Hello there!

I was on nalmefene + drinking for 1 1/2 months from the end of July, and it definitely reduced my drinking. The number of drinks per night went down, the craving for alcohol was greatly reduced and I stopped having the urge to apply "the hair of the dog" in the morning after. However, the side effects didn't quite settle: Nausea, dizziness, restlessness and tense muscles. When things had gotten under better control, I somehow convinced myself that I could manage to control my drinking without nalmefene, and I could eliminate the side effects.

But of course, it didn't take that long before heavier drinking and binging resumed. I have now gone on three binges through the fall, and I believe that I simply have to accept the side effects and hope they go away. By logging my drinking, I am hoping to motivate myself to be stubborn about applying the cure properly.

It seems likely I will be drinking at a social event the upcoming sunday. I haven't binged since last weekend, but the next time I feel that I'll unevitably drink, I will be taking nalmefene 2 hours beforehand.

Hi Fred! I posted this in your other thread, so I'll be brief: Perhaps your doctor would be willing to switch you over to Naltrexone? The side effect are generally not as bad and you only have to wait an hour before your first drink.

Update: Drinking session on Sunday, November 26, and the recovery

Side effects: The side effects weren't as bad as I remembered them to be, and that is very good news for my long term commitment! Especially the nausea was a lot better. At the end of the night, I was almost throwing up, but that was probably because I felt "I had had enough". Other side effects were feeling slightly dizzy, less appetite (isn't such a bad thing for me really, as I eat more than enough to begin with), some muscle spasms, fragmented sleep, feeling of being cold, and night sweats.

Drinking session: I took Nal at 14.30, and popped the first beer at 16.00 (next time I will wait the full 2 hours just to be sure). I mindfully started drinking; the taste felt pretty much the same, but I didn't have the physical sensation of the alcohol "hitting" my nervous system, so to speak. I went to the meeting after consuming 3 units alone. There we were drinking steadily. I gave away some of my beer to the others, since I was unable to say no, and we were going out anyways. When I had run out, I started having a massive craving. It was partially satisfied at the first bar we went to, but they were closing up, so I could only have one small pint. After drinking that, the craving intensified, and if it weren't for the fact that we were heading to another place downtown Oslo, I would probably have gone to the store to buy the 2,3% beer cans that they're allowed to sell outside of the normal buying times for alcohol. Anything to satisfy that craving.

When we arrived at the second place, I immediately ordered another beer and started drinking. Eventually I bought another one, and at some point, drinking felt less and less tempting, and this last one took a long time to finish. The last mouthfuls I merely finished because we were leaving. After leaving, I realized I could've gone without drinking up (which was probably done more out of habit and not wanting to waste precious money, as the beer cost 90 NOK = 8,3£), and felt slightly nauseated. When we were on our way home, I didn't feel any compulsion to drink anymore, and I went to sleep.

I consumed a total of about 14 units, which isn't that much for a binger like me, especially considering I had been drinking for about 10 hours that day. Usually, and especially when I have been deprived for a long time, I would probably consume more than 20 units and blackout/brown out and would have to be followed home. This time, I didn't have any blackouts, negative moods, and nor did I do anything reckless. In fact, I had a whole lot of fun, and had the giggles several times. When compared to drinking without nal, I noticed I felt less stressed out, and as I was approaching satiation, I wasn't stressing out about having more available. I also got more tired from alcohol as opposed to that euphoric feeling and having to drink more.

Recovery: Since I wasn't sleeping before 4 am, I had to sleep until noon before feeling ready to meet the day. I woke up quite a few times to drink water, and while I felt like sleeping all night, it was harder to stay asleep. I didn't have any mandatory classes today, so that was no biggie. The hangover wasn't bad at all, compared to what I've had before. The day has so far been spent on reading and doing some other errands. Appetite has definitely been a bit lower than usual. If somebody invited me out to drink, I believe I would decline that. The last year when I've gone on benders without Nal, I would often start the next day by mindlessily drinking whatever alcohol I could find/go to the store ASAP to buy some. I will try to do some exercise tomorrow, as I will be "supersensitive" to endorphins at that point.

All in all, I'm very happy about how this went, and I'm excited to see how quickly my cravings and intake will decline. I believe I will be drinking again the upcoming weekend, or, if I don't feel like it, I will postpone drinking until a trip I'm going on Dec 6 - 8. But I will be sure to take Nal first!

Excellent, Fred! It does indeed sound like Naltrexone is having the desired effect, so Nal On and keep posting!

Thank you, Joe! I will be back to post whenever I drink again (on Nalmefene), and whenever I notice cravings.

You're welcome and thank you for being willing to share your journey with us!

Update: December 1, Friday evening drinking
Units consumed: 15

Side effects: They were even less noticable than less time!

The drinking: Yesterday I felt really eager to drink again. I had 30 cl of hard liquor, and also had a glass of wine, in addition to the beer. I figured one would have to extinquish also these other drinks, and I intentionally didn't buy a big bottle of hard liquor because that could seriously screw me over. Hard liquor is probably the fastest way I knew to release endorphines, and I didn't want to risk emptying a big bottle in the chase of that. At first I had some drinks alone, and I then went to eat dinner with someone. I then went to the nearby pub with some friends.

I had something to drink with me at all times this time, to avoid having serious cravings and not being able to do anything about them. Well, pretty much like last time, I got kind of drunk and silly, but no black out. When I woke up this morning, I had an unopened can of beer on the table. At my worst, I would probably have drunk it to ease my hangover and get drunk again. Now, I just didn't feel like drinking it! My hangover was pretty bad, however. I woke up around 10 am and had a horrible headache and some nausea. I felt asleep again and really didn't get completely out of bed before 15.00. I was really tired yesterday, so I had some hours to catch up.

I will go and put the beer back into the fridge.

Glad to hear you were able to keep a lid on the drinking, Fred! Getting by without a blackout tells you that TSM is giving you a bit of assist and I'm glad to hear you didn't want the morning drink. Nal On, Fred!

Thank you, Joe. This morning, I felt that I had a conscious choice whether to have that beer or not. Before I would most certainly open it and drink it to quench my thirst and cure my hangover. Cravings are very low today, as expected. I don't believe I will be drinking before Wednsday to Friday, as that is when I'm going on a trip. I'm a bit anxious about that. I need to take another dose every 10-12 hours, and I'm a bit worried all the Nalmefene in my blood could cause more side effects. Since the trip involves drinking from start to finish, I believe I might be sick of drinking already on Thursday morning. I suppose I can use that to my adventage by simply drinking as little as I wish. I also guess that while this trip will give a spike in my drinking, it will also extinguish a lot of the behaviour. Will be back to report how it goes!

Cool, Fred! I hope everything goes smoothly for you.