Naltrexone helps manage alcohol or opioid use disorder. Only for purchase with a certified prescription, naltrexone comes in a pill form and an injection. Its key chemicals reduce your cravings for such substances. This med also suppresses euphoria linked to use of intoxicants. Naltrexone is FDA-approved for treating these disorders. However, can you use naltrexone for weight loss? It is of use to know more.
People suffering with substance use disorders are prescribed with naltrexone for 3 to 4 months. A few people find this drug helpful over long-term though. Naltrexone is considered safe as it is non-addictive, and does not possess intoxicating properties.
Naltrexone - when taken to control addiction - indirectly affects your appetite. Patients using it realise they are losing weight indeed. This is largely due its ability to inhibit opioid receptors. In this process, naltrexone regulates hunger level, pain, and your moods. Such regulation has a sizable influence on your bodyweight.
Naltrexone for weight loss
A 2011 study reveals naltrexone helped patients lose 15% of their total weight when compared to those who tried traditional weight-loss techniques.
Naltrexone acts as an opioid antagonist. It suppresses rewards associated with foods, and controls cravings. Naltrexone inhibits release of β-endorphin by blocking opioid receptors. This action controls pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) cells in your brain's hypothalamus. Hypothalamus regulates appetite.
Combination of actions in the mesolimbic reward pathways and hypothalamus leads to sustained decrease in cravings and hunger levels.
A few advantages are evidenced of taking naltrexone for weight loss, including
- Reduced feeling to overeat – while you are on naltrexone, you rarely feel the need to eat repeatedly. This eventually moderates quantum of food intake
- Lowered appetite – reduced appetite encourages you to eat less yet be sated. This med thus helps control hunger
- Stabilized blood sugars - Naltrexone makes blood sugar swings less drastic as it improves your insulin sensitivity. This further prevents hypoglycemic crashes i.e. craving for sugary or carb-laden foods
- More energy – this med makes you alert and active even while you are on a diet. Discomforts such as fatigue or weakness do not show-up
- Improved mood – Combination of naltrexone and bupropion makes you feel less stressed and sad. This directly helps combat stress eating or binge eating.
Who benefits using naltrexone for weight loss?
Naltrexone is beneficial to individuals aiming to lose weight. Caregivers prescribe naltrexone to individuals who are obese / of excessive weight.
Women who are nursing your infants must avoid taking naltrexone as it can get into breast milk. If you are living with acute liver failure, it is unwise to take naltrexone. Caregivers may not administer this med to patients continuing to use alcohol or those taking opioids.
Taking this drug with alcohol and / or opioids can increase risks of overdose. This occurs as naltrexone lowers your tolerance and blocks the effects of intoxicating substances. This action indirectly lets you take larger quantity of intoxicants .
Naltrexone and bupropion together for weight management
An antidepressant and a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor - Bupropion increases the concentration of hormones for an added blood flow. Combination of naltrexone with bupropion brings down cravings and thus help shed flab.
Naltrexone and bupropion – taken together - tends to work more effectively. Naltrexone prevents you from overeating while bupropion on boosts your energy and stabilises moods. This combination works well by lessening your cravings. You may feel energetic / active and alert even when on a low-calorie diet.
Naltrexone for weight loss - Tolerance level
Patients who use naltrexone reported a few gastrointestinal symptoms. Most of these symptoms are quite common. A few patients using naltrexone may report symptoms of nausea and some difficulty to pass stools. This more so at start of your dosage plan.
In some instances, adverse side effects such as turning dizzy, developing sleep-based disorders or disturbed sleeping patterns and headache are observed. As much as 1/5th of patients have discontinued treatment from using naltrexone due to its adverse effects.
Safety concerns of using naltrexone for weight loss
Naltrexone may increase risks of depression and also trigger self-harming behavior. A few studies however indicated bupropion to have caused such counterproductive effects.
Caveat: This drug is never administered onto children or younger adults – including teens / adolescents. Naltrexone may increase blood pressure (i.e., hypertension) and cause palpitation. If you have prior spells of arrhythmia or erratic heart beats, you must avoid using this med. Moreover, caregivers do not prescribe this med if you are already living with seizure disorder and / or those using opioids regularly.
You must use this med strictly under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional; dosages vary depending on level of obesity and severity of substance abuse.
A study done in 2017 reveals nausea and tummy upset as the two leading / common side effects. Some have also experienced sleeplessness, anxieties, drowsiness and severe spells of migraines.
Added precaution is needed to follow safety protocols and adherence to dosages plan; this is because taking naltrexone in excess may cause liver damage. However, in most patients, side effects are stronger at start and it wanes away as your body gets used to this med.
Another study done in 2019 patients showed naltrexone to cause less serious health problems as compared to patients who took a placebo. Your caregiver weighs the risks of living with a substance use disorder or obesity vis-à-vis facing the adverse effects of this med It is an informed choice wherein the benefits clearly outweigh the risks-involved.
Despite its very few adverse effects, naltrexone fares as safe medication. Extensive reviews evidence the absence of major side effects. Also, naltrexone is unlikely to cause dangerous side effects like stroke or heart failure.
It is a right thing to consult with your caregiving team before starting to take this med (naltrexone) for weight loss. It is of use to know of its positive as well as adverse effects before you start your medication plan. Above all, always take as per prescription of a qualified physician; this med is never taken through self-medication / OTC route.