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You may be concerned about how you’ll feel taking naltrexone, but there’s little to worry about given that many people feel profoundly better physically, mentally and emotionally as they take control of their drinking.
What You'll Learn:
• How naltrexone has a positive effect on sleep.
• Why naltrexone is likely to improve mood.
• What happens to energy levels once you start taking naltrexone.
• The benefits of better cognitive performance.
• Physical improvements that come with reducing alcohol by using naltrexone.
• How your relationships can be restored.
You may be worried about naltrexone side effects, but for many people the medication makes you feel much better, not worse. It’s a residual effect that comes from naltrexone helping you drink less alcohol.
As the alcohol cravings diminish and you consume less alcohol, you should start feeling genuinely better due to improved sleep, mood, energy levels, cognitive performance, physical health and relationships with others. Gradually, the improvements build day after day helping to reinforce a lifestyle without alcohol at the center of it.
Better Sleep
The importance of good sleep for your overall well being cannot be overstated. Recent research has revealed that sleep has a profound impact, not only on our energy levels and cognitive capabilities, but also our mood and immune system.
Alcohol may make you fall asleep, but it won’t be quality sleep. Your sleep architecture is severely impaired by alcohol. It suppresses REM sleep and causes early morning waking. In just a week or two of reducing your alcohol intake you should start to notice improvements in your sleep quality and wake up feeling more refreshed.
Improved Mood
It may seem like alcohol is a mood lifter for many people, but that simply isn’t the case over time. This is primarily because alcohol is a depressant. It will lower serotonin levels and can affect other neurotransmitters leading to heightened anxiety and depression.
Because naltrexone alters the brain’s reward system in response to alcohol, some people are concerned it will have a negative impact on pleasure and mood in general. In actuality, once you start taking naltrexone and using alcohol less, you should experience more pleasure and an enhanced mood since brain chemistry is restored and dopamine receptors heal. In particular, sensory experiences are improved.
Mood and emotional stability is another factor. At first, emotions may seem a bit overwhelming since they aren’t blunted by the alcohol. But once you get past the initial phase of limiting or quitting alcohol, emotions become much more manageable and there’s more clarity about what you’re feeling.
Increased Energy Levels
Even if you don’t get hangovers, your body is working harder to remove the toxins from alcohol. It causes dehydration and fatigue that you may have become somewhat accustomed to. You may not realize just how much alcohol was impacting your energy levels until you dial it way back.
The systemic stress of processing alcohol regularly consumes enormous amounts of physical energy. Eliminating or dramatically reducing alcohol frees up that energy for everything else.
Better Cognitive Performance
The cognitive recovery that comes with reduced alcohol use is often one of the most striking and motivating improvements people notice. Thinking becomes quicker, memory is more reliable and decision-making takes less effort as the brain recovers from the regular neurological disruption of heavy or chronic drinking.
It all goes back to how alcohol alters our brain chemistry. Some people are worried about naltrexone making them feel foggy, when really that’s an effect of alcohol.
Feeling Physically Better
It should come as no surprise that many people feel a lot better physically after they start taking naltrexone. Less alcohol means:
• Reduced inflammation
• Improved liver function
• Better hydration
• Improved cardiovascular metrics
• More functional immune system
Many people also find their appetite for nutritious food improves as alcohol no longer suppresses it or substitutes empty calories for nutritious options that literally feed your body.
Restored Relationships
A positive effect of taking naltrexone is also felt socially, which in turn boosts your mood and even physical health. While it may seem like drinking less is a social hindrance, it’s an opportunity to make new connections and improve the ones you already have.
Taking naltrexone sends a strong message to the people in your inner circle that may have been negatively impacted by your drinking. It tells them that you are taking initiative and really invested in getting control over your alcohol consumption. You’re not just saying it, you’re doing something to improve the situation.
Once you get past the first week or two when naltrexone side effects are most likely and your body is getting used to having less alcohol in your system, the improvements should be significant. What’s most amazing to many people is how much better they feel all around physically, mentally and emotionally.
Start feeling better all around by taking control of your drinking. Our Alcohol Use Assessment will help you get a better gauge of if your drinking habits are unhealthy and what you can do to improve them, including a naltrexone prescription.
