Yeah! but how reserved is the Queen of England?-- only joking. Im thrilled for you,keep us informed. Is there any reason why we shouldnt chew the tab and if there isnt I wonder why it works better, is it because it gets in our system faster. I actually do notice and I think Ive seen 1 4 the road mention something similar that I drink less if Ive taken my tab more than two hours before my first drink. Mmmm something to ponder.

Hi Mario,
It is only anecdotal evidence, but word on the street, so to speak, is chewing increases naltrexone's potency. I am now a convert on day two of low units. I went out to dinner with a friend. I had one beer that I didn't finish and I nursed a glass of red with my meal. This is incredible progress and no less than a miracle. Then on my drive home from dinner, my typical behavior would be to pick up more wine, but again, I had no desire to drink more. This is the elusive "no willpower" that Dr. Eskapa talks about in his book and that I have been searching for. It was an effortless decision to not drink anymore. So I'm going to keep chewing my pills! Also, the pills have a score down the middle which means they can be cut in half. I don't pulverize the pills, I simply chew a tiny bit and swallow quickly.

In regards to your waiting 2 hours before your first drink, I know someone else who has had luck with this technique.

Thanks Toxic,

I feel strange calling anyone toxic, especially somone I like .

I think Im definatly going to try chewing. I notice that almost 5 months in I still drink to excess on my first night drinking. My pattern prior to nal and still is somewhat to take 3 or 4 days Al free and then binge on Friday night. I drink a lot on Friday, a little less on Sat and then on Sun its pretty much lost its appeal. Im hoping the chewing might up the benifits on Friday or whichever night I start drinking.

It's funny, the nickname ToxicGirl came to me quite quickly. I'm always struggling to get healthy and find that balance. One night it is too much wine, the next too much cake, the next not cleaning the house, and then wonderful moments of fabulous accomplishments, then back to the cake and wine! I also have too many negative thoughts swirling around in my head, too, so put that all together and ToxicGirl is born!

Mario, let me know how the chewing goes. I had another night (my 3rd) of few units (1 and 1/2), and it was my husband's birthday. In other words, another excuse to celebrate and drink too much, but at dinner I ordered two glasses of wine and left half of the 2nd glass on the table. We then came home for cake and my husband had a large pear cider with his cake and I had tea. Again, I have to emphasize like a broken record, that this behavior has been effortless. If I had even the tiniest desire to drink, my mind would roll it down a hill like a snowball until it was so huge it couldn't be ignored--in other words, I'd have a drink!

Hey T Girl, really glad things are looking good for you. With regards to chewing, my pills are not scored with a line down the middle... I wonder if this makes any difference in that it might be potentially damaging to to this... would you have any advice T Girl..

Hugs

Hey Chocolate!
I don't think chewing a non-scored naltrexone pill would be bad or dangerous.

The BBC article I read (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6085192.stm) was talking about strong medications:

Drugs that should not be crushed include the breast cancer drug tamoxifen and morphine.

Crushing tamoxifen could result in the person who is breaking up the tablet breathing in medication, which can be particularly dangerous if they are pregnant. Crushing morphine could lead to a fatally fast release of the drug.

Nifedipine, the angina and blood pressure drug, can cause dizziness, headaches and an increased risk of stroke or heart attack when crushed up.

In addition, special coatings can mean a drug is absorbed over a long period of time, so a patient only has to take a tablet once a day, rather than several times a day.

If these medications are crushed, the drug is released a lot quicker than it is designed to be.

I had a 4th night of low units and a major disinterest in alcohol. I kept forgetting my glass of wine on the dinner table. I lingered for hours after my last drink--reading, cleaning etc.--which normally would be a time I'd drink more before bed, but there was no interest. So I really do think chewing the pill a little bit is really helping me.

Thats great T Girl, oh but to follow in your footsteps, well here's to chewing before swallowing will let you know!

Great news, TG, sounds like you are turning the corner. How wonderful, I am so happy for you!!

Are you still on 100mg? I have not tried chewing my pills yet, but since I am on 75mg, I have to bite my pills in half so I do get a few broken pieces. Now I am curious about waiting two hours after taking Nal to see what happens.

Hey TG, your instant progress with chewing is fantastic !!!!!

I pray this is the turning point for you....and I look forward to your next blog entry !!!

I can't thank you enough for creating the "Miracle Pill" iphone app. Without that, I may never have found out about TSM.

Hugs
Kiwi

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post--geeeeeeeez, time passes by too bloody fast!

I continued my glorious low unit evenings (2 units) for about a week and then KABOOM! I sucked down a bottle of champagne in one evening like it was a soda pop. Once again terror filled my entire body, "oh, no, I'm slipping back into hell!"

So I decided to take action and impose a tiny bit of effort, something I've been totally against since the beginning of TSM, and it worked! I drank 2/3 of a bottle of pinot grigio for a few nights and now I'm drinking 4 units a night. If I try and articulate it a little bit better this "effort" that I speak of is more of an "awareness" rather than effort. I have a little conversation in my head that goes something like this, "do I really want any more wine tonight? I know I'll feel much better and so proud of myself if I stop right here, but another glass would be fun! Really? NO! The only thing it will give me is a fat ass and most likely a headache in the morning. OK, so I won't have any more. BUT if I crawl into bed and cannot stop thinking about that sparkly wine then I'll go get a glass....sounds good!" And then I never end up going and getting that glass of wine, in fact, I totally forget about it and I'm on to something else like a blue bottle fly.

I'm on week 24 (6 long months) and I now look back and laugh thinking I'd be cured in 3 or 4 months. But who can blame me? Most of us have read Roy Eskapa's brilliant book and we hang on his every word, including the average cure rate is 3-4 months with a steady decline in cravings and units. If ever a book needed a "revised edition" or "addendum" it is this one. Only a lucky few get off this easy, and most of us will take much, much longer. I think it's foolish to think this raging alcoholism that runs in my family and has been a huge pain in the butt for me for about 15 years is simply going to disappear in a handful of months. I'm also starting to look at it like a lifelong process as opposed to a destination to arrive at, after all, I can never drink again without taking naltrexone. Arriving at some fixed point and announcing I'm cured is as silly to me as getting married and thinking the work is over.

I also think we'd all be a lot better off focusing on the achievements we've made on TSM and giving ourselves credit for them, rather than focusing on and obsessing about the almighty "cured" state of being because focusing our attention on this makes it even more elusive and unobtainable.

I'm sure many of you, if you unclutter your mind for a moment, will see many little signs of being cured. They may seem small, they may be fleeting, but ask yourself, would this have been possible pre-TSM? Whether you leave just a little bit of wine in the bottle one night, or find that you don't reach for the bottle the minute you walk through the door (it may be the second minute!)-- these are indeed accomplishments and we must give ourselves credit for them and focus on them and them alone. After all, TSM is no different than anything else in life, it is the journey, not the destination that counts.