i am not really sure what to write. i am having issues breaking my patterns and i want to start living a new way of life. i feel isolated most times because i cant really talk to anyone about it. so, i have no support system when it comes to this.
but, i guess i am not sure where to start this journey and when to begin it.
i am 37 years old and i have been drinking heavily for about 12 years. i go to work, i go home and about 1.5 bottles in, i finally make it top bed. alcohol affects em a little differently because i only have 10% of my stomach, so i get intoxicated quite quickly. i reel over and over how much different my life would be and i compare my life to other peoples non-drinking lives. i feel that i have failed myself and that i am suffering in ways that i dont need to, such as loneliness and isolation. i want more for myself and i want to be the person i thought i would be. its just so easy to fall into that pattern of opening a bottle and trying to escape. even though i never really seem to.
i have been on and off of nal. my most current going on made me feel sick. i started with 1/2 a pill and i should have prob started with a 1/4. and even though i want this, every time i think about taking the pill, i feel sick just at the thought. i know that i need to quit drinking and i dont know why it is so easy to keep drinking. it gives no value to my life whatsoever.

Welcome forward thinking. I hope you gradually build up to 50 mg of nal amd that you stick to it. TSM really does work. The points you make are good ones and from my perspective you are still young with a whole lot of living
To do. Please keep posting. Hugs from Newlife

Sorry about that I had not read the entire message and hit send only to read it .

I wanted to welcome you.

I think having a smaller stomach may be the reason for you difficulty in tolerating the nal. Maybe starting at 1/4 of a pill, or if you could make it smaller. I think TSM will work for you if you can get past the side effects. We all have a different rates of what how TSM works for us, but it does work.

We are all at different stages of the process, so I am sure a lot of us can relate to what you experience (but I do not know if anyone has a smaller stomach).

Jaba

hi forwardthinking,

welcome to the forum

it's easy to keep drinking because we're addicted to alcohol, in spite of all the bad things it causes

I would give 1/4 pill a try. most people don't get side-effects too badly on this dosage, especially if you don't take it on an empty stomach. there are some recommended anti-nausea meds you could try, I can't remember the names right now, but hopefully someone else can suggest them

it sounds like you're pretty down about your drinking & missing out on life. isn't it worth putting up with a few days' unpleasantness for the possibility of being free from having your life controlled by alcohol?

all the best

-badger

Badger,

I think anything for motion sickness will do. It was advised to check with your doctor before starting on them.

Jaba

Forwardthinking,

I posted this to someone that was having a really hard time with the nal (I hope this helps):

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.

Hello FT and welcome! I just wanted to chime in to say that hopefully the SEs will be for you like they seem to have been for many people pn this forum - very short term! I would scale back the dose and gradually work your way up to the full 50 mg.

Best of luck and keep on posting! We're here to help!

thanks everyone! i havent started yet and i know that is the first step. i dont know what is going on. there is always an excuse. and i am frustrated with myself and i just dont know what to do with myself. i tried this before about a year ago and it was working really well for me but then i got back together with someone who was a terrible influence and i just gave up altogether. i have listed the pro and the cons and honestly, there are no pros, so i dont know why i keep doing this to myself.

Hello FT,

If you have the Nal, I think you should start it immediately. Jaba gave some rgeat advice about anti-nausea medications that you should be able to take along with the Nal. If you have a Dr., you should run it past them to make sure there won't be any negative impact due to your stomach situation.

Or... you can just bite the bullet and gradually increase your dose and deal with the SE's. Every person that I've read about here that suffered significant SEs said that they eventually disappear. Some quickly and some take a little time. In any case, dealing with the SEs temporarily for the chance to get the monkey that is alcohol off your back is worth it! Only you can help yourself... we're here to support you and cheer you on! But you have to take that first step, take your Nal, wait the hour (the WHOLE hour) and then drink as normal... Best of luck!

You and me both. I remember vividly the first time this started for me. It was in 1988 while watching the movie Rain Main. I haven't seen the movie again so I no longer have much memory of the plot, but I can effortlessly recall how disturbed the movie made me feel. There was Tom Cruise, going through this incredible ordeal (as I recall) and he never once had a drink!

How can someone do that? I shouted to myself. What's wrong with me?. For decades after I constantly thought: Here I am. I can do a lot of things, -but almost none of them without alcohol. And here are all these other people carrying on as if alcohol doesn't even exist!

The good news is: If you follow the Golden Rule you can become one of those other people. I did.

But if you don't, you won't.

Let the Nal work first. Figure out your life second. When you no longer need or care much about alcohol, the rest becomes easier. Not easy. Easier. Hard to believe now, I know. So you need a little faith that by Valentine's Day you'll be starting new chapter.