If you have tried to stop or reduce your drinking and find yourself drinking again despite your best efforts, you are not alone. There are options beyond sheer willpower and abstinence to help you with your drinking.
A medication is helping many people drink their way to sobriety – naltrexone, a low-cost, generic medication that can be taken before you drink to reduce your cravings and change your relationship with alcohol.
Naltrexone works by blocking the parts of your brain that give you that “buzz.” With time, most people who stick with this treatment notice that their urge to drink fades and alcohol simply does not give them the same pleasure it used to.
The Sinclair Method is a well-studied approach: you take naltrexone about an hour before you plan to drink, ideally with a full meal, so the medication is working when you start that first drink. For many, the cycle of bingeing and regret becomes much less intense. Some people eventually find they can take or leave alcohol altogether after a few months of treatment.
You do not have to quit drinking on naltrexone. It is not like other treatments that require you to be abstinent. You can keep drinking, and it is medically safe for most people to do so while taking naltrexone. Drinking will just start to feel “flat,” which can break the loop that keeps you stuck.
Others try low-dose naltrexone (LDN), which can offer gentler craving reduction. Naltrexone is very affordable, widely covered by insurance (including Medicaid), and often costs just a few dollars a month without insurance at many pharmacies.
How to Get Naltrexone
If you are interested in trying naltrexone, reach out to your health or addiction provider and have an open conversation. Getting medical support when you are struggling with drinking is not a sign of weakness; it is one of the strongest steps you can take for your health and your future.
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