Hi, I've been using Nal faithfully since Feb 2011 (hard to believe it's been this long!). I think my results have been good. When I started I was really scared that my drinking was getting out of control. I was drinking around 10 drinks a day, and felt I was going downhill. After being on Nal for a couple of years, I felt much more in control (although I was drinking less, I was still drinking almost every day). I'm now down to having 3 to 4 AF days a week, and drinking pretty much on the weekend, and feel much better and in control vs. when I started back in 2011.

However, I'm still having around 18-20+ drinks a week (4-7 drinks on the days that I drink). I also find it hard to go too many days without drinking (not sure if it's "real" or just my imagination, but I start feeling edgy). Never gone 2 whole weeks without drinking. On days that I do drink, I feel I tend to have "one or two drinks too many" in that I often don't sleep well that night (wake up thirsty or with fast heartbeat). I don't get "drunk" or go on any binges. On the days I'm AF I take a GABA supplement orally, which I feel does make me less nervous and makes me have less of a desire to drink (however, I recently read that GABA supplements can't cross the blood barrier, so not sure if this is a placebo effect).

So here's my question: I was wondering whether Acamprosate can be combined with TSM and Nal, particularly to reduce cravings in AF days and/or to reduce desire to drink on any day that I do drink and take Nal? Anyone have any experience with this?

At some point soon I'd like to be able to take a month or two off from drinking, and then go back to drinking moderately (say 10 drinks a week max). I'd like to have the feeling that some on this site have mentioned where they have 2 glasses of wine and feel satisfied, and can barely down the third one. Any suggestions?

Thanks to all!

Hi NJGUY

Wow you've been at it a long time and whilst you have seen a reduction in drinking, you are still suffering with cravings. Assuming you are talking US units and drinks I'd guess you are still drinking fairly high numbers and I'm wondering if the habit and possibly physical dependency are playing a part.

I don't know if acamprosate will help or not. I do know it's supposed to work best with abstanence. I tried acamprosate some years prior to starting TSM and to be honest, I didn't notice a difference.

I do notice you mention you'd like a month off drinking, and I'm wondering would this be possible?If so I'd advise giving it a go. You could then add in the acamprosate once abstanent and assess it then.

Acamprosate has few fans, and Little if any benefit from everything I've read.

Much of the problem with drinking is habit, poor urge control, and not being mindful of the drinking itself. The are many methods to deal with those issues that will likely be far more helpful than adding a drug with questionable benefits.

That holds true with NAL also, as once you get past the pradoxical "need" to drink, you drink much less and therefore use NAL rarely. Thats because it becomes what you would rather do, as the "benefits" of drinking are now illusory.

It feels better to never wake up with a dry mouth, fast heartbeat, etc. I cannot imagine drinking more than 10 drinks in a month, is it just isn't fun anymore. Although, as I look back, was it ever fun?

Thanks for your comments. As for not drinking for a month, I think I just need to give it a try. Maybe a week at time. Just like I never thought I could go 1 day without drinking and now I'm going 3-4 AF. For starters, I also will cut back so that I don't go over 4-5 drinks in a single day on the days that I do drink, and doing so with food and plenty of water to avoid negative side effects.
I think an important point is that Nal DOES WORK for everybody in some shape or fashion. You just need to be patient and take it faithfully. I do feel much better than I did years ago, although obviously I haven't had the incredibly strong results that others have had. Nevertheless, I'm very happy I discovered TSM. For those people who feel "disappointed" with TSM I would say: It is easy to forget how bad things were before you were taking Nal, even though you may not be exactly where you'd like to be at the moment.