I was told my doc was in the wrong prescribing me Nal without instructing me to abstain from drinking for 7-10 days prior to start date. The commenter implied it was very dangerous for me to be taking it and not have had this period of abstinence. Is this true?

Also, the opiate antagonist thing scares me a little. If I get run over and sent to the ER, will they really look in my bag for my card? If I quit taking Nal, how long before it's ok to be given opiates again?

Can I take Nal if I'm pregnant? Is an epidural an opiate?

Can I take melatonin on Nal?

No, and it isn't even sensible.

Normally we abstain from actual opiates (e.g. heroin) before beginning naltrexone so as not to go into opiate withdrawal, but alcohol is not in that category.

That person had no idea what he/she was talking about.

What Melissa said.


This is a valid concern. They will likely look for identification, so it's a good idea to keep your card with your ID. Being given an opiate while on naltrexone isn't dangerous, it just won't work. Naltrexone blocks opiates for about 24 hours. There are non-opioid medications that can be used as a substitute in the meantime.


Doing the Sinclair Method while pregnant sounds like the worst idea in the world, since the protocol involves drinking. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure you shouldn't take alcohol if you're pregnant.


Yes.

Again, it's safe to take opiates on naltrexone - people using the Sinclair Method for opiate addiction do just that.

Second worst. The worst is drinking while pregnant and not doing TSM.

Nothing else to add to what Melissa and Magda said.

Okay, so I got curious and Googled it. It turns out that taking naltrexone when you're pregnant might be kind of awesome if you want to give birth to the Hulk.

Rat study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9272656

Soooo, happy2014, if I may ask . . . are you pregnant? Is this a hypothetical discussion, or should we be worried about an unborn baby?

Regarding hulk babies.. Yikes! No I'm definitely not pregnant and wouldn't drink while pregnant. Sorry, should have clarified that. I was just thinking about the future possibility of being pregnant and what if I was still taking Nal, etc. I'm trying to get healthier in part because that is a goal in the next few years but obviously not until I have a better handle on drinking. Thanks for the confirmation about not being too take a break. I'm back on it as of yesterday so we'll see how it goes!

One would hope that you'd let TSM run its course before contemplating becoming a mom, at which point it shouldn't be challenging to abstain fully for the duration of your pregnancy. The effects of naltrexone on pregnancy should be a moot point.