New here and starting Topa and with a question

[meggie]

Really, what or how is the Bac working. Have you cut down on your drinking, do you want to quit or just cut back? How long have you had a problem with drinking? Funny how time flies, I think I have had a problem for about 10 years. I became concerned in 2007 and quit for a year on the topa. Then I quit in 2011 for 8 months.

[Mom21961]

Really, what or how is the Bac working. Have you cut down on your drinking, do you want to quit or just cut back? How long have you had a problem with drinking? Funny how time flies, I think I have had a problem for about 10 years. I became concerned in 2007 and quit for a year on the topa. Then I quit in 2011 for 8 months.

Yes, curtailed and lately seem to be reaching that elusive indifference point.

[meggie]

I kind of have an indifference point and wonder if it is just a habit. I use it as a reward for a productive or nonproductive day. I wish I could find something else to use to wind down at night. I have used tea but drink it too fast.
How does the bac work on the brain. I understand how Nal is suppose to work.

[Mom21961]

Terryk and some of our other experts like Otter could answer this better, but it essentially works by targeting GABAb receptors. If you're interested, I would suggest downloading Dr. Ameisen's the end of my addiction. He talks a lot about this in there. Or peruse this study:
Suppression of Alcohol Dependence Using Baclofen: A 2-Year Observational Study of 100 Patients
M

[Spiritfree]

I kind of have an indifference point and wonder if it is just a habit. I use it as a reward for a productive or nonproductive day. I wish I could find something else to use to wind down at night. I have used tea but drink it too fast.
How does the bac work on the brain. I understand how Nal is suppose to work.

Great post!

[houtx770]

Hello all - just checking in. Nothing to add about NAL or anything else right now. Just saying hi & hope alls well!

[sunshinedaisies]

Hey there everyone - just thought it was time to pop in and update you on what has happened with me. The Naltrexone has finally flipped the switch! I was totally AF all last week - did not even WANT a drink - the whole thing is surreal. Yesterday I decided to have one (taking the nal way before I had one of course), drank half of it, and then got a second (habit) - topped up my glass and had one mouthful of it - and then tipped the lot out! I really did not want it at all. It took me 11 months on the Nal - and I was really good about following the Golden Rule - i.e. taking the nal every time before I drank - I thought it was never going to work for me - but it finally has ! I am totally made up ! I keep thinking each day that it is going to have gone away - it is just unbelievable that I am finally there ! AND if I want a drink ever (like Christmas day) I can take my nal - and have a drink! I am finally like a normal person !!!!! NO cravings for AL! YEAH !!!!!!!! :happy2: :happy2: :sohappy: :sohappy:

Sun xx

[Mike!]

Hi Sun, Naltrexone sounds amazing, very happy for you! :-)

[sunshinedaisies]

Mike - it has taken me 11 months but I am finally there! NO cravings - no urge to drink - had one on Sunday and ended up tipping it out ! I can finally drink like a normal person! The only thing is that for the rest of my life, if I ever do have a drink, I must take a naltrexone at least an hour ahead of time - but that is something I can live with to get this monkey off my back!

Sun

[Mike!]

Hi Sun

11 months probably felt like a long time, but now you've got no desire to drink and I think that's fantastic. I've been seriously trying to give up drinking for over 10 years and the best I managed was 3 months without a drink, and even then I found it really hard to walk past a pub or get home after a stressful day at work without wanting to 'reward' myself for not drinking, as stupid as that is.

Meds obviously work differently for everyone, but the idea of having a glass of wine, filling the second glass and then pouring it out just blew me away - naltrexone sounds like a magic pill for you, albeit a one that takes a long time to work :-)

And the fact you can drink when you want for socialising is an amazing bonus. As a side note my friends were always big drinkers, and the first time I had a night out without drinking I was expecting all sorts of ridicule, I even thought they might try to spike my drink or something, but they were absolutely cool with it after the initial shock of seeing me with a pint of lemonade. So if anyone else has the anxiety I had about socialising without alcohol, you'd be surprised how people just don't consider it an issue if you don't want to get bladdered like them.

[sunshinedaisies]

Wk ---- am ---- pm

1 --- 25
1-2 --- 25, 25,
2-3 --- 50, 50,
3-4 --- 75, 75,
4-5 --- 100, 100,
6-? --- 100, 200,



And that is it - it really does no good to try and go up faster - and I found that it never works as well a second time - the first time was the charm for me. Oh - one thing I did forget about was the topa-dopa effect! You might find yourself not being able to think of a word or something - I put that down to age when it happened to me but it can be a side effect! Also - I drank diet fizzy drinks from a can and they tasted tinny - and as my drink of choice was Guinness that also had an odd taste for me - so beer will possibly if you drink that - from a can anyway!

The Nal has been amazing - I have been on The Sinclair Method and although it has taken nearly a year, to me there was no alternative. Maybe worth thinking about for you? You will always have to take the Topa daily - or the cravings will come back - with the Nal once it works, you only take it when you are going to drink - there is a book by Roy Eskapa that explains it if you are interested - I can direct you to a PDF copy of it.

All the best, sun

[meggie]

Mike, you also sound English. I have been on this site since 2007. I have had many ups and downs. I quit for a year with the topa and then again in 2011 for 8 months. Since then I have had only a couple of AF days. I am also trying the Nal and have been working it for 4 and half months. I have cut my drinking in half but I need and want to completely quit and not drink at all. What are you using.

[sunshinedaisies]

Cross post Meggie - and Mike does not know that I am English - LOL Mike - I am a Transplanted Brit living in USA !

Hugs, sun

[Mike!]

Thanks for the schedule Sun, looking forward to giving topamax a go. If you could send me a link to the Roy Eskapa book I'd appreciate it, always interested in reading up on new things.

Meggie, I'm just about to start on topomax tomorrow. I'd tried baclofen about a year ago but only took it for a month because of the side effects. Let us know how you get on with Nal, it looks very good but I realise everyone is different and it might not be for me. Halving (halfing?) your alcohol is still a massive improvement, good job :-)

Thanks, Mike

[meggie]

Thanks Mike. I liked the topa and it did work for me and it worked for me at 75 ml. I went a whole year not drinking. But as Sun says, it didn't work the second time around. I did have difficulty with the dopa and I worked up very slowly. I also had to work the Nal slowly, more slowly then most . I need to find something that will help me quit all together. I am not really a drinker or never was. I can go out to a wedding, or any activity and not drink. I just drink alone at night. It is really a bad habit.