I am new, first posting, and have read thru many of the postings and the theme seems to be about people that are actively trying to stop drinking and control the impulse. My question is along those lines. I have gone thru one 8 year period and three shorter periods of sobriety and returned to drinking heavily once I decided to test the waters, my craving was almost back to the same point that it was when I stopped. So now I am sober again but after 9 years of sobriety I am here inquiring about drinking on this forum. I read about TSM by accicent and immediately became intrigued with the question can I take Naltrexone now that I am totally sober and have a social drink or two without returning to the alcoholic state that I was in before. Can i take Nal and visit a winery in Italy on an updcoming trip and sample a wine or go to dinner and have a glass of wine while taking Nal and have any expectation of not falling over the cliff again. Anybody have any thoughts? I have ordered the book and it should arrive in a day or two more. I am reading many postings but still have not found one exactly like my situation. Please do not ask why I wish to drink after 9 years, my sincere question is can I take Nal and have a few drinks socially and not fall back into drunkeness. Thank you.

Hey,

Just my opinion but if it was me after so long I wouldn't risk it. You could be one of the percentage that TSM doesn't work for.

Thank you for your concern. Because of my experience with getting and staying sober I have some insight about the process and procedure that some do not. I quit without facing a craving to return and without outside help or medication, maybe my brain is wired a little differentley than some because I can quit without some of the detox problems that many face. But the roadway that has been created by the alcohol in my brain is the same as everyone elses, so if Nal helps to eliminate that path then I am willing to experiment with the cure. If it does not work for me I will quit drinking again as I have done in the past, although my last major battle with alcohol was due to many factors, environment, location, habits, friends, and I have changed every single one of those factors. I am not yet certain what I will do but my goal is also not to drink everyday or every week or test my ability. My goal is to be able to take that pill and have a glass of wine when I am at a dinner party or have a toast at a special occasion or whatever. I do not want to drink daily and my lifestyle now is such that there is no chance of that happening. Thanks though for your input, in the end it is up to each of us to take responsibility for their own brain and their actions. I just hope that my curiousity can be tested, but in no event after all of these years will one drink make me return to my previous state, I know that from my experience the first time that I drank after the first 8 year sobriety run. It took a year of steady drinking to get back to my previous state. I won't do that again.

If you know you can quit if things get out of hand then I suppose you have nothing to lose. It just shows how much of a pull alcohol has when it still affects the thought process after 8 years

I personally want to never touch a drop again. If I was shooting for what your after I'd have called victory weeks a go.

A lot of people feel the effects of TSM from day one (Honeymoon). I know I did. I've had great results since day one but still seem to be in the habit of lifting that first drink even though I usually only have a couple.

Good luck what ever you decide.

The thing is that the path or road as research calls it, stays there in your brain once it is built. So even after 8 years the road is still there but the Nal is supposed to eventually eliminate the road and not allow it to widen or go any farther. In my case what I discovered is that after a long period of abstinence my body healed itself fromt the effects of alcohol, my liver, kidneys, stomach and other organs are fully recovered but not the mind, not completely. But what I know is that just one drink or two will not put me back where I was but sustained drinking will, construction of the "road" starts again, maybe with the first drink but still there is no strong urge unless I continue to drink a lot on a daily basis. Because I have changed my life and geography and friends I am not back in an environment that I was before that led me down the road again. At least that is my opinion of myself and what happens to me. But I am only willing to risk the experiment now after many years because of the Naltrexone and the many progress reports that I have read. That plus I am not looking forward to drinking on a daily basis, just periodically. Anyway, i still have not entirely made up my mind. Sorry is this seems long winded but once I start writing it is hard to stop. I have so many memories and opinions and observations about myself.

At least you know its there (TSM) to try if you decide to have a drink again. I'm really glad I found it. I've always sort of known I'd have to call it a day with the booze sooner or later. I'm not sure how things would have panned out if I didn't.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still not there yet but if you'd told me at the start where I'd be now I'd have taken it and ran.

I am happy for you that you found this cure. I have lost many friends to alcohol, I lived in a small South America country for 13 years and the entire expat community were drinkers and daily drinkers, sometimes from waking to sleep. They have ALL died. I am fortunate that I escaped alive but not without the scars.

This leads me to another question that I have not found the answer to, what about the people that are so far gone that they never really stop for the day unless they manage to get some sleep. The pill has to be taken one hour before drinking but if they manage that what about periodically throughout the day if they drink all day and evening long. I am serious about this, my friends in SA did this, I did it. The reason I ask if that if I am lucky enough to find one that is still alive I want to pass on this information so that maybe the cure can help save just one of them. Maybe I should ask this question in a different place on the forum.

I'm not 100% sure but I think if your a 24 hour drinker you take a pill every 8 or so hours to cover you.

Sailorbox, I would try some Nal before your trip to see if you have any side effects, starting at 25mg then going to 50mg. It would be awful to ruin your trip b/c the Nal made you feel lousy. Then if you clear that test, my recommendation for Italy would be to have one glass of wine w/ your meal while on the road. The objective is to try and enjoy the different wines of Italy. You can do that w/ one glass only per lunch or dinner; you don't need 2. Don't order bottles of wine. If you want to try a limoncello, have sparkling water w/ your meal and the limoncello afterwards.

If you stick to this rule, odds are you will be fine and the Nal will work for you. When you return from your trip, you''ll have to be vigilant about not drinking daily and either stop drinking altogether or choose your drinking occasions sparingly. If you can do this, than you have a good chance of being successful w/ your goal....imo...from someone who is basing her opinion on a few posts....

Gotthegne,
Thank you for your advice on taking Nal, I had planned to test it without alcohol to see if my system tolerates it well. Then if I decide to proceed I will do so sparingly, as I have already posted my lifestyle has changed 100% since my drinking days. Gone are all of the outside influences and circumstances that existed in those days so any experiment that I try should be just between me and the drink and nothing more. Thanks again for the advice.