pleatherface,

I am glad the nal. came and you took it...and it sounds like you have the "normal" side effects. I am glad you are not feeling nauseated, for working or on-call would be the pits. And it sounds like you are having a honeymoon effect...for if your norm would be to drink regardless what was handed to you (like me), you are feeling the nal.

Yes, you can get drunk on the nal, and I think at times, faster. That is why I asked about your on-call...it could be a little dangerous, but things do get better. That "paxil" feeling does go away (I tried paxil and hated it), and I would take 1/2 a pill for a while until that fuzziness goes away, for there is no need to rush into this in the middle of a work week. The sleep will get better, and actually I sleep better on the nal. than off of it (and I do not drink that much).

A standard drink is equal to

a 12 oz (355 ml.) beer with 5% alcohol (average for most U.S. beers).
A 5 oz. (150 ml.) glass of wine (12.5% alcohol).
1.5 oz. (45 ml.) of 80 proof liquor (40% alcohol).


So if you had 2 PBR it was 4 drinks (for they are 24 oz) and 1 shot (which should have been 1.5 oz which is 5.5...maybe at most 6. Did you have more than 1.5 oz in that shot or did you count the cider as a hole unit?

I do not think it matter how you measure as long as it is consistent, so you can look back on it to see what you drank. Any tracking helps.

Maybe someone else can chime in to advise you with a better app,

Jaba

I think maybe Jaba didn't see the "and two more shots", because I didn't at first either.

I have a spreadsheet that I set up for Mr. ND's tracking that gives the standard American alcohol units for a given volume at a given %ABV. Maybe I could post it somewhere, and people could modify it to meet their needs.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/za4wcs6zfge5nar/Units%20of%20Alcohol%20Calculator.gsheet?dl=0

Pabst (assuming PBR) is approx 4.75% ABV. 2 24 oz. cans is 3.8 standard units. I don't know the ABV for the cider and whiskey, nor the volume, so assuming a shot is 1 standard unit, I'd say 7.5 is definitely in the ballpark.

So day two into day three. Last night dropped another half pill and drank approximately 6 units. Still slightly restless sleep. Wife said I seemed more drunk but I felt the same as the night before, just more tired. Went to bed early and woke up with no headache and much less fuzzy than the the previous day. I will try the whole 50 this afternoon. Sher wants us to go to a work party this weekend, but I am reluctant because It is beyond cab distance and I will not drive or be trapped when it is time to go and I am not ready to explore full side-effects in a public setting.

if you can ditch the work party, do it. you won't regret it. let her know it's bothering you thinking about the potential side effects.

Hang in there pleatherface. This too shall pass. xoxo Newlife

So day 3 into day 4. Took a half pill again because I had to go out in public for a while and did not want any surprises. Only drank 3.5 units later and went to bed at 9:30. Unfortunately wife got home at 9 and she put a bottle of wine in her face. Woke me up at 1:30 with some kind of tirade and then she passed out, snoring loudly. Did not get back to sleep until an hour before work.

If the Nal is working at 25mg, (and I think it is) is there any reason to go to 50mg?

I am not sure about staying on 25mg. I know some people use much less and it works for them so you could give it a try. There can be a honeymoon period, though. My first week on nal my consumption went way down and I thought I had found a miracle. The second week it went up, but not to pre-nal levels and I did not even track week 3 through 11 because my consumption was so high. Week 12 I started tracking again. Tracking is important. My point is, don't get discouraged if at some point your numbers start going back up again. It is common and they will come back down.

Ugh on the snoring wife and the lack of sleep. That makes for a long day.

I think that 50 mg is the sweet spot as it has been proven to cover nearly 100% of the receptors. That said, there are some members here who use smaller (12.5, 25 mg) doses. I think some of those decisions were made because of the SEs from the Nal. If I were you, I'd give the 50 mg a try and see how you feel. Like Deena said, you may be in your honeymoon phase and your consumption may go up again. Being on the recommended dose may help with that.

And bummer about the run-in with your wife. It's exactly those situations that I am trying to eliminate with the Nal... Best of luck!

pleatherface,

I think Dr. E posted on this forum a while back stating if you are getting the same results with a lesser dose there is no need to increase; however, I think if you see yourself drinking more maybe going up a dose might be helpful.

This is all new and we are the guinea pigs, so we have to find what works for us and just because something might work for me doesn't mean that it will work for you.

I am sorry your wife is having a difficult time, and newlife is correct, for this too shall pass,

Jaba

I believe smaller doses can work and are effective, but only after you're ready to post on The Cured List.

Once you begin having more AF days than not the SEs will be revived (assuming you suffered them initially) if you find yourself in a drinking situation and abruptly take 50mg. This will lead to the temptation to skip the Nal. In this eventuality, take a 1/4 or 1/2 and you'll be all right. But daily drinking requires 50mg for the vast majority of us to cover all the receptors. Otherwise, little by little, mission creep seeps in.