what you should know about naltrexone

Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist. This means that it blocks the effects of heroin. You need to have NO heroin or any other opiate-based medication (i.e. Doloxene, Panadeine Forte) in your body in order to take naltrexone, otherwise you can get heroin withdrawal symptoms, much like receiving Narcan after a heroin overdose (ONLY IT LASTS MUCH LONGER).

If you use heroin whilst taking naltrexone you cannot feel the heroin and you do not get stoned. Naltrexone takes a couple of days to get out of your system, so when you stop taking naltrexone (i.e. it stops blocking the effects of heroin), you are able to feel the heroin again but you have no tolerance to it.

It is very important to know that you have no tolerance to heroin or any other opiate-based drug at this point. This is when you are most at risk of having a heroin overdose.

Juggling heroin and naltrexone is a dangerous business. You are at risk of having a heroin overdose which could be fatal. Nobody believes their tolerance is zero after being on naltrexone, but it really drops to nothing and this is what has killed many opiate users.

Another useful tip about tolerance is that reducing the amount you use according to the length of time since you last used should help to reduce the risk of OD. Information distributed by VIVAIDS suggests as a guide that if you haven't used for:

2-3 days, use 1/4 less than you normally would;
1 week, use half less than you normally would;
1-2 weeks, your tolerance is almost nothing; and
at 1 month, you have no tolerance at all.

Your tolerance will drop faster than it will build up. Keep this in mind when you are using.