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Selincro (bad reaction)

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craig11071
craig11071

Hi guys I was prescribed selincro by my gp to help with alcohol cravings and judging by the reviews I was excited to try it so last night I popped my first pill then waited 45 mins and started drinking but started having a bad reaction almost immediately,dizzy,groggy,unable to walk irritable this lasted until 9pm when I went to bed then the real fun started hallucinating and hearing sounds that weren't there I was trying to find a bumble bee flying around the room,I heard a knock at the front door at 3am nobody there,then I really felt my heart and lungs every heart beat and breath,I felt like that I had taken ecstasy but the trip was lasting nearly 24hrs,its been 23 hrs since I took selincro and I'm still not myself I feel outside myself can barely think no appetite feel like I'm going to pass out at any minute,I can barely focus on the keys typing this message so what I'm asking is this normal?thanks

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2 Replies

  • Joanna-SMUKLtd
    Joanna-SMUKLtd craig11071

    Posted

    Hi Craig,

    Whilst some people don't get any side effects from Selincro, others will get more similar to what you describe, but not quite so severe. Any side effects are temporary, and get a little easier each time you use it over the first couple of weeks.

    A lot of GPs don't know much about it, so the general tips are to:

    1. Eat first. Having something in your stomach when you take the tablet certainly will make things much easier.
    2. Drink plenty of water. Doing so will help flush it out your system.
    3. Begin the first few times with HALF a tablet. This is a major part of where GPs have little knowledge. It does say to not break the tablet, but it is safe to do so for the first times. Obviously then you are not asking your body and brain to go from zero dose to full dose in one go.

    Please read the leaflet that came with the tablets re: the possible side effects and it will help put your mind at rest a little.

    A point to note is that sometimes issues are attributed as tablet side effects, when they actually might be more a result of alcohol withdrawal. If you are used to drinking quite a lot, and often, and then last night you didn't drink nearly as much, then it would likely give you some alcohol withdrawals too. How much was drinking? And how little did you drink last night?

    My suggestion to you would be take a day or so off and don't try it again until you have fully recovered from this experience.

    Then, when you are ready, you can begin again by eating first, drinking plenty of water and only take half a tablet for the first few times, then move up to the full tablet after that.

    I am confident you will adjust much easier this way.

    • Joanna-SMUKLtd
      Joanna-SMUKLtd

      Edited

      And if you need a little bit of encouragement to continue after such a rough first tablet, here is the drinking graph of someone I recently took through Selincro treatment.... from 120+ units a week pre Selincro, to less than 14 units in just a few short months!!

      The short term discomfort is well worth the long term gain.

      (I cannot get the image to load as part of this post, so will try again tomorrow)

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