Let’s make alcohol a smaller part of your story.
Your semaglutide (GLP-1) + naltrexone program
Your medications, your daily routine, and the support around you. Everything you need to get familiar with your program.
Your program
Medication is one part of a comprehensive whole. Our clinical care team, app, coaching, and community help you build new habits that stick.
Tracking, coaching, clinical care, and community help you turn that opening into change that lasts.
Explore your program
Today, you join thousands of people changing their relationship with alcohol. That’s a huge step. Whether you want to break the nightly wine habit, rethink weekend drinking, or quit entirely, Sunnyside Med is here to help you build change that lasts.
This guide walks you through your medications, the program around the medications, and where to turn for support. Keep it nearby, follow your personal care plan, and reach out whenever you need us.
If possible, begin on a day when you feel rested, clear-headed, and free from major commitments, not especially anxious, stressed, or hungover. That gives you room to notice how you feel and take things slowly while your body adjusts.
Consistency matters. Take both medications every day according to the instructions on the labels, even on days when you don’t plan to drink. Build it into your routine, and message your care team before changing your dose or schedule.
Your body, and your experience of drinking, may feel different when you begin. Alcohol may affect you differently, too, so take it slowly and pay attention to what changes. Many early side effects improve with time, and your care team can help with anything uncomfortable or unexpected.
Medication can be a powerful catalyst, but lasting change builds over months and years, not days. Take it as directed and use everything around it: your care team, coaching, community, app, and live Zoom meetings. You don’t have to do the deeper work alone.
Take them as prescribed, including on days you don’t drink.
Key instruction
Take them as prescribed, including on days you don’t drink. Consistency gives your care plan the best chance to work.
Key instruction
Take semaglutide in the morning and naltrexone about one hour before your usual craving window. Always follow the instructions on each label.
You’ll be taking naltrexone and semaglutide separately, but both should be taken daily following the instructions provided by your care team.
Both medications can cause temporary nausea, especially when you first start or your dose changes. The guidance throughout this guide can help you stay more comfortable as your body adjusts.
If you’re feeling nauseous or eating less than usual, take extra care around alcohol. Drinking may make nausea worse, and alcohol may affect you more quickly or strongly when you haven’t eaten as much.
If you have questions about taking your medications or managing side effects, message your care team directly through the app.
Semaglutide may help turn down the urge to drink. Naltrexone helps reduce the reward alcohol delivers. Working differently within one coordinated care plan, they can address two forces that can keep drinking patterns going.
Tracking, coaching, clinical care, and community help you turn that opening into change that lasts.
What this means for you: Over time, the pull toward alcohol may feel quieter, and you may have fewer heavy-drinking days. Research is still emerging, and individual responses vary.
Semaglutide is a dissolvable tablet designed to absorb under your tongue. How you take it affects how well it works, so follow these steps carefully.
Do not swallow the tablet whole. Your semaglutide is designed to absorb under the tongue, and swallowing reduces effectiveness.
What this means for you: Over time, alcohol may feel less rewarding, cravings may feel quieter, and it may feel easier to stop once you start drinking. Individual responses vary.
Naltrexone is a capsule that you swallow whole. Timing matters, so follow your care plan and these steps carefully.
Opioid safety: Don’t start naltrexone if you use or have recently used opioids, including opioid pain or cough medicines, tramadol, buprenorphine, or methadone. Most short-acting opioids require at least 7–10 opioid-free days; buprenorphine or methadone may require up to 14 days. Tell your care team if you use kratom or another opioid-like supplement. Contact your care team before your first dose if you’re unsure.
Always tell doctors, dentists, and emergency clinicians that you take naltrexone. It can block opioid pain medication.
Important medication information. Semaglutide is not FDA-approved to treat alcohol use disorder. The semaglutide ODT and naltrexone capsule prescribed through Sunnyside Med are compounded medications and are not FDA-approved. Naltrexone is FDA-approved in tablet form for alcohol dependence. Published semaglutide studies in alcohol use disorder evaluated injectable or standard swallowed oral semaglutide, not this compounded ODT or this specific medication combination. Research is still emerging, and individual results vary.
Semaglutide is not FDA-approved to treat alcohol use disorder. Research is still emerging, and this specific medication combination has not been evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. Individual results vary. Sources: Hendershot et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2025; Schacht et al., American Journal of Psychiatry, 2026.
Use your first three months to take your medication as prescribed, learn the Sunnyside tools, and find your rhythm with your care team. You may not notice medication results right away, and progress varies from person to person. Keep sharing what you notice so your provider can review your plan.
Medication is one part of your care plan. The deeper work, building routines, changing habits, and reshaping your relationship with alcohol, takes practice. Give yourself time to build something that lasts, and let your provider guide how long medication remains appropriate for you.
If you experience side effects, your care team is ready to help. Tell us what you’re feeling, and we’ll help you understand your options and choose the right next step.
Questions, rough patches, small wins, bring them all. Your care team, member community, and Zoom meetings are here whenever you want support from people who understand.
Medication is one part of a comprehensive whole. Our clinical care team, app, coaching, and community help you build new habits that stick.
“Excellent program, especially in conjunction with Naltrexone. Changed my life almost immediately while seemingly effortless, and helped maintain the change throughout the following year. I highly recommend it.”
Text whenever you need us and we’ll help you get the attention you need.
Get matched with a licensed coach to walk you through each step of the program.
Connect with others on the journey with you in the app and via online meetings.
Break large goals into small daily habits that stack up over time.
See how your habits are changing over time, measured in the things that matter to you most.
Simple tools to track your days. You can’t manage what you don’t measure!
Don’t wait 6 months for a check-in. We’re here on demand.
We’ll work with you to find the perfect dosing to reach your goals, with chance to adjust every 84 days.
There’s no shame in investing in your health. Be proud that you’re here!
Illustrations and app examples from the printed guide. Examples aren’t a prediction of your results.
Download and set up your Sunnyside app.
Visit the Med portal in your app for full safety and side effect information.
Side effects vary. Possible effects include the symptoms listed below. Some may ease as you adjust, but contact your care team if symptoms persist, worsen, or interfere with daily life.
For complete side effect and safety information, including advice about what can help, visit the Med portal in your app, or talk to our care team.
You don’t have to quit drinking before starting your prescribed plan. If you drink heavily or have had withdrawal, ask your care team how to reduce safely. Shaking, sweating, or needing alcohol to feel normal after cutting back requires urgent in-person care, not just an app message.
Naltrexone can block opioid pain medicines. Do not try to overcome this by taking more opioids. It can cause a fatal overdose. Tell doctors, dentists, and emergency clinicians that you take naltrexone.
Starting naltrexone after recent opioid use can trigger sudden, severe withdrawal. Tell your care team about all opioid use, including pain or cough medicines, tramadol, methadone, buprenorphine, and kratom, before starting.
Tell your care team about liver problems and all medications or supplements you take.
Alcohol may worsen nausea and dehydration, especially if you’re eating less. Ask your care team how alcohol fits into your treatment plan.
Semaglutide can slow stomach emptying and may affect the absorption of oral medicines. Review all medications and supplements with your care team.
If you take insulin or other diabetes medicines, tell your care team. Some combinations increase the risk of low blood sugar, particularly when you’re eating less or drinking alcohol.
Review all medications and supplements with your care team before starting or making changes. Online interaction checkers do not replace a clinician’s review.
Contact your care team promptly if side effects persist, worsen, interfere with daily life, or affect eating, drinking, or sleeping. Seek prompt medical advice for yellowing skin or eyes, dark urine, or new or worsening mood changes. Your provider can review your treatment plan. For the emergency symptoms listed below, seek emergency care instead of waiting for a reply.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you experience any of the following. Do not wait for a reply from your care team: