Hello Everyone,
I found this site from the MWO site. I initially tried the Topamax back in October of 2008. It worked well, but the side effects were just too much for me so I went off of it. I tried to go back on Topamax one more time in February, starting out with a smaller dose hoping I would adjust to it better, but after a few weeks the same side effect of "not feeling like myself" came back. I am hopeful that the Naltrexone will not affect me the way the other medicine did.

I was a little nervous that the doctor would not prescribe another medication, but was relieved that she did. She wants me to start with 25 mg. for a full week before increasing to 50 mg., even though I know the recommendation is to only take 25 mg for two days and then go up to 50. She also said to keep something in my purse/wallet that I am taking this medication. Do the rest of you do the same? I would rather not do that, but want to be safe if there is some important reason for it.

Anyway, I am a 47 year old Chardonnay lover who lives in the wine country of California. I am married with two college age kids. My goal is to stop arranging my evenings around drinking wine, and be able to not drink without missing it. I drink at night after work, but I don't do anything "away" very often because I don't want to miss out on my nightly wine. I notice most of you post your progress, so I will have to figure out the "units" as compared to my stemless wine glass I drink out of to determine how much I am consuming.

Thanks for the reply and the education about the units. I also noticed the "cravings" and didn't know what that was about. I guess on a scale of 1 to 10, but you said there were threads on the topic of units, etc. so i will definitely check it out. I am actually from Mendocino County. Almost as much wine production as Napa though! Glad to have found this site and read everyone's stories and progress.

Hi Calikime!

Glad you could join us. This a great group of people - very supportive. I've not heard of any serious medical problems from the Nal yet, and am somehat surprised by the advice your doctor gave. At least you're able to get the medication without a problem, and that's all you need to get going.

Sorry to go off topic - but I am still shocked about all this Topomax stuff. I'd never even heard of it being prescribed for alcohol issues. It was given to me as a mood stabilizer for a fairly mild bipolar condition. I never have bad reactions to medications - often need to take more than others to get results. It was VERY different with Topomax. I still have nightmares about it, and I attribute the side effects to WORSENING, not helping my alochol problem. My anxiety was so bad that I was afraid to leave my house! That's when I discovered how drinking in the morning made things easier. The rest, as they say, is history... It was a HORRIBLE experience for me.

Oh - but yes, it made me lose weight. Wasn't worth it at all. When your whole world is falling apart, and then even eating food you love gives you no enjoyment or comfort - it's just not right, and death begins to sound better. Never been so terrified in my life. I'd rather die fat and happy than skinny and (even more) psychotic. I'd prefer being a drunk to the hell of Topomax. Even my psychiatrist said it it's a "very dangerous drug" so it's not just me who gets frightened by it. Again, sorry for my ranting, but I feel compelled to warn others. If it works for some of you, then I wish you well, but I will be fearful and pray for your well being.

Let's have a drink to everyone who wants to tackle this beast - we can do it!

Hi Calikime and Welcome!

I also waited longer to go up to 50mgs, although Dr Sinclair doesn't mention that anywhere (I don't think) it did not seem to hinder my progress.

Beer girl here- although you have a lot of company on the board with the chardonnay!

The reason it is advisable to carry a card saying you are on Nal is in case of an accident and you need to be administered pain meds in an emergency- some won't work or will interact badly with the Naltrexone.

If you always drink from the same glass, just count glasses- it makes life easier. I count drinks- my beer is actually about 1.4 units depending on the country, but as I rarely drink anything else it does fine to count drinks- we are only comparing against ourselves for progress, not each other.

Glad to have you here, and look forward to reading your progress!

Hi to both Kris and Marbella,
Kris, I learned about Topamax through a book I read called "My Way Out". The author used Topamax with great success and so that is why I tried it. I guess it does work for a lot of people, but I definitely felt very "out of it" after I was on it for a couple of months. She has a website also and some people use Topamax and others use the Sinclair Method and some use other prescriptions. I actually found this website from some folks that are on both this one and the MWO site, so I am glad to find this one that just focuses on Sinclair Method. I am hoping that I will not experience negative side effects with the Nal. I do feel a little nausea today (day 2), but hopefully that will subside soon.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome from both of you! I know I will learn a lot from everyone's experience. I would like to be online more than I am, but will check into this site as often as I can and start posting more.
Thanks again.

Most of us experience nausea to some degree at the beginning Cal- mine was pretty severe but the good news is it does pass.

This board was started after a few of us 'met' at MWO- but we were concerned that because we were still drinking it was maybe better to have a separate place to post, for fear of upsetting the hard-core abstainers over there!

Some of us still post on both boards, though I personally haven't been there so much lately...there are only so many hours in the day

Potato and I had that weird thing for a while. Mine was more like a loud buzz. I had tinnitus a while back and treated it with high-dose gingko. I did the same thing when I got that buzzing from the nal. It went away and never came back. Potato may have tried that, or at least I remember her saying she upped her vitamins and it went away. Who couldn't use more vitamins anyway?

Welcome Cali -- For you and WTE: beginning is half done. So you're half done!!

Better a half done cali than a half done potato. . .since she's the MOST 'cooked' on on this board.

Marbella,
How long did you experience nausea? It is day five and last night I didn't take any Nal (or drink) because I still felt some nausea and even headache. I haven't increased the dose yet either (still on 25 mg). Anyway I just wondered how many days before the nausea went away for you - or anyone else that has experienced this too. Thanks!

Cali, I started in the first week of October and had terrible nausea- at the time I was on the MWO board and nobody else there was practising the method, so nobody to compare notes with. I did not have the support of a doctor, and after about 10 days, got a bit scared and was sick of feeling sick so I stopped.

When I started again 8 weeks ago, I began very slowly, I only took around 15mg for the first few days and increased the dosage very slowly. I think all side effects completely passed at the end of the second week. I am very sensitive to medication, but I think most people here find the side effects disappear around the 7/10 day mark.