Well, I got my nal today and had my first dose of 25mg. After the first hour I wasn't sure if anything was different. There was no nausea at all and reality felt a little more "crisp" but I could have imagined that. I had a huge dinner and about when I was done a wave of nausea hit me, but only lasted for about 10 minutes (could have just been because I ate more than normal). Now I feel sleepy but not more than usual. I'm worried because I keep reading that people who experience the side effects are the one's that TSM will work for. Since I'm not experiencing side effects does that mean it won't work for me?

Also I read that if you don't have a family history of alcoholism, it might not work for you. I don't think anyone in my family is alcoholic and I have a huge family.

Well, I'm going to keep trying and we'll see what happens.

A little bit about my drinking history... been alcoholic for 10 years. During my worst period I would drink maybe 5 days a week, anywhere from a pint to a quart of hard liquor a day. For the past year I've cut back on my own to binges every 2-4 weeks that last from 1-3 days. I probably average about a pint a day still on these binges. I can't seem to go more than 30 days without going on a binge. I crave alcohol all the time and have to white knuckle it to get to 30 days. I want to be able to live a life where I'm not constantly thinking about alcohol. It has messed up a lot of things in my life including my relationship with my girlfriend.

I have a slight urge to drink tonight, but I'm going to wait until I've gone up to the 50mg dosage before I drink again.

No, the fact that you are not experiencinng SE's doesn't mean TSM won't work for you. Probably a good idea to go ahead and wait till you are on 50mg before you drink, if you can. Good luck, and remember it has taken longer than 3-4 months for many folks here.

Hey tambo - welcome and good luck!

Don't worry about the lack of side effects. I didn't really have any side effects and it is working for me. (Certainly no nausea, though maybe slight drowsiness and an increase in dreams.)

I also don't have any relatives that I know of who were alcoholics (other than my wife and kids, but I didn't inherit anything from them).

Before I started, I read that people for whom it didn't work might not like very strong sweet solutions. I have absolutely no sweet tooth, so I was afraid maybe it wouldn't work for me, but it has.

I'm headed for the cure - I hope you are, too!

You could still have the gene, it could've been recessive in your family and emerged as a dominant gene in your unique genetic makeup.

also about the strong sweet solutions. does that mean high alcohol content sweet drinks like margherita? or very sweet non nalcoholic beverages like coke? what the hell does that mean?

about the sweet tooth though. most drunks have no sweet tooth because we constantly fill our bodies with sugars (alcohol) but when people quit drinking, it is common for a voracious appetite for sugar to take over. happened to me

The "strong sweet solution" was how it was described in the book. I presume it was just sugar and water, but I don't know.

I suspect that I *was* genetically predisposed to develop an alcohol addiction, even though I didn't know of any alcoholics in the family.

Thanks you guys for the info and support. So tonight I skipped to the 50mg dosage since I had little reaction to the 25mg. I took the pill a half hour before I left from work. As I rode home on the commuter train I could definitely feel something happening, but not at all like I was expecting. It was a warm tingly feeling at the base of my skull and was actually very pleasant. I felt like I was actually getting a high off of nal and I definitely was not imagining it. When I got off the train (45 minutes after I got out of work) I felt a wave of nausea that only lasted about 30 seconds. I felt very alert and awake. I got home and felt like fast food so got some KFC, but I had an alcohol craving so I bought a half pint of hard liquor too. I don't usually drink on weeknights so this is unusual for me but I wanted to test out the nal. The fried chicken tasted amazing.

I had one big gulp of alcohol while I ate. It felt different but not bad. Just different. I still enjoyed it and am enjoying it now. I finished the rest of the half pint over the course of an hour which is pretty typical of me. Being drunk on Nal definitely feels different, but is still very pleasurable to me. I feel more drunk than normal, yet I also have more clarity if that makes any sense. I don't see how this will work for me. I'm enjoying this way too much. I usually never feel this good off of just a half pint. But I guess I feel more satisfied than I normally do at this point. I would like to drink more but I'm not going crazy for it. This is so confusing. Well, this is only my second day on Nal so I'll keep at it.

Tambo

Just had to post that this morning I woke up with no hangover but I was very groggy. So far all day my head feels like it's in a cloud. I don't like it. I hope this is a side effect and that it will go away.

On a side note, I realized last night after I took the nal that my feelings of heartache over my girlfriend leaving diminished greatly. I wonder if that's just a coincidence. I think the feeling of heartache and falling in love are every similar, in that you feel like there is no way you could live without that person. I wonder if that feeling is caused by endorphins and if so, maybe nal prevents people from falling in love or feeling heartache. I know I still love my girlfriend, but that intense feeling of "I can't live without her" went away. Just a random thought.

Tambo,

Welcome. I'm glad the side effects aren't too unpleasant. In my experience, the initial side effects went away after a week or so. I also found that my honeymoon faded too but I still have some of the clarity I'm not sure about falling in love or heartache but if it helps all the better. This must be a tough time for you. I've found TSM to be a bit of a roller coaster ride but I'm glad to have you along for the ride. Keep posting and best of luck!!! Take care, BTDT

unfortunately Nal has not stopped me from occasionally missing my ex-wife. and I think about her nearly every day. a lot of sadness has now turned to anger mixed with sadness. but I find it easier to at least make an attempt to hate her now. i'm discovering that in AA, I blamed myself for so many things that I didn't do, and she was more than happy to give me ALL the blame even though I made ALL the effort to work it out. but I did do some lame ass things for sure. it's been a year and a half too! So don't worry. the heartbreak will still be there.

If there were a pill to make one never fall in love I think I would take it.

Keep taking the Nal, it's so early on in the process and some of these things might just happen to be coinciding with your first Nal use. The side effects go away for most. It's too early to make any real assumptions long term if you ask me. I still enjoy alcohol, more often and in more quantities than I would like, but I drink half what I used to with no effort. 7 months in, still looking for the cure but happy with where it's goten me thus far. I upped the dosage recently and that seems to be helping it kick in more. stick with it Tambo. good luck and keep us posted

This is amazing. My third day on nal and it being Friday night triggered a huge craving. I bought a pint of cheap whiskey. The first drink tasted "off" (a lot nastier than usual and flat, I know that's a weird word but that's the only way I can describe it) but still felt good. I wanted more until I got halfway through the bottle. I felt really drunk and really good but strangely enough, I felt satisfied. That was all I wanted to feel. I thought about drinking more just because that's what I would normally do but the thought didn't appeal to me at all. I went to bed.

This is absolutely unlike me. I either drink until there is no alcohol left or I drink until I pass out. I am so impressed and so happy that this might actually work for me. This really is an incredible feeling to have some hope back in my life.

Thanks joe12pack, mlb, and beentheredonethat for your support so far of this newbie! It does mean a lot to me.