I received my Nal (and some Campral) today and am happy that I did. I have been a binger for a while and have developed an almost daily drinking habit. For a few months now, I've felt that my life was beginning to spiral out of control. So I purchased Nal and am praying that it works for me.

I took the pill an hour ago and cracked my first beer a few minutes ago. I notice a difference in the taste of the beer and also in how quickly I have been reaching for it. It's only been 15 minutes, so I'm not going to get my hopes up - but I hope that this is the answer.

My goal is to either abstain or drink on occasion. I don't really care as long as my conscious mind regains control over the beast within.

Thanks to all of the regular posters - Nick, gotthegene, ElectraLou, et al - your stories are the reason that I made the decision to order prescription drugs from a foreign country (something I didn't think that I'd ever do).

Wish me luck! And Nal On!

I should add that I didn't really have any noticeable side effects. I felt slightly weird for a little while but nothing big. I took the full 50mg on the first day because my pills were not scored. I've heard that you aren't supposed to split non-scored pills for a variety of reasons, but it seems like a lot of people on here do it. Is it OK with Nal?

I'll go ahead and share my impression from my first few hours on Nal. I feel fine, I enjoyed 2 1/2 beers but it's definitely different than every other time I've consumed alcohol in my entire life. I don't feel the "high" and I don't feel the compulsion that i usually feel - so far, so good.

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Your first experience mirrors mine. I went with the full 50mg to start since I typically handle medications well. No side effects for me either. I've only been at this a week, but so far, I've been pleasantly surprised at what a difference this has made. One day at a time.

My doc couldn't get 75mg tabs, so he told me to go ahead and split some 50s and take one and a half. I bought a pill splitter for, like, three bucks at Wal-Mart, and it does a really good job of cracking 'em right down the middle. So far, so good. I had a quick honeymoon period when I first started, and now I notice my units are creeping up again, but that's what happened last time. After about six months, I began losing interest in drinking, so I hope that'll happen again. Should have stuck with it the first time.

That's great - hopefully both of us can "regain control" sometime soon. I'm looking forward to this weekend - that will be my first big test on Nal.

Good luck on getting back to where you want to be. I think that my biggest fear is that I'll become too confident in my drinking and stop taking Nal - seems that happens to quite a few people on here.

Once you are able to reduce your daily unit intake, the next major hurdle is breaking the daily drinking habit. I'm convinced that is the key to success. If you look at the people who are successful, most have accomplished AF periods of time....some end up totally going AF; some are AF part-time and reserve drinking to "occasions" (always taking Nal beforehand).

Examine "why" you drink. What does it do for you? What is alcohol replacing? Take a look at "Over the Influence"---a good resource that helps you examine your relationship to drugs and alcohol. I hope you find the support you need via this forum (and other resources).

I wish you well and keep posting.

Thanks Gott! I've enjoyed reading your story on here and I'm glad that things are going so well for you. I'll definitely be around this site for a while, I'm doing TSM solo so I need some guidance and support.

Thanks for the advice about AF days. I think that I'll be shooting for AF days pretty early on. I'm really interested in seeing how the Nal works for my binges - this weekend will certainly be interesting!

Thanks again for your advice.

Well, Day 2 has been quite an experience. I began drinking around 6pm. I also smoked a few cigarettes tonight, which I do only when I drink. On a normal night, I would continue drinking until I was quite drunk and "pass out" rather than fall asleep. It is now 10:25 and I stopped drinking a while ago. I simply do not feel the urge to continue drinking. I had a nice buzz and normally I would continue, but I just don't feel like it. It seems that I'm on a honeymoon - and hopefully headed for eventual success!