MisFilly, I do sympathize, I had all those SEs minus the vomiting but I know ElectraLou often threw up... It's rough! On the up-side, feeling so ill and the bad hangovers served as negative reinforcement for me, I quickly learned that I could drink 3 units without dying the next day. A few things helped me: Eat something before you take the Nal, drop the dose to 12.5 mg until you can tolerate it and then increase to 25, then 37.5 and then 50. Hang in there, the SEs do subside but they can be rough in the beginning. Are you taking any other meds that might be reacting with it?

Curi

Thanks so much, Curi, and others who have contributed to my thread!

I followed the advice to eat with just 12.5mg and that worked better for me. Still not feeling great but now it's bearable and I managed not to vomit. My fav drink is a mixed drink with 2 shots so that's 2 units. I considered having more but decided not to. It tasted good at first and I felt a slight buzz but then the flavor changed. Weird. Maybe it's the power of suggestion.

I'll stay on the 12.5 until the side effects have diminished enough and then slowly increase as suggested. Today, I'm slightly nauseated and sleepy, but I think I can get through the day. I wonder how some coffee would sit on my not-so-happy stomach....

I'm feeling optimistic. Just have to stick to the plan and ride out the rough road at this beginning stage.

I agree with the comment about the non-judgmentalness here--I really appreciate it! Such a supportive environment.

A big thank you to the webmaster of this site!

Also, in answer to the question about other meds: yes, I do take a low dosage of an antidepressant (Prozac). I've always tended to be sensitive to medications in general. Come to think of it, it took a while before I the Prozac side fx went away....

have you tried Lamictol for deppresion. its a mood stabilizer. it saved my life. anyway hang there the side effect will go away.

Hi Filly, Welcome. When I first took Nal (25mgs) I had the SE's you mentioned, then I took 12.5 and that seemed to work. My problem was that I was too afraid to take more, so I gave up. Here I am a year or so later and the Nal I recently got from my psychiatrist doesn't seem to cause the side effects, other than a little nausea. I will soon need to up the dose to 50 mgs, but I will do it on a day I don't have a lot to do. It so happens that last night I ended up taking one of the old pills (online from India) because I was driving and I had it stashed in my car. Needless to say, the old SE's came back. I do believe there may be a difference in the quality of pills. Keep us posted and please don't give up. Keek

Last night I took 12.5mg and drank 4 units. I wanted more, but the craving was manageable (level 6) so I decided not too. This morning at first I felt pretty good, but started to feel nauseated on the commute to work and now am really fatigued and headachy.

The comment about the manufacturing quality hit home. The ones I'm taking are the Nodict's, the cheap Indian brand. I have Naltima, also from India, but rumored to be better, on the way.

I feel pretty blah over all. Don't feel much like drinking, which is good, but I know this is WAY early in the process. Hey, who wants to drink when their stomach hurts? I need to get past these side effects and get to a decent dosage to get this treatment to work its slow miracle.....

My sleep is still patchy but I don't have insomnia, thank goodness!

I appreciate the encouragement from everyone here. I remain determined....

Filly, I also read that eating with and drinking lots of water prior helps smooth some of the initial side effects. Keep on keeping on! Keek

Last evening, I took my 12.5 mg and had a total of 3 drinks over the course of the evening. Still not feeling great, but better! Craving level: 7.

This morning I'm encouraged to note that I'm feeling slightly better again. Some nausea, lots of fatigue, but I do believe there is an upward trend!

My plan now is to stick with 12.5 mg until the side effects are 90% (?) gone and then go up to 25 mg.

The advice to eat and drink water when ingesting the medication has been very helpful. Also, the encouragement to hang in there! I appreciate it.

My husband is skeptical. I gave him an article but he wants to see more science so I'm buying him the book. (I already have the book on my Kindle which is currently down for the count )

Stay tuned....weekend coming up....

Keep at it. As long as you keep focused and trying, you'll make some progress.

It's feeling like 3 steps forward, 2 back with respect to the side effects. Overall units total is WAY down but likely only due to feeling so lousy. I'm continuing on 12.5mg and eating as suggested. That seems to help. Yet, today I was fine in the a.m. (only 4 units last night), ate a light breakfast and was ok, but then went to lunch in a loud restaurant and started to feel really nauseated there.

My husband hates seeing me feel so badly and is not yet sold on the method so that adds an element of difficulty to this.

I hope I can hang in here...