So I have my Nal, took my first 25mg (1/2 the pill) about 30 minutes ago and plan on drinking in 30 to 45 minutes (when I leave work and stop by the liquor store).

I was not sure how to calculate my units so I used this calculator (found in another thread) http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccalcoh3.htm

If I'm doing this right I'm shocked. Using US measurements a pint of Bacardi 80 proof rum is 21.3 units and a 750ml bottle of chardonnay (14.5%) is 6.13 units. I can polish off 2 pints of rum and a bottle of chardonnay in 3 to 4 hours - that's 48.73 units (i'm sick to my stomach just looking at that number).

That's way more than I ever "thought" i was drinking. And Calories 1104 per pint of rum and 550 in the bottle of chardonnay - thats 2758 per binge (never calculated this either). WTF! I need Nal and my head examined.

I'm not getting the rum tonight - perhaps two bottles of chardonnay - then announce I'm cured (just kidding!).

I am starting this with 2 AF's under my belt (just because I was scared to take the Nal)......

Wish me success!

Hi Rich,

Welcome to the forum. I am new here as well and just started Nal last night. Be prepared.......you may feel really sick tomorrow. If so, the advice here is to lower your dose until your body adjusts.

Yes, it is very scary when we finally sit down and calculate just how much alcohol we are putting into our bodies, but take heart......TSM has worked for many, many people who have failed at AA and abstinence. I have thought for many years that I was just flat out crazy (I'm sure that there are several people that would agree with this ) but the truth is I am addicted to alcohol and all of my best efforts at quitting have resulted in relapse.

I am, for the first time in a long time, hopeful that there may be an end to the madness. Hang in there with me and lets see where this goes!

Cindy

I stuck with the wine and purchased a 1 liter bottle. As usual I filled a 16oz water bottle to the top in the parking lot and started on my way home (getting home is only 7 miles). I took my usual couple of big gulps (1/2 of the 16oz) to get the "binge rush" I want - for me that initial rush satisfies me and sets the stage for more drinking and gives me the confidence that I’m doing something for myself that I need and sets up the screw everyone else attitude. Since work to home is only 7 miles I try to do consume as much as possible – sometimes as much as a whole pint of rum. The reason I do this is because once I’m home I have to “hide” my drinking for the remainder of the evening. Of course I’m not hiding anything from anyone just tricking myself into thinking I’m so cleaver.

I’m aware I took the Nal and am monitoring my progress after the first couple of big swigs. I felt no binge rush at the usual mile marker I expect. Nothing at all. So I polished off the remaining (total 16oz) in about the first 2 miles. Again no rush – nothing. I can feel the alcohol starting to have its affects on my motor skills and I know I’m starting to become under the influence of alcohol. I decided to wait till I got home to “refill” just to be sure I wasn't being faked out and going to be slammed in a few minutes or so.

I’m not really sure why but after I got home I decided I did not need to refill. By now I feel the alcohol but not in the same way as before – in fact it was a little (very little) sickening kind of feeling. The craving for the rush always gave me permission to continue drinking to keep that rush going. But I never got the rush to start with. Really strange and I’m not explaining this well. I don’t really understand why I stopped drinking or what happened to my need for the rush which I intended to get when I parked in front of the liquor store – where did that need go? Was it satisfied because I consumed anyway?

My wife is behind my Nal experiment 100% and she is giving me the support I need (thank God). But I did not discuss this first experience with her because I was afraid I would make it sound like it was the solution to my drinking problem and she’s heard this story too many times. The success has to come in the form of a huge reduction in drinking that is sustainable for me (otherwise I go back to my old ways).

I did not feel sick from the Nal and woke up feeling fine.

I’m going to bring the remaining wine in from the car and place it in our wine cabinet and put a sticky note on it with my name. Knowing it’s there and I can access it (without hiding) will allow me to not stop at the liquor store today. I also have to stop the hiding, lying and denying. I’m getting the support I need from my wife so I need to start to do the things that make me come clean.

So day 1 worked out pretty well – now on to day 2.

Rich

PS: Thanks for the reply Cindy. You hang in there too!!

rich, it sounds like you had an extremely promising first night. First, I would say you have a high tolerance for alcohol if you can drink two pints of Bacardi and a bottle of wine in 3 hours and still have some level of functioning. I'm a grown man with 30 years drinking experience and would completely black out with one pint and a glass of wine in that time frame. I guess that has been a plus for me because it's definitely better health-wise to have a lower tolerance. I've met some people (many of them Native Americans) who can drink upwards of 50 beers in one sitting, get a blood alcohol content of .450 or so (about 6 times the legal limit), and hold a normal conversation without even slurring! When I reach about .11, I'm slurring to the point I'm obviously drunk. I read somewhere that part of the "genetics" of alcoholism is the development of a high tolerance with a need to consume larger and larger amounts of alcohol to receive the same high.

Second, in my opinion, when Naltrexone removes the "rush" or the "high" from drinking, that is a very strong sign that (a) your out-of-control drinking is strongly correlated with the high level of endorphins you get from drinking, and (b) you are likely to have very real (and potentially very quick) results from the Sinclair Method. It's random luck, but, hey, that's how it works sometimes. Your attempt to articulate the experience is very similar to mine. Basically, the effects are "subtle yet profound" (those are the words I came up with). Continued success to you and, hopefully, you'll be enjoying a better life very soon!

Rich,

Congratulations on what I'd call a fantastic first day!

What impresses me is that you're already keenly "listening" to your body/mind's reactions, and I think you expressed them very well. It's not the easiest thing to articulate. And also that you're being honest at home. You're lucky to have a supportive spouse. My SO of 5+ years kicked me to the curb this last relapse... it "wasn't what he signed up for." Can't say I blame him.

I've just started to feel like Nal is kicking in for me, when I CHOSE not to finish the bottle of wine (unheard of) and DECIDED not to finish a movie either and just go to bed instead. My current goals are modest, aiming for 4-5 unit days instead of 9-10.

Best wishes and I'll look forward to reading your continuing progress!

WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!

You've described the Nal experience just perfectly, and what a fantastic first response

Rich, you are on your way. That first 'experiment' is just what we're after. Don't you wish you could call up Dr. Sinclair and tell him how his drug works? He'd be so pleased to see this stuff work 'on the street' so to speak.

Good for you that your wife is on side. We are all so happy for you. As you'll see by reading here, we are all over the place with our drinking patterns, some like you have a great first response, some take longer, some get sick day one, some have no side effects.

But we're all together in this great experiment called The Sinclair Method. Happy to meet you. Please keep posting your interesting story so we can cheer you on.
Babs

Thanks guys for your kind words and encouragement! I’m rooting for your success also!

So my day 2 is suppose to start with me bringing in the bottle of wine from the car – well AB throws a hissy fit and tells me I shouldn’t do that because we are going to want a drink on the way home today. I don’t have enough ammo to fight AB (except for the Nal which AB has not figured out yet). So I leave the wine in the car and make sure I’m packing the Nal.

Of course as soon as work is over I fill my 16oz bottle with wine for the ride home. Well I got basically the same effect the second time, no rush at all. I had a phantom rush lasting about 1 second then poof. I noticed I was drinking slower than usual as I got towards home and forced myself to swig a few more gulps – but I eventually gave up and dumped the rest. I felt a little queasy like slightly sea sick or 30 minutes after you get off a roller coaster – that lasted about 2 hours. Again I did not like the feeling of being under the influence without the benefit of the rush. Slept fine and woke up feeling just fine.

I appear to be satisfied after the small(er) amount I drank while on the Nal. Without the Nal that liter would have been history. I know I’m satisfied because I don’t seek more later in the evening and I’m not squirrely or agitated or feel like I’m missing something. In the past (well just a week ago) just knowing I have an open bottle 20 steps away was enough for me to go get it.

I know I’m only on day 2 and I have read most of the posts on this board so perhaps I am just having a real early honeymoon. Perhaps AB is going to figure out the wool is being pulled over his eyes and will be fighting back soon – who knows. All I know this early on is that pill is allowing me to get a handle on a really big problem in my life. Perhaps the door has opened just a crack…..

Rich