Hello all. When I started taking naltrexone, 50 mgs@, two years ago, I was drinking 8-12 drinks a night. Two years later I'm taking 75mgs@ and it's down to 5-6, with an occasional 3-1/2, but so far no 0s. While I'm happy I'm drinking less, I'm concerned that I'm nowhere near the 4-month cure, or even the 9-month cure, that I've read about. I'm also concerned that I haven't had any days with no drinking. I'm open to all thoughts. Thanks!

Sorry to hear it's been so long.

Two things others have tried:

Switch to a liquid that is not your preference, especially something lower in alcohol like lite beer.

At this point it might help to start pushing for AF days. Have you done that? What's it like? This can really help break the daily habit for some people.

The saying goes that TSM slows the train down enough to let you jump off. But (for some anyway) there has to be a leap.

Hello round one .
Any tweaking as Tiller said is worth a try . I think my story is similar to yours but longer too .
I started on NAL back when this board started about 3 and a half years ago .
Do you for instance ever drink at lunchtime when you last took the NAL the previous evening .
This is something that I 've done often chiefly at weekends , almost only at weekends . But who knows perhaps such a thing does reduce tsm's efficacy ?
I'm not disappointed really because I think I'd probably be dead if it hadn't been for what NAL
and tsm has done for me . My liver had steatosis .
Although Like you I'd like to do better still . personally I've two plans now . One is too like you increase to 75mg and religously apply tsm , no more taking a lunchtime drink the day after then I 'll
force myself to do AF's ; I use to do them but tno longer .
I feel like if my addiction was a big tree now there remains an unruly stump with roots .
The roots are partly behavioural patterns dying hard and brain wiring .
Nobody sees the tree anymore , no one sees I've anything of a problem formerly they did
or I knew all the tricks to hide it , including hiding myself out of sight from people I knew
going away , coming home late , the works !
So for you , you've tried the 75 mg . Swithching to beeer if you can and AF forcing is perhaps the way .
My good intentions I'll attack at the end of the summer and report back on . Can't do anything to dedicated in the summer here .
All the best .

I hadn't been on Nal very long when I started to experience the increase in drinking that is so common. Horrified at the increase of blackouts and injuries, I started to take Topiramate, which had helped me in the past, but not much. I eventually got Baclofen from River Pharmacy, and it has been quite remarkable. I had to fiddle with the dose. At 75 Mg per day I was stupid all day long. At 50, my cravings are dramatically reduced. I now don't drink more days than I do (taking Nal when I do drink) and this is after battling alcoholism for 40 years. Good luck.

Pam,
Glad to hear that you have had great success with the Nal + Bac combination. I am curious, do you find that on the days that you do drink, that the number of units/session has decreased? I am a classic binge drinker and have seen a reduction from pre-nal numbers but still way too high on the weekends.

Thanks,
Diver

Yeah, I think maybe the units per drinking session have decreased. Hard to say, though. I live in Mexico in a totally alcohol-soaked environment that I can't escape, and much of my baclofen success was observed on a 7 week trip to the United States, where I was treated like a human being and not being encouraging to drink every day. I have started to keep my drinking diary again to see how I do in these difficult circumstances.

Pam,
I was wondering if you can buy baclofen over the counter in Mexico, and if so under what name? Also how is your progress?
Thanks,
Diver

No, baclofen is very difficult, if not impossible, to com4 by in Mexico. It certainly isn't available in any regular pharmacies. My Mexican health insurance requires that I go to Victoria, 100 miles away, to see a specialist to even ask about it. I get mine from River Pharmacy. I have had quite good sucess with it even since I came back home, going as long as 2 weeks without drinking. Just don't want to. Unfortunately, when I do drink, it's usually too much. Try the baclofen. I'm sure it isn't for everybody, but it sure has helped me. Titrate up to a dose that's helping you. I went to 75 mg. per day pretty fast and had really crazy dreams and felt totally stupid all day. When I titrated back down to 50, everything was fine.

Glad to hear that things are going well for you with the Balc/Nal combo. I am going to order some balc today and give it a try. My understanding is that you start out with taking 10 mg. three times per day then work your way up slowly. Is that right?
Thanks,
Diver

Well,I srarted with 12 1/2 mg morning and night, then 12 1/2 morning and 25 night, then 25 morning and night. Just don't get the dose too high too fast, or toolow too fast if you decide to stop taking it. Best of luck!