Man, these side-effects are pretty fierce! I have read a lot about Naltrexone, here on this board, on the net, and in the book. I knew there were side-effects. Most people claimed slight nausea and/or headache. Few mentioned insomnia, and maybe a little anxiousness.

But I am on my fourth day of Naltrexone, and I about 30-45 minutes after I take it, I am pretty sick to my stomach. My anxiety is through the roof, and the insomnia is F*&@%$# crazy!

But the oddest thing is the weird "detached" feeling I have. I feel sort of dazed (and yet somehow weirdly focused). The beer that I am drinking has SOOO much more flavor than I am used to. You see, I like good beer. I love German imports, hoppy English ales, and deep rich Samuel Smith stouts etc. But I drink crap like Michelob sometimes, because I can't afford the $30/day I would spend on the good stuff, if I wanted to maintain my average amount.

Well, since I have started the Sinclair Method 4 days ago, I have only been drinking very mild beers like Michelob AmberBock, Yuengling, and even some Bud Light. The oddest thing is how much I can taste each sip. Before Naltrexone, I would sit and drink these watery beers, and I could taste the first one, and maybe half of the second one, but after that, it just kind of became cold, bubbly malt water that I'd slug back. But since Naltrexone, I can taste every sip of a Michelob AmberBock as if it were a much tastier beer, and I'd have to force myself to really tip it back.

So far, for me, this medication is proving to be MUCH more of an intense experience than I expected. I have to admit, I was under the impression that I'd take the pill, feel nothing, and keep drinking as usual, with no change for months; no side-effects, no problems, and basically no real change to anything. But so far, this is definitely not the case. I feel like a zombie. I drink 1/2-1/4 of what I was drinking, and I feel like I am going to throw up until I can get down at least two beers, then the nausea subsides. And I normally have a pretty tough resolve when it comes to these kinds of things.

This stuff is weird. But I am so thrilled that it is working.

Take the pill on a full stomach, that will reduce the nausea. The side effects will go away within a couple of weeks.

Glad it's working for you.

Weeks?!?!

Wow. Okay.

I should clarify. Some of the side effects are temporary, like nausea. Sleep disturbance and "feeling spacey" also diminish or go away entirely. The taste of alcohol will probably always be different on naltrexone. The clarity you have when drinking on naltrexone also does not go away.

My nausea and spaciness went away in 2 days.

Side effects of Nal are very interesting in both the commonality and the diversity (that may make sense later as you compare your experiences to others'

For me the nausea was more intense than I expected, although I typically felt it mid or late the next day, not when I took it. In fact, it usually went *away* when I took my Nal and I would feel quite calm. Weird. All that said, I switched back to 25 mg for a few days because of the nausea (after trying 50 mg for a few days). By the tenth day, the nausea was gone and has never returned.

Well this sounds like utopia. The nausea, sleep disturbances, and spacey feelings go away, and the acute sense of flavor and clarity of thought stays.

Why isn't this stuff being passed out at frat houses, biker bars, and spilling out of David Hasselhoff's pockets?

That my friend is the $64,000 question.

As a male in my fifties, one look at my cholesterol numbers and the doc whips out an Rx for a statin. Not sure why an honest answer to "and how much do you drink?" isn't followed just as quickly with an offer of Naltrexone.

Pisces, I'm so happy for you. WOW!

PV I am finding that I too feel nausea the next day occasionally, not when I take it, but this is after a medium drinking session the night before (like 6-8 drinks). No drunkenness. I stated this in an earlier post as many others have. As the neurological wires get fixed in our brains, is it possible the hangovers are like when we started drinking. I used to have hangovers but that was when i was kid. Once I became alcoholic, I would get hangovers occasionally, but usually only after a huge drinking session 15-20 drinks in a night. Even then, what I could expect usually the next day was shakiness and anxiety. That which we all know too well. BEst, Jim

Jim,

When I was a kid, [16-19] I NEVER got hangovers. I would drink a "whole 6-pack", which back then was a lot, and gradually worked my way up to drinking a 12 pack per day. And I still got up at 8:00 for college classes, with only a slight grogginess. But then I like hit a wall, and 12 beers would give me a monster hangover. I can still remember sitting down in my shower in my college apartment, with the water running over me, just staring blankly ahead, trying to figure out a way to just climb back in bed instead of class; and this on a pretty much daily basis.

But you are right, after a while, even the "adult" hangovers subsided, and I would only end up on the shower floor after 15-20 drinks the night before. But now that I am 31, there is no way that I could put away the 20 beers I used to. I haven't had 12 beers in one night in years. I am a 8-9 beer a day guy, but if I try to stretch over that, I get a huge smack down the next morning.

But the worst thing is that with an 8-9 beer/day habit, my entire life was pretty much one big hang over, that I guess I didn't notice. My mind is foggy. My thoughts are slower. My memory is gone. And pretty much all of my sharpness is just dull and subdued.

That is why I found Naltrexone. I have to get my sharp mind back. I'd do anything to have my memory back. I still have my long term memory. Hell, I can still remember my high school locker combination from 1995. But I can't remember if I already asked the girl I'm on a date with where she's from.