Nalmefene

Thanks for prompt reply. My doctor has told me to take a tablet only when I think I am going to drink. I don't drink every day so di I need to take them daily . 

I am so glad you have a doctor that understands how it works Your doctor is correct. Don't take a pill UNLESS you are going to be drinking. Ensure that you leave it 90 mins to 2 hours after taking the pill before you drink to ensure it has been absorbed. People vary and I know a few who need the full two hours.

If you get unpleasant side effects, persist. They do subside each time you take it and are gone completely after about 6 or 7 times of taking it. The rewards are well worth any initial discomfort. For this reason, don't take it for the first time before an important night out, because you might feel too ill to enjoy it. Having said that, some people get very few side effects. You don't know until you take it.

Thanks, this forum is very helpful.

i have also been reading about baclofen to help with alchol problems and this doesn't seem to have as many side effects. Do you know anything about it..

There are reports of it working, but it is not licenced for use with alcohol addiction and Nalmefene and Naltrexone are the most effective.

I cannot take nalmefene too many side effects !!plus you need to drink alcohol.Once I start on the wine I can't stop.I have to stop drinking-it is killing me and my marriage-but the craving is unbearable-as are the withdrawels.I have had a 3 or 4 week binge  and  I feel terrible today.No alcohol yet as I have none in the house and dare not go out because I will be locked out. I have 3 prescios Diazapans left Would apprceciat some advice please because my Doctor is not available today. Many Thanks.sue

Please reply to my last text when you are next available.i have managed not to drink alcohol today only because I too ill to sneak out and buy some. Tempted to take 1 of my Diazapans so imay get some sleep.Many Thanks Sue

The point of Nalmefene is to lower the aount you drink. All people with a drink problem have difficulty stopping when they start. Nalmefene works by stopping the additional reward that problem drinkers get over what controlled drinkers get. By taking a pill before drinking, you will, eventually, only get the same effect as anybody else would from alcohol. That means that, over time, craving stops.

Hi Paul have taken my first nalmefene but unfortunately with a glass of wine for Dutch courage 😔 lets hope I won't drink the whole bottle like I usually do . Have you any idea how long it takes to kick in and will the results or side effects be different because I have already had a glass of wine ? 

Thanks kathy 

That's my problem Susan , once I start on the wine I find it almost impossible to stop , I have every intention to have 1 or 2 to chill out , but before I know it the whole bottle has gone 😔 hoping this is the miracle pill I need 

You need to take it 90 minutes to two hours before drinking Kathryn. Drinking too soon after taking it will mean that the first drinks you have will slip through while you are unprotected and the Nalmefene won't be able to do its job. Despite this, it WILL kick in and you should still find you drink less. However, you won't get the benefit of 'unlearning' your addiction if you let any drinks into your body without protection.

See it like having sex 5 times in a night and only using a condom before the 4th. You are unprotected for the first 3

Hi Paul.

as I said took a tablet on the Wednesday night after I had started drinking.

the tablet was no help that night and I felt so awful the next day I couldn't go to work.

very spaced out, dizzy and feeling sick.

i am not sure if it was the tablet or the drink.

anyway , I did not drink on Thursday as I don't usually drink every day, but went for a meal and a few drinks on Friday night. 

I had 2 small glasses of wine and refused the 3rd offered to me, just didn't feel like it.

not sure if it was the tablet, but didn't drink for the rest of the evening until I got home .

i then finished of the wine that was left and a few vodkas.

i am hoping the reason I didn't drink early on Friday night is because maybe the tablet was still having an effect. ? 

Is that possible Paul.

 

It would have been the side effects of the tablet, not the drink on Wednesday. The fact that you didn't want to drink as much on Friday would have also been the tablet too (even though it doesn't sound like you took on on Friday), it was working as it should. What it does is block the opioid receptors so that you don't get the additional reward from drinking that people with an alcohol problem get. I am guessing, from what you said, that you didn't actually take a pill on Friday and are wondering if the pill from Wednesday was still active in your body. No, it wouldn't still be active, but your opioid receptors would have gained no reward from the drink you had on Wednesday, so they would have been less persuasive to you, to have a drink on Friday (that is what they do, they say 'give me a drink NOW')

Then you drank without the pill and the opioid receptors said 'way hay!! We're back in business! and you went home and drank heavily again after letting the opioid receptors know that they would get that reward again.

This suggests that the pills do work very well for you but you MUST take them before you drink EVERY time and you will find your desire to drink lessens and lessens. The side effects WILL wear off over the first few times you take them. It is worth persisting because the rewards are great.

I don't know if you are aware that Nalmefene/Selincro is now being prescribed in Liverpool to suitable "candidates" on prescription as part of a pilot scheme, based at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. I was referred by the Liverpool Community Alcohol Service Team, which is where I became aware of this medication. I've only been on it for 3 days and will report back, but so far it ain't looking good

Hi Paul

I have just purchased these privately but am now also worried that on taking I won't be able to function and that's not really an option! Is there an option to half the tablet to see how that goes?

Is it Naltrexone or Nalmefene?

Nalmefene

Many of the comments I have read also suggest that some people drink every day I generally drink at weekends Friday and Saturday feel rubbish for a few days then give in to myself again once during the week - I have to hold a job down so can't drink anymore than this!

Worried now that the tablets will make me feel so bad every time I take them because it won't be regularly but as and when?

Hope that makes sense?

I think it probably differs from person to person but I am seeing that some people taking Nalmefene are having a particularly hard time with side effects. These tend to wear off after you get accustomed to them but one thing that seems to happen is that, after a couple of weeks of not taking any (as you wouldn't if you were not drinking), the side effects can return.

This seems to be less of an issue with Naltrexone. There are people on this forum who have taken both and they will be able to advise you from first hand experience but we have changed some of our patients from Nalmefene to Naltrexone for this reason.

It's less of an issue at the beginning and you can start the process of reaching 'phamacological extinction' on Nalmefene, but you may find it beneficial (if you find side effects come back after a couple of weeks break) to transfer to Naltrexone, later on.

It's nice to think that the forum in a small way conducts research, by users which is useful and that you have been able to use it. It makes it feel less of a one way street, of people listening to you for information.

I've learnt a lot about side effects and how people respond to Naltrexone and Nalmefene on this forum, which I take into consideration when discussing The Sinclair Method with my clients.

 

Ive tried both but not hadmuch of a result with either.

Nalmefene was awful, leg twitching insomnia and hfeeling drunk without a drink.

Trying naltrexone now, but doesnt seem to do much. Should i take a pill everyday? Even though i dont drink daily.

I drink half to one bottle of wine 3 times a week and binge on 1 to 2 bottles once a week.

Naltrexone has a tendency to affect some people less with sside affects.

No, only on the days you are drinking.

I've tried both and luckily don't seem to have side effects with either although only started Nalmefene today.Ive had less than half a bottle of wine and don't fancy anymore.

Only take the tablet on days you are drinking

Thanks!

Hey please will u update with any side effects? I haven't started mine yet as terrified of side effects!!

Will do.

I found I had no side effects with naltrexone do we shall see how Nalmefene goes

Everyone is different, the best way to find out, in fact the only way, is to start taking it. The sooner you start taking it, the sooner you can cut down on your alcohol intake and start feeling more positive about yourself.