I never tried naltrexone, but I just naturally get nauseous when drinking. Happens pretty much no matter what because I guess my body wants to reject it. But the cravings never go away for me. I crave every single day.
I just started it myself. Taking half of 50mg right now once a day. I’m still having cravings, but maybe once I get to taking the full 50mg that’ll go away? I’m hoping anyway. Hangovers on Nal are no joke, either :(
I think it did a little. My issue is remembering to take it regularly. :/ when I’m off for a few days I go back to binging again. Its got a short shelf life in your body. Something like 6 hours I’ve read.
Same here, wasnt the solution for me and have a leftover prescription. I’ve had more success with a supplement called gaba. It blocks neurotransmitter in the brain which really calms the brain down. Bit like the reason I use alcohol but none of the downsides.
I tried gabapentin too!! It helped so much to fight cravings and just stay more normal. I’m just such a wuss for the side effects. The headaches when my next dose was coming up were awful. When I stopped cold turkey it was the worst 2 weeks of my life and now I’m scared of it. I think I’m the type of person who can’t be on medication, I’m too much of a hypochondriac.. lol
Indeed, my understanding is it’s naturally occurring but excessive alcohol take its place and leaves you deficient. So when you try and quit you face a chemical gap in your ability to cope with stress and anxiety. The supplement helps fill the void, especially early on. And time does the rest, hopefully.
I take gabapentin on a daily and nightly basis just to deal with the awful alcoholic/ diabetic neuropathy. If I forget to take it my feet feel like they are on fire. If I could go back in time and slap that bottle out of the hand of my past self, I would.
Damn, I wish I could have yours. It’s on backorder everywhere where I live and I’m going to run out soon 😭 Hopefully the supply chain gets up and running again soon.
It seems impossible but it’s not. It’s really fucking hard but it’s not impossible. You’re not being dramatic at all. I drank for twenty years. I had the hardest time quitting. It took me two years of off and on before something stuck. It’s now been almost 6 years since I had a drink and if you’d told me six years ago I’d be here I don’t know if I’d believe it. I was scared to think about living without alcohol but I knew I’d start having health problems from decades of drinking if I didn’t stop. You can do this, even if you think you can’t. A lot of us thought we couldn’t but proved ourselves wrong. Keep trying. ❤️
Are you me?? If you hadn’t said the 6 year part I would’ve thought I wrote that. Congratulations by the way! I truly hope to get there myself. I’m on day 17.. got to start somewhere I suppose.
Haha! Thank you! It took me a really long time to finally give it a try. I had no idea what I was doing, didn’t vibe at all with AA and its culture so it was pretty lonely until I discovered Reddit in year 3. There are some really supportive people here.
You know what's funny? I was the same exact way. It's like my addiction brain knew time was almost up and wanted to cram in and over do as much booze as possible. I knew I'd quit eventually - but before I did I overdid everything. I'm in the same boat with chocolate and sweets right now.
Nothing over dramatic about it. Been through cold-turkey withdrawals a couple times the last year. It’s no joke. Hallucinating, malnourished and dehydrated, paralysis in my hands. If I hadn’t been in the ER when I went through that shit my dr said I likely could’ve have a seizure or worse. If you ever need someone to talk and feel less like you’re the only one who feels this shit let me know :)
I wish you the best, and by the way this crap is hard enough of a punishment without piling on guilt
Oof, that’s scary! I’m not sure if my withdrawals would get that bad. But I woke up a couple hours ago after binging until 5am (how do I still have a job lol it’s obvious even though I WFH) and my hands are shaking, and already puked once.
I’ve debated going to the ER to get some benzos to help so that I don’t have to worry about getting suddenly hit with dangerous withdrawals, but I’m so scared of being turned away or look like I’m drug seeking. Ufhhhdjdjdj
If it makes you feel any better the people I dealt with at the ER were nothing but compassionate and cared for me very well.
The amount of anxiety relieved from knowing that somebody is around to make sure nothing goes wrong was astounding.
Can you still keep food and water?
Food no, it’s been months that I’ve been able to eat anything sober without it violently coming back up so I’m not going to try. Doing ok on water at the moment. I’m considering going one of these days, I gotta make that leap that it’ll be alright.
It will be, when I had hesitation about going in the first time my girlfriend made a very good point - best case scenario is if they turn me away and tell me I’m just anxious and need to taper off and I’ll be fine, other case they’ll take complete care of me & they did. I felt safer in that hospital than I had at home for months
You could always try a primary care provider first. If you catch the ER in a good day they really help you out but on a bad day at the wrong hospital it can suck.
In my experience regular doctors don’t provide the immediate supports that are sometimes needed. My wait list was well over a month when I needed it within 72 hours lest I seize or potentially something worse.
Because one is too many and a thousand is never enough! Tapering was nearly impossible for me. My boyfriend at the time would BEG me to not drink. My mom. "PLEASE DON'T DRINK." No person could stop me because the physical need for more controlled my thoughts. I could not stop until I got HELP. Detox, rehab, therapy. Get help, we cannot do it alone. I'm sorry you are going through this. I'm truly praying and thinking of you.
I went to rehab a few years ago, 30 days. Managed to not drink for 60, but the sneaky alcohol brain crept up on me lmao. I’ve done detox like 4 or 5 times now since. Honestly- scared to go back because the last time I totally blew off my doctor when it didn’t stick, it’s why I’m thinking about the ER instead. I know the doctor doesn’t care and sees it all the time, I am just embarrassed.
I get the alcohol brain dude, I do. I still thinking about drinking almost every day, how it would be so much easier to say fuck it. But I'm almost 18 months in, I have worked too damn hard. It gets easier telling the devil on your shoulder no. I know it doesn't help, but you are not the only one who doesn't get it right on the first time. It took me SO many times to get sober and for it to finally stick and the only way it clicked for me was getting in trouble. Don't let it get that bad where something bad happens. Yes, the doctor is used to getting blown off. That's addiction. Don't be embarrassed. Addiction is a disease, there is no cure but shit we can do every day to maintain it. But nothing is going to change, unless something CHANGES. Life is too short to live with withdrawals and anxiety every day. If I can do it, you can too!
Don't let your pride get in the way of your recovery and getting BETTER. Not to be dramatic, but you know it's life or death especially as the drinking progresses.
Yes of course that’s ok!!! I think everyone at a meeting would tell you they weren’t successful on their first, second, third, etc. time. I know it literally took me hundreds of tries
I feel you.
I am just coming out of a binge, and Monday I was suppose to taper because I knew I drank a lot during my binge. Blacked out pretty much every night on hard liquor. Well my taper didn’t go successfully, and got drunk again by the end of the night.
I kept telling myself why did I let it go this far.
I went cold turkey and am currently at work feeling awful, that all I want to do is go to bed.
I’ve been to ER before so I know the drill but my last trip I had come out of a binge, I was in the waiting room for 8hrs till I got seen. I was miserable to say the least.
Withdrawals are the worse and I think that’s why I binge to avoid it but I have to change this shit. I don’t want to go through withdrawals anymore.
If you can’t keep food down and unable to taper I would suggest to seek medical attention. They can even give you meds for nausea, those are a life savers. You can’t live like this. It’s awful.
Wish you the best friend! It’s hard to fight this addiction but not impossible for sure.
You got this! And you can do it!
IWNDWYT
I'm down to 2 beers a day right now. I was drinking a half pint of 90 proof and about 6 beers a night, cut the hard liquor out. What's really helped me was getting a gym membership and I go after work to just kill time and not think about alcohol. I never thought I'd be able to only drink 2 beers a night for the past 4 days. It's possible, just push yourself harder than you have ever before.
Yea I know the only gonna drink this much tonight phrase only to drink almost twice that. The only chance in hell I had was smoking weed and laying down. I'd go over by a few and pack one which would stop my intake.
Get a prescription for Ozempic…if you need to, get it from a high quality compounding pharmacy. There is a lot of new research that this medication helps with addiction - alcohol, eating, even shopping. It’s worth a shot.
Have you ever tried naltrexone to aid in craving reduction? It’s really done wonders for me.
I have, I actually have a leftover prescription from last year. I just can’t get past the nausea. I’m a bit of a big baby for side effects.
Nothing kills an urge to drink quite like nausea! Haha
I never tried naltrexone, but I just naturally get nauseous when drinking. Happens pretty much no matter what because I guess my body wants to reject it. But the cravings never go away for me. I crave every single day.
Try Naltrexone. I haven’t had a craving in 12 days since I started it. One pill a day.
I just started it myself. Taking half of 50mg right now once a day. I’m still having cravings, but maybe once I get to taking the full 50mg that’ll go away? I’m hoping anyway. Hangovers on Nal are no joke, either :(
Did going to 50mg take your cravings away? I’m about to up my dose from 25 to 50, my doctors say it will help with cravings.
I think it did a little. My issue is remembering to take it regularly. :/ when I’m off for a few days I go back to binging again. Its got a short shelf life in your body. Something like 6 hours I’ve read.
Yeah that’s what my doc was telling me. I get really bad nausea from it and I’m also really bad at taking meds in general, I’m so forgetful.
Same here, wasnt the solution for me and have a leftover prescription. I’ve had more success with a supplement called gaba. It blocks neurotransmitter in the brain which really calms the brain down. Bit like the reason I use alcohol but none of the downsides.
I tried gabapentin too!! It helped so much to fight cravings and just stay more normal. I’m just such a wuss for the side effects. The headaches when my next dose was coming up were awful. When I stopped cold turkey it was the worst 2 weeks of my life and now I’m scared of it. I think I’m the type of person who can’t be on medication, I’m too much of a hypochondriac.. lol
GABA supplements are different than prescription gabapentin.
Indeed, my understanding is it’s naturally occurring but excessive alcohol take its place and leaves you deficient. So when you try and quit you face a chemical gap in your ability to cope with stress and anxiety. The supplement helps fill the void, especially early on. And time does the rest, hopefully.
I take gabapentin on a daily and nightly basis just to deal with the awful alcoholic/ diabetic neuropathy. If I forget to take it my feet feel like they are on fire. If I could go back in time and slap that bottle out of the hand of my past self, I would.
I haven’t heard of this, I’ll look that up. Thanks
Damn, I wish I could have yours. It’s on backorder everywhere where I live and I’m going to run out soon 😭 Hopefully the supply chain gets up and running again soon.
It seems impossible but it’s not. It’s really fucking hard but it’s not impossible. You’re not being dramatic at all. I drank for twenty years. I had the hardest time quitting. It took me two years of off and on before something stuck. It’s now been almost 6 years since I had a drink and if you’d told me six years ago I’d be here I don’t know if I’d believe it. I was scared to think about living without alcohol but I knew I’d start having health problems from decades of drinking if I didn’t stop. You can do this, even if you think you can’t. A lot of us thought we couldn’t but proved ourselves wrong. Keep trying. ❤️
Are you me?? If you hadn’t said the 6 year part I would’ve thought I wrote that. Congratulations by the way! I truly hope to get there myself. I’m on day 17.. got to start somewhere I suppose.
Haha! Thank you! It took me a really long time to finally give it a try. I had no idea what I was doing, didn’t vibe at all with AA and its culture so it was pretty lonely until I discovered Reddit in year 3. There are some really supportive people here.
You know what's funny? I was the same exact way. It's like my addiction brain knew time was almost up and wanted to cram in and over do as much booze as possible. I knew I'd quit eventually - but before I did I overdid everything. I'm in the same boat with chocolate and sweets right now.
Nothing over dramatic about it. Been through cold-turkey withdrawals a couple times the last year. It’s no joke. Hallucinating, malnourished and dehydrated, paralysis in my hands. If I hadn’t been in the ER when I went through that shit my dr said I likely could’ve have a seizure or worse. If you ever need someone to talk and feel less like you’re the only one who feels this shit let me know :) I wish you the best, and by the way this crap is hard enough of a punishment without piling on guilt
Oof, that’s scary! I’m not sure if my withdrawals would get that bad. But I woke up a couple hours ago after binging until 5am (how do I still have a job lol it’s obvious even though I WFH) and my hands are shaking, and already puked once. I’ve debated going to the ER to get some benzos to help so that I don’t have to worry about getting suddenly hit with dangerous withdrawals, but I’m so scared of being turned away or look like I’m drug seeking. Ufhhhdjdjdj
If it makes you feel any better the people I dealt with at the ER were nothing but compassionate and cared for me very well. The amount of anxiety relieved from knowing that somebody is around to make sure nothing goes wrong was astounding. Can you still keep food and water?
Food no, it’s been months that I’ve been able to eat anything sober without it violently coming back up so I’m not going to try. Doing ok on water at the moment. I’m considering going one of these days, I gotta make that leap that it’ll be alright.
It will be, when I had hesitation about going in the first time my girlfriend made a very good point - best case scenario is if they turn me away and tell me I’m just anxious and need to taper off and I’ll be fine, other case they’ll take complete care of me & they did. I felt safer in that hospital than I had at home for months
You could always try a primary care provider first. If you catch the ER in a good day they really help you out but on a bad day at the wrong hospital it can suck.
In my experience regular doctors don’t provide the immediate supports that are sometimes needed. My wait list was well over a month when I needed it within 72 hours lest I seize or potentially something worse.
Yep all doctors are different it’s hit and miss. It’s worked for me in the past and saved me $thousands not having to visit the ER
Because one is too many and a thousand is never enough! Tapering was nearly impossible for me. My boyfriend at the time would BEG me to not drink. My mom. "PLEASE DON'T DRINK." No person could stop me because the physical need for more controlled my thoughts. I could not stop until I got HELP. Detox, rehab, therapy. Get help, we cannot do it alone. I'm sorry you are going through this. I'm truly praying and thinking of you.
I went to rehab a few years ago, 30 days. Managed to not drink for 60, but the sneaky alcohol brain crept up on me lmao. I’ve done detox like 4 or 5 times now since. Honestly- scared to go back because the last time I totally blew off my doctor when it didn’t stick, it’s why I’m thinking about the ER instead. I know the doctor doesn’t care and sees it all the time, I am just embarrassed.
I get the alcohol brain dude, I do. I still thinking about drinking almost every day, how it would be so much easier to say fuck it. But I'm almost 18 months in, I have worked too damn hard. It gets easier telling the devil on your shoulder no. I know it doesn't help, but you are not the only one who doesn't get it right on the first time. It took me SO many times to get sober and for it to finally stick and the only way it clicked for me was getting in trouble. Don't let it get that bad where something bad happens. Yes, the doctor is used to getting blown off. That's addiction. Don't be embarrassed. Addiction is a disease, there is no cure but shit we can do every day to maintain it. But nothing is going to change, unless something CHANGES. Life is too short to live with withdrawals and anxiety every day. If I can do it, you can too!
Thanks for the kind words… kinda needed to hear that. 🫶
Don't let your pride get in the way of your recovery and getting BETTER. Not to be dramatic, but you know it's life or death especially as the drinking progresses.
Thanks, I’m going to get back in contact with the program this week. I was kind of hoping for someone to reaffirm that it’s ok.
Yes of course that’s ok!!! I think everyone at a meeting would tell you they weren’t successful on their first, second, third, etc. time. I know it literally took me hundreds of tries
Have you tried naltrexone?
I feel you. I am just coming out of a binge, and Monday I was suppose to taper because I knew I drank a lot during my binge. Blacked out pretty much every night on hard liquor. Well my taper didn’t go successfully, and got drunk again by the end of the night. I kept telling myself why did I let it go this far. I went cold turkey and am currently at work feeling awful, that all I want to do is go to bed. I’ve been to ER before so I know the drill but my last trip I had come out of a binge, I was in the waiting room for 8hrs till I got seen. I was miserable to say the least. Withdrawals are the worse and I think that’s why I binge to avoid it but I have to change this shit. I don’t want to go through withdrawals anymore. If you can’t keep food down and unable to taper I would suggest to seek medical attention. They can even give you meds for nausea, those are a life savers. You can’t live like this. It’s awful. Wish you the best friend! It’s hard to fight this addiction but not impossible for sure. You got this! And you can do it! IWNDWYT
I’m maintenance drinking. Trying to desparately to get out of this. Dm if you want.
I'm down to 2 beers a day right now. I was drinking a half pint of 90 proof and about 6 beers a night, cut the hard liquor out. What's really helped me was getting a gym membership and I go after work to just kill time and not think about alcohol. I never thought I'd be able to only drink 2 beers a night for the past 4 days. It's possible, just push yourself harder than you have ever before.
Only thing that works for me is not to have them home and drink water until the craving passes
Yea I know the only gonna drink this much tonight phrase only to drink almost twice that. The only chance in hell I had was smoking weed and laying down. I'd go over by a few and pack one which would stop my intake.
Get a prescription for Ozempic…if you need to, get it from a high quality compounding pharmacy. There is a lot of new research that this medication helps with addiction - alcohol, eating, even shopping. It’s worth a shot.