Hi--new here. Daily drinker since 1995. Tried AA and evidence based recovery program. The longest I have been alcohol free was 14 days in the IOP program. The rest of the time I drank and just pretended to be sober, although I did cut down quite a bit when I was in IOP.

This is day 2 on the meds for me. I have a question: I took a pill at 4pm since I was meeting friends for drinks. I didn't really feel that on fire for a drink so I ordered something non-alcoholic to start and then had a drink around 6. Then nothing until 9pm. How long does the protective effect of naltrexone last? If I have a drink 5-6 hours after taking a pill does it still work?

I got home about and hour ago and poured a drink as an experiment. I am experiencing a bit of fuzziness but I have this weird "oh this is nice" awareness--the reflex to finish off the drink so I can pour another is nowhere.

My drinking profile: very private. husband and I kill a fifth of hard alcohol between us every night. Get up, go to work, get stuff done, come home, go to work on the fifth.

Hi there FV - welcome. the nal covers you for approx. 12 hours so yes you were good to go ...... have you read Eskapa's book? It is good to read it so see how Nal works. Did you get the nal from a doctor or order it online? The book says it works in 3-4 months but I would take that with a grain of salt - it took me 11 months! But it did work and I choose not to drink now - I can if I want to as long as I take a nal - but do not want to. I was wondering if your hubs is also interested in taking it if you drink together? The main thing with TSM is to never drink without taking a nal at least an hour before - if you are still drinking around 12 hours later, then it is best to take a booster dose!

keep posting and let us know how you are doing ....

Hugs, Maggie

Thanks Maggie. I'm using a doctor and he also recommended the book. I'm keeping track of drinks as well. So what happens if you take the pill and then end up not drinking? I want to try for some AF days but I don't want to slip up and end up drinking if I haven't pre-medicated.

Hi there - it does not matter if you take the Nal then do not drink - the worst that happens is that you have wasted a tab! However to do it the other way round is really bad - NEVER drink without taking a nal at least an hour before! Plus - do not fret about getting an AF day this early on in the game - you should not white knuckle ever, so until you feel you can have an AF day with comfort, do not worry about it. I did not have one without the help of Antabuse (which did not go down well with a fair few folk here) for a LONG time. If you are white knuckling then you worry about setting yourself up for ADE (Alcohol Deprivation Effect) which basically means that you drink more the next time that you drink because your body is making up for what you didn't have! I am terrible at explaining things and I am sure that someone else will come along and explain it far better!

Hugs, Maggie

Yes, if once in a while you take the pill and don't drink, no big deal. You just don't want to get in the habit of that.

FV, as time goes on and you want to try for an alcohol free day, you can always not take the tab but have it close at hand ( I always carry some in my purse). If you decide you are going to drink you can take it and wait an hour. Find something to do and the hour will go by pretty quickly. I agree with Maggie that white knuckling an alcohol free day is not a good idea.

Dee