Please help--it worked and then I took med for fatigue and now I am at square 1..

Would appreciate input on this,
Is Baclofen the drug to stop drinking??
I would love Eskapa to help us fine tune this..

I want to get off alcohol and drink one glass of wine if that's what u DESURE..

Please help...


Jujubee

Hey, this post is a little vague but let's see if we can help you out somehow.

I don't know of any medications that "block" the effect of NAL. Are you saying that NAL was working for you, but when you took a fatigue medication it made you drink more?

Baclofen is another medication used to treat alcoholism that some people on the board use, either by itself or combined with NAL.

Ok, I now see your other post:

>Did well on the Nal after the 17th week but started to taker Provigil for fatigue and I am back to drinking every night.I am so >exhausted in the AM and need the Provigil. Could this really be causing the Nal not to work??
>I would appreciate any comments or advice.

It looks like Provigil (modafinil) is a stimulant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil

I guess it's possible. Anyone?

Provigil is not a direct stimulant like an amphetamine; rather, it affects the brain's neurotransmitters, including dopamine and the glutamate/GABA balance. Dr. Eskapa has expressed concern that benzodiazepines, which affect GABA production, might hamper TSM progress. So I suppose there could be a possibility that Provigil is implicated in your sudden downturn in progress. Anything that modifies the neurotransmitter balance in the brain has this potential. But I'm just guessing as well.

I've read quite a lot about glutamate and cannot imagine why a health care provider would think it beneficial, at least long-term, to stimulate production of this excitatory neurotransmitter. You may want to Google "glutamate" and discuss this with your doctor. Informed choices about our health are important. Here's one link to an article: http://www.neurotransporter.org/glutamate.html

Best wishes in your quest to be free of alcohol. Let us know how you are doing.

Hi this is my 1st post here. I have been on Nal since the 12th of January (22weeks) and have definitely noticed improvement in my cravings. I did have a brief honeymoon period the 1st week where I did not feel like drinking anywhere near my usual amount. I have been drinking heavily for about 14 years, and alcoholism features largely genetically on both sides of the family. I keep track of my units daily, right now I am at 9 or 10 units a night (vodka) and about once a week i go over this amount and get too drunk with horrible hangovers, i also think my tolerance may have decreased,has anyone experienced this? I have been taking the antidepressant trazodone for 3 years (50 mg only a day) and my main question is does this have any effect on the Nal working? Also since I started Nal I can't sleep throught he night.. Any help or advice is really appreciated.

Not being a pharmacist, I don't know anything about drug interactions so I can't comment on that area.

Reduced tolerance to alcohol seems to be very common - and a positive sign.

Sleep disturbance is also extremely common. How disturbed seems to vary by individual. Some report wild, violent or disturbing dreams. For myself, the dreams were not bad in any way - it was more like they were simply very bright and "real" - sort of like "I dreamed I never fell asleep."

Thanks for your reply PV, a glimmer of hope. I guess I'll just keep on keeping on..