Hello Everyone,

First of all I'd like to thank you all for being here. I am 49 years old and have been drinking alcoholically for about 20 years and have isolated myself so much that I have no friends to support me. Only my mother, who does not live in the same state, is elderly, and doesn't understand addiction at all. She can take it or leave it. It is so good to read the success stories here and actually have a ray of hope. I'm sure I have the "gene", as my father was a severe alcoholic and so was his brother and father. There is also alcoholism on my Mom's side.

I am going through a divorce because I am mean and nasty when I drink too much and had an incident with my husband where he called the police and I was arrested. I feel like crap ALL of the time and my depression is pretty severe. Constantly have that hangover feeling. I drink anywhere from a bottle to a bottle and a half of wine every night. Its amazing I still have my jobs and kids. However, I know I am on the verge of losing everything if I don't find a cure. I've tried AA and abstinence to no avail.

TSM seems like a very logical and realistic approach to alcoholism. I am fortunate enough to have a Dr. who prescribed Naltrexone for me without asking any questions. I was afraid to tell her about TSM for fear she would not prescribe it for me. I started yesterday at 25mg and drank over a bottle of wine last night. I must say it was a bit harder for me to get out of bed today (due to the Naltrexone?). But I am so determined to put my all into this before I die a slow, painful death from alcoholism, or take my own life to stop the misery. After all, my children need me even if I am a drunk

Comments and suggestions are REALLY appreciated!

Cindy,
So glad you were able to get the Naltrexone. I am pretty new with it. I have been taking the Nal for about4 and 1/2 mo. I have been drinking daily for over 40 yrs. Was doing about 50 unit a day and am down to approx. 35. I see that as a good thing. I also am able to stop in the evening which I couldn't do before. Hang in there and keep us posted. The board is very helpful with advise so keep coming back and give us your updates.
LindaM

Linda, thank you so much for your response and congratulations on your progress!

I took my first Naltrexone (25mg) last night before drinking and could not get out of bed until noon. I dragged myself to work for 4 hours, but it felt like I had a hangover 3X as bad as normal. I have read on this forum that others have experienced this same thing. Should I back off even more to perhaps a quarter of the normal dose and let my body adjust? Will some of you that have had this issue please advise? I am totally convicted to continue this treatment and will do what I need to do to get results.

Thanks in advance........

Cindy

Hi Cindy,

Welcome on board. I'm also fairly new here ( week 5 ) but I'm definitely noticing changes in my drinking and a reduction in weekly units.

I haven't had problems with hangovers, but in my first few weeks I had bad nausea after taking Nal. I started on 25mg but couldn't tolerate it so I cut down to 12.5. I then slowly over the weeks increased the dosage and was up to the full 50 by week 4 and am now side effect free. It seems to affect people differently so you have to do what's right for you, but for me a quarter of the dose was better than not taking it at all.

Let us now how you get on. Good luck.

Ruth.

Cindy,
I have also experienced the awful hangovers and worse headaches of my life. I did cut down to 12.5 mg. for about a week and things got better. Then I upped to 25mg. and am now at the 50 mg. I also was extremely motivated to make it work and I worked through all the side affects. Hang in there, we're all here for you.
LindaM

Thanks so much Ruth and Linda for your replies. I took 25mg of Nal again yesterday. I actually took it earlier in the day than usual because I wanted to start drinking earlier to relieve my hangover. That didn't turn out too well. I am already noticing that the Nal is giving me an aversion to alcohol. It didn't cure my hangover and I didn't get my usual high. I honestly had to choke the stuff down and I was only drinking Clamatos (beer and tomato juice) which have very low alcohol content.

Unfortunately, I still feel awful this morning. I'm debating as to whether I want to go down to 12.5mg today or stay at 25mg. It worked for you gals so perhaps I will try it.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the support.

Cindy

Ok, cut down to 12.5mg today, took it before I drove home from work. Felt very ill shortly after, however I did forget to eat before I took it. I do notice a difference with the wine I'm drinking tonight. Side effects are gone, but I definitely feel the alcohol more than I did with the 25mg. I guess I need to cool my heels and not try to rush this thing. Obviously I need the higher dose to control my cravings, but I need to wait until my body can handle the dosage. 3/4 of a bottle of wine and holding. Good luck everyone!

Cindy

Cindy,
When you say you felt very ill after taking it do you mean you were feeling sick/nauseous? Lots of people advise taking it with an anti-sickness tablet, at least to start with. I cut back to 12.5 and used to take one Motilium tablet with it (not sure if you have that in your part of the world) and it worked a treat. After a few days I took the 12.5 without a Motilium then upped to 25 with a Motilium for a week then tried 25 without Motilium then upped to 50 with a Motilium and then 50 without. I wasn't at the full dose until week 4, but I did notice some effects even at lower doses.

In the beginning the sickness was making me drink less....a sort aversion therapy which isn't the idea at all! I'm sure you'll get there in the end but adding in an over the counter anti-emetic might help you.

Good luck,

Ruth.

It's wonderful to hear that you happened upon TSM and had a doc to prescribe. To me, TSM is the sanest method for extricating oneself from that sense of need for a substance that's just supposed to be an occasional bit of fun, or a tasting hobby (for connoisseurs of wine, whiskey, scotch, and even beer).

I'm very much in your camp. No friends--thus no social existence outside the home--and I've got the genes, too: on the paternal side... daddums, brother, an uncle, two cousins; maternal, great gran, great granddad (separate branches, oddly). Am not at all close with my blood relations. Gratefully, I say, I've got my fella of many, many years who has been totally supportive. He wants to drink every day but rarely goes overboard. And... sigh... I'm the one with the nasty streak if I take it too far (violence to self and others, serious Jekyll and Hyde).

I'm really sorry to hear about the arrest. Be kind to yourself.

Regarding the nausea: there are OTC anti-barfiness pills, but I've found a quarter teaspoon of ginger (just the ground, dried spice from the market) in a normal glass of water does the trick--it's healthful for the liver, tum-tum, and cheap!

Hangovers: Regular intake of a B-complex and vitamin C in quantity eliminated the dreadful headaches, vomiting, and some of the energy issues in my case. Not everyone is keen on alternative remedies, so if I sound like a nutter, brush my advice aside. I'm all for what works for YOU.

All the best to you, it sounds as though you're sorting everything out in the swellest of ways.

Ah! Lest I forget, WELCOME!

Xanthippe

Hi Miss Cindy and welcome

You got some great advice from the gals above, and I can second the advice on the ginger. You could chew a piece of ginger too if you don't mind the spicy heat of it, as that would work quicker.

It's so great to see new faces ( ) here. It means TSM is becoming more well known, and it means that more people are getting the help they need. Many of us are just like you: lonely, without the support of family and have very few friends. I'm quite isolated too as my two best friends moved away with their families last year.

In one of your posts you said: "Obviously I need the higher dose to control my cravings," But be aware that naltrexone will not control your cravings as such. It works in a different way. Have you read the book describing the science TSM is based on? It works to block the rush you feel when you drink, but you will still feel the desire to drink. So it's important not to confuse the two and get discouraged when you still 'want' to drink.

You might want to start a Weekly Progress Thread to keep track, and to let us know how you are doing.

Keep up the good work. Babs