Taking retatrutide to quit alcohol and other drugs

Pretty much the same thing happened to me. Once I reached my goal and dropped to two milligrams a week the urge to drink returned, though not in any extreme way, just more than the total indifference I felt at the higher dose. Naltrexone might be worth looking into instead since it reduces the dopamine reward from drinking and can lower the pull to keep going.

This is my biggest worry. I know I can keep up a healthy lifestyle once the weight is gone, but I am scared of losing the anxiety-reducing effect that comes with this medication.

I never noticed any drop in the desire to drink while using it. I do not have a problem with alcohol but I do like having a glass of wine now and then, so for me it was actually good that it did not take that away.

I was a weekend binge drinker and had already been sober for six weeks when I began using this. Now after three months I have zero urges at all. I should reach my weight target in about a month and my eating is under control, but if the alcohol cravings return I will try to find a low dose that still works for that.

I am also on a maintenance dose, though at six and eight milligrams, and I am still slowly losing the subcutaneous belly fat even after coming down from ten milligrams. I never lost my taste for beer but at the higher dose I could only manage two before feeling full. Now I can drink a couple more on occasion, yet it is still far less than before I started in January and it has not affected my weight, which I appreciate.

One of the main reasons I started this was to cut back on drinking. For over twenty years I have been drinking more than I wanted in a functional way, which also caused weight ups and downs. Almost right away it reduced my interest in alcohol and I expect that effect to keep getting stronger as the dose increases. Like the original poster I am wondering whether people who get this benefit will need to stay on a maintenance dose.

If a low dose ends up quieting the cravings for you, I can see it serving as a temporary tool while you work on your relationship with substances. It would not be the permanent solution, just a period of breathing room. Reduced cravings can give space to do the deeper work around self-acceptance, values, and what purpose those substances were filling.