i hope this is not a forum no-no, but i have posted this to the ask dr. e section as well, but thought others might be able to help---


I have read all (i think) of the posts regarding nausea (and other) side effects, but none address this question:

what if anything can be done to manage this effect? (i'm thinking of suggestions that go beyond 'eat some crackers').

i have posted my experiences with naltrexone elsewhere. the short version is that i had to give up due to powerful nausea (and an odd vertigo-like dizziness/disorientation). Naltrexone was prescribed by an m.d. who knew nothing of Sinclair. I used it per TSM.

i consulted with various m.d.'s regarding this effort to manage side-effects, to no avail. (suggestions included: take with food, start at a lower dose...neither of which worked).

i want to try again, but am concerned that i won't be able to tolerate the se's. (PS- oddly, it seems that the se's stay with me beyond the time it supposedly takes for naltrexone to be metabolized out of my system, if this is possible.).

thank you for your help

I couldn't seem to find the duration of your Naltrexone regimen. Was it for days or weeks?

The side effects go away for the majority of people in a week. I have even tried 100mg and found it no different than 50mg which is what I take now. But I did have some se's during ht first week, but now, after a month, there are no se's.

Bob

Hey, TJ. I think that this is exactly the right place to ask this kind of question.

Could you give us more details? How long did you try it? When you stepped up, how much did you start at, and how long did you try that?

I've seen people who have started as low as 17mg (1/3 of a pill), so there is always a more gentle slope to try.

hi all,

on try no. 1, i took 50mg one hour before (eve) and i persisted in this for approx 3 weeks. the se's were nausea, headache, sleep disturbance, and this odd spatial dissorientation (vertigo-like,afraid to drive). i finally gave up.

i talked with an md who had extensive experience with naltrexone (but not TSM specifically) and he suggested that i try again, and cut the dose to 25, then adapt, adapt and ramp up. i did that and same s.e.'s unfortunately.

the oddest thing is that the s.e.'s persist days after i stop taking nal. perhaps 3-5 days, particularly the dissorientation/dizziness. the nausea abates.

that's the story...thanks

I know for me, even the 25 mg was too strong and I cut that dose in half. I got some good advice here to stay on the same dose until you no longer feel any side effects and then go up again. Even cutting the 25 mg in half I still felt some nausea and slight headache, along with a little out of sorts sensation. But after several days it subsided and then I increased to 25 mg. I stayed on that dose and then went up another 12 mgs or so. Again I waited until I didn't feel the nausea, etc. Tonight is my first night on 50mg and I will probably experience the same side effects for awhile, although I am hoping it won't be as bad. Maybe you are very sensitive to medication as some of us are and just need to start out at a very small dose, maybe even smaller than I did. I had also thought about whether there are medications to help with the nausea, etc if it wouldn't go away, or to get me through until they went away. I know I have heard of drugs that treat nausea, but not sure what they are and whether or not they would work in this situation. Maybe some others on this site might know.

Fortunately cutting the dose WAY down and taking it slow proved to be the best solution for me. As I recall, I even went off the Nal for a couple of days when I first started out at 25mg and hated the way it made me feel. Then when I re-started, I started out with 12 mgs. (using a pill cutter device bought at the pharmacy). I think Marbella on this site was my biggest inspiration because she had such a rough go of it at first and then had success, so that helped keep me going. Knowing others had experienced the same thing really made a difference for me too, so hang in there and hopefully something among the suggestions here will be the key to your success.

interesting. i wonder if anyone out there dealth with the se's a different way...possibly through medication, and if so, what and how?

otherwise, i'm likely to try your very small dose approach.

thank you