I have a little over 90 days sober. I've quit several times and the most I've gone is 4 months. I don't get strong cravings, and when I start back I do it slowly (as opposed to the stereotype of an alcoholic taking one drink and immediately binging) but eventually and inevitably I'm back to a 5th/day.

I understand naltrexone without drinking doesn't work, but my question is this--if I had some on hand (not taking it) but knew I was about to relapse and then took it, would that decrease the inevitability of my returning to excessive drinking?

I know there are no sure answers but any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

You should maybe talk to Curious who has a thread - I know he was sober for three years and decided to give TSM a try. I'm not medical expert, but I think that having nal on hand if there's a chance of you relapsing is just smart. Nal will most likely cause you to drink less immediately, and then drink less over time if you keep relapsing. (You might, however, also get nasty side effects every time you take nal, if your relapses are spread out very far). I really think it couldn't hurt. Good luck.

I was quit for almost 3 years before I decided to try nal. Ive not regretted it and I didnt return to out of control drinking. There were occasions when I drank too much and still do at times but I never again had blanks in memory, injured myself or did or said anything I regretted. Im no longer frightened of alcohol or of the disease progressing. Before I quit my drinking was causing upset and hassle at home and that too is gone now. While I would never reccommend giving up on a quit especially if one is happy quit - the only thing I can say is that going back to drinking with nal is not something I regret. It wont be all plain sailing and one needs to expect this.

Keep posting

Thank you. I don't intend to start drinking again right now but will get some just in case. I must admit, though, it is appealing to think of actually rewiring my brain and being done with the whole problem once and for all rather than always living on the verge of relapse.

Right, I think that is the best case scenario with tSM. But only you can decide if you're willing to chance sobriety on the 20 percent chance that nal won't work for you...

Hi Myst, like Mario, I give up 3 years of abstinence to try TSM, and despite the fact that I suffer from some unpleasant side effects, I don't regret it. Since taking Naltrexone, I have never gotten drunk and the largest amount I have drunk is 1/2 to 1/3 of my pre TSM binges. I have always felt in control, I now know what it feels like to have enough, to not want any more, this is truly a wonderful feeling!

Ethically, nobody would want to tell you to try TSM if you are sober, this was also my dilemma, I hesitated for months before trying it, but I'm happy to say that I'm glad I did.

Good luck!