I have heard that there is a "honeymoon period" that comes with starting to take Naltrexone. This is where people who drank 10-12 units per day, with the first dose of Naltrexone, suddenly drop to 3-4 units over night. And they stay at that level for a short period of time, but then return to their 10-12 drink habit, and then gradually over the next 4-6 (or however many) months, they gradually step down.

Well, I have DEFINITELY been enjoying this honeymoon period. I was a 9-12 beer/day drinker for years. I finally got Naltrexone a little over a week ago (I'm on day 9 w/ Naltrexone). My consumption plummeted to 4 beers/night, w/ the only exception being a party where I drank 7 beers over a 9 hour period, in which I would have normally drank well over 14-15 beers. And the next day I went right back to my new 4 beer nights.

My question is this:
I am afraid to go back to the pre-TSM amounts. I feel great. I have already had 4 beers tonight, but I kind of feel like I'd like another one before I go to bed. But I also know that I could hold out and just not have that 5th beer. Is this trying to hold out interfering with the Sinclair Method and thus actually hurting my progress?

The first four beers have failed to "engage" any endorphins due to the Nal. The fifth isn't going to be any more successful. Personally, I tried to always heed that idea that maybe enough was enough. If I felt *desperate* to have a drink, I went ahead and had it.

In the early days I also made sure to *start* drinking in every situation where I would normally (weekend day at lunch; immediately when I got home from work; in "celebration" of completing a chore; with dinner, etc.) until I had "Nal'ified" each of those situations many times. However, after the first few drinks, I always stopped as soon as I felt I *could* without drama.

pisces7378

I don't know if it's right or wrong...for me I feel it's right based on what I read in the book. I do "try" to refrain from alcohol as much as I can because before I found this treatment method I really wanted to quit. But I have noticed the "try" part is really a peice of cake with naltrexone for the most part. I have found myself really trying hard to get drunk and really pushing drinks down to get black-out drunk but it is taking more EFFORT than I care to give it to get there. I have also experienced a huge drop in tolerance which to me is a very good thing. I have blacked-out on as little as 5 drinks on naltrexone consumed quickly whereas PRE TSM it would have taken 20+. I am sure not dumping a crazy amount of alcohol down my throat is a good thing in the end, my viewpoint as a rocket scientist.

Other thing I quit cold turkey for 30+ days (never kept track cause I felt it would help not to keep track - end alcohol obsession) and the difference now with naltrexone is huge. Cold turkey i always had a problem in my mind that I could never see myself as completely abstienent, never. I always knew somehow I would be back at it at somepoint for some ocassion, example - Jimmy Buffet show sober? Me?..reality no way. I just saw the show prior to quitting cold turkey so I kept say well deal with it next year. The holidays christmas sober?...ok make it to christmas and deal with it. Well I didn't make it past 30+ days and caved for no real good reason but I wanted to get drunk and I did. But when I did cave man I caved hard, 20 drink night and all the BS that comes with a 20 drink night. My buddy annoyed with me my girl not speaking to me - and she was 1000 miles away at home man I can do some damage drunk with a phone.

Naltrexone and the sinclair method keeps me in control - at least it has for a month. No crazies. My goal was PRE-TSM abstienence because I think it's been ingrained in me abstienence is the only way. But honestly now I am going where the pill takes me and if that is drinking an no crazies and hell I am on my hands and knees thanking God for this medication. If it is abstienence I am on my hands an knees thanking God. Either way I am ok right now.

Crown86,

Well first of all my friend, Jimmy Buffet??? Ewwwwwww!

But musical tastes aside, I know exactly where you are coming from. I have a friend that was badly addicted to heroin like 6-7 years ago. He had to go into rehab, and kick the junk. He now says that although heroin is a terrible monkey to have on your back, he always felt sorry for the Alchi's in rehab.

Two reasons why...

#1) Heroin wrecks your brain sure, but it doesn't really affect your liver, kidneys, stomach, blood pressure, pancreas, etc. the way alcohol does. Alcohol destroys it all, as if by sport.

#2) Getting off heroin is a pain, but at least heroin is completely socially unacceptable. He'll never have to worry about going to his sister's wedding, or a friend's graduation, or just watching a ball game on TV with friends, and having to sit around while the whole room does heroin. But alcoholics have to look at their drug of choice rubbed in their face on a daily, if not hourly basis. That would be pure hell.

Well, that is exactly the case for us alcoholics. But I do have to admit, since I started taking Naltrexone, my laziness has become an asset. Before, I would pop up and down off the couch to get a new beer, every 15-20 minutes. But now, when I finish a beer (which takes three times as long to do), I usually end up sitting there for another 15-20 minutes thinking, "Oh I'll get up and get another one in a few minutes." And after a whole evening of that, I have only had 3-4 beers, instead of my standard 9 or so.

The numbers are great. But even if I was still drinking 9-12 beers on Naltrexone, the clarity of thought has been a God send. At the end there right before I got Naltrexone, I was pretty cloudy in the head. As the beers washed in like water, I had definitely made the transition from someone who was on a bender to someone that is simply out of control. Slurring speech, forgetting people's names, asking the same question more than once, and just absolutely drowning in my sorrows.

Now, the sorrows are still there, but I feel like I am actively looking at them rather than just pouring beer all over them. There's a line from a Gilian Welch song called "Wrecking Ball" that reminds me very much of how I am feeling.

Well now, boys, I'm a rollin stone.
That's what I was when I just left home.
I took every secret that I'd ever known
And headed for the wall
Like a wrecking ball.

Started down a little road of sin
Playin bass under a pseudonym.
The days were rough, and it's all quite dim,
But my mind cuts through it all
Like a wrecking ball.


I don't know. Call me cheesy, but that line really sticks out for me now, in a way that it never did before.

Now, the sorrows are still there, but I feel like I am actively looking at them rather than just pouring beer all over them.


Man do I know what you mean by this...LOL sorrow realitevly sober? hmm ok..well...hmm How do you handle it without ole jimmy beam...kinda what I meant by the thread I started on forcing drinks because "your suppose to" when sad. Alomost like learning to walk again.

As far as music my friend..I am all the map..from yep buffett to slayer motorhead robert johnson jeff beck bob marley hank sr to sinatra...If it's got feeling I love it

Welcome to the board.

To answer your original question, for almost all of us, "the honeymoon period" is temporary and does not last. For me it was a week or two. For some of us, drinking on naltrexone while getting acclimated to naltrexone just isn't that worthwhile, hence the immediate drastic reduction in consumption. But for almost all of us, this is temporary. True extinction takes months and months. Do not be alarmed when your drinking spikes up to pre-TSM levels as it almost surely will. In fact, your body -- seeking that old endorphin rush that is now being deprived by naltrexone -- may even ask for more booze than pre-TSM once the honeymoon is over. It's all part of the naltrexone "roller coaster ride" where your journey is not linear -- it's all over the map.

The good news is that if you have the honeymoon period, naltrexone is working for you and the chances of you being in the 20% that it doesn't work for are almost nil.

Early on in the TSM process you are supposed to "drink as you would always drink." If you have an urge to drink, you should drink through it on naltrexone in order to extinguish that trigger. You should not be actively trying not to drink just a couple of weeks into the method, if you have a craving for a drink. Later on, as your general craving level for alcohol is reduced, a little willpower to reduce your drinking may be in order if you are just drinking out of habit and not craving -- but not during the early stages of treatment, IMO.

I wish I'd had the honeymoon. So far no effects whatsoever on the TSM. Just went to my Dr yesterday, got the new Rx for more...he wasn't into going into a higher doseage. Did say he was at a conference in Boston recently where NAL was praised as being the drug of the future for Al addiction. I asked many questions. No, the TSM was not mentioned, and my Dr found it "interesting" that these guys who were pushing NAL as the newest, best drug of choice for the treatment of alcoholism, did not see patients. They were all researchers who maybe saw 2-3 patients so no real clinical experience w/ Nal's effectiveness...he thot it all kindof bogus therefore.

We sat there and sortof agreed it is obviously not being very effective in my case...so far. He asked if I wanted to drop back to 50 mgs...no, I am going to keep plugging. I plan to put some New Year's Resolutions into place (more AL free days, cutting back, etc) - must make more of an effort on my own I guess, as this drug is not the miracle cure for me I'd hoped for making me just not FEEL like drinking...have not felt any changes much at all. Maybe a little...but not much.

Glad for those it has tho -

I'm no doctor. Hell, I don't even really understand how Naltrexone really works. But I was thinking that if you are taking MORE than a 50mgs dosage, could it be that you are taking too high of a dosage?

I only take 50 mgs, and I have even heard that there is a 25 mgs dosage available. I have heard that with a lot of medications (specifically neurological meds) that a precise dosage is critical. Like, there was some drug, (I can't remember it's name off hand) that some French cardiologist took to get rid of his alcohol cravings. It worked, but he had to take like 5 times the normal dosage for it to work. It was strange. At normal dosage, it acts like a sedative, but at 5 times the dosage, its sedative effects were not there, just the cravings for alcohol were gone.

I don't know enough about the chemistry of these meds, but have you tried a lower/higher dosage of Naltrexone?

i feel the same way I am on month 3 and I feel like I am moving toward very heavy drinking again....daily etc. Is this common? I am afraid this isn't working but I want to believe it is

Hi Nick - just want to say a big thanks to you and others that are documenting and keeping track (and to Lo0p for bugging me about it:-). My numbers spiked this week and I noticed that your numbers and Plain Vanillas went up at this same stage into TSM. Definitely an interesting observation for the program and thank God I know from this board that I am OK experiencing this. It would be extremely discouraging otherwise.

Claremont