Hi,i have been told that i cannot go on Naltrexone unless i am completely dry,can anybody tell me if this is true.
Many thanks Gary.
No.
My GP has given it to me while I am still drinking. It has helped me cut down from 70-100 units a week to about 20-25 a week after taking just 28 tablets.
I have been for bloods today and am praying she will put it on repeat prescription for me when I go to see her Friday.
This was a trial to see if it helped after I went in armed with information from the C3 foundation.
It has taken away my cravings everyday even though I only take a tablet before drinking. I am now down to drinking two nights a week
To me it's a life saving. I finally feel free from the control the drink had over me.
If she won't give me more I am terrified it will spiral back out of control so I will be crying and begging, whatever it takes!
If you are in the UK, then generally the answer is yes. NHS/NICE guidelines only recommend it for people who have stopped drinking.
Your choices are usually, see if you can find a private doctor and get a private prescription or order from abroad. Both expensive in comparison to an NHS prescription.
The is no real reason that it should not be given, except for a bizarre long standing commercial reason.
Many thanks Natalie,this is just what i thought.
Thanks for reply, although what i have read in the past is that many people have been prescibed this while still drinking but as you say it maybe the cost is the only reason for not giving it while still drinking.
Selincro (Nalmefene) can be prescribed on NHS per NICE guidelines if one is drinking within a certain range and it's much more expensive than Naltrexone.
At the C3 Foundation Europe website, click on the Services menu and look at the Information column. The NHS Information Service and Local NHS Guidelines sections might be useful to you.
Many thanks for information.
It's not down to cost.
Many people in the US have been prescribed it, where it is on label for AUD (and Selincro is not). Not many are prescribed it in the UK, because the guidlines say that it is for people who are abstinent. You are far more likely to get prescribed Selincro in the UK, but unfortunately, not often by your GP.
Thanks again,it seems there are different guide lines,i have just read up some on the Sinclair Method and these words are highlighted ( Extingtion takes time and requires active drinking together with Naltrexone before full de addition can happen.
Okay, very simply, the US has chosen naltrexone, the UK has chosen nalmefene (Selincro).
I am not commening on which is better or should you have a choice.
You asked:
"Hi,i have been told that i cannot go on Naltrexone unless i am completely dry,can anybody tell me if this is true."
If you are in the UK, then yes, that is virtually true. That is the question you asked and it has been answered.
I was referred to my addiction centre because my GP's won't prescribe.
I was told NOT to just stop drinking because of withdrawal issues. However I could not be prescribed Naltrexone unless my LFT dropped, which essentially meant stopping drinking. Contradictions. Damned if you, dampened if you don't!!!!!!
Still struggling 😢
......should have said damned not dampened 😱!!
It is because nalmefene doesn't give your liver a hard time, where as naltrexone has the potential to. Therefore, people taking naltrexone have to take LFTs, before it will be prescribed.
GO's won't prescribe or do anything where I live in North Yorkshire. Just farm you off to the local 'recovery' centre, who, to be honest, having been there before, have very little faith in!!
You don't have to live in sheep bothering country to get that, it is pretty much the same all over Britain. Oh, is that the time, Emmerdale is about to start.
Ha ha ha - I had just looked at the clock and thought that lol.
Numpty, my doc was the same - not a chance just passed to recovery.
Seems I'm very lucky to have got it.
It's a green prescription in Kent so it can be prescribed by a GP and while still drinking. To convince her I went to an alcohol clinic then said that self motivation alone won't be enough and showed her all the info.
My liver enzymes were raised due to drinking but not massively.
I just hope she will prescribe it again to me when I tell her how well it has worked.
Otherwise buying it will be costly. Over a hundred pounds a box ! Altho let's face it drinking 7 bottles of wine or more a week kinda puts it in perspective really....
My own doc in the US told me that even if people have high liver enzymes, Naltrexone generally has far less of a negative impact than drinking and people's liver enzyme levels generally improve on TSM.
HI gary. I have never taken any medication and cannot help. However, you have had many replies already and of different opinion I can see!! Robin
Miles away from Emmerdale country and not a sheep in sight.