Where/how can I get naltrexone or similar??

Hi HayleyPM

Please go to the C3 Foundation Europe website (you'll need to google it as I cannot put the website link on here), then services, then local NHS guidelines.  When you are on that page, scroll down to Bristol and you will find your local NHS guidelines for both naltrexone and nalmefene.  Print these off, of take photos of them, and take them to any appointments you attend.

Of the two medications, nalmefene is the one that is prescribed to help someone reduce their consumption, so that is the one that cannot be prescribed if someone is not already drinking.  In the Bristol area, naltrexone can be prescribed to either help maintain abstinence or control use.

Talk to your GP but do not be surprised if your GP prefers to refer you on to a physician who specialises in treating patients with alcohol issues.  The medications are classed as 'amber' drugs, which basically means that your local health authority feel that specialist doctors are the most appropriate to assess you to see if it is suitable, and then if it is, they initially prescribe and then ask your doctor to continue the prescription.

Am sorry to hear of your GPs refusal.  It's crazy to think that it was approved by the FDA in 1994 to help with treating alcohol use disorder.  That fact that your GP has never heard of it is not a reason for refusal to prescribe.  They usually have a computer sat on their desk, and the list of FDA-approved medications available at their fingertips.  So sad that your GP clearly could not be bothered to do their job correctly and look it up.  We don't expect doctors to know everything about every medication, but it is misconduct for them to not even look it up.  Ironically, it says more about how 'good' your GP is!  I wonder how many people have passed through their surgery with alcohol problems and never been offered even a discussion about whether naltrexone might help them.

Anyway, if you wish for a discussion with some more open-minded doctors about whether naltrexone might be suitable for you, then you could try these doctors who not only know about, and understand naltrexone, but also treat their patients with it using The Sinclair Method:

The first is Dr Sharon Mulvehill, MD based at Riverstone Health, 123 South 27th Street, Billings, MT 59101.  Telephone 406.247.3200

If that doctor is within travelling distance, then there is also a telemedicine doctor covering Montana which is Dr Narendra Garg MD, who is based at MD Proactive.  To find their website you will need to google MD Proactive as I cannot put the link on here.

I don't know of any online prescription that can be accepted in Croatia's pharmacies.

Have you asked your doctor for it?

In Croatia, there are two medications that can be used for this treatment. The first is naltrexone, as you know, and the second more recently approved medication is called nalmefene (brand name Selincro).

Thank you very much for the info.

Yeah, I asked my psychiatrist for naltrexone, but she said that she does not approve treating alcoholism with this kind of medications... Maybe I should find another psychiatrist 😉

I would agree, yes you should find another suitably qualified physician who will look to be more open-minded.

Not sure if it is the same in Croatia, but here in the UK our health service has a written constitution which gives us, the patient, a right to be assessed for medications that are approved for use. It is not allowed for a physician to decline to assess someone based solely on their own beliefs of whether they approve of the treatment or not.

On the NHS, it is nearly impossible as some areas of Scotland no longer prescribe it.

On a private basis, we are in England and can prescribe to you from a private gp in England. It costs £220 plus the cost of the medication itself. We could either send you 6 x 28 tablet prescriptions for that which you can use to buy the medication in your local pharmacy or you can pay our pharmacy in England and we can send you the medication.

Use the contact page on Sinclair Method UK to contact me and I can explain more via email.

Joanna

Sinclair Method UK