Hi my name is Ed. i have been struggling on and off with alcohol for 20 years. Things reached fever pitch about 5 years ago and I gave up for a year with willpower alone. I wasnt drinking quite enough to have dangerous withdrawal. After a year alcohol crept back in slowly and the past year, whilst not as bad as it has been, I have been drinking about 30 UK units a week, generally over two sessions. People say if you have stopped for a substantial period before then at least you know you can do it, the problem is is that you know how bl**dy hard it was. I am now living in a new country and struggling with a cold climate, cold people and a reduced set of life opportunities. Drink has seemed like a good escape option. Of course it really isnt a good escape option. I have stopped exercising and doing the things I enjoy doing and i am generally living in a quasi-permanent state of depression. I was reading about nalmefene recently and decided to see my doctor. She wouldn't prescribe it for the reason that it is quite new to the market, which I can understand. She did however prescribe me naltroxene. Last night although I wasnt massively craving alcohol I decided to start the journey. Well I definitely didnt feel like finishing the first drink and today I feel like I never want to drink again. I am also off coffee!! I think i made a mistake with the dosage and went straight to 50mg as last night I felt pretty weird, today I feel like a zombie.

I can definitely see how this works although my only concern is the way it is making me feel. I have had periods on anti-depressants and have come to the conclusion that the brain is so misunderstood and that chemical alterations are best avoided if at all possible. Obviously this is what alcohol does so its hard to say why make the distinction. Maybe i am just used to feeling a different sort of crap with alcohol.

Anyway my hope is that I can use the method, in part, as a crutch towards abstinence, and to be able to get down to one moderate drinking session a week instead of two relatively heavy ones - as quickly as possible. I hope by the end of the year to have a different relationship with booze.

Pleased to be here and meet you.

Cozmo

Hi Ed, good to meet you too.

I think we can all agree that will power is a good thing. But when one is psychologically addicted to alcohol a little help with meds can make all the different.

Good luck and keep posting - we need you, to help us Every experience recorded here adds to our toolbox.

Babs

Well I definitely didnt feel like finishing the first drink and today I feel like I never want to drink again. I am also off coffee!! 
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Sounds like you could be a quick responder.

See how long you can go without drinking. When the urge becomes strong again, use the nal. In the meantime find something to fill the spaces that were taken up by alcohol.

Thanks for all the feedback. It might not work the sinclair method although i suspect it will, but its great to have some optimism about the situation for the first time in a few years.

Cozmo,

Great to have you here. My only counsel (from bitter personal experience) is to follow the golden rule (NAL one hour before drinking). I spent 7 months violating that protocol and didn't make much progress. Fortunately I am a stubborn SOB and stuck with it. Now that I have been adhering to that rule I am seeing remarkable progress. Good luck and keep us posted!

Hi and welcome. There is absolutely nothing wrong or weird about abstinence as a goal; quite a few of us end up abstinent.

Sounds like you felt a pretty big difference, which is good. In general, people who feel a bigger difference unlearn the addiction more quickly. If you're one of them, hurray, but don't worry too much if you see an uptick in alcohol consumption after a while -- that's also common.

Stick around. I love watching people be cured.

Just want to say hello and welcome.


I suspect it will too. It seems as though it's already having an effect which is a good sign. Some people respond super quick, others more slowly and some very,very slowly. The overall message from the things I've read on here is stick with it and stick strictly to the one hour golden rule. Lots of people get to their goal in the end.

Keep us updated on your progress...we really do support each other on here.