Hello World!

I've been on the boards here for a couple of weeks doing research and asking a few questions here and there and am ready to start reporting on my own progress now. Yippee!

Here I am at day one having my first Nal drink... Papbst Blue ribbon! (Heineken? F that...)

I must say that I am experiencing some side effects at the moment. Pretty queasey. I don't really feel like drinking right now because of the urpy-ness but I don't want my first dose to be a blank either. I guess if I HAVE too i'll drink. Boo-hoo for me right?!
In addition to mild nausea I definitely feel a little tripped out. Not a full on acid trip like some have reported but definitely has some 'hallucinogenic' qualities about. Not that i've ever partaked of an illegal substance of course!
Sweaty palms and a bit of sleepyness. All in all not that bad. Mabey like a giant hangover? I've only had 1 beer so far so I can't comment on the effects on the buzz yet.Seems pretty doable.

For those who haven't made my acquaintance yet, my journey up to this point goes something like this:

Had somewhat of a breakdown where I currently live. Broke, depressed and drunk. Al has probably been a significant issue for at least 7 or 8 years. Probably more. I packed up to sojurn with my folks and "dry out." Through some twist of fate (mom) found Dr. Eskapa's book and read it cover to cover and then found everyone here. What a godsend. Did tons of research both here and other places on the interweb and got myself a Dr's appointment.
Pretty much a brick wall there. I came armed to the teeth with documents, arguments and knowledge, but he (correctly I believe) did not consider himself qualified to administer Nal, let alone tsm. I did, however, get a liver function test to be safe and it came back with the words "Great work" on it. I always was an overachiever.
Determined to give this a go, I researched online pharmacies to get my Nal and found www.alldaychemist.com. They were the cheapest of any place anywhere else I could find. Like $1.65 a pill rather that 3-5 bucks. Them's some savin's! After asking around I deemed them reputable and so far I would agree.

1-2 weeks later and here I am cracking my 2nd PBR and looking forward to taming this beast!

I spent alot of time here on the boards getting me to this point and have found everyone's advice, experiences and general sense of caring completely invaluable. Thank you people, you know who you are. So in the spirit of giving back I'm planning on sticking around here and giving my progress and feedback to any and all who might want to check it out.

Pre Nal: Anywhere from 50 to 100+ units/wk.
Day one: Two Peebers, so far.

Hey Rock,

Welcome my friend,..yes you'll find that everyone here is ultra cool and really cares.

Love that you use Nick's quote as your signature....You'll find that he has a ton of great posts...

Hang tight...its a lot easier with our community as we try and figure this out.

My counselor suggested that I try and find a non psychotic shrink that does the Sinclair Method to monitor me. I know we all don't have that luxury....

Take care, Jim
PS one martini in....and its after midnight. I'm trying to keep it under 6 units tonight...probably end up being 8ish

Welcome rock - glad you've hopped on the roller coaster that is this TSM journey.

Welcome Rock!

Take the pill on a full stomach -- this will help with the nausea. Did you start on 50 mg? It's a good idea to try 25 mg the first time and if the side effects are manageable, move up to 50 mg. You may have an immediate reduction in drinking after starting the nal -- "the honeymoon effect." Some of us report an immediate disinterest in drinking after starting naltrexone. It won't last as extinction of the addiction takes several months, four to six on average, we are finding here. The book's 3-4 month estimate for the cure is based upon those drinking approximately 35 per week; most of us here drink a lot more than that and many of us here theorize that if you drink a lot more than that, extinction will take considerably longer than 3-4 months. (This theory is noticeably not addressed by the studies or Ekapa's book, BTW.)

Keep in mind your improvement on naltrexone is happening behind the scenes at a subconscious level every time you drink on naltrexone. You won't know you are being cured and your drinking/craving will probably be all over the map before you are through.

So, welcome, ask questions and hang on for the ride. And props to mom for finding out about TSM.

My best,

Nick

Hi Rock,

Glad you're back and we're doing tsm not that far apart from each other, i started 2 weeks ago.

Keep posting it helps people on the board as well as people like us who just watched for weeks
before taking the leap!

Sorry, so sorry for being missing these past few days. Of course the one time I intended on keeping a daily update of my progress was the one time I was unable to access the 'net. Unforseen circumstances you see...

So what you would have seen was:

Day one I ended up basically drinking through my nausea and putting back a good 11 units that evening. Celebrating shall we say?

Day two I felt pretty sick but took my second dose (25mg) in the afternoon only to feel sicker. Kinda like the flu. I drank 5 beers throughout the day and didn't really want any of them in a way.

Day three I was too scared to take the full 50mg dose so did one more half-pill and basically had a repeat of day two. Sat around and watched cable. Hardly any appetite. Had a few beers throughouth the day. I guess this must be "the honeymoon"! Too sick to drink!

Days four and on I started feeling a bit more normal and started creeping back to usual drinking habits, albiet considerably less than is actually usual for me.

Here I am on my first week anniversary of starting TSM and have a few observations:

Nal seems to f*uck with my innebriation. A few times I've drank less and felt drunker, a few times I've drank more and felt more sober. Same with hangovers. Felt great in the morning some days, horrible on others. Even with the same amount of consumption. My body is definitely feeling the drug.
As many others here have found, the side effects are real. I got sick. To the point that if I had had a job I wouldn't have gone to it. Something to consider if you are planning to start this program.

I know that I have other insights to share on my new journey and will fill in the details later as I have time (and internet access). Sorry again to have to be belated in my "Starting from Day One" thread. Oh well, let's pick up from day 7.

Cheers all! Thanks for having my back!

Good morning, Rockola...I'm up again at 4am - can't sleep much anymore - not to do with drinking - I have "women's issues" aka menopause (shut up!) and get so sick of trying different stuff for that, that I just quit taking anything - so back to not sleeping!!!

I'm like you, lurked a bit, then decided to start the Nal TSM - have to face my doctor this afternoon -if I can get in to see him that is - we usually get in the day we call but then get put in the chute and have to wait and wait. I'm determined to wait it out and then will have to tell him I'm an alcohol abuser!!! I'm just going to hate that!!! I've been to him for menopause issues, depression, not sleeping and on and on - now I'm coming up with something I've never mentioned before! Yikes! What do I really care though - he's a doctor for heaven sake right?

Your tale of the side effect of nausea scares me but the good advice I'm reading here about taking it with food, cutting dose in half and sticking it out so we don't have to keep starting over is good.

I'm sure we'll read your posts with interest - go for it!!!

I'm in week 4 of Nal and I still find I have to be really careful that I have a full stomach before taking the 50mg. I don't think wine will ever taste the same way it did before. Maybe I should just switch to a different wine? I'm a creature of habit. I've found when I've over done it with the wine my mind is still clear, very strange feeling like you're still in control of your actions definitely not like before tsm. Hang in there Rockola we're all moving to freedom.

I'm right with you guys. Starting week 6 and not much change, but have all the same notions and feelings as the rest of you. Love my wine, hate the taste during the first 5 or 6 sips, but 'manage' to not stop. I've not felt nauseous or anything, but I guess I make sure I take my nal with food in my tummy. I'm thinking maybe I need to increase my dosage but maybe I just haven't given the nal enough time to work yet. I did have an AF free day/night on Saturday though!! I'd say yippee, but I was feeling ill, so easy not to want to drink.

Welcome Rockola, to your new home! Glad you found this method and all my best to you and the other new hopefuls on here. We are all hoping for the best in whatever time frame it takes. My feeling is all the volatility you feel in the first week is a good signal it is working and will continue to work. Hang in - at least you are doing something about your drinking.

And keep a journal/tick marks on your calendar of your drinks. It's key and definitely part of the SM. Cheers and good luck! :-))