Health | August 05, 2008 | 31 comments

New pill stops you binge drinking within days

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mattbrawn
A pill has been developed that can halve the amount of alcohol people consume and drop the amount of 'heavy-drinking sessions' by a rather sobering 70%, all after just 12 weeks of pill-popping.

The party-pooping, liver-saving pill is called naltrexone, and "is thought to work on brain chemicals, reducing the craving for alcohol and making users feel they have drunk enough."
  1. groups:
    Health,   Alcohol
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    Health UK Alcohol Drinking 3 more
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31 comments // New pill stops you binge drinking within days

  • themanwithadog
  • soberwood
    • 0
      soberwood  
    • there will probably never be a pill that can remove the obsession to drink in an alcoholic mind. Because the pill would have to alleviate fear, alleviate anger, and alleviate self, and if you take all that out of human being you would have to have another pill to give them a purpose to live. Besides there already is a way out for alcoholics and it works. It is just that the pharmas can't make money on it and the non-alcoholic people don't understand it so they are afraid to suggest it,

    • 3 years ago
  • Tommyjolly
    • 0
      Tommyjolly  
    • What's the point in this?
      I think Binge drinking happens mainly because people just can't stop and carry on drinking.

      That's a question about wanting, not craving.

    • 3 years ago
  • Neghie
    • 0
      Neghie  
    • Binge drinking has nothing to do when not knowing when enough is enough. Some people just don't have self control. Heck, some people intentionally get drunk. I don't know. The point seems mute.

    • 3 years ago
  • dearmat23
    • 0
      dearmat23  
    • They're just trying to tap a new, and bigger market after prescribing this for opiate addiction for years. I've seen people with naltrexone implants cut them out so they can get a hit from the drug their addicted to. Swapping one drug for another doesn't address the problem, it merely supports it... and a parasitic industry.

    • 3 years ago
  • BenDorries
    • 0
      BenDorries  
    • All these drugs and stuff to make it easy for addicts to quite never address the problem of the person being an addict and that they need to do somethings for themselves.

    • 3 years ago
  • joshuaheller
  • bishopobispo
  • clayjj05
  • anglcazn
    • 0
      anglcazn  
    • Can we stop it will the pills and actually send them to a psychologist or therapist where they can get the help they ACTUALLY NEED?

    • 3 years ago
  • abbym0308
    • 0
      abbym0308  
    • Image
    • It sounds fairly safe, however after you take it, because of the way it effects your opioid-receptors. Some say that it makes them hyper-sensitive, increasing the patient's risk of opioid overdose (which I gather would happen should they drink again).
      So, it addresses the physiological addiction, but what about the psycho-social elements of addiction? They might be just as difficult to kick too. Is there a pill for that?

    • 3 years ago
  • PajamaDan
  • bishopobispo
    • 0
      bishopobispo  
    • Let's see... Take a pill and lose the justification for all the "stupid things that I did last night" that I secretely enjoy doing anyway? No thanks. I'll keep the crutches I already have.

    • 3 years ago
  • vitalmaggi
  • fuhleesha
  • bishopobispo
  • regjoeschmo
  • EddieStarr
    • 0
      EddieStarr  
    • Side effects, as reported by Medicine.net "Anxiety, nervousness, headache, sleeping trouble, stomach upset, nausea, sneezing, nasal stuffiness, muscle pain, decreased sexual function or desire, blurred vision, thirst, ringing in the ears, weakness and tiredness may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, inform your doctor. Notify your doctor if you develop: skin rash, confusion, mood changes, hallucinations, vomiting, severe diarrhea, breathing trouble."

      Lovely huh?

    • 3 years ago
  • fuhleesha
  • rightbrain
  • StrategoShogun
  • teenelizabeth
  • photosnob
  • bigloutech
  • Becky6378
    • 0
      Becky6378  
    • I took it for opiate dependence...and it really WORKED until I couldn't afford my detox Doctor anymore and the pills (VERY expensive) and ran out. Then the withdrawal was worse than any I had ever experienced..
      That's in the past, but this drug can CAUSE pretty bad dependence.

    • 3 years ago
  • squilla1123
    • 0
      squilla1123  
    • Naltrexone has been available for years under the trade name of Revia.Its an opiate receptor blocker and has been given to drug addicts to stop cravings,with mixed results.Apparently this is a new use for it.Lets hope it works, because as we know alcohol abuse kills hundreds of thousands every year.And you wouldn't have to go to those damn boring meetings for the rest of your life.

    • 3 years ago
  • AlpacaRob
    • 0
      AlpacaRob  
    • Better living through chemistry, as the old slogan goes! It's getting to the point I can replace each of my bad habits with a pill.

    • 3 years ago
  • AutifK
  • vitalmaggi
  • Becky6378
  • MeganMcKenzie
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