Good Morning Brittany! I hope that you are feeling okay this morning - I know how you feel about wondering if the Nal is going to work or not and that you might have made a mistake, but you really are not far in yet! It can take a year or even more as evidenced by Chris a little while ago - it took her two years - but all of a sudden she was there ! If you always follow the rule, eventually it will work - but as UKBlonde says, you also have to put some effort in too - it is not a magic bullet. You might have to change some friends - and I understand how the drink has been a huge part of your life so it will probably be really hard to live without AL - for you, the whole life is going to be different. But it is that way for a lot of us - when AL has been such a big part of our life, we need to replace it with something.

Yes I would love to meet up with you - I am off to UK Sunday and then moving when I get back - but we will plan on something beginning to mid June - I think it would be good for both of us ! I will PM you .....

In the meantime, hang in there -

Hugs, Maggie x

Some trying times right now. Grandmother died last week. Father-in-law with S4 pancreatic cancer... going soon. All in all things are still going well. Drinking obsession is still greatly reduced. I still drink too much - but it is a far cry from what I was before.

Sometimes when I take my Nal I feel like I don't want to "waste" it... so I should drink more. It's a very subtile feeling, but it's there none the less. Weird. Still I drink less than before. It's so cool. I feel more in control. Just trying to keep up the practice of moderation. GL all!

Brittany.....are you okay ? It is a while since you posted. How are you doing ? Pop in and let us know, okay?

Hugs, Maggie x

McDad I have responded to your post on your thread....... Hang in there,

Hugs, Maggie x

I'm here. Thanks for checking in on me. I have been doing pretty good. I am still a long way from being cured but overall I have greatly reduced my weeknight drinking , entirely eliminated my weekday drinking, & I have only awakend in the middle of the night to drink a couple of times since starting the pill.

I still have about one or two rough days a week, but that is down from 4 or 5 rough days a week. I still have not managed an alcohol free day... I just feel like I have to have at least a nightcap to fall asleep.

drinking and driving is greatly reduced. I even bought a portable breathalyzer that is supposed to be pretty accurate, and I have not driven over the legal limit since then! Which is a huge safety and social responsibility breakthrough.

social life has been balancing out as I'm getting used to less alcohol. I'm a lot quieter than I used to be, & a lot more relaxed. I don't feel as high strung as I used to.

overall things are pretty good.

Good to hear from you Brittany.....sounds as if things are moving along slowly, but at least they are moving ! Keep posting.....

Hugs, Maggie x

being relaxed is HUGE, brittany! sure beats being agitated on AL. keep up the good work.

I haven't posted in a while because I've been sort of ashamed. I know all the information I've read says that after an initial honeymoon period, drinking may return to at least pre-nal levels... and it definitely has. I know all the information says as well that it can take a long time, six months or a year, to be fully effective, and i'm not even 2.5 months in, but I'm worried that all this pill-taking and proselytizing about the wonders of nal are for naught.

What if it's not working? I know it's only a matter of time before I get a DUI or worse. I CANNOT be in certain social situations without drinking, and I still find it hard to be alone without drinking. The only situations in which I definitely feel like I've improved are in small groups... I have the guts to not drink in those types of situations. But when I'm by myself or when I'm in large groups I feel like I have to drink to survive the boredom or pressure, respectively.

I feel I should maybe be in therapy to address some of this, but the whole reason nal was attractive to me is because I thought maybe I could fix my problem privately and with dignity without having to admit a bunch of weaknesses (face to face)...

Anyway. Hope you all are doing well. Better than I am. I'm not despondent, I'm not depressed, I'm just worried and questioning.

Brittany

I am about 6 months in and feel exactly like you. I need to drink when alone, even if it's just a couple of drinks. But, a couple of drinks is better than 2 bottles of wine. In my hey day, I could polish off 3litres in a day......so I have definitely improved.

Having said all that I still can be a bit despondent, but what on earth am I thinking...."that one little pill will do all the work!!"......with no effort from myself??

So this week I am endeavouring to make more of an effort.

Yesterday I had 6 UK units,last week I was doing 12+ !

I too had the honeymoon period, then drinking shot up, like I had given myself permission to drink! Which I believe is true.

What is the alternative, stop the NAL and go back to the way I was...NO THANKS. My weight is stable, my face is not puffy and I'm going to the gym 4 times a week.

All in all I can't complain, but I do understand your plight, and also it's more difficult when you have no one to account to...others may disagree, but that's my opinion.

I hope this help and my thoughts are with you.

Love Summer

I have the same thoughts too Brittany, so please don't be ashamed..............you are not alone in wondering if it is going to work for you. But what is the alternative? AA.......not for me. Willpower..........I've tried it. So I am putting my faith in this. And of course I agree with summerglow, and many others who have said the pill alone can't do it. I just wish I had a little more willpower or whatever it is that allows you to do the part the pill won't do.

Don't apologize for not posting if its not where you are at...........but we will be here if it helps you. At least I will be, for the long haul, because I want to get better and I have nowhere else to go.

Hugs from Newlife