Wow. /r/cripplingalcoholism seems like a pretty grim place.

Very grim. Most have given up. I could have given up, but not my style.

Go Branca

I totally get the keeping it close like the first three months of pregnancy!

MD

Week two complete and down to 16.5 drinks over 7 days.

I feel that the deadened / numbed feeling I had when I had that first drink and hour after that first pill isn't as pronounced. I am surmising that this is what you all are labeling as the honeymoon period.

The cravings are gone, but I see how I might be lulled into false sense of security and need to double up the mindfulness. I noticed that one night, while on the Naltrexone, I fell back into the ritual of that vodka on the rocks as I was shutting down for the night. It was pure ritual. I was not mindful of the drink. The alcohol did not give me euphoria, but I think the ritual did.

Another observation is that I used to combine drinking with playing Civilization 5 for hours. The Naltrexone blocks the pleasure of playing that game as well. Interesting.

Anyway, so far, so good everyone.

You might not feel much of anything while the Nal is chipping away on the craving, could just be that you're adjusting to the side effects, but if your count goes back up you'll know what it is.

Interesting indeed about the game, I think I read of another person that noticed that.

Sounds good so far, steady as she goes...

Hi Branca - We are on the same path around the same time. Keep up the good work! My units went up in week 2 but I have only been at 25mg. Upping to 50 today.

I'm a science/data geek too so we have that in common! Take care - AG

keep up the good work! in my experience, I've found the ritual/habit to be deceptively strong in my drinking patterns. Nal helped me break the pattern, but it still really blows me away how the pure HABIT had a lot to do with my misuse of AL, and not my "needs", "desires" or "issues". good luck and Nal on!

Love the concept of chipping away. This is where my patience and love of a process comes into play. I am glad that I am not made to feel guilty about the ups and downs! That used to kill me.

How did the 50mg work for you?

My graphs look great. My resting heart rate Pre-TSM was 84bpm! I almost destroyed my heart. Now down to 61bpm. Not ideal, but better than the 84bpm.

Hi Branca
That's interesting about your decrease in gaming. I love to do that also and I typically play for an hour or so every morning as I'm waking up with my coffee, however, since getting back on the program, I've not played at all. My partner would say that it's another positive benefit of the program, ha ha!!

Best of luck with your journey
gottatry