Used Nal with excellent results from August through November, but started getting tired of the nausea. Also got lazy about waiting a full hour before drinking after taking the tablet. Eventually just stopped taking it. And now my drinking and associated consequences are creeping back up to pre-Nal levels. Boo.

Looks like I'll be starting back on following TSM correctly tomorrow. Today was AF.

Mind your p's and q's, Nalstronauts!

M

Hi Matthew.

I think a personality trait (defect?) existing in most alcoholics is the need to be a rule-breaking, law-unabiding, belligerent rebel . Think of all the bad judgement calls we make out of sheer oblivion coupled with our booze-induced hubris. Those DUI's.... those one night stands..... that money squandered..... those fights picked.... those words said.... etc. etc.

It is in our very nature to rebel as if rules do not apply to us and boundries just do not exist. That you scoffed at TSM's golden rule should come as no surprise. I think it's your inner alcoholic wanting to skip school or play hookey from work and run away--- to the bottle of course!

Just pinky promise you'll follow the rule and 11 months from now, if you are like me, you'll be adding your name to the cured list.

Nal+Al+Patience=Regaining Control.

Do you want that or not?

Onward,

Ketchikan1

You are absolutely right. I started back on the Nal last night and guess what? It still works!

Hi - I had a backslide in May due to improper use of Nal - not taking it / taking it too late. The good news is that after two weeks of taking it properly again, I'm drinking well within the safety limits and have almost zero craving. I had a couple of sips of white wine tonight and and then threw it out - admittedly it wasn't very nice!

That wouldn't have put me off before though, but I didn't like the last red wine or Cava I was given at a dinner party during the week either. JUST WONDERING:

1. Does anyone know if Nal alters the taste of alcohol for the worse
2. Where to buy Nal inexpensively in Ireland, NI or the UK
3. Am I likely to stay on track after 5 months, now that I feel in control of my intake ...

Any replies appreciated,
MM.

Marie:

Some people do report Nal changing the taste of alcohol, or changing the anticipated taste/feeling of consumption. For me there's a certain type of aversion that seems to set in before I consume, which is good.

By all accounts I've read if you are well in control at 5 months you should be past the "honeymoon" period and on a steady, reliable path.

Marie,

I can't speak to any of the other questions, but nal has definately changed my taste for certain kinds of alcohol. In the past, I would drink cheap box wine or beer in the morning, but in the evening I always had to switch to bourbon, my real drink of choice. I had posted only a couple of weeks ago that I might start trying to drink something else, something I didn't like so much. Then one day last week I had a couple of glasses of wine and then fixed a bourbon and diet Coke. When I finished it, I poured another glass of wine. The bourbon just didn't appeal to me. That has never, ever happened before. The last few days I have drank only wine.

The bourbon didn't taste terrible, it just didn't taste great.

I've been doing TSM for about 2 months, and this taste thing just came up.

For your replies. Do you know of any long-term NAL success stories - the only one I know of is a woman interviewed by the Observer newspaper, who was on Nal for five years and had reduced her drinking to a few glasses of wine with her Sunday dinner.

Hi Marie- check out the Cured list here for some inspirational stories. I think they date back to about 2005 or so on this board, which is relatively long term. Nal hasn't been used for alcohol addiction in the US for much longer than that (on any sort of large scale) so it might be hard to get 20-30 years studies yet, other than the ones conducted by Doctor Sinclair.
As for nal changing the taste of alcohol...yes, yes and YES. It's actually been one of the negative side effects for me - basically everything tastes crappy except for bourbon (which was always my drink of choice, but I drank a lot of other things too). Now drinking anything other than bourbon basically makes me want to vomit (and in some cases, vomit). I kinda wish it had worked the other way around (and mabye I would love beer now or something lol) but just sharing my experience.

Hi Matthew,

I'm not sure about alcoholic personality and so fourth, I dislike labels, but I too suffered from bad side effects from Nal, Nausea, apathy, bad hangovers etc... so much so that after a few months I dropped to 25mg and immediately started to feel better, and with that drop came a drop in units consumed, I dropped again to 12.5 and my drinking has been stable for about 9 months now.

Most people feel side effects and for most, they go away after a few weeks, if they continue for you, try taking 3/4 of a tablet and see how it goes. For some 50mg doesn't seem to be enough, for others, like me, it was too much.

Another tip to help control your drinking is to make sure you are never hungry or thirsty before drinking. Eat a protein snack and drink a large glass of water with your Nal, this will also help with nausea.

Good luck.

curi

Hi ElectraLou and co,

I took Nal four times last week - more than I've ever done as I was on hols - and developed a rash of little bumps under the skin on my hands and lower arms which itches occasionally. The Nal worked brilliantly and I'm hoping I'm not allergic - is anyone aware of this sort of reaction occurring ?

MM.