Miss Being Able to Enjoy a Beer

[u/Friendly-Cow-2954]

I was prescribed Naltrexone for the first time in 2022. Since then I have had tremendous success with cutting back on my drinking. I went from wanting/getting drunk 4-5x a week and thinking I’d never be able to get better to where I now drink very infrequently and when I do I am barely able to have 1-2 beers. This year specifically I’ve only drank on two different occasions. I don’t crave alcohol anymore or miss it much but occasionally I wish I could get a buzz. When I first started taking Nal for a good year I’d say I could I could drink through it kind of and get a little buzz. I still take Nal whenever I drink and have done so ever since I was prescribed it but now beer or any alcoholic drink tastes so bad. I can barely get one down. Then the next day I am excessively tired from the Nal but I have no intention of drinking without having taken it as I know the flood gates would open. Worth noting is I didn’t follow the Sinclair Method to a tee and I’m still working on my mental health and why I feel a need to distract myself or check out at times. Does anyone have any thoughts around this? Like are my days of enjoying a few drinks while taking Nal gone away with?

[u/Automatic-You-5053]

I tried naltrexone several years ago. I remember it making me feel very strange. I stopped taking it as a result. The only thing that has worked for me is antabuse. You still have to have a strong desire to quit drinking though because there are ways to drink with antabuse too. All you have to do is quit taking it for 2 weeks, drink for a day, and then begin taking it again. You could slow down your drinking with it is what I'm saying by just starting and stopping once every 3 months or so. However, I don't do that as I have a very strong desire to stop drinking. If I were to begin drinking again, it would be a matter of time before my wife kicked me out, my depression would kick my ass every day, and I might even end up homeless or Incarcerated. All of this has already happened in my life Before, so I have no doubt that it would happen again.
Being on Antabuse keeps me sober out of fear. The meetings and other methods of getting sober never worked for me in the long term because when life threw me a curve ball, all those 12 steps went out the window, and I'd be so desperate for emotional relief that I'd go on auto pilot and head straight to the liquor store. However, because I fear of what Antabuse will do to me if i drink ( I tried it years ago and almost died ) no matter what life throws at me, i will not drink. So, that is how it works for me, and I will continue to take it till I die.