I am having a hard time believing that others do not get nauseous on this medication. I believe but I just don't understand how the side effects can be so different. I have taken 25 mg. twice and I am seriously on my butt on the couch all day. I can't even think about getting up and doing something, I have plans this weekend and I don't know how I am going to be able to do them.

I am just starting to feel better from last nights pill and now it is soon time to take a new one.

I know I sound like I am complaining but I actually looked at the bottle today to see if they had given me Antabuse by accident...no. Ug, the puke pill. I have not even left the house today and it's time to take the puke pill again? Whatever, I'll take it again. The two nights I have taken it I have only had one drink each night, we will see what happens tonight. Who can drink when they are this nauseous I don't expect anyone to reply I am just rambling in my misery.

I had literally the same reaction the first day: I seriously thought I had been sent antabuse by mistake. I've posted that in the past. I forgot and took the full 50 mg on Day One. It took a great deal of courage to take even 25 the next day. But I did, and had no side effects at all. I've had nothing to speak of in the way of side effects since. Most seem to have the initial s/e's disappear very quickly -- after the first day or two. For an unlucky few it is longer but it does go away.

Maenads, When I first started to take Nal, I took it as per my Dr.'s instruction, in the p.m. before bedtime, as he suggested it may may me sleepy.
I originally took it as a med to help me abstain, but I now have changed to TSM. As I changed my program I changed the time I took the med. Maybe taking it at p.m. and getting adjusted to the med may be helpful to you. ART

I was nauseated too. It passes in a few days, week at most (and gets milder each day.) Hang in there.

It never made me nauseated or sleepy. I have a pretty good tolerance for everything I've ever taken, though, so that's probably part of it.

If it makes you feel crappy then just take quarter- or half-doses until the side effects go away. They will.

I hadn't said anything about this side effect on these types of posts because I've never experienced it myself. But I too, have a high tolerance for medications. However, I had bad dreams, sweating for a few weeks after taking Naltrexone.

ALL of these side effects disappear with time. After a while you won't even notice anything after taking the pill.

Bob

I got pretty nauseous myself for the first 4-5 days. I also had terrible dreams, insomnia, a weird taste in my mouth, and a very weird change in taste of the alcoholic beverages I was drinking. I remember day two, picking up my favorite beer "Spaten" and taking a sip, and wondering if I had gotten an off-batch from the liquor store. The beer tasted so intense. Too intense to be honest.

That side effect of overly-flavorful beer has all but gone away now, as have the other side effects.

But to be honest, I miss the side effects. I was drinking anywhere from 8-11 beers a day. And then overnight, I couldn't put back more than 3-4 beers. And I attribute most of that to the side effects. The beers tasted so strong, I couldn't really just slam them like I used to. But now, beers are tasting back to normal, so I am starting to put them back again like normal. Now I am creeping back up to the 5-6 beers a night.

So, if the side-effects are causing you to drink significantly less, then use this time to gain some perspective, and see what it feels like in your mind to be sober. I found 3-4 beers a night to be a wonderful revelation of going to sleep without a buzz, and waking up feeling like I had slept.

And also... ALWAYS take Naltrexone with a little bit of food. I know it doesn't really say to, but as soon as I started eating some cheese and crackers just before I took Nal, it made the nausea go away instantly.

Good luck my friend!

Thanks Lena, ART, HFB, N101CS and Bob for your input, I could barely stand up last night for more than a minute. It's actually the day after I take the pill that's even worse. Heck I am used to sitting around doing nothing in the evening, I usually just sit around and drink. It's now when I have to go out and do stuff when my stomach is rumbling. Oh well, only had two drinks last night.

Pisces I too get the weird taste, insomnia and the rest along with my nausea, I also get what you are saying. The more I read the posts on how people are doing I am wondering if some will-power timed at the right spot should be included. Last night I could have drank more but I used the will power and nausea Nal had given me to stop at two. I know it's only day five etc. but I have read this board like crazy and I am trying to figure out how to break the code. So many people seem to post daily with not such great results. Aaaahhhh. Oh well at least I am trying . First time I have cut down on my drinking in a long time. I am going to stop whining, have a shower, eat something and hopefully enjoy my hangover free day!!

I wouldn't say that people are posting with not much results. From what I am reading, this stuff cures 80-88% of the people who take it. And I have also read that the people that Nal really works for, are those that get the side-effects really strong in the beginning. While I have no science to back this up, I am only going on what I've read around the forum, those that get no benefit from Naltrexone are those that experience no nausea, insomnia, initial downturn in units per day, etc.

So the fact that Nal is kicking your ass right now, should signal to you that you are definitely within the 80-88% that it will work for. The only thing that you have to be prepared for is the patience to see it all through. I need to take this advice too, because I too want to just swallow a pill, and wake up cured. But I am trudging forward with the hope that it will work completely for me eventually.

Keep your chin up!

Like most drugs, the side effects of Nal hit everyone a little differently. The worst Nal side effect for me was that Nal made me feel like I'd taken a sleeping pill or something. Maybe not as bad as the nausea, but it was still difficult to deal with -- but worth it. I remember some nights falling asleep by 7pm because I just couldn't keep my eyes open, then waking up and being wide awake at 3am. Not fun.

The discomfort will go away and the rewards far outway what you are feeling now.

Q