People in Moderation Management share experiences of naltrexone use

Netty's story - 41 y/o woman takes control! - mm@maelstrom.stjohns.edu - 6/19/2001

Hi everyone. I've never posted to this list, but I did
post to the wonderfully supportive folks on the MMinAZ
list many times over the past couple years. I've made
it through a couple 30s, and tried (unsucessfully) to
maintain my moderate drinking goals. Unfortunately, I
always creep back to my 6-pack/day habit, and back to
feeling like a weak-willed failure.

While surfing the net about two weeks ago, I came
across an article on Naltrexone (an opiate antagonist
which does not alter mood and is non-addictive) that
has been extremely helpful in treating alcohol
dependency.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, my goal, (at
least for the foreseeable future), is controlled
(moderate) drinking in accordance with MM guidelines,
and completely eliminating drinking behavior that's
tied to blocking uncomfortable feelings. Specifically,
I'm going to work diligently on avoiding drinking as
self-medication to kill unpleasant angry/anxious
feelings. I haven't set a 30 day alcohol-free stretch
on Naltrexone as my primary goal since I've already
accomplished two 30-day abstinence stretches by choice
and "will-power" in the past year. (I've actually had
4 beers over the past week because I wanted to test
the drug -- and yes, it does kill the desire to drink
by taking the buzz out of it completely). But ...
after only one week on Naltrexone, I'm getting a
better handle on my self-defeating drinking "triggers"
without the distraction of alcohol craving.

For instance, last night I had a particularly stressful
evening (after a stressful work day) with my little girls
who were fighting. I took 50mg NAX at work about 5:00pm,
'cause I know for a fact that coming home to overtired,
hungry children is a recipe for guaranteed drinking on
my part. I did get angry last night, very angry.
But I had absolutely no desire to drink to deal
with the anger.

I spent a lot of time talking about the anger/drinking
connection with my husband last night. The previous
30-day abstinence periods when I became angry, all I
could think about was having a beer, and feeling
sorry for myself because I "couldn't" since I made a
promise to myself I wouldn't. I never got to the point
where I constructively dealt with the anger, 'cause I
was wrapped up with my overwhelming physcial/emotional
desire (CRAVING!) for alcohol. This drug effectively
eliminates that overwhelming distraction which can
mean the difference between successfully moderating
(or abstaining, if that's your goal) and falling into
the life-sucking grip of alcohol.

The awesome part about the NAX is the feeling that I
have complete control over my choice to drink (without
beating myself up about my lack of self-control) in a
manner which is not detrimental to my physical or
mental health. It's certainly liberating to deal with
unpleasant feelings I've buried through daily, heavy
drinking, and have (up until now) been rather
ineffectual at dealing with when I'm not drinking.

I invite anyone out there struggling with problem
drinking to explore this opportunity to reduce your
drinking and change life-draining habits before
moderation is no longer a viable option for you.
Spread the word, and do your research. I think you'll
be very impressed -- I know I'm a believer!

Netty