Aww. I'm probably as disappointed as you if the DHM doesn't help. Maybe the DHM+GABA+NAL+AL is just too much stuff. Especially at high doses. Please be careful, ladies.

Re. the Low Dose Nal. Not sure I would have gone that way had 50mg not been immediately effective in extinguishing my opoid/endorphin thing. I was probably endorphin deficient and thus an endorphin junkie. Hit me right where I live. There are a lot of variables in the science of NAL. The 50mg hit is apparently to extend coverage to 24hrs. In Low Dose application, 4mg is considered to be around for maybe 4hrs. Research into ULTRA Low Dose Nal which is being applied with morphine and hydrocodone to give pain relief without addiction suggests Nal is very powerful even in tiny doses (.002mg). Anyway, drinking habits figure in (2hrs or 24hrs). Genetics figure in as far as efficiency at helping addictions, although the mechanics of the drug are the same. Blocking the opoids for 24hrs a day 7 days a week is probably NOT a good Idea. Bad for the immune system and endorphin production. Some regulars are reporting doing fine on 12.5mg doses. When they drink.

So what do I think? I try to just report research findings and my own experience. If pressed for opinion, I think you have gotten all the benefit of Nal that you are going to get. We must, of course,continue coverage when drinking. Assuming opoid/endorphin addiction is extinguished, you are fighting a much more complicated problem. The toxic love affair metaphor seems apt. You keep seeing that toxic ex-love. You take pills that keep you from getting sexually aroused but you keep seeing her and you are still obsessively in love. So what do you do? Move (so you can't see her)? Get a NEW love? Get counseling (didn't work for me)? Do you hang in there and eventually just get sick of it and finally get off your anti-arousal meds so you can enjoy life again? In the end, the pills can't slap the glass out of your hand.

I admire you for tirelessly trying. I'll keep researching. I would love the cure to be as easy for you as it was for me.

Hugs, Steve.

OKAY ! I am going to try the gaba - and the Nal - both an hour before drinking. Might throw in ONE 300mg of the DHM too just for good measure. I will not take 900mg of the DHM again - I felt so rough the morning after I took that ....but it did very sort of help before drinking. So, watch this space .....

I have not had a good week re AF days so far - only had one and that was Sunday. As usual lots of stuff going on - not that that should be an excuse, but for me it is fact. Anyway I think this is my worst week in a long time so am excited about trying the gaba plus the Nal plus the DHM. And do not worry - anyone who thinks I am mixing brain stuff ....I am not stupid and will be fine .....

Steve thanks for the pep talk - I too wish that it had been as easy for me as it was for you. But I am not giving up - I never will give up - I just know that the answer is here .... I just need to keep plodding on and eventually get there. I thank you for your support.

Hugs, Maggie x

If me, I would try Gaba without DHM first. Both headed the same direction theoretically and hopefully Gaba won't adversely affect you. I know you are frustrated but try to not get ahead of yourself. Gaba is taken by a LOT of people for nerve pain with low incidence of bad side effect but not much on using it for AL abuse although a double blind Scripps test looked promising.
Steve.

OK Steve - thanks - will take that tomorrow .....

Hugs, Maggie x

Interesting aside on the Scripps Institute. Scripps is one of the largest and most respected non-profit research facilities in the world. 5 or 6 years ago their research showed that THC (marijuana) was significantly more efficient at treating Alzheimers than any pharmaceutical drug available. They were forced to drop their research due to lack of governmental support or financial support. Double blind human tests on government classified illicit drugs are apparently a no-no. Especially if big pharma business can't make a buck off it. Google Scripps Institute and Marijuana.
Steve

Guy goes the doctor, asks for a pill to help get to sleep.

Dr. says fine.

Guy says can I also get a pill to help me get up in the morning ?

I read these discussions, and I wonder why people are chasing medications all around. If the naltrexone didn't work by itself without any behavioral changes why would other medications?

Is the goal be to replace alcohol with other medications ? Why not make behavioral changes?

If that means taking an occasional naltrexone when you might drink, as we are all here because that's been a problem, fine.

If you're ultimately going to feel crappy from drinking, or taking naltrexone, it's a no-brainer that taking neither will be better

The people that succeed around here, don't drink very much or care to. It just isn't worth it.

Seemed worth a shot. Sometimes even the placebo works.

Guapo - if you are one of those lucky ones for whom the Nal worked pretty easily then great. BUT there are those of us who still struggle with it - and yes I understand that the Nal is not a magic pill and I also have to make some behavioural changes but when that craving comes along, it is NOT easy to ignore. I AM having more AF days than I was pre Nal which I do think is due to the Nal ....but I still need that push to try and help me cut back on the days when I do drink. Pre Nal it would be approx. 6 per session - at least that has gone down to 4 but I want it lower than that .... and it isn't JUST that I am drinking one after the other - it is the same as when I was pre Nal - and one just gets the next one ..... I am trying to be more aware and stopping after two - but it is SO hard to do that. If I can find something that helps me with that then I will try it ..... once I have the habit of having the next one arrested, hopefully THAT way can become habit ....

I am sorry - I am awful at trying to explain things without it turning into a book ..... and am still not sure I have explained very well - but I know what I mean.

I will continue with the Nal and try other things as long as it takes because I am not giving up. No matter how long it takes or what I have to take.

Hugs, Maggie

I was thinking about the big difference I experienced when I first tried Nal. It was normal for me to regret drinking and have the usual guilt feelings. But evening came and I was SO ready. For just one or two this time. But...that first taste! My mouth came alive! My throat and stomach loved the alcohol heat. My brain was stupidly ecstatic. And ALL resolve was immediately gone. Logic out the window. THAT has changed. I still enjoy my craft beers but I don't get that stupidly ecstatic overwhelming irrational love hit at all. I have sink-poured beers that weren't that good. I have just not drank any at times. I never over-drink.
If I had not seen that huge change, I would never have been able to change my behavior. It makes sense to me that the AL/endorphin hit was my nemesis.
It is possible that the AL is making love to other receptors in other people and it seems worth a try to extinguish that action like we did with our opoids. To tell people to "just change" is a little AAish and simplistic. I know I would NOT have changed had Nal not worked so efficiently on me.
Again, I am full of admiration, ladies. Hang in there. Perhaps men have some advantage in this endeavor due to our natural bullheadedness.
Steve.

Thank you Steve - your post actually made me tear up - I SO want this to work - just more than anything in the world - and I know that my behaviour has to change but if it was as simple as Guapo is saying it is, I would not be here ! I truly am doing my best but want it to be something that happens to my brain - not something that I am forcing and so end up thinking about AL all the time. I KNOW it is going to work - I just know it ...... I just need to have patience ......

Hugs, Maggie x