Jaba

Thank you for the feedback and kind words. To clarify about the breastfeeding, well, she's two, so she's not breastfeeding to feed, but for comfort, and not often. So I do have wine now and then, after she goes to sleep. I'd like to have freedom to drink when I want to, but that is most definitely not the main reason that I want to wean. I'm tired of being a pacifier and of her fits when I say "Not right now", when she wants to comfort nurse. She eats and drinks plenty of other fluids and thriving. Oh is she ever thriving! : )

Yes! I do follow Stop The Thyroid Madness on FB and reference the book from time to time (and to answer SPJ, I do have the book by Dr. Eskapa). This is why I am willing to pay the big bucks to go see a well-known progressive thyroid specialist. I am not doing horribly without a thyroid, but this is thanks to my own research and persistence with doctors. Although not easily, I was able to have to healthy amazing children post-TT, which was my biggest concern, and I am cancer-free. The weight is a challenge and I never had a weight problem, so that is why I am looking into the LDN/Wellbutrin. And yes, I will request that they be RX'd separately, for the sake of saving money. It's interesting: I was already looking into taking Wellbutrin for depression and knew about Naltrexone for TSM. The idea that the two together may possibly aid with weight loss was a surprise.

We've had some lovely welcomed rain here in California, so I made a nice Irish-inspired fondue last night. A cozy dinner and a fire. I decided to try that old Revia again. I took two, because I just don't think they're that potent anymore (I believe I bought them in 2004!!!), waited an hour, and had some sparkling wine (daughter was sound asleep). It WORKED. Just like it did when I tried it in 2013. It's a remarkable difference. I had about a flute and a half and then no more. I don't drink often, I can go months comfortably without out drinking, but when I do, I am a binge drinker; once I start, I can't stop. Once I take a sip, it's as if alcohol is in control. But the two, three or four times (they have been so spaced out over the years) I take this Revia, it's amazing. I'm normal. That, "I've had enough" voice speaks up, or, I just lose interest and don't even think about having more (like last night). Last night the only SE I felt was sleepy, but two young kids and cooking a fancy dinner can do that to a mom, too. I feel perfectly fine this morning.

Why would the Nodict make me feel so awful? If I remember correctly, in 2013 when I ordered it online, I took the full 50 mgs and then tried cutting it in half the next time and had the same side effects. I literally felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I can't imagine if I had tried that in public. I do remember reading a lot of posts here at that time of people complaining about Nodict, some were about the SE, but others were about its inefficiency!

So here are my questions:

1) WHERE do I get my hands on some Revia??? It WORKS for me. I am very scared to try Nodict again and even hesitant to give Naltima a shot.

2) If I go the LDN and Wellbutrin route (separately, which was my plan because I had read about the high cost of Contrave in forums online. You're on it, Jaba!), do I cheat and take more of the Naltrexone before I drink? Or, even if I have a separate RX of Naltrexone from a TSM doctor, how does the fact that I am taking a low-dose Naltrexone for weight affect my dosage when I want to drink? Sounds like a question for a doctor, I know

I am a teacher so over the summer I plan to travel up to the East Bay to see the thyroid specialist. It is my goal to wean my daughter over the summer because I don't want to take Wellbutrin while breastfeeding. It's also when I would be willing to travel to see a TSM doctor, as there are none in my part of California. I just really want to avoid that because I am terrified to have addiction on my record (looming divorce and that would hurt any custody issues). That's why I decided to start inquiring here. Maybe someone knows where I can buy Revia. Maybe someone had the same experience with Nodict, but an improvement with Naltima.

Thank you again for your responses. I sincerely do appreciate the time anyone takes to respond. I know we are all anonymous, yet connected via our common struggle. I know this Revia would work for me. I have never been a daily drinker and if I could have access to Revia anytime I wanted to drink, I could drink normally.

I apologize that this is long, rambling and perhaps repetitive. It's taken me an hour to write as both kids woke up since I started writing it.

Thanks for the extra info, it really helps put things in context!

1. Once you have an Rx, you can get either the generic or the brand name. I mentioned the pricing above, probably not too different for your area. That being said, the FDA mandates that the active ingredient between the two must be identical (but the inactive ingredients might be different). If you're ordering from overseas, there's no guarantee that you would be getting the same thing, although people do seem to have good luck with the Naltima brand. You might be able to get Revia online but the price would probably be outrageous and none of the overseas sources (that we know to be reliable) offer it, to my knowledge.

2. Again, look into how long the LDN is covering the opioid receptors. If it's only for a couple of hours and you take it in the morning, then by evening it's gone and you can use the full dose of Naltrexone for TSM. This does bring up an interesting question, as 50mg of Naltrexone will cover your opioid receptors for 12 hours, maybe less or more, based on your metabolism. How is this going to affect the LDN/Wellbutrin combo? I'd bounce that off your TSM doc and the doc prescribing the combo. Now, if you take the Nal at 5pm and start drinking at 6, then by 5am it's worn off to a fair degree, but it might yet have an impact.

Re: TSM docs, I've a few that aren't on the list yet (and so haven't been vetted by C3), so pm me and let me know the nearest big city as there may be one handier than the Bay Area (I found one there too). I can't post their contact info in a public forum as I don't have their permission to do so.

Thanks, JSP. I'd be willing to pay the outrageous online price for Revia, knowing how well it works for me. I just can't find any. I, of course, checked the pharmacy from where I bought it (in 2007, I just searched my emails) no longer exists. Would my in-laws in Mexico, or friends in Canada, be able to buy Revia?

I will PM you about TSM doctors (2 year old a bit fussy, so give me a bit), however, do you know if I can find out BEFORE I see one as to whether or not it will be on my record? I am fine with paying cash and not going through my insurance. I know that this works for me and having access to Naltrexone (preferable Revia) could change my life, for the better.

You might be able to get some through your Canadian connection, don't know how that would work. Mexico is devoid of Naltrexone, I checked into it for another member that got stuck down there without their Nal.

Some docs have a private pay arrangement, they don't take insurance at all. Maybe see if they could obtain the Nal for you so you don't have to deal with the pharmacy, or go to some other pharmacy and use a different phone number, don't give up your SSN, that sort of thing. You can set your appointment by phone, explain your situation and see if they can accommodate you. I doubt that they can give away your information due to HIPAA regulations, those guys have some pretty sharp teeth and an audit can be a nasty and expensive proposition.

I did a little digging and found a new revision to the HIPAA which may or may not help you. https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/2014/ ... h-privacy/

In a divorce or custody issues, please contact an attorney, or (sometimes) law schools have students answer questions. HIPPA is thrown out the window in some states when it comes to custody battles. I believe if the court subpoenas your medical records it wouldn't matter if you pay in cash, but every state is different.

Jaba