TTC,

I'm so glad your here. I can so relate to your experiences.

My experiences are not college related, but a housewives experiences. But the desire to drink being so strong. Doing terribly embarrassing things, but still continuing on the road of drinking. One time while drunk I wrote my mother in law a horrible letter about what a bitch I thought she was, and all of her character defects I thought she had, then preceded to send to everyone on my e-mail list. Oh crap. Then another time, I was on ICQ, before facebook, and was drunk, talking suicide. Well, I was the first person in Sacramento County to have the police invade my house, after being contacted by someone online, to save the crazy lady. Oh, crap again. Not something to be proud of. And I used to make those horrible drunk phone calls, but now, I can make those horrible Facebook posts of How I'm doing. Embarassing!!! So much for the modern move to social media.

Anyway, I'm giggling a little about the above, I'm so glad your here. You will find some wonderfully supportive people. I have. I even have talked to some on the phone and text them.

I don't know what I can do to help with the tritation of the nal, but I can always listen if you need an ear.

I'm here. Hang in here.

Hugs.

Also just a suggestion, if you go to Weekly Updates, start your own thread, so you can post how your doing, and I can find you easier.

But of course here is just fine too. No right or wrong I don't think.

Last night went well - I took the 12.5 mg of Naltrexone an hour before I went over to my friend's apartment for a beer. I had a 32 oz of High Life (now comes in a plastic bottle! weird...) and then an 8 oz Raz-ber-ita or whatever they're called (8%). I drank the 8 oz Raz-ber-ita at 3 am after I came home at midnight and couldn't fall asleep - may have been because I had been smoking some cigarettes and marijuana with my friends (cigarettes tend to make me restless). Last night was the most I've drank since I started on Sunday, and I really feel like I didn't enjoy the 3 am drink - I mostly drank it because I wanted something sweet and I didn't have any soda, just the Raz-ber-ita my girlfriend had left.

Today in an hour I will try drinking a single beer (just took my Naltrexone) with coworkers at the weekly beer social in the department. The beer social is usually a place where things get out of control from me, so the outcome of today should be a good indicator of my progress for this first week. Usually the Friday beer social puts me on a bender that lasts until Sunday when I try to sober up for work on Monday... again, we'll see.

Thanks for all the support. At the end of my titration schedule I'll start a new post in the progress section.

ttc,

I reached out to a few of the newbs and it looks like a few of them didn't up their dose. Ocean said that he will bring the other piece if he knows he will be drinking for long periods of time, and sometimes he will take and sometimes not (if he drink he does). Deena, said she never felt nausea with it, upper her dose the after 2 days (I think) but she started with hot flashes again (she had been done with all that).

I do hope that eating with the nal. helps with the nausea and they claim to drink a big glass of water with it (no clue why). But it really does sound like the nal. is working for you. I do hope you start a weekly progress, for it would be nice read how long it will take to get to the 50 mg.

Have a fun weekend and try to do some mindful drinking (and it sounds you have been )

Jaba

Jaba -

I also get hot flashes, or at least it feels that way, whenever I take the Naltrexone. I don't remember this as a side effect, but I suppose that it goes away after some time as does the nausea.

I was able to hold my cool with the booze at the weekly departmental beer social and was able to have just 2 glasses of wine with dinner a few hours later. I took the Nal before I went to the gym which was exactly an 1.5 hours before the beer social. I didn't feel as good after going running - I think the Nal stole my runner's high!

The screaming "booze brain" is starting to subside... at least it feels that way. I'm skeptical that it may just be a placebo effect, but hopefully it's more than that.

I'm hoping to hold my own tomorrow (w/ Nal) during the madness of college football. Will be meeting some people from work for a day of barbecuing and game watching. I know there will be alcohol, I'm just not sure how much.

ttc,

You are currently having the honeymoon phase, and I really doubt that it is the placebo effect. Just remember that this may change and your intake may increase. I did read that as you drink you are to drink slowly and actually feel the nal. block your receptors. Once the honeymoon phase is over you will have to start feeling that, for you could drink through the nal (which is drinking past the point the medicine is working). I have done it, but not everyone has. Your brain will try to chase something that isn't there. I call that a feeling of "ah". When you take that first big gulp and you feel all the stress leave your body. That "ah" feeling is never going to come and your brain will be looking for it (like you missing that runners high) which may cause you to over drink. And do not forget that you can still get drunk on the nal.

It's funny for I have only had hot and cold flashes after a nal. over, and that is worse than any hangover. And yes Deena did say that they have subsided.

That is great that the nal. is working and you actually had 2 glasses of wine. I think you will be fine tomorrow with the college football, for the honeymoon phase can last up to a month for some. Actually GuyJeb has posted something about this recently. He thought the new pills he got from the pharmacy could be the different pills for they are a different from a different manufacturer, but the options saves lives is thinking that the honeymoon phase is over (his drinking increased). I guess we will find out when he takes the new pill he ordered.

As you probably know, the nal. does block the "feel good receptors" and that is why they require you to have an alcohol free (af day) once you have been on it for a while. The book explains this concept better. But, taking an af day is to reenforce the need for feeling good and being on nal. blocks those pleasures like a runner high. So when you are able to have an af day (it may require you to have more than one for this to happen) please make sure you run to get that runners high.

Did you ever imagine being able to drink just 2 glasses of wine? I knew I never thought I could!

Keep posting,

Jaba

So bad news - I skipped the Nal the day of the Football. I only had 3 drinks and ended up getting home at about 1:30 am on Sunday morning. However, things went downhill when my fellow-boozer neighbor knocked on my apartment at 2:30 am (still wasn't asleep) with a case full of beer. I stayed up with her and her brother until 8 am drinking. I woke up on Sunday afternoon around 3:00 pm feeling like absolute garbage and with very heavy shakes that seem worse than I've ever had before. I didn't eat much on Saturday which could have exacerbated the shaking, but I'm inclined to think it was partly due to the Nal.

Yesterday, Monday, I skipped Nal again because again I didn't eat much all day and didn't want to get the horrible nausea when I take it on an empty stomach. I had 3 drinks yesterday (1 beer, 1 cocktail and 1 shot) and didn't really feel buzzed at all even though I didn't take Nal. I mostly drank because I was still shaking, even 1.5 days after the horrors of Saturday night.

Today I am going to see the symphony with my girlfriend and it is BYOB/Food (Hollywood Bowl). Unfortunately, I don't think I will have enough time to eat after work/before the concert so I will just have to not bring any booze. I definitely don't want to sit through a 2 hour concert with crazy nausea... wouldn't be enjoyable.

I'll get back on the Nal tonight when I get back home so I don't have to start from square one with the nausea.

Oh, such a long road ahead...

Thanks for the support.

- TTC

ttc,

I feel for you about the nausea, and you need to trust me when I tell you it will pass; however, not taking nal. and drinking is not going to help you. I wish I had something to help you out. I did read in the options saves lives forum that there is something that you can take for nausea that I never heard of before and I will try to look into what that is. Ginger has been a remedy that has been used for centuries, and I think you might be able to find that in a tea, or even ginger-ale.

Unfortunately, unless you take that pill on consistently, you will always be fighting that nausea and I am afraid that you may eventually give up on this process altogether.

I think maybe you need to start thinking ahead and pack with you not only the nal. but small snacks (protein bar, almonds, peanut butter and crackers, I think you get the idea).

Remember when I asked you this:

Are the side effects so severe that you would rather be drinking?

I'm not sure what you mean by this - would I rather be drinking than feeling nauseous? Yes definitely. Would I rather be drinking to the point of nausea? No. Would I rather be drinking heavily while feeling nauseous from the Nal? Definitely not - when I feel nauseous from the Nal I have almost zero desire to drink because of the nausea - it'd be like drinking after going on a merry-go-round or sailing on choppy seas. Barf. Would I consider stopping the Nal because of a few days of mild nausea? No - that is no longer an option for me. Alcohol is destroying my life, including but not limited to: personal goals, workplace achievements, intimate relationships, family relations and friendships.

I asked you this because I didn't care how bad the side effects were when I took nal. If you really want a way out you will do anything to crawl out of that hole. I reposted what Q went through in aversion therapy. I posted it in Other Treatment Methods Titled The Schick Shadel program. Please read what he went through and realize that when you are truly ready to give up al. you will be willing to do anything.

Jaba

I found this in the options saves lives forum from the Moderator Moyra. The person is in the UK, but something can be found in the US.

I've heard back from Dr Eskapa and he asked me to stress to you that it is worth getting through the nausea, hard as it may be. He also agrees that you should take 25g a few times and then step back up to 50mg after a few goes.

What he suggested, to help with the nausea, is that you take an anti-emetic (a drug that helps stop you feeling sick and throwing up, e.g. with motion sickness) one hour before taking the Naltrexone.
He recommends that you ask your GP for one, simply so that your doctor is aware of all the medication you are using, but if your GP isn't cooperative, they are available over the counter.
He suggests Domperidine (also known as Motilium)- see http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages ... gar%20free for details.
You can, if you need to, get it online in the UK from Boots.
http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... #container

Another OTC drug you can use is one containing metoclopramide. This is similar to domperidone and should do the trick. It is not contra-indicated with Naltrexone, but you may need to check whether it's OK with alcohol. You should be OK, because it's an OTC drug, but this is another reason to try and get it from your GP if you can. There are, however, contraindications for metoclopramide: you should not take it if you have epilepsy, if you've had a stomach operation in the previous 3 or 4 days, if you've ever had bleeding, perforation of blocking of the stomach, if you've had pheochromocytoma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheochromocytoma), or if you're a newborn (which I assume you're not <g>).

Metoclopramide is a drug from the chemical class of benzamides. Others in this group include bromopride, cisapride (which is a benzamide but has a different mechanism of action) and itopride, which is a newer benzamide with effects similar to those of metoclopramide, so anything with any of those an active ingredient should do the trick, provided you're safe to take them (see above for contraindications).

Hope this helps! Do, please, let us know how you get on.

ttc,

I am just checking to see how things have been going with you. I do hope you were able to continue with taking the nal.

Jaba