Can You Drink Alcohol with Naltrexone?
Author: Thomas Roth
Last Updated: 12/05/2022
Yes, you can drink alcohol while taking Naltrexone. In fact, it can help you in your recovery. Normally when you drink alcohol you get a buzzing feeling that many people say “takes the edge off.” When you drink alcohol while taking Naltrexone you don’t get that same buzzed feeling. This helps to reinforce quitting alcohol as when you don’t get that pleasure feeling it can be easier to cut down or stop drinking alcohol.
When you mix alcohol with Naltrexone it’s important to be aware of some of the side effects. The most common ones are nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, muscle cramps, joint pain, and trouble sleeping. There are also more major side effects to be aware of as well. Some of those include Intense pain, dark scabs, lumps, and a large area of swelling. If you want to know more about how alcohol mixes with Naltrexone continue reading.
What are the Effects of Mixing Alcohol and Naltrexone?
There are many side effects to mixing Naltrexone and alcohol, both common and more severe ones. One of the most severe risks associated with drinking alcohol while on Naltrexone is that both affect your liver. Both alcohol and the medication cause damage to your liver and by mixing the two you increase your chances of intense liver damage.
Some other severe side effects are pneumonia, depression, and yellowing of the whites of your eyes. If you experience any of these side effects you should contact your doctor right away. Some more common side effects that you don’t need to worry about, and that should go away as your body adjusts to the medication, are symptoms of a cold, toothache, dizziness, decreased appetite, and sleepiness.
One other major change that could occur if you mix alcohol and Naltrexone is that it changes your taste reactivity and how things taste to you, including foods that you eat every day.
If you’re still addicted to and drinking alcohol, taking Naltrexone can help out significantly. Taking Naltrexone will help to reduce alcohol cravings and lower your addiction.
Does Naltrexone Affect the Taste of Alcohol?
It’s possible that Naltrexone can affect the way that alcohol tastes. Naltrexone can cause your taste receptors to become altered and can make things, including alcohol, taste different. This is not always the case and sometimes the taste of alcohol is unaffected.
Does Naltrexone Affect the Effect of Alcohol?
Yes, Naltrexone alters the way alcohol affects your body and mind. Normally there is a buzz and sense of pleasure you get from drinking alcohol. When you take Naltrexone it blocks receptors in your brain and you no longer get those pleasure or buzz feelings. This helps to get you to quit alcohol and reduce those addictive cravings you have.
Can Mixture of Alcohol and Naltrexone Lead to Death?
No, mixing alcohol and Naltrexone will not lead to death. When mixing these two there are some other side effects you may encounter. Some of these side effects are constipation, diarrhea, severe headaches, uncontrollable vomiting, tremors, sleeplessness, severe drowsiness, and extreme levels of agitation. These side effects are set due to how Naltrexone affects the brain and how the alcohol then interacts with your brain.
Who should not Take Alcohol and Naltrexone?
The people who should avoid mixing Naltrexone and Alcohol are those who become debilitated by withdrawal symptoms or those who have mixed them before and have very bad symptoms. If your symptoms are already bad, mixing these substances will multiply these symptoms to very high levels. Other people who should avoid mixing these substances are those taking other drugs such as opioids. Mixing multiple drugs with Naltrexone increases your chances of having negative side effects and how strong they will be.
Can I Take Naltrexone with Alcohol While Pregnant?
No, you can not take both Naltrexone and alcohol while pregnant. This is because you can not drink any alcohol while pregnant. Drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause your growing baby a lot of harm and potential birth defects or worse. If you are just taking Naltrexone alone then yes you can take naltrexone while pregnant for either opioid or alcohol dependence.
Are all Types of Alcohol Harmful with Naltrexone?
Yes, no matter what type of alcohol you’re drinking with Naltrexone it can have the same effects. Some examples of alcohol you could drink beer, wine, and liquor. Mixing any of these three or more will enhance the withdrawal symptoms and they all work the same. One alcohol isn’t more harmful than other alcohol. Besides the potential for worse withdrawal symptoms, there are no other reported risks with mixing Naltrexone and alcohol.
How Much Naltrexone can be Dangerous to Take with Alcohol?
Taking any amount of Naltrexone over 50 mg at once is dangerous and causes liver damage. Mixing a higher amount of Naltrexone with alcohol drastically increases your chances of liver damage or other serious complications.
Does Alcohol Affect How Well Naltrexone will Work?
Yes, drinking alcohol while taking Naltrexone will change how the medication works in your body. Although you would assume it would interfere negatively with the medication, it helps to enhance it. When you drink alcohol on Naltrexone you don’t get the same “pleasure” feelings you normally get when drinking alcohol. This can help to enhance and improve the process of beating your alcohol addiction.
How Long After Taking Naltrexone Can You Drink Alcohol?
Many different studies suggest different things but generally, most people agree that you can begin drinking alcohol about one hour after taking Naltrexone. Waiting this one hour can significantly reduce alcohol cravings and alcohol intake.
How Effective is Naltrexone for Alcoholism?
Naltrexone does not treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms but rather it reduces the intake and cravings for alcohol. Taking Naltrexone is effective in helping with alcoholism and helping people with addictive cravings.
When you continue to take Naltrexone while drinking it helps to reduce those cravings even more, although it will increase the withdrawal symptoms and make them worse. Increasing the symptoms can also help to beat the addiction and many people won’t want to continue having these increased bad symptoms.
Can you Use Naltrexone for Alcohol Withdrawal?
Alcohol withdrawal is when you stop drinking alcohol and the brain begins to return to normal. Oftentimes you will experience symptoms that could include dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and many more. Naltrexone does not help with these symptoms and it does not treat alcohol withdrawal.
Naltrexone treats the addictive nature and craving of alcohol. If you take Naltrexone while drinking alcohol it may drastically increase the withdrawal symptoms.
What Are Other Drugs That Are Dangerous To Use with Alcohol?
There are many other drugs that you should avoid using while taking or drinking alcohol. You should avoid any cold, flu, or allergy medications while drinking alcohol, especially ones that cause drowsiness.
We list the other dangerous drugs to mix with alcohol below.