Hi everyone,

I finally got my nal from ADC (it took 13 days, kinda what others have said). It is 50mg, Naltima brand, which people on this board seem to have said good things about. I bought a 6-pack of beer, which I will normally drink all of in one night if it's there.

I cut it in half based on the horror stories about side effects with the full 50mg. I took it right after eating, and 1 hour later had a beer. I couldn't be happier with how the nal worked for me. I actually went and checked the box to see if I had accidentally bough non-alcoholic beer. Nope, it was almost 5% alcohol, which is pretty substantial for beer.

I felt no desire to get a second beer. I made myself have another one anyway, because things usually get out of control for me once I get a buzz, which usually happens around beer 2 or 3 for me depending on how fast I drink. I made myself drink the second one pretty fast, because I wanted to see if the beer would take over if I got a buzz. I never got a buzz. So I had a third one, by which time I was really getting tired of the taste of the beer (I like beer, but this one was kind of sweet, a little overbearing). I tried to drink it as fast as I could to get some kind of effect from the alcohol, but I didn't feel like drinking it very fast. I was relieved when I was done with it, and had no desire to go get another beer from the fridge. That is completely abnormal for me after 3 beers. I did not feel any kind of buzz at all. I could tell that I was affected by the alcohol somewhat, but there was no warm, fuzzy feeling. I felt like what I imagine a normal person would feel like after 3 beers: very done. That part was so great!

The downside was the side effects. 1-2 hours after taking the pill, I didn't really feel any kind of side effects. I did have a headache, but I had it before I took the pill and it didn't seem any worse. But after 3 beers, I felt nauseated, and the headache seemed to get worse. I also felt dizzy, and a little anxious. I was tired and tried to go to sleep, but I woke up multiple times throughout the night feeling like I had a hangover. The good news is, this morning I felt 100% better! I would definitely rather feel under-the-weather at night and have only 3 drinks than feel like crap all the next day after getting drunk.

Despite the side effects, I will be taking this every time I drink from now on. I am really, really happy that I tried this method, and I hope it continues to work. However, I am aware of the "honeymoon effect" and so I am not doing a victory dance at this point. There were too many variables last night to assume that's how it will happen every time. Besides, I think the real test will be hard alcohol, because I always have more problems with that than with beer. I won't be able to test that out for a while because I am very broke right now, but as soon as I get a chance to test it, I will update everyone.

Does everyone find that the side effects decrease over time for them? I am a little concerned that if I am only drinking on the weekends, my body won't ever have a chance to grow tolerant to the side effects.

C,

Welcome.

My side effects went away after 2 Nals. But I took it every day for 2 weeks before I could muster an AF day. Not much help for your situation. However, glad to hear you can "feel" the initial impact. Honeymoon effect or not.

Later,
Christopher

hi cirque, good luck going on the nal wagon, first time I took it I binged, disappointingly, but I also felt much more together and in control, if binging and in control can go together. I drunk tons of water too, I still do get more thirsty on it. I also think I get heart palpitations a day or a couple of days after the nal dosage. In terms of side effects, I dunno, my hang overs are pretty hellish to not enable me to tell the difference with nal.

Christopher, thanks for the info. I am trying it for the second time tonight (also 25mg) hoping the side effects won't be as noticeable.

Joe, I was also pretty thirsty with the nal! I didn't think about it until you mentioned it. More water between drinks is never a bad thing. I'm sorry to hear that your first experience with nal wasn't that great, but props to you for sticking with it. From what people have written, it sounds like it takes a long time (longer than the book says) for a lot of people. The heart palpitations sound a little scary. Do you have a history of heart issues, or is it just a random thing that's only happened with nal?

Thanks to both of you for the encouragement; I am wishing you both lots of luck.

Cirque,

Did the side effects every go away?

Thank you for any update and I hope that you are doing well.

I'll be taking my first this Saturday. I'm wondering if some of the reported side affects are from physical withdrawal. Because if I have one beer I become physically ill, anxious, irregular heartbeat, stomach upset and that sort of thing till I have another one. So the way I am approaching it is that there is a two part addiction, one is the euphoric endorphin opioidergic response and the other is some sort of physical need for the poison. I could be wrong but that is the model I am working on. So I wonder if one becomes nauseous or has heart palps if it's simply because they went from 10 drinks per night down to two for example in a very short period of time.

According to the theory, which is very well documented and sound, we can cause the opioidergic response to go into extinction, that's the important part, and eventually as you slowly detox then the physical craving becomes less till it's not a bother anymore. But to do it over night might cause some problems.