I'm sorry to post here, but I have strong feelings about the potential for extinguishing healthy behaviors or enjoyment of the good things in life while on Naltrexone. I don't buy it. I understand that once the Naltrexone is out of the system, the sensitivity will make the 'good times even better', but Naltrexone won't take the joy out of wonderful experiences or reduce the motivation to exercise, etc. Many are concerned about this, and I'm afraid it might impede progress with TSM. Sorry, but NO amount of Naltrexone is going to diminish the joy I feel when cuddling a baby, or having a great time with friends and family. Let's face it - many of those situations occur mostly when drinking is involved, and I'd never avoid them for any reason.

I've found that enjoyable experiences are still enjoyable while on Naltrexone. If there is something going on in my brain to prevent that, then apparently my opinion/feelings are more powerful. On the contrary, as I become less obsessed with drinking so much, I enjoy these things more just because I no longer get DRUNK while I do them. That makes me feel good about myself - something I thought was lost forever. That boost to my self-esteem FAR outweighs whatever might try to bring me down. It makes me want to exercise MORE, not less. I've actually started to like myself again, so I want to take better care of myself. I'm more motivated than ever to do things that make me feel good, and I can actualy do them because I'm not drinking so much. I'm often still drinking (so still on Naltrexone), but there is a newfound happiness that can't be diminished by ANY pill.

As time goes on, and if the amount of drinking dwindles into some AF days, it's great to know that those days will be better than I could ever imagine. But Naltrexone doesn't make the other days any less valuable to me. My quallity of life is just getting better, with OR without Naltrexone. I don't see any valid reason to avoid enjoyable activities - EVER! Trust me, it only gets better, even along the journey that might ultimately eliminate the drinking during those activities. I feel worrying about extinguishing the 'good' might prevent getting rid of the 'bad'. Just take the pill and live life the way you want to - the rest will take care of itself.

OK - I'm done now.

EDIT: I certainly meant no disrespect to Dr. Sinclair or Dr. Eskapa - I believe I owe my life to them. I was just sharing my personal feelings. No offense intended.

First,
Thank you Drs. Roy and David for the quick reply. A couple of thoughts come to mind. It is not uncommon for newcomers to get drunk right after an AA meeting. When asked, many stated that they were doing okay until they got at the meeting where everyone was talking about drinking. The topic triggered suppressed cravings and they got drunk.


And KrazyKat,
I agree with you in that I don't fear unlearning good things. Most enjoyable things are learned quickly. I was first in my class in suckling. So even if there is an instance of “unlearning”, I would imagine that that would be countered quickly by the next rewarding experience and would probably be imperceptible. At this point, my Naltrexone intake is less than 100 mg/week so the point is quickly becoming moot.

Something I have discovered and mentioned it before is the natural aversion I am having to alcohol. My pattern used to be, drink for a few days, tie a big one on, wake up and feel REAL bad and dry up for a couple of days. So many times I sincerely swore off and would stay sober for 3 weeks to a month but eventually the craving would overwhelm me. So I was always living with two opposing forces within -my desire to NOT drink and my CRAVING to drink. Now that the craving has ebbed to essentially nothing, that other desire is beginning to win out. It is hard to convince myself that drinking is a fun thing when I have seen immeasurable damage done to myself and so many others. That is why I say, I think I am on my way to “natural” abstinence. I use the term “natural” in that it is not a self-imposed mandate. Just a loss of interest in imbibing. I am curious if many others end up here.

SR

I lift weights three days a week and run four miles a day, five days a week. On average, I'll take one day off a week from exercise, rarely two. I have done this religiously since I was 18. (I'm 45.) I have no intention of changing my routine while on naltrexone and haven't. I have also noticed NO reduction in the satisfaction I get when working out on a daily basis. In fact, I have been enjoying it more since starting naltrexone. Before, I often used to think to myself, "By the time I get to mile 3 I will feel better because I will have sweated out most of last night's booze." Now, I am almost always running hangover-free and am feeling generally very good about my health, knowing that my consumption is going DOWN. So, I hope the good doctors take this unscientific, anecdotal information from this avid exerciser into account, for what it's worth. (I might add that one of the reasons I work out so zealously is the huge mental benefit -- I always feel GREAT after working out, the endorphin rush, no doubt. In any event, there would be a HUGE negative added to my life personally, if I were to stop working out every day. That factor is being omitted from the equation, I believe, when recommending we cease positive behaviors while on naltrexone.) I second the feelings behind the two prior posts -- I personally have no intention of reducing my daily workouts. To date, I have not and there has been ZERO reduction in my positive subjective experience from working out. Meanwhile, my consumption/craving are going down. One caveat: I fully recognize that there are not many big-time boozers who exercise daily, but I am one of them. CHEERS! And thanks again for the great work, Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Eskapa!

I must speak up here: I too exercise religiously and cannot fathom giving it up with the threat of non-existent endorphins not reinforcing it. All I have to do is look in the mirror, gauge how I feel and go forth and conquer.

The only highs I have ever gotten from exercise anyway was the fact I started looking better than ever, and thus felt better about myself. If I could blow if off forever w/ no repercussions?? PHHFFFGGGGHHHH - Hell yeah!!!! And hell yeah, I have often said, "If I hadn't had X amount of wine last night I could go a little further..."?? sure - But I am there doing it anyway. I get horribly depressed, manically crazy if I can't get in a workout pretty much every day...or at least every other if I have a better offer! LOL

Meanwhile - Naltrexone does not seem to be working for me but I continue to take it 1 hr. before. :-)