I finally got my prescription and today is day 1 for me! I'm excited, nervous, and above all hopeful as hell!

I've been a heavy wino for about 10 years now. Did two inpatient stays and failed. Did outpatient twice and failed.
Tried AA many times - have had 4 sponsors and failed.

I read about the Sinclair Method and am seriously hanging my hat on the sincere hopes I can find my way out of this mess.

I have a question...if you are having a non-drinking day (which for me are few) do you still take the naltraxone pill?
Or ONLY before you drink?

Wish me luck!

Welcome hopeful,

I hope that you have read the book, and if you start to night start out with 1/2 (or 1/4) of pill for the side effects can be intense for some.

Please make sure you track your intake and try to figure out what your past intake was, for it will be helpful for you in the future.

This is an exciting time for you and I wish the best of luck,

Jaba

link to the book:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/60fs7gmvbyzs1 ... m.pdf?dl=0

Hi hopeful,
I am just starting out also, this is my third week. To answer your question about taking Naltrexone, only take it one hour before you drink, don't take it on non-drinking days.
Do not get discouraged if you have any side effects, I had some - tired ness, headache, slight nausea - but they went away in the second week. Also, I drank a lot more in the second week, which seems to be a common thing, and nothing much to worry about.
I learned a lot from reading posts on here, I encourage you to do the same.
Good Luck!
Susie

So my first day using nax was really promising! It worked!!
I typically have a bottle and a half of wine a night.
Yesterday, I took the pill and an hour later had a glass of wine.
A half hour later, we went out for dinner and I ordered a beer. I couldn't finish it!!! Unheard of for me!
And even better....the feeling of "10 is never enough" just wasn't there.

I felt pretty good today!!!

Hopeful1,

That is a really good sign, for you are now entering the honeymoon phase. Your intake may increase after the honeymoon phase (never to pre-nal levels) and it can be a different time frame for everyone, but it can be scary (it was for me).

I am happy that you are having a good experience!

Keep up the good work and keep posting,

Jaba

Ok so this is night 2 for me.

Tonight was a bit different. I see what is meant by the honeymoon phase.
Tonite I had a glass and a half of wine after my nal.

I didn't feel the "eh" don't want this feeling. It kind of felt like business as usual. A bit concerned.
But I've been reading posts and see this is typical.

Concerning....

Hopeful,

Did you wait that entire 60 minutes? It does take that entire 60 minutes for it to be in your system.

Night 2 is a really short honeymoon phase, but everyone is different!

Just try to set a timer for about 45 minutes, and drink as slowly as you can, for it will help. Try to do that with the first, 2nd and 3rd drinks. This will help your brain to realize just how boring drinking is, and it will want to do something else.

I did have a problem with my brain refusing to accept that "ah" moment wasn't going to come and I did drink way more than I should have a couple of times. I paid for it the next day with a nal. over. The nal. over didn't happen the first couple of times, but it was more of a weeks worth of close to normal drinking before it happen. After that first one it was as if I could no longer drink as much, or I would have another one. And remember you can get drunk, but it isn't the same.

Pace yourself, for if you drink too much you may end up with a nal over...and those are not fun!

Jaba

I feel great this morning!

I drank slowly. I just felt like after the glass and a half last night I would have liked more.
I wasn't freaking out that I didn't have more, which before nal would have driven me crazy.

A glass and a half without that horrible feeling of "MUST have more" is better than a bottle of wine, drunk, and still wanting more.
I'm hyper-vigilant about this process. It's got to work!

Question:
When should I start forcing no-alcohol days? Today will be day three.

Hopeful,

It sounds like you are still in the honeymoon phase, for last night sounds great! Remember nal. isn't magic and you will have to do some of the work.



Believe it or not, that still amazes me, for I can remember how I was like a bad dream, and that is fading like a bad dream as well, which scares me. I guess that is why some people don't follow that golden rule, for if you forget how bad it was, why take that pill. SCARY!

You can start trying AF days at anytime. If you feel up to it try, but if you find that desire too strong just remember to follow that golden rule.

Jaba