Hello Dr. I am concerned about how naltrexone affects me when I am medicated
for a medical procedure or surgery. I have only been using Nal for a month or so
and only a half dose. For the last two weeks I only used it 4 times the last time
being Tuesday 12/31/13. I woke up with pain Weds. nite and to make a long story
short, I ended up having an ERCP yesterday(Friday).
I read my operative report, and then called the hospital. It turns out that they had
To give me three times the normal dose and I still wasn't asleep. Could that small
amount of Naltrexone have caused that? And if so, what should I do about it in the
future? I was given conscious sedation, Benadryl, fentanyl and versed.
Thank you for your help.

Not to butt in, but I've been on the RN side of conscious sedations many times. Narcan does nothing to reverse Versed (or Benadryl, which was probably just given as a precaution or for a mild sedation effects) and Fentanyl is just for pain (even though it does have some sleep-producing effects, nothing like Versed; Narcan does work somewhat on reversing Fentanyl side-effects). I was always under the impression that drinkers were almost always harder to "knock down" during conscious sedations than more sober people, so that might have been part of it. Some people are also just physiologically (or even psychologically) harder to sedate. As with almost all medical questions, "Nobody can know for sure!"

Anyway, my knee-jerk reaction to your yes or no question is, Not likely.

Thanks Barry. I am also in healthcare (Radiology tech) and have been in on many an ERCP. I have seen the doctor come rushing in and give the RN orders to push the meds, then stuff the endo tube down the patient's throat before the meds kicked in. I was probably so afraid of that happening that I made it harder on myself! I don't know... Like you said, you're never really gonna know for sure!
Anyway, I thank you for your input. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this.