Hi all,

I've noticed, more and more regularly, that even though I still get a buzz when drinking on Naltrexone, it is nothing like drinking without it. While I have fewer seriously heavy drinking days (10+ units, for me), on those occasions when I do drink more heavily, the effects are far less severe than they used to be. Previously, I would commonly experience partial or total blackouts when I drank to excess (which was becoming very often). I would get loud-mouthed, and say foolish things. Last year, I took three falls and suffered back injuries - to say nothing of wounded pride. I would get weepy, and down on my darling S.O. for no good reason.

In the past several weeks, since beginning the Naltrexone, I've not experienced ANY of these things while drinking. I remain entirely functional. My memory of 'the night before' is clear, as is my thinking while drinking. I carry on intelligent conversation, and do not experience depression or become critical of my mate. I always pour a 'nightcap wine' before going to bed. . .and frequently will drink it, and go for a refill. The last few nights the majority of the wine is still in the glass by my bedside stand when I wake in the morning.

Also, even though I drank quite a lot yesterday, I'm not shaky, muddle-headed, or hung over like I used to be. Could this be a result of the overall less drinking I'm doing?

Anyone else having these kinds of experiences? Or am I an anomoly?

Generally I have found the same Going4- I do get a buzz, a relaxed feeling but the urge to down it quickly and get another one has gone.

I have gone overboard only twice since starting, and although one of those was quite a big overboard it was not anything near as bad as it would have been pre SM, and the following day I went back to 4 units- normally a session like that would have sparked a 3 or 4 day binge, plus one day so ill I could not function.

I think you reflect my pattern reasonably well. I must admit that one night I did drink to excess. I had about 8 shots. I thoght the bottle of vodka was nearly empty so I poured it into the glass and it turned out to be about 4 shots. Four shots does not look like much in the bottom of a half gallon bottle.

After drinking that, it put me to about 10 shots.

I was pretty huing-over the next morning though not as bad as before. Now the side-effect was that I did not drink for two day afterwards. Maybe I needed that experience to forward my extinctioin process.

I think these bad days we seem to have dotted along the journey do indeed seem to forward the extinction process. After my dodgy Sunday, I had a 4 drinks yesterday not because I particularly wanted them but because I thought they might make me feel better (they did not) that is very unusual- pre Sinclair I needed to drink the following day after a session to be able to function, but yesterday they just made me feel worse.

Today I am having my first AF day- I am using a bit of willpower but not too much (I don't have much!), so maybe those overboard days do have a silver lining.

So Marbella, how did your first AF day go? I'm hoping to enjoy my first one today. . .

One thing for sure, even when I over-indulge, the hangovers/shakes/cloudy thinking is not nearly as severe as it was pre-SM.

It was great thanks Goin4!

However today I will be drinking- something else has just happened that is a huge trigger for me (no peace for the wicked, is there?) so I have just taken the Nal, but this time I will wait the full hour.

I guess all this is good, because we have to drink through the triggers to extinguish them.

I am feeling I am really 'getting this' now.