I took a bunch of NAL last weekend and drank as usual. Twice over the weekend I visited oyster restaurants. Now I LOVE oysters. Am practically addicted to them. BUT, unusually, I found myself not enjoying them very much. The taste just wasn't as good and (for the first time in my life) I didn't want to finish my plate.

I assume this is due to NAL. Anyone else experience something similar?

Personally, I'm so happy with NAL that enjoying (some) food less is still worth it. But if people besides me are experiencing similar things, it's worth discussing because:

a) this negative side effect may encourage you to have more AF days.

b) It makes the NAL injection much less attractive. By taking NAL in pill form, you have control over what days you're experiencing negative side effects and not. Maybe on the injection you'd be stuck experiencing negative side effects even on (and shortly after) AF days. Personally, and knowing a bit about how drug companies work, I suspect the NAL injection is BS-- just a way for pharmaceutical companies to capitalize on a generic drug.

Apart from the obscene cost of the injection, the biggest disadvantage of it is the lack of opportunity for selective reinforcement on non-nal days of positive opioidergic behaviors such as slurping those fab oysters.
So I think you are right.

Immediately after starting TSM, I noticed that some foods tasted differently. Based on what I'd read in Dr. Eskapa's book, I expected this might happen, so didn't give it a great deal of thought.

Now that I'm taking Nal maybe 2-3 times a month (tops), I'm finding that I really notice the effects of NAL and I don't particularly like them. For me, these side-effects include fatigue/tired, light headed, difficulty getting a full nights sleep, and easily getting hung over. I don't really notice any issues with the tastes of food now.

Recent example: Earlier this week, I met a couple guys for a business dinner at a brewery (I had no desire to drink, but I knew I'd catch some flack from a potential client if I didn't join in) I took my Nal a good 2hrs before showing up. We each had a couple really strong microbrews, then I came home and had a glass of wine before going to bed, and was feeling a fairly good buzz. Given how strong the beer was, I'd say I drank a good 5, maybe 6, units that night. The next day, I woke up feeling moderately hung over. At one point, I was knocking down 10+ units/night, 3-5 nights a week and going to work the next day.

I'm not sure if this recent negative experience with AL is because of the Nal or my tolerance is going down. I will say this, experiences like what I had this week are reinforcing the negative aspects of AL. Sitting here right now, the thought of drinking AL is about the same as the thought of drinking something toxic.

Q

^ Yeah, that's the good thing about NAL's side effects: once you commit to "NAL every time I drink, no matter what", the side effects are one less reason to have that first drink.

I agree entirely. I used to be able to pound down 15 drinks in a night. If I remembered to eat and drink some water, I'd be fine the next day. Now when I have five light beers I am wiped out for half a day, even after eating and drinking water. It definitely cuts down on my number of drinking sessions and I know I will pay for it, every time I choose to have a few too many.

Food and drink definitely taste different to me on Nal. I'm just starting my third week. During the first week (honeymoon), my appetite went way down. It's back to normal now. Diet Coke, red wine, and chocolate taste weird -- over-sweet, chemical-y. Last couple of days, most foods have a metallic aftertaste. And I'm craving carbs -- Before, could take or leave.

I wonder if endorphins are involved, here.... Maybe not getting a rush from things that used to be associated with pleasure? And I'm guessing that my body is trying to replace Al carbs with food carbs, thus the craving for things like bread and cake.

Still figuring I'm netting way fewer calories/week than when I was downing drinks every night. Maybe a nice SE of curing alcoholism is going to be rocking my bikini by summer!

Seeking1, that's my *only* disappointment with TSM. I was sure that by dropping all those empty AL calories I would magically be sporting a middle-aged version of Lo0ps body. However there seem to be two problems. One, apparently exercise is somehow involved (*faints*) and two, I seem to be making up for the missing calories by other means: some treats, larger portions, etc. Oh well, at least my liver is no longer screaming at me! I would NOT trade my circumstances, not even for abs

PlainVanilla, dang! And here I was starting the first draft of my new book, "Cure Alcoholism and Look Great!" Guess I'll have to find another way to make my first million.

I'm noticing that taking Nal for these past five weeks has had the strange sideeffect of making me lose interest in coffee. It's not that it tastes bad, but I used to drink several cups of very strong coffee every morning and lately I've been forgetting to drink it entirely or I'll take a few sips and that's the end of it. I wonder if anyone else is having this experience.

pre-TSM 84 units/wk
wk 5 54 units/wk (1 AF)

Hmm. Ever the creature of habit, my coffee routine never changed.. I drink (or drank) as much coffee as ever, at the same times, etc.