Naltrexone anyone?
 

Naltrexone, 50mg is used to help treat alcohol issues and help lose weight.
I think I will ask my pdoc about this.
The side effect is that 10% of users experience nausea and can't take it for that reason.
It is worth a shot!
What do you guys think?
bizi

Your pdoc will be helpful.

Also, your pharmacist would know how it interacts with your other meds.

M

What got you interested in Naltrexone?

I found an interesting article in Psychology Today:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...ber-naltrexone

In my opinion, it's worth a shot Bizi :)

Yes Mari, I will ask the pharmacist to see about med interactions..always a good idea! thanks!
I am going to meet with a substance abuse person and talk to them just to get some information.
Naltrexone was a medication that they talked about on their web sight. So I did some research on it.
The sinclair method sounds interesting....to take it 1 hour before drinking.
It cost about $40 a month supply.
bizi
maybe it could help with my internet issues as well?

Bizi

I haven't read up on it. But with the check with pharmacy I think its a good
thing to try.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

This drug is not used much anymore because at 50mg it is was very liver toxic, leading to horrible damage in those using it.

Low Dose Naltrexone is another thing entirely and used for some MS patients.

You can Google 50mg Naltrexone and find more details on how risky it is.

mrs. D, I will research that tonight.
as always thanks for your input.
bizi

I did some reading tonight and watched an interview....
It seems there is a greater risk of hurting your liver by drinking then by using this medication.
Also I would have my liver tests run to monitor those enzymes/levels.
I just sent a letter to my PDOC asking her if she could/be willing to prescribe Naltrexone for me. She is in the office tomorrow, am hoping that she will be able to write that script.
She may not be allowed to....
I don't know.
bizi

Her office staff called me this afternoon to ask me more questions.....I will await to hear what she says.
keeping fingers crossed.
At least it seems that she will be able to prescribe it if she agrees to that.
So that is good.
I thought that maybe I would have to go to a drug and alcohol specialist.
I have already set up an inquiry/meeting with a company here in town called townsend. they have support groups.
I am not interested in AA.
bizi
I registered with an on line group called hams...harm reduction.
I posted a question for them about naltrexone. So will see if any of them have had experience taking this medication.

Bizi,

Ask them how they deal with "dual diagnosis" because a person with
bipolar needs special treatment.

http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/Page...dual_diagnosis
If the drinking is separate from bipolar, the bipolar has be taken
into consideration.


Do you think that the drinking is connected to bipolar? If so, can the
bipolar be better treated?


M

I asked jeff if he thought I was hypomanic and he said no. I don't think so either.
I am thinking she will probably want me back on the higher dose of geodon...which I don't want to take.
I read some where that one of the potential side effects is insomnia, well if that happens then that is a deal breaker. Also it talked about possibly reducing pleasure in general which would suck. I guess I will never know until I try it.
I read that it is ok for people with bipolar, wish I had saved some of those articles/ links.
bizi

I hope that you're at least allowed to give it a try Bizi.

I think mental health disorders are so prevalent among substance abusers that most providers focus heavily on identifying and treating a dual-diagnosis. I think in general, it's just a matter of finding a quality professional.

I know you're not interested in AA, but my counselor recommended if I go to AA I try to find meetings that have a dual-diagnosis theme. Perhaps, there are support forums that have the same focus.

well the office worker called me back.
She said that studies show that it is effective when combined with AA.
I told her that what I had read did not read that way. She wants me to ssend her the articles that I found supporting etc.
I will give her the "The Sinclair Method" web sight and let her read that a bit.
She was not happy with my increased drinking.
She was not used to prescribing this. Something about a drug and alcohol abuse group...or something about that.
WEll this is what I was afraid of. These out patient therapy programs are very expensive....mostly group therapy which I hate.
my pdoc said that I should include the frequency that I would agree to seeing her, I would go monthly.
70-80% chance of being alcohol free in 6 months would be worth it!
bizi

You seem motivated!
 

Hi, Bizi,

I believe it could work for you.

Here is a link to the full pdf from the FDA:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsa...932s017lbl.pdf


M

Hey mate, how are you? I had a minor habit(only in comparison to allot of the people I had to interact with on a daily basis, at the end of the day a $50 -$100 drug problem problem is the same as a $500 a day habit it destroys family bonds and trust, same with partners and friends) after many detox in private hospitals and using oral naltrexone I finally got cleanfrom heroin with an eight month implant(approx, size of patient, so 6-8 month implant etc) then I thought great I can go back to how I was before drugs and go to live music and have a big night here and there, I had a drink on the Friday after implant and by the Monday was drinking by lunch time and have battled it ever since. With the implant I drank no problems, I've tried the trex,campral and I just drank on them. It's got to the point where I have to take antabuse and for the first time I have more than a week, it's actually very close to 3 months. I hope I have posted this in the correct place on the thread. I'm very new to this site as I have post concussion syndrome(from a car accident and it's scaring me but I digress. I unfortunately(but wouldn't be the person I am today) have allot of what I'd maybe call real life experience due to my own and other people that I've become close to, they aren't from AA (a few are but I have never found AA a thing for me as I get anxiety, which I'm working really hard on), the friends I'm talking about are more from the different private rehabs I've done in the last ten years(close to 30) and had a drink in my hand after doing detox within the week of a discharge. So if you have any real life people and not doctors questions don't hesitate to ask, I'm NOT a professional. I can only give you answers from personal point of view and observations and chats with good friends who are also in recovery, some more so than others. I'm going to have a better look at this doctors findings as I know lots of people who have also been on the trex(naltrexone, I'm sure you didn't need to be told that). But good luck and I'll follow your findings if you do it. Don't hesitate to ask a question if it's something that may help. Take care and I hope it works for you.

welcome stui,
thank you for taking the time to type this all out.
just wanted you to know that there is a post concussion forum here at neurotalk that you might be interested in participating in too. look at the general listings of the different groups, i will see if I can find the link for you:
bizi
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum92.html

I read about the Sinclair Method when you first posted. From what I've read, it's the only successful way to use naltrexone to treat alcohol abuse, and it appears to be very effective.

I'm not surprised your pdoc would be pushing therapy/AA/substance abuse counseling in conjunction to it because she's not used to prescribing it, but she seems like she's pliable and is open to a discussion about different options.

Did I read right that if you see her more frequently, monthly, she'd agree to prescribe it?

If she requires more, you can look into what what your insurance covers. They may provide benefits for individual/group substance abuse counseling if you get a referral. You may only have to pay a co-pay. I'm paying for my substance abuse counseling out-of-pocket and I pay $95/visit.

I'm very happy to see you so motivated to try this :)

Thanks kay.
She charges me(pdoc) $95 for a med check when I am stable. not sure what she would charge me if I asked for monthly visits now I see her every 3 months.

I meet with the drug and alcohol people on friday of next week. I will get an idea of the expense involved. they said I would need at least 25 sessions, the meetings last 3 hours and I can't imagine them costing less than $100 a session so that is $2500 at least right? We pay out of pocket because our deductible is $4K.

IF I see Susan again she would charge me $80 for an hour of individual therapy. But she is a big AA therapist. And she has been doing groups I think don't even know if she would see me again.

We are going to a concert tonight, young kids playing strings with the orchestra. It is called strings day.
Should be good.

Was going to stop by after working today to have a beer at whole foods but my friend Nicole needed to talk so I sat in the parking lot talking to her for 45 minutes and then decided to just come home with out stopping for a beer.

Jeff is cooking pork chops for dinner.
yum
bizi

Bizi read the link in the thread I posted about the genotype testing and the list of medications it can create to your body DNA. We had great success with this and my youngest. I never heard of it before the Tdoc suggested it after varied side effects for meds.

If you're going to end up having to spend $2500 out of pocket, you may as well use your insurance and put it towards your deductible…?

25-3hr sessions sounds intense! That is a big commitment.

A lot of mental health practices have licensed drug and alcohol counselors on staff you can see for individual therapy. You can make an agreement about the time frame and number of sessions together.

You have a lot of options.

I hope you enjoyed the concert :)

thanks di.
I will have to find that.....
The IOP group said that they do some sort of blood work looking for markers to help determine which medication route to take. Interesting.

we enjoyed the concert last night then went out to a bar after ward. I had 3 pints and we went home. Slept late today felt good.
need to get dressed then out to breakfast.
there is a choral concert this afternoon at 4 may go, let a friend of mine know about it. They are in the throws of moving so that might be a good break for them.
Tonight is the support group meting from NAMI at 6pm.
I may go....
bizi

I sent this to my psych doctor. She will not be happy.
 

Removed- member requested

Bizi, :hug::hug::hug:

Good work keeping track.
I hope the pdoc will help you.


Mari

You're doing a good job keeping track… I know you're probably not thrilled looking at this list either. I hope that it helps convince your pdoc that prescribing the naltrexone is in your best interests.

When is your next face-to-face with her?

thank you kay and mari.

I don't remeber off hand when is my next meeting.
I am sure it will be sooner though if she agrees.
bizi
have a good day yall!

She wants me see a drug and alcohol therapist. she gave me a couple of names....
sigh
before she agrees to this.
bizi

weighed 150 this morning...really thought it was going to be 155. whew. had not weighed myself in a month.
Time to get serious about my dieting.
bizi

YAY!!! 150 is a lot better than 155lb!

I'm sorry that your pdoc hasn't consented to prescribing the naltrexone yet. Hopefully she will do it after you have gone to a minimal amount of sessions. It would be wonderful if the counselor you choose advocates for it.

http://patient.info/health/sinclair-...l-use-disorder
another link to offer.
bizi

An overall 78% success rate in over 120 clinical trials is hard to ignore. The article seems to suggest only using counseling to slowly reduce alcohol consumption if the goal is abstinence… Am I right in assuming you just want to moderate your drinking?

yes kay you are correct. If I could just be a normal social drinker like stop at 2 then I would be very happy!!!
Hubby said last night that he did not think I needed to take the medication, that I did not need counseling that I have stopped before, I can do it again.
hubby may not want to face the fact that he drinks too much.....
sigh
I have a tdoc! Guy Zachery, a licensed substance abuse counselor like she required. I got a good reccomendation for him from a friend who is a therapist herself.
And today found out that he is in with another friend of mine who is a therapist too. And she highly reccomended him, very laid back.
and he is on my insurance. though will be paying out of pocket because we have a $4K deductable, but he will let me make 45 minute appointments at $75. Which I think is fair.
I talked to him this morning and he sounds nice. I like his office worker, she was very helpful and sweet.
My first appointment will be March 8th. I called my pdoc and left a message for her. I called and canceled my other tdoc appointment and explained what I was doing with the medication, she wished me well and agreed to my course of action/plan.
So I have done what she asked me to do.
Now I wait and see when she wants to see me etc. and when I start the medication.
bizi

Sounds like a good plan.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

Bizi, that all sounds very positive to me :).

I just got an email today from the pdoc office.
She is still thinking about the medication.
sigh
bizi
now that I have decided to do this I want to do this!
I am impatient.....
If she ends up not prescribing it for me I will just get it on the internet.

I'm so glad you found a highly recommended substance abuse counselor, especially one that's laid back. I think $75 for 45min is very fair. I hope he will be on board with the naltrexone and will speak to pdoc about it.

Are you able to get it online without a prescription?

no I would need a prescription but believe I could "talk" with a doctor on line and get an rx....not sure about that.
bizi
thanks kay.

I am a mess.
I started drinking this morning at brunch, endless black berry sangrias.
Went to whole foods for 2 pints and lengthy conversations with the bar tender Donna who agreed to cut me off at 2. We Went to the tap room and had a really strong beer. went to hooters because jeff can get his favorite beer there. Had 2 "root beers"....Jeff doesn't drink like this so he drives.
allowing for percentages and pints etc.
count for drinks today equals 9 1/2 drinks.
Went to bed at 11pm wide awake and got up just now to take another 1mg of klonipin to see if I can sleep.
Sunday was a hypomanic day for sure.
I kept pushing the envelope today....I drank pretty much all day. I have never done this on a work night....only when on vacation....
sigh
This is very bad.....
bizi

Hi, Bizi,

Did you says that you had drinks in four places today?
brunch
whole foods
the tap room
hooters

Can you find place to go to that do not involve drinking?
Walking,
Movies,
Staying home,
. . . .

Do feel that you do better during the week?
What is the difference between
the week day and the weekend?

M

Hypomanic day… or sign that your hypomanic?

You haven't been drinking this heavily. I know this would be a red flag for me. Did you mean that this is a red flag for you too, and you are going to be on the look out for other symptoms today?

I hope you're not hung over, and have a good day at work :)