Welcome to the forum Maggie,

Murphys stout is 4% alcohol by volume, so 14.9 ounces equals 0.993 USA drinks, or 1.76 UK units

FYI I find the Cleave Books international calculator to be very accurate since you can adjust it for actual alcohol content and volume. I'm trying to get used to lower alcohol content beer and it makes it easy to track.

Hallo All and thank you .... I shall google that and check it out .... you look as if the Nal is working for you, from your figures - that is heartening for me to see. I have decided that I am just going to do drinks though rather than worry about US or UK units - as long as I am consistent. Even in this short time I have actually gone down in drinks - really feels good !! Thanks for the help,

Maggie Xx

I have a question about how long the Nal works for - if I take a tab at say noon, (yesterday I think it was 12.30) then had a drink at 1.30, and didn't have my second drink until 4.00 - then had a third drink at 6.00 - I wanted another drink after the 3rd, but didn't have it - but was wondering how long the Nal is in my system for. IF I had taken it at noon but not had a drink until 6.00, would it have been as effective ? Which as my first drink took way longer than usual to drink, it definitely was working yesterday!!

Maggie xx

from the TCFA book:

"The activity of naltrexone is believed to be due to both parent and the 6-β-naltrexol metabolite. ... The mean elimination half-life (T-1/2) values for naltrexone and 6-β-naltrexol are 4 hours and 13 hours, respectively"

in practise, most people seem to find that a 50mg dose will cover them for even a long drinking session, although some take a 25mg 'booster' if drinking for longer than, say, 8 hours

sorry to be a bit vague, but the advice seems to be '50mg is enough, unless it's not'

-badger

This is from a post from Dr Eskapa:

Naltrexone 50 mg will block the effects of opiates and endorphins for 24 hours.

Doubling the dose may increase the metabolite half-life to 48 hours ... However, there may be individual differences and some may metabolize it more rapidly than others. Thus if you take the tablet at 8 am and start drinking at 10 pm you may not be covered. There is a reason why we only want you to take the medication 1 hour before drinking not more. There is no benefit from blocking the endorphins before they are released as a result of drinking. Moreover, if you take naltrexone with abstinence for extended periods you will 'upregulate' your opioid receptors - meaning there will be more of them (millions more) in your body. If you drink at this point without coverage (opioid blockade / antagonism) you will receive an especially strong jolt of reinforcement from the endorphins thereby enhancing your craving and drinking levels.

Thanks Badger and Cheeto - I think I understand although it is a tad confusing! I do not usually drink later than 5.30 or 6.00 - but start around noon or 1 and am just having four drinks in that space now - whereas I would have 7 maybe before Nal. Last night I considered a 5th but really didn't want it and knew that it was just a habit drink - so didn't have it. I think I need to start a progress thread for me really ....

thanks,

Maggie xx