I started on 10/18, I have drunk wine/beer, nothing else for thirty years. I am 51. I started with 25 mg, went down to 12.5 x2, one hour apart. I take my meds two hours before I drink.
I was drinking 7-9 glasses a night, or 1/2 liter.
this week I am drinking, slowly over 5-6 hrs, three small glasses, once 4 glasses.
Last night a friend came over, I left a full glass, sat in the kitchen , drinking water for 2 hours.
threw the last glass out and went to bed sober.
I have gone to bed sober for a week.
25 mg is holding me very well with no side effects.


I tried topa and it worked/s but I could not adjust to the se, I was fuzzy and in a rage.
I hope this encourages ONE PERSON to try.

orca welcome to tsm jouney. i hope you did not take your medication when YOU ARE NOT DRINKING and i would like to add, make sure you take naltrexone ONE HOUR BEFORE YOU START TO DINKINK. NOT TWO HOUR. the first week for m was great i went from 9 beers a night to 4. then after 10 days 'THE HONEYMOOM"
period ws over. during my month on tsm i have had spike in my drinking,whitch it common. tsm can take up to a year before you get free of alchol so be patient. if you need help with your journey ask people on this forum there very helpful and encouraging. good luck my freind

Orca, that is a fabulous result. It seems that you are very sensitive to naltrexone and that's a good thing. Just keep at it and keep posting. Best of luck on this next week.

I had a slight spike in AU this weekend, but did not over drink.
I read another post in the cured files, a long thoughtful post about how nal works. I am taking my first 25 mg when the craving to drink appears, often two hours before I drink. I do not want to be behind. the nal has a half life of over 15 hrs.
I am a RN, and very comfortable with meds and how they work. .
( how much compliance could the DRs get if they said 2 hours? , if the craving is strong, two hours would be too discouraging. think about that.)
I take another 25 mg if the desire does not lie down a bit.
cheers

the Two years before the mast post is excellant

"Following my great initial success after only six months on TSM, I began experimenting with the dosage, moving from 50 mg to 25mg and finally settling on a quarter of what is typically prescribed: 12.5 mg. (Naltima from India ADC.) My unexpected reduced dosage regimen has granted me a stash of meds that will last years (up against the expiration date).
Moreover, I have sometimes taken Nal after drinking to partial intoxication. In my case, Nal may have contributed to the interruption of the impulse to drink more. Overall, TSM has had significant effects in both radically reducing my desire to drink and my compulsion to continue to drink once I have started.
"

I am two weeks out, and only one hangover. I am going to bed sober and waking up sober.
I take my nal one - one and a half hours before drinking. I am getting less buzz.
I moved my dinner hour to the winter hours, ( I work from home and often only eat twice a day).
by eating, my desire to drink goes way down.
This is the longest I have felt successful with AU consumption.

I found the post about anxiety and al very interesting. i suffer from low grade anxiety when I nurse,
its a habit after years of high stress nursing...
see you all next week.

Hi Orca and welcome, BTW, taking the Nal one and a half to two hours before drinking seems to work better for me. I wish you much success on this journey and am looking forward to your posts. Keek

Thnak you all for the support.
I just ordered another 100$ from all day chemists. I fear not having over 30days worth inthe house, holliday shippping may be slow. my las torder took ten days to arrive.
This week was a bit rocky, only one hangover, so thats an improvment. I drank an extra glass last night out of habit. I will get out my teapot and have it ready after dinner to jog me back to the tea habit.
The nal is giving me control, less buzz.I drank 50% less last week.
The 5 pm craving is less than half the two weeks before.
dose is 50mg,it does make me sleepy, I have been going to bed fairly early.

I have a dinner invite on sunday , and do not dread it, there is always wine, but I will have complete control over my glass.
A wonderful feeling, I used to dread dinner parties.

I have had interesting side effects, we have had a lovely fall, and I get amazing sertotin rush happiness looking at the trees and sky, such amazing beauty.
It is a a chemical rush.
I have always had a vivid drream life, interesting dreams, I never watch any violence on tv, or movies, not for over thirty years. by avoiding all violence, I have pleasent dreams. but I have had several vivid nightmares last week. very unusal.


I had two friends speak up about their husbands drinking problesms, and I guided them toward this boards for information.
So far I have not disclosed my issues or plan or actions to anyone. I prefer privacy, so non AA. this is my only disclosure place.

I take the nal 1 1/2 hrs before the first glass, and the first glass tastes terrible. So does the second. I am looking forward to more extcition and my first AF day and night.

Hi Orca,
What a happy report! A 50% reduction is huge...well done. Sounds like you are having a very strong reaction to the Nal, right off the bat.

I've been very lucky to have few SEs from Nal, except for especially entertaining dreams, which I've enjoyed quite bit!

best to you -

I had a great thursday night! came home from work, high stress, no craving wine while in the van, no thinking about how much wine in the house.
I could just dismiss the the thought.
Drank a small galss while making lite dinner, total three small glasses, with ice.
totally sober at 9 pm, and reading.

hopefully this post will encorage someone esle to try