I am anxious to start but am afraid of a killer hangover or some "not normal" effect the next day. Is this a worry? I drink 1.5 bottles of wine when I drink over the course of an evening. Will I feel worse the next day than I normally would?

Also, what dose do I start with? I am nervous but oh so anxious to have this monkey off my back! Will I feel the effects the first day? Do you feel any buzz at all and psychologically how do you deal with that when that's the whole reason you are drinking...?

Thanks for any input!!!
Colery

Hi colery, so nice to meet you here

I would start with a dose of 25mg - half a tablet. That is what I did, and the side effects for me were quite strong at that level. Bearable, but I was glad that I didn't have any important tasks to deal with, that's for sure! After three days or so I was a little scared to jump up to the full 50mg dose, but made a leap of faith, and was so glad I did as the side effects were not really any worse, having got used to them at the 'half' dose.

Within a week the side effects had gone almost entirely, so if you do get them (and not all do - and I am generally sensitive to any medication) it is, in my humble opinion, a very small price to pay for what we hope will be the long term benefit.

Personally I haven't felt any worse the next day for having drunk while on Nal. Some have reported slightly worse hangovers in the longer term, but I don't believe this is something to worry about in the short-term.

All the best to you, can't wait to follow your progress

8

It really is quite exciting starting TSM. When I started, I just took the 50mg the first day without any ill effects. However, this is not the norm. Most people get nausea at full dosage the first time, so 25mg is a good suggestion for the first few days. Hangovers can be the same or worse, but usually its the same until late in the treatment when they seem worse (probably because we're not saturated with AL all the time). You may have bad dreams, sweating or hot flashes, but these fade with the passing weeks.

You probably will feel a similar buzz on Naltrexone as before, but after a few days to weeks, it likely will change to a feeling of being inebriated, but under control (most people report this effect). When you get into the late stages of successful TSM treatment, AL doesn't have the allure it once did and some people report developing a distaste for anything with alcohol in it (like me).

We are still in the first year data gathering stage of this treatment with real live people you can talk to. Some that have been cured have gone on to greener pastures now that they have their life back. Others are still unaffected by TSM for reasons unknown. Others disappear and we don't know if it worked or it didn't. We even had one person who decided he didn't want to be cured and went back to drinking without Naltrexone (go figure).

Enjoy your journey. Share your successes and your frustrations. And get ready for a "roller coaster ride"... it's not a linear cure.

Bob

Hi and welcome from me too!!

I am only 2 weeks into TSM so can share with you my humble beginnings! I took 25 mg for the first 6 days because the first couple left me feeling a little spacey and I had some family over during the course of the week so didn't want to chance upping it with them around, just in case. However, once I took the 50 mg it was perfectly fine. The spacey weird feeling was entirely gone in the first week and I never had any nausea. I do wholly recommend that you start with the standard 1/2 dose of 25 mg. just for the first few days to see how it affects you.

I too drink about 1 1/2 bottles of wine a day and the Nal has made me feel no different so far. It's like regular drinking for me - sometimes I feel the effect more than others but in general, I feel the same. That is until the other night (read Black outs on Nal under SM questions). Other than that, I haven't had any really different feelings.

You'll find from reading through this forum that there is no status quo. It seems to affect each of us uniquely until the end result that we are all here for.

For The Sinclair Method, it IS the destination that we seek, but sharing the journey helps us get to the destination!!!

I wish you luck...........Keep us posted. C.

Thanks everyone....when you said you felt no different on the 1 1/2 bottles....you mean you didn't feel like cutting down or anything different than normal? Also about the spacey or other side effects were any REALLY bad? I just picked up my meds yesterday and am terrified to start that I will have some debilitating effect. I am a stay home mom but still have to pick kids up from school and function, etc. I am already having panic attacks (which I get off and on) because of my "wanted to stop drinking" / "wanting to drink" thoughts. I am a Christian and so I also feel the guilt of drinking too much (which is me) but that just adds to the mixx....ugh. The funny thing is I have way more stuff I could be working on besides the drinking, but it's funny how my entire mind get's so focused on this one area and the control of it that it just consumes your whole life ya know?

I am SO grateful for this site and that I am not alone. I can't thank you guys enough!
Colery

Welcome to the board.

I think that you will find that you cannot address your "other issues" until you get a handle on your drinking. Also, you will find that those "other issues" either go away or will be greatly reduced once you are sober.

The side effects are not a big deal for almost all of us. And almost all side effects go away within a week. So give it a shot, report your experience and we can give you feedback. But there is a chance you'll have almost no side effects whatsoever. And the benefits of TSM dwarf the side effects, which, as I said, are almost always very temporary.

The most common side effect is nausea. Do not start at 50 mg -- start at 25 mg and take the half pill on a full stomach to reduce the nausea. Once you are used to 25 mg, move up to 50. 25 mg will cover you for up to twelve hours.

My best,

Nick

Hi Colery,

I hope your start day went well! Yes, I mean I didn't feel like cutting down or anything different than normal. But I am ok with that because I know that TSM takes many months to work. It has taken many years for the behaviour to become as strong as it is so it will take many days of drinking while taking Nal 1 hour before to weaken it!

The spacey side effects were a little unusual but not very long lasting and I certainly could have conitnued doing what I normally do, but just feeling a little different.

Let us know if you had any SEs and how your first few days are going!

C.

Hi Colery,

You're like me!

I was terrified as i was never a pill taker anyways except ibuprofen and aspirin.

Don't worry, what everyone said is true. Once you get used to it, its like riding a bike. No big deal. Nobody will be able to tell you're on Naltrexone. The only thing might be if you get loaded, but its not going to do anything to make you want to drink more initially. Most folk acrtually cut back immediately, resume to normal drinking for some months, then the extinction begins and you'll battle habit versus craving (search the board great posts there), and tehn as earlier post said, it'll lose teh allure. I'm sensing a little of that right now but am far from cured as I've b een a heavy drinker 20-25 years. Ok welcome and post often,..BEst to you, jim

Thanks everyone! I will probably start on Friday or Saturday at this point as my husband is away and I want him to be around just in case I turn into a zombie or something LOL. I am sure it's like anything else, the mental is way worse.

I will definitely keep you posted, I am so glad I found this site!

Colery

I have never written this before, but what I did when I first started Nal (50mgs) to take it (as prescribed by my Dr. from information we both gathered from the internet) at night. The Dr. said it would make me sleepy. I am sensitive to meds but I never had a problem with Nal and it did help me sleep. As the year went by, I do now take it in the a.m. and I have no problem
I do want to suggest this as a starter, perhaps it may help some people with their side effects.

NOTE: I have a friend who took it at night (50 mgs) and she had an extremely trippy experience. I think this may be because of the amount of AL she had in her body at the time, this may make a difference when we are starting the med.
ART