Naltrexone and Fatigue: What Users Say

• Peo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 2, 2019

For Fibromyalgia "Diagnosed 30 years ago with fibro. Pretty miserable. I tried antidepressants, opiates, muscle relaxers, as well as non-medical therapies. For me, the LDN (low-dose naltrexone) gave more energy and less burning pain. It's also much less expensive than Lyrica with fewer side effects."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 19, 2019

For Fibromyalgia "After 4 weeks of low dose naltrexone (LDN), it has reduced my fibromyalgia pain from an 8 to about a 2-3. I have fatigue I still struggle with, but it has also given me a boost in energy as well. I am able to keep my full-time job that I almost had to quit and have been able to do more and more outside of work than I was for years. I’ve had fibromyalgia for 4 years and tried many medications, and this is the only one that has helped. I had to go online to finally find a doctor to prescribe it. I currently take 3.0mg and it is absolutely worth a try."

• Fre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2015

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I cannot speak highly enough of this medicine. I used to drink a case of beer per week, sometimes more. I've been trying to control my drinking for 3-5 years with no results. After starting on Naltrexone, now I can take it or leave it - I have beer in the house but it doesn't control me in the slightest. To be honest, I lose interest in beer and end up pouring it down the drain because I can't finish the can! I began by taking a half dose for the first 10 days, which was good because it does cause some drowsiness/sluggishness. I'm also losing weight because my appetite is not what it used to be. Hope this is helpful to someone else out there who wants a medical aid to curbing (or eliminating) their excessive drinking."

• Fre...
• February 26, 2020

For Alcohol Use Disorder "As a daily drinker with increasing consumption for many years, I tried to cut back but could never make it past a few days without drinking again. I love to drink, and I knew shame would keep me from 'quitting' drinking, even if I could. I would never go to AA. Naltrexone put an immediate cap on my consumption. Three months in, I still drink most nights, but it just cuts off after two drinks or so. I spent a long time building this habit, and good wine still tastes delicious, so I still enjoy it and the routine is there. But I'm a moderate drinker now, and I think if what I've read is correct, I may be soon reaching a stage where cravings reduce even more, and I will be able to move toward situational versus habitual drinking. At first, the fatigue was extreme, and I contended with something similar to a 'sour' stomach that I'd encounter if I ate really spicy food. That's gone. Try MD Proactiv if you are ready to try but can't muster the courage to ask your doctor."

• Tja...
• March 19, 2020

Naltrexone for Alcohol Use Disorder "I’m on day 5 of Vivitrol. My vision has been blurry. I haven’t been able to stay awake very much. Yesterday I was stumbling. The stumbling part has gone away, and I’m starting to be able to see straight. I’m still tired, but I’ve been up all day. My doctor said the side effects will pass within the next couple of days. Well worth a week of discomfort. I have no cravings for alcohol at all."

• But...
• October 19, 2015

For Fibromyalgia "I started naltrexone in December of 2014. I started noticing improvement after about 4 weeks. I no longer had hot flashes. Then my pain started to lessen and I had shorter periods of flare-ups. Over time, I experienced longer periods of feeling much better and even days of feeling good and not constantly fatigued. This lasted until about 6 weeks ago. I started having hot flashes again and a really bad flare-up that has persisted for a month. I'm so disappointed and am now easing off naltrexone so that I can once again take something for the pain."

• Hol...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 20, 2023

For Fibromyalgia "I started at 1.5 mg per day, which gave me migraines every day within a few hours of taking it, plus nervous tension increasing every day until after 10 days I had to quit as my body was like a clenched fist. A week later, I tried again on 0.5 mg, which was just about tolerable. Still, side effects of nervous tension, anxiety, and crazy lucid dreams every night. I felt no benefit, so after 6 months, I quit. For the next ten days, I felt wiped out with fatigue, then after a month, suddenly felt very spaced out and haunted by feelings of doom and dread, agitated, afraid to be alone with my anxious thoughts, and scared of the slightest thing, unable to relax or focus on any given task. Three years later, I am still suffering these constant debilitating symptoms, which only started the day I took naltrexone, and now consulting a psychiatrist to hopefully reverse whatever this drug did to my brain. I wish I’d never touched this drug, which can make you feel so terrible, and in my case, I suspect permanently."

• Cla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2019

For Alcohol Use Disorder "5/10 as it is only day 7. Day 2, I was super dehydrated. Days 2, 4, and now - nauseous. No appetite today. I know I need to eat but am not hungry and am too tired to care. The worst is the extreme fatigue. On day 2, I woke up and could not open my eyes for a few hours. My doctor and other sources said this could last up to 6 weeks. I hope not because, while I am a fan of a good sleep, the ongoing level of fatigue makes me incapable of doing things I need and want to do. I have been told it will pass and to ride it out... I am a daily drinker, 8-20 standards, red wine and vodka. I have noticed the buzz is disappearing and it just tastes like, well, nothing really. So hope that is the naltrexone working and I will get to what TSM says is 'extinction.' I will try and update again. I wish you all well on your battle with alcohol/substance use disorder. It can be damn difficult. I hope you all find something/s that work for you."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 7, 2023

For Fibromyalgia "I was prescribed LDN at a low dose of 1 mg. It was one of the worst things I ever did to my body! I suffered extreme depression and suicidal thoughts on it. I couldn’t feel happy and didn’t know why. It never seemed to help my pain, but I became dizzy, extremely fatigued, and unable to live my life. I started having heart episodes while on it. Getting off it was one of the best things I ever did for my health."

• Tom...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 22, 2017

Naltrexone for Opioid Use Disorder "I just want to let everyone know Suboxone withdrawal can happen days after the last dose. It's not the shot that makes you sick. As for feeling lethargic and lazy as well as everything else, welcome to recovery. It can take several months for your body to recover back to normal. That means having energy, a good appetite, sleeping normally, regular bowel movements. And that can all happen even if you're not on the Vivitrol shot and just doing cold turkey. So please, people, do your research before you post information that could sway someone from taking this method of recovery. Because it could decide on if they live or die. And yes, I am talking from experience."

• Anonymous
• May 15, 2017

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I am a 27-year-old alcoholic. As soon as college came, alcohol took a hold of my life. I started naltrexone 4 days ago and haven't had the urge to drink at all. However, I always have a headache. The nausea comes and goes. Appetite is down and I'm usually fatigued/tired. Hope the side effects begin to taper off soon. If they do, this drug might really change my life!"

• Sov...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 31, 2016

Naltrexone for Opioid Use Disorder "Week three after Vivitrol. Still having severe insomnia, goosebumps, depression, lack of energy, and weakness. It did curb my desire for cigarettes, but because I feel so horrible for so long, I am craving a fix. I'm only on the fence with this injection."

• Cha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 21, 2022

Naltrexone for Alcohol Use Disorder "Made me extremely ill. Not an opiate user. Got the 30-day shot. Feel anxious, problems with my digestive system, headaches, trouble sleeping, and overly tired somehow. Fatigued all day, and my body aches. It's awful. I feel like I have the flu, and simultaneously, all the joy has been sucked out of my life. I can't take pleasure in anything during the day."

• Jos...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 18, 2016

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I heard about this medication and was anxious to try it. Read this whole thing before you turn away. I took a full 50 mg pill, and it was the nastiest, most God-awful experience. It felt so horrible. I felt so sick, it was like being poisoned. I threw up, extreme fatigue, my head and muscles hurt so bad, I couldn't move out of bed, I couldn't taste food, I lost interest in everything. I then tried Campral, and it didn't even work at all. I spent some amount of weeks formulating a new strategy, and I decided to divide a pill into 16 pieces: one piece at bedtime the first night (about 3-4 mg), then two pieces (6-8 mg) the next, and so on each night. It works! It's a very powerful drug."

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 27, 2021

For Fibromyalgia "I started this medication 12 years ago with chronic fatigue and managed it until recently, when I had to leave my job. I started on 0.5 mg and worked up by 0.5 every 10 days. I saw an immediate improvement, however, I’m now on 3 mg, and I feel like the energy is decreasing again. Has anyone had this? Does it mean I need to decrease the dose or increase higher than 3 mg? Thanks!"

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 27, 2021

For Fibromyalgia "I started this medication 12 years ago with chronic fatigue and managed it until recently, when I had to leave my job. I started on 0.5 mg and worked up by 0.5 every 10 days. I saw an immediate improvement, however, I’m now on 3 mg, and I feel like the energy is decreasing again. Has anyone had this? Does it mean I need to decrease the dose or increase higher than 3 mg? Thanks!"

• SC...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 12, 2021

For Fibromyalgia "I experienced some odd side effects: drowsy all day on a low dose, hard time working as all I wanted to do was sleep. No pain relief for fibromyalgia, instead, I woke up each morning with stiffness and pain in lower limbs to knees and neck and upper arms pain to elbow. In addition, I felt down most of the time, just depressed and blue. I also had diarrhea throughout the day. Bizarre side effects included the limb stiffness and unusually frequent sexual thoughts, not normal for me. My appetite was lower, and I slept longer at night. It was very difficult to work though with drowsiness all day, which made pushing through heavy fatigue difficult. I drove my car to do errands nearby and had trouble navigating and drove over curbs a couple of times. That scared me. So finally, with these side effects in a two-week period, I stopped taking the med. My side effects are unusual from what I have read."

• Jam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 31, 2022

For Fibromyalgia "I have slowly eased up to 4.5 mg of naltrexone to treat fibromyalgia associated with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) disease from chronic mold exposure. As my dosage increased, I developed more diarrhea and neck and back pain. During this time, I also stopped gluten and was diarrhea-free during the first week of stopping the gluten, but I would have terrible diarrhea beginning again several days later. CIRS is a chronic inflammatory disease, so this may be contributing to the problem, but the naltrexone side effects of rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, severe anxiety, fatigue, depression, and agitation are all very real and scary for me. Because this is not an addictive drug, I will stop immediately. I’m surprised my doctor didn’t suggest going off of this drug (vs. all my other drugs) when I began to feel this sick with the very common and noted side effects of naltrexone."

• Kat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 12, 2022

For Fibromyalgia "Unusual tiredness that did not come on until the past 6 months that I could barely get out of bed. Motivation: gone. This will slowly sap you dry till you're so weary you don't know what from because it used to work. Slick drug, be careful as it brings on chronic fatigue."

• Ugh...
• December 12, 2017

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I've been on 50 mg naltrexone for 3 days to stop drinking, and I have experienced just about every 'rare' side effect listed. I've had severe fatigue-though not really able to sleep well-insomnia at night, nausea, and weakness. My doctor told me to go down to 25 mg for a couple of days until my body acclimated to the med, but I don't know if I want to keep up with it because of how poorly I've been feeling. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this?"

• Alc...
• March 9, 2021

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I'm 35. I was alcohol dependent for 10 years. Averaged about 8-10 std drinks per day. Would go to work constantly dehydrated and hungover. I was on Campral for 6 months. It reduced my cravings, but 6 tablets per day was hard work, and I eventually developed a skin rash. I've now been on naltrexone for 3 weeks (1 tablet daily). The drug is amazing! The first 4 days, it made me extremely fatigued and irritable for the first few hours - but it suddenly made drinking alcohol so boring! I have now stopped daily tablets, and I now do the Sinclair method. But I barely think about alcohol now, let alone even want to drink it, because the naltrexone has already tricked my mind over the last 3 weeks that alcohol doesn't give my brain a buzz feeling anymore, so my brain has lost interest."

• Alb...
• February 2, 2018

For Alcohol Use Disorder "This is my 4th day on naltrexone. Up to this point, I have not had any major side effects except fatigue about 2 hours after taking it. Yes, the craving for my daily bottle of wine or 2 is non-existent, which is great but strange as well. So today was the first time I took it at 3 pm instead of in the am around 8 am, and I have to say I tried to eat dinner and had a full-blown panic attack because I was so full from maybe 10 noodles in garlic and oil. 10 NOODLES! And I'm definitely a person who can eat. So I had to take a Xanax because I thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. I don't want to stop this medication because it's working, but the side effects are getting worse and worse. Because of the full feeling, I'm also feeling spaced out and wired at the same time. Any advice?"

• LCG...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 11, 2022

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out why I feel so fatigued. I take other meds, so I've been trying to suss out. Then, twice, I went off this for party vacations (a no-no, of course), and I had my old energy, depression lifted somewhat, and basically enjoyed things normally. Also, I drank quite a lot on it anyway! I gotta find another way. This hurts, not helps."

• Sha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 15, 2022

For Alcohol Use Disorder "Absolutely horrible. When I tell you this medication made me want to jump off of a bridge, I would rather have a hangover. I took 50 mg naltrexone and split it to 25 mg, having a feeling that this probably would get me sick, and thank God I split this pill. Within an hour, I was shaking, chills, feverish, ANXIETY THROUGH THE ROOF, my head felt like it was 50 pounds. I kept rolling over, trying to make it stop in the bed. I got so desperate I went and put ice in Ziploc bags and put it on my head, chest, and neck. I couldn’t even move or comprehend a sentence. THE BRAIN FOG WAS INSANE. I felt like my head was not even on my body. Luckily, my boyfriend grabbed me a bunch of Pedialyte, chicken noodle soup, liquid IVs, and saltine crackers with Advil because I do not know how. I am so fatigued, hopefully, in the morning I will feel better. This was the worst. Never again."

• Lau...
• April 23, 2019

Naltrexone for Opioid Use Disorder "While on the shot, I had extreme fatigue and couldn't orgasm. Those aren't horrible, except the orgasm part. It's getting off the shot that has given me constant headaches that nothing touches, extreme anxiety, and irritability. I feel crazy, my mental health is not right. This is not my first rodeo, I was sober for 15 months through AA before I relapsed and got on the shot after a treatment center. This is not normal for me, and the only thing that's different in my life is I was on the shot and now I'm not. I recommend it for someone struggling, being sober is better than dying from the disease. Though the way I have been feeling could have easily made me go change the bad way I feel if I didn't have the support I do."