I'm prescribed Naltrexone 50 mg tablets to prevent alcohol abuse. It works well for that - I feel a direct decrease in wanting to use alcohol and of course it blocks the euphoria from alcohol so I know it would be useless to drink.
What I find interesting is that Naltrexone seems to decrease fear. I assume this is from kappa opioid receptor blockade? I also sometimes get a bit dysphoric feeling when I go to sauna, and this is also reduced with Naltrexone. Sauna use releases dynorphin (endogenous KOR agonist) so kappa antagonism would make sense as the mechanism of action.
I've taken Naltrexone daily now for over a week, initially I think it lowered my mood a bit and caused some mild restlessness, but now I'd say it might actually be improving my mood and even reducing anhedonia. Could this be from upregulation of endorphin production? Of course part of these positive effects I experience could be from quitting drinking, but I haven't had such effects before when I've gone weeks without using alcohol.
Naltrexone is interesting and seems to be well-tolerated med. People have had positive results with low-dose Naltrexone for different uses, but does anyone here have experience with higher dose? Is there something I should be concerned about when taking it daily? I'm planning to use it at least for a month daily and then perhaps reduce to as needed (to decrease drinking).
