I am sorry rajasmom about the bad part, I was just joking with you as I put LOL (Laugh Out Loud) after it. I was just playing around I am always joking but since you don't know me I am sorry if you thought I was serious.

Oh! no worries, Cheeto! All is well.

Now since I have to drink to be cured, I'm going to try tonight. I so don't feel like it tho.

Weird, huh?

I figure. I'll try to choke down two just to get it done but after one, I'll probably get in the mood.

Wish me luck as I'm gonna try all the side effect remedies above!

Have a good one!

It's funny to hear an alcoholic say this but I get that you are not a daily drinker like I am! Hope your SE's are not too bad and they fade away soon. Don't forget to track your drinking daily so you (and us too) can see your improvements down the line, sometimes it is easy to forget how much we did drink!
OK keep us updated, thanks for posting!

Yep, 12.5 mg is better, but still feel loopy. But that's better than pukey, sleepy and loopy! (Part of the seven dwarves. haha)

I'll get my drink count sorted out and post later.

Thanks for everything!

Update: I did my thing last night and things worked much better. Like I said in my previous post, 12.5 mg worked much better, but was still strong enough to get the desired effects. I didn't count drinks in the beginning, but figured I ended up at about 7 total. Once I got over the first drink hump, the rest went down much easier. I had bought some tasty off-brand Irish Cream to help me with my "treatments," since the thought of drinking wasn't pleasant. I don't think it was very strong.

I am not a daily drinker, as I consume too much in one sitting and my liver would never be able to handle it. I guess I'm more of a binge drinker. 7 is a low amount for me as my per-session consumption is normally twice that. Coupled with the lack of desire to drink at all, I'd say this process is working very well so far!

Anyway, last night, I just got the urge to stop. I just didn't want anymore and left a full drink sitting there, which I dumped this morning. That, too, is a major change because the thought of wasting alcohol breaks my heart!

I woke up this morning and feel happy and productive as though I made progress somehow. I'm really pleased I found this because instead of feeling like I'm sliding down the tubes into a deep, dark hole, I feel I'm coming out of it into the sunshine. (Corny, but true!)

I'm not going to promise to visit here regularly or post my adventures. That's not a phase I'm into right now. But I did want to follow up and give my experience with the side effect remedies. Just to be clear, here's what I did - I ate a piece of toast and drank a glass of milk before taking the pill. Then I took one quarter of a pill with a large glass of water.

The lowered dose plus having something on my stomach really helped.

So there you go - I'm over that hump and appreciate all the input/help. Carry on all and thanks for this promising solution to the agonizingly difficult problem of over-drinking!

That's a good early session. The abstinence types would whine because YOU DRANK SEVEN!!! but what's really important is that your natural "I'm done" mechanism was able to kick in. When was the last time that happened, eh?

True. It would be nice to get the signal after one.

But . . . I'm getting the signal before I even start which is tremendous. And while the brakes don't come on as early as I'd like - yet - I'm stopping way earlier. If I don't drink again for a week, that's only 7 drinks a week which is a huge reduction.

So in context for me, it's great in my opinion!

Here is something I could really use some help on..

I have lurked here for about a year, and in December got the pills...On Xmas day, I took a half 50 mg pill on a full stomach

and my SE were abysmal. I haven't been that sick, even from drinking in 20 years, and I am a full figured 48 year old man that has been drinking heavily for 10 years, and everyday for 30 years before that..

I had an AF day on the 26th, still hurting. As of now, I have been on the pill for 4 weeks...

Here's my question: I have only taken half a pill. 25 mg's Nal, River Pharm supply. everyday, one hour before drinking.

AMAZING. There is a trade-off ( spacey feeling, some 'deadened' pleasures, some creative inhibition ) but it's worth it. I have not been 'drunk' in a month, and that is probably the first time that happened since I was 16. My intake? I take the half pill, and Im out at 3-4 drinks max a night. My trials by fire in the last month has been two weekends of college and NFL football playoffs ( usually the harbinger of drunken delights ), a funeral and a birthday party. And I drove home instead of taxi or Uber. This is a huge development.

But, I am still only taking half a pill. Half a pill: it's working. Im at 4 weeks, so I think Im out of the honeymoon period. I only have not taken the full pill, because Im scared those SE will come back...

The book says 'you must follow the protocol, and that is 50 mg one hour before you drink'.

But if I am going to take this pill for the rest of my life, unless I choose abstinence, then is it still wrong to half the pills? That quite the savings....Also: if it doesn't work, I can always take a full pill, right?

So far, after 4 weeks on 25 mg Neltrexonone, I have had nothing but results. My wife said the other day 'It's so nice' and then felt bad because she thought she had insulted me...But I admit it did hurt, but I felt proud that this little pill has gotten me here.

So, will I hurt the 'extinction' process by taking less? How will I know if I need to 'up' it to a full pill? If my drink total rises?

I am happy at 25 mg's, but don't want to mess this up..any help would be greatly appreciated

Hmm.

It's possible that you have fewer opioid receptors than average, such that a half-dose is giving you full protection. That's unlikely, but possible.

It's also possible that the lessened euphoria isn't enough to maintain your addiction. That one is harder to evaluate, but it sounds a little screwy on the face of it -- in a case like that, wouldn't we just drink more?

I see your dilemma. This seems to be working, so you don't want to mess with it, but you also want to be sure you're doing it right so that this is really fixed. I'm sure you'd tolerate 50mg better now that you're thoroughly used to 25mg . . . maybe go to 37.5 the next few times to see how that is?

I'm a little worried that you are only feeling the difference between no coverage and partial coverage, not actual complete coverage. That could give you a "honeymoon" but would probably end with your drinking more to try to get back to that level of buzz.

Thanks Melissa...But, I don't understand your point...If I was going to 'drink more' to achieve a buzz, wouldn't it have happened by now? As it stands, I am living the dream. My usual intake watching football is 12-20 drinks, average. I went through two playoff weekends having 2-3. That is an amazing reduction. Once I got through that, I really knew and bought into the protocol. But the protocol says I 'must' use the 50mg's..

I guess I can go ahead and just take a full pill and see what happens. After 4 weeks, I would be surprised if I had any bad SE. But, if I experience another Xmas massacre, I would simply have to go back to 25mg or quit altogether. Im telling you the SE were so bad it scared the hell out a grown man.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I work early am, and go to sleep around 10 pm every weeknight. Usually I would be plastered by 7pm, since I get off work at noon and would start drinking after lunch...So I have been taking a half pill around 11 am, and I am in bed by 9-10 pm, maybe I am only drinking 'half' the day, so a 'half' pill is covering me?

Also, Im looking at taking these forever, unless a miracle happens, so a 50% savings is pretty attractive idea..But, I want to do this right..

Thanks for the input!