Week 1:

I started TSM on April 23. I took the recommended 25 mg one hour before drinking.
About 45 minutes later, wave after wave of intense nausea struck me, and I could barely make it to the bathroom before throwing up. And throwing up. I was way to sick to drink, so it was an AF day for me, but not by choice.

I read up on dealing with the SE, and calikime suggested to start with a half dose (thanks calikime!). I used my pill splitter to cut my 25 mg in half, and just take a quarter of a pill, or 12.5 mg. I did that for two days, the first day I still suffered nausea, but not nearly as bad as before. The second day, I actually felt ok. I make sure to take my Nal on a full stomach also.

The next two days I went back up to 25 mg, and the first day I felt nausea, but it went away by the second. The next two days I went up to 37.5, which is 3/4 of a pill, and I experienced similiar results. Likewise when I moved up to the full dosage of 50 mg. Now I am ok with it, and experiencing only a few mild SE.

I noticed that I drink slower on Nal, and the craving went WAY down in a miraculous fashion!
For example, yesterday I did not feel like drinking at all (on a Saturday night?!), so I had a no Nal + no Al day. Amazing!
Now from what I have read this is the honeymoon phase, and not TSM at work. Still, it makes me kind of dread heading into weeks 2-3...

Congratulations on making it through your first week Cessation!

It was quite an accomplishment, considering the difficult time you had with the side effects. I'm so happy you were able to build up to the 50MG by sticking with it through all the discomfort. It's exciting to see results so early. Go ahead and enjoy it, knowing it's a glimpse of what is to come. Just don't get discouraged when the honeymoon is over - the "marriage" will still be a good one!