I am so confused with what's happening to me. I started taking Naltrexone 'properly' about 4 months ago, previous to that I would truly forget to take it an hour before I drank and take it WITH a drink - I saw no change in my habits at all.

I am a weekend binge drinker, don't know when to stop, but usually no hangovers - wake up feeling foggy but that's all.

A big change has occurred the last few weeks. I have been taking the NAL, drinking, and being terribly sick the next day and the next night - I mean, throwing up all day, sleeping all day and the following night too. This is just the worst thing! I decided not to take the Nal this weekend past and I couldn't stand the taste of my beloved red wine! BUT, of course I had to have something so I had a couple of vodka coolers. Usually this would be like drinking water - but on Saturday morning, afternoon and evening I was completely out of it.

What the heck is happening? Am I allergic to the Naltrexone? Has anyone had anything similar?

Thank you all in anticipation.

Sickness is a known side effect, perhaps you are going through some sort of phase with it?Have you tried taking it without drinking?seeing what happens?

I did have a phase of terrible hangovers with TSM but since I started drinking large quantities of water whenever I drink alcohol, the problem seems to have disappeared.

Perhaps the spirits are dehydrating you?

Thank you for your reply. I did not take the nal when I drank the two coolers and that was when I got so terribly sick. I will do as you suggested and drink lots and lots of water. I cannot go through that again. After last weekend, I don't want to drink at all at the moment.

Hi, Brummy! My hangovers definitely got worse with Nal and have stayed bad when I drink more than a glass of wine or a cocktail.

I have a completely amateur theory: Since endorphins are squashed by Nal, there is not the old high from drinking; since endorphin traces don't remain in the system after drinking, the crash is harder. Doesn't help, either, that (for me at least) tolerance is WAY down from what it was in the bad old days.

Things aren't quite as bad if I eat before or while drinking and if I hydrate well before sleep.

Just my $.02. I have found that the terrible hangovers are actually a deterrent, which is good. (And even if they'd been this bad before Nal, they wouldn't have been a deterrent. It's the Nal that makes all the difference. I declared "cured" some time ago.)

Hang on!

So you didn't take nal before drinking the alcohol which then resulted in the hangovers?

Hi,

I'm not sure I understand all of your post, I understand that you get very bad hangovers after drinking with Naltrexone as per TSM (50mg 1 hr before drinking) The second part is not clear, are you saying that when you drank WITHOUT Nal you got much drunker than usual or that you were very sick?

I too got bad hangovers with Nal, though not to the extent of throwing up but pretty bad, I know a lot of people experience this, for most, this side effect disappears after a few weeks, in my case it didn't so I dropped from 50mg to 25 and that did the trick. I also make sure not to drink on a empty stomach and usually eat a small snack before taking Nal, I find this helps a lot.

Good luck!

Curi

I wanted to explain my post as it's a bit unclear. Yes, I have been getting worse hangovers with the Nal, and tried one weekend of drinking WITHOUT the nal and it was the same even though I only had two coolers which wouldn't have any effect in the past.

I went to see my doc today, who has been amazingly supportive through all this. His explanation of my terrible hangovers is that the Nal has nothing to do with it - he says that what happens to serious drinkers is that over many years you build up a tolerance, which levels out. Then your insides break down and the slightest amount becomes intolerable. He encouraged me to take the Nal as it's taking away the desire for me to drink - but so is the thought of those hangovers. Thanks for your help everyone.

According to Eskapa's book If you drink without Nal you start to rebuild the cravings, undoing whatever progress you've already made. Yes tolerance is known to change in heavy or problem drinkers and you can go through crazy spells with it. I had some humdinger hangovers with Nal, but at other times for similar amounts nothing.