Hi everyone.
It's my birthday today & I went out & had lunch & a glass of wine to celebrate. I took my 75mg dose of Naltrexone an hour before I drank the wine but after I drank it I still wanted more!
It's night now but I'm almost finished a bottle of wine!
I started off on 50mg Naltrexone almost a year ago but I was still craving alcohol after drinking a bottle of wine, that was 3 months ago, so I went onto 75mg Naltrexone. Now I'm finding that I'm still getting small cravings. I take an anti-psychotic drug every night as well, as I suffer from Paranoia if I go off it. I believe that anti-psychotic drugs can make alcoholism worse so this maybe why I have to go onto such a large dose of Naltrexone. It doesn't really worry me too much as if 100mg Naltrexone works then I'm willing to take it.
I'm going to start tomorrow on 100mg Naltrexone.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks.

Thanks for checking in Paddy and Happy Birthday,

I think someone else here was having issues with using benzos with the nal. He couldn't stop the benzos because of his anxiety, but with them it didn't help with the nal.

Has your drinking been curbed at all?

Have you reached out to JoAnne at the 3-C foundation, or are you under a doctors care? I am only asking because of the dangers with elevated liver enzymes; however, if you have them checked periodically I am sure it will be fine.

Please let us know how 100 mg works for you, for I am sure there is someone else that can use the information. Also, if you do not mind, what is the name of the anti-psychotic drug (for every piece of information can help)?

Keep posting,

Jaba

Happy birthday to you.

My only advice is to talk to the doc that you are getting the prescriptions from. Are you doing TSM all on your own or with a doctor? Mixing drugs always has the potential for problems. It's fairly well documented that 50mgs is enough to cover you for 24 hours though it's not unheard of that in rare cases soem people need more. You may be one of them or you may be having drug interaction or...

When you say craving what do you mean? Do you just want more alcohol to drink or do you NEED more alcohol? Do you just fancy it or do you feel that the chase is on and that you need to keep fueling your endorphin rush? Do you feel physically ill after having one drink and only another drink will 'cure' it? OR are old habits hard to break and you just want to drink more?

Those are important questions to answer.

I think the trouble sometimes is that an hour isn't long enough for it to totally get into your system. I always waited 90 minute and made sure to crush my pills. Some brands of nal are really hare pressed and I used to sometime back in the day be able to still feel a pill stuck in my throat say 30 minutes after taking it.

The UK brand nalorex/revia were notorious for this IMO. Nodict are pretty hard pressed to but naltima I always though broke up quicker.

A good test (if you have different brands of pile on hand) is to drop one each in a glass of water. You'd be surprise how quickly the difference can be in resolving.

I was never one for the whole extended release debate. ( in fact IMO there was no proof what so all in it) but some pills IMO take longer to kick in.

Food for thought

Hi again. Thanks for the replies.
I am doing TSM on my own. My doctor just writes out the prescription for the Naltrexone. I don't want to cause a fuss with my doctor in case he says that it's too dangerous to proceed & stops giving me Naltrexone altogether!
The medication I'm on is Stelazine & I can't go off it or else I go crazy!
I last had a liver test about 6 months ago, when I was taking 50mg Naltrexone a day. My liver was fine then.
I'm going to try 100mg today & see how I go. I'm going to try it out for a month before I tell my doctor, as if he stops giving it to me then that'd be terrible!
My last doctor nearly stopped giving me the Naltrexone because I was still drinking too much after 3 months of being on 50mg. I told her that it takes time but she wouldn't listen. So I got another doctor. They just don't understand!
As far as the cravings go, it was noticeable but moderate. When I stopped drinking the first glass of wine I felt funny, I couldn't concentrate & my eyes started to water. I think that that is a craving. It wasn't a full blown craving but it was enough to keep me drinking.
My drinking has definitely dropped down a lot since I've been on TSM, I just want it to go down further, or at least to stop all cravings, for if I have cravings then I'm still an alcoholic.
Thank you.

Paddy,

I would ask to have a liver test done after you have been on 100 mg for a while, just to be safe.

I understand by what you mean by the cravings, for I still get them from time to time, but never to the point I feel like I am white knuckling it. I just wasn't sure if it was desire, or habit...I have a hard time telling the two apart.

How hard have your AF days been, or is it still too hard for you to have any?

I have never heard of Stelazine, but that doesn't mean anything, for I have been out of the medical field for a long time.

If you think your doctor might cut you off from your nal, it might be wise to order it on line if you can afford it.

Do you think the lack of concentration and watery eyes could be the side effect of the alcohol, nal. and the stelazine? I am just thinking that some anti-psychotic have a lot of side effects by themselves...drinking alcohol with stelazine can cause certain side effects to increase (per rxlist.com). Nal can make you feel a little spacey and I have a hard time concentrating on it, and mix that with the alcohol all bets are off.

I wish the best, and please check in (for I am a big worry wart). I do hope that the increased dose will help you and if it does maybe you will turn that corner and be able to lower your dose.

Keep us posted,

Jaba

Maybe you do need 100mg. Who knows?

What I do know is that 100mg won't hurt you, so what's the harm in giving it a shot?

Only one way to find out...

Paddy - your numbers look pretty good! Looks like you have cut your drinking in half and almost to normal levels. No real opinion on the 100mg or not just wanted to mention that you have done pretty well as far as number s go. I do understand that numbers are not everything.

Yes Reboot my drinking is half what it was ten months ago, so TSM has really worked well on me on 75mg Naltrexone but I'm still moody & I think that it's the alcohol still causing this. Perhaps I just need time for my moods to settle down but if I am still craving alcohol then that would explain my current mood swings & just maybe 100mg may do the trick. As Clarion says 100mg is still well below the 300mg which I'd need to take daily in order to get liver damage, so it is worth a shot. I'll just try it for a month or so, & see if my drinking drops further.
I do still like to drink & that maybe cravings driving that as I believe that many people who go on TSM lose interest in drinking & rarely do it. eg. Claudia.
Cheers.

P.S.
I know what you mean Jaba about not knowing whether a desire to drink these days is a craving or just a desire. I too am not sure if my desire to drink is still my alcoholism at work or if it's just a healthy pleasant feeling from the alcohol which non alcoholics feel. It's a fine line.
I am happy with my progress and if I end up drinking 24 std drinks each week for the rest of my life then that'd be fine. I'll see how my experiment of 100mg goes & will keep you informed.
Cheers again.