Anthimus said:
Painful? I think this is idiosyncratic noise.
Indiosyncratic noise? I'm not really sure what the hell that means, but I assure you it's very real.
Naltrexone isn't a maintenance drug, it's an opiate blocker. It blocks your receptors so you can't get high. This acts as a deterrent when there's nothing else that will stop you from scoring and using. But it's also used in torturous rapid detox programs, where the addict is anesthetized and given an IV flush, which creates a kind of speeded up super withdrawal. Those who go through it wake up withdrawn, but it's an asskicking that takes a long while to recover from. It's a very punishing process.
If you'd ever had an active opiate dependence and taken naltrexone prior to 10 days or so of complete abstinence, you would know exactly what I'm talking about. In both instances this was after all significant withdrawal symptoms had already concluded, so I assumed it was safe to resume. I was wrong, and both times immediately thrown back into 24-48 hours of frothing at the mouth, muscle spasming, blowing out of both ends misery.
This is why recovering users are typically given a test shot of narcan prior to starting naltrexone treatment - because if there is a reaction, it's going to be very short lived.