So, new to here and all, posted an intro in the intro board. I haven't started NAL yet, just starting to learn about it. I've been able to find discussions and stuff to address most of my questions but one: you're killing all your endorphins for the sake of not getting them from alcohol.

And from what I've read about it, they're down for around 24 hours (is that true? I can't find any shorter times in what I've read). It's just a little throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater to zap all your endorphins for a day just to have a drink. I really fear (from my depression days) a constant feeling of feeling nothing. Without endorphins I can't imagine my 3 mile runs or weight workouts or sex or a lot of other things I'm not considering will feel any good. I guess I fear it's sort of that worst-case of a lobotomy where you just cut off all emotion and reason and stuff in order to get rid of the bad parts. I don't want to be totally monotone, cerebrally.

But, no one has really talked about this being an issue, about a lack of drive to do sporty or sexual things because of the NAL. What's your experience with it? Do you feel it other than a different feel from the alcohol? If you're sporty, do you feel less of a physical rush from sport? If you do other things, like smoke: do you lose interest in those too when you've taken NAL? For how long does that last for you?

Hi Jackson - I can only speak for myself but still do have feelings and emotions - I tend to feel blah at times but also did pre Nal too. I have never managed to achieve the runners high or sports related endorphin thing anyway either - so that isn't an issue ! I quit smoking 18 months ago so cannot tell you about that either ! I do not think you are killing all your endorphins - you are blocking the opioid receptors which is what the AL binds to - not everything in life is attached to them!

I could have all this wrong and probably someone else will come along and explain it better to you, but in my head, if taking the Nal is going to solve a long standing problem for me, then it is worth feeling a bit blah in my mind !

I wish you all the best with your choices - I suppose it all depends on how badly you want to get AL out of your life. Plus the Nal might not affect you that much - until you try it you will not know!

Hugs, Maggie x

hi jackson_pdx,

I think you'll find the effect of endorphin blocking more subtle than you might imagine. although dopamine is a major reward pathway, there are others - GABA for instance - so not everything gets blocked. I very much doubt you'll feel completely numbed to emotion, like some antidepressants do

some people do report feeling a bit "flat", although I can't say I've experienced that myself. I think, on balance, that feeling less hungover, or not hungover, with some Nal in my system is probably preferable to being badly hungover without any Nal

as far as smoking goes, I haven't noticed any difference since starting taking Nal. I suppose this is either good or bad depending on your point of view - I would have been delighted if Nal had helped me quit!

all the best

-badger

As someone who has dealt with Major Depression my whole life, I can totally relate to your concern. Protecting your mental health is very important. But I assure you, Nal does not kill all joy in life, not even close. I'm actually enjoying life a lot more now that I'm drinking less.

I agree with Badger, definitely more subtle than imagined.

I exercise on average 500 minutes a week, most of it aerobic (rowing, stair climber, elliptical, resistance training and bikram yoga) and I really can't tell the difference to be honest. You very quickly get accustomed to the Nal and it becomes an new-normal. Didn't affect my sex life either

What I did notice is the feeling of exercising when I'm both alcohol free and Nal free....that feels really good and I find myself looking forward to that part of my day.

Jackson, a lot of this stuff you just have to experience yourself. Two months from now, you'll look back and have an opinion to share about your endorphin experience. Here's my take...alcohol is a "dumb" pleasure, really simplistic and a bit like self-inflicted retardation in my experience. Sex, eating, and exercise, being actually things we need, are much, much more complicated and so can't really be "squashed" with a simple pill.

The good thing is that, ultimately in the long run, you will have greater pleasure in these things as you learn to do them totally sober (e.g. I went a good 15 years where I was pretty drunk 95% of the time I had sex, thinking that the alcohol was enhancing the experience. In retrospect, it was quite the contrary).

Still, I'm of the opinion that it is indeed NOT ideal to be always on Naltrexone, so implants and daily drinking would be a negative in the mid- to long-term (greater than a month or two). It took me a good 6 months with zero alcohol to really rebuild my brain to where I get a full-on pleasure experience and "high" out of life. I have come to like it so much (now 14 months with zero alcohol) that I have no desire to get the "warm thrill of confusion" and "that space cadet glow." It just sort of sucks compared to a clear, vibrant mind.

I can't stop laughing at this phrase!

Thanks for the input all! With such positive results from such different situations, I feel better about trying it out.

That had me chuckling too.

barryb4 tends to be, how should I say it, a straight shooter

I can tell you from my experience. Started October 2014 and am still taking Nal but not everyday (5-6 days a week). My life is way better! It did make me a little flat for the first couple months but then you dont even feel it and the drinking just slowly fades away and is just not that interesting. Now I can go enjoy a tasty micro brew or glass of wine but I am not interested in the buzz. Its a very strange thing! Never thought I would be able to say that. I still exercise and have sex weather taking Nal or not but the more AF days I have the more better life gets, and its easy. Also the best part is when I want to drink, I do but I am satisfied after a couple instead of never enough. I call it magic...

Alcohol affected all those activities for me, and removing the alcohol meant I could enjoy life more than the endorphin blocking. Getting to a place where I could have alcohol free days most of the time also helped. Noticing the flatness of nal became yet another incentive to not drink.

I love my training.