I understand that the honeymoon period is common, but this is really something. This pill absolutely crushes my desire to keep drinking. I mean I feel like I'm in some other person's head. Maybe this is temporary?

It's freaky. I take the pill an hour before the first drink. Pop the drink, and nothing happens. There is no glow, no buzz, no nothing. Flat. I get how this would make someone not drink after awhile.

This Labor Day weekend my drink count will increase, but it will be because I'm away visiting friends and with that comes drinking (although they aren't heavy drinkers). Before NAL, on this type of weekend I would normally drink a ton of whiskey, beer, and wine. My guess is that each night I'll drink 6-8 drinks. Pre-NAL I would drink probably drink 15-20 drinks per night. I suppose it's possible that I will drink that much this weekend, but I doubt it. We'll see.

I guess I see what it's like to be a normal drinker on NAL. But that is not my goal. Alcohol in small doses has zero appeal to me. I have never understood problem drinkers like me claiming that they want to drink normally. I don't want to drink normally, I want to get hammered. I'm not interested in having one or two beers and calling it a night. Hopefully NAL will help me get to abstinence. I'm hopeful that it will.

If it ends up that I just end up drinking less, I guess i can live with it.

You'll end up doing what you consciously choose to, rather than what you're unconsciously driven to.

It's a bit curious, as I drinking on Nal really didn't feel that much different to me. But TSM still erased the "booze porn" that prejudiced my free choice as to whether or not I would be drinking come 5pm.

This bodes well though, you're getting a pretty clear confirmation from the Nal that this is going to work for you. NB, eveybody's chart jumps around a good deal. To see one that is a smooth curve from start to end is quite unusual. Now that you're cutting off the the bulk of the pleasure from drinking, the brain circuit that drove the addiction will most likely become more sensitive and reach out harder for it's old buddy. That's when you'll see your numbers pop back up, so don't be disappointed if that happens. Your drinking levels will roll off more slowly from there.

I consciously wanted to drink like a normal person Joe - but cannot force myself to drink! It is really somewhat ironic I suppose - I just do not want to - but wish I did! We are never satisfied!

Lessdrinkin - that rather amazed me that you just want to get hammered. Why? Don't you get hangovers? And when you say that you will be with friends and thus drinking - if you are drinking for longer than 12 hours, you probably need to pop another nal.

Have a great weekend, Hugs, Maggie

Joe that's really interesting to read that the drinking didn't feel much different on NAL. I have noticed that many others say the same thing. We are all different that way I guess.

Lessdrinkin - that rather amazed me that you just want to get hammered. Why? Don't you get hangovers? And when you say that you will be with friends and thus drinking - if you are drinking for longer than 12 hours, you probably need to pop another nal.


Maggie- Yes, sad but true. Maybe "hammered" isn't the right word, but I wanted to drink enough to be somewhere else mentally. It wasn't that I wanted to be drunk, I just wanted to get away from my own thoughts for awhile. I have struggled my whole life to calm my head down, I want tranquility. Alcohol was the only thing that got me close to it. That feeling of being a little numb. But that ship has sailed, I have to grow up and quit drinking like a frat boy. And yes I did get hangovers, but it didn't matter. I would drink the next night anyway.

As you drink less, it might be good to work on that stuff that bothers you. The recurrent stuff can come from the hippocampus (keeps contextual memories) and the Anterior Cingulate (helps you identify things you're doing wrong). Especially if you're depressed, that system can get stuck in a bit of a loop. As you drink less, the brain can repair itself and the hippocampus (which shrinks when there's constant stress) can grow new cells and become larger again. Check out "The Upward Spiral" by Alex Korb for a nuts and bolts approach to depression and a description of what the individual parts of the brain specialize in. It also talks about the Striatum, where a lot of addictions live. Not your usual "Positive Thinking" approach, for sure.

I mention this because the people that I read of that get close to pharmacological extinction and then start drinking off Nal in a big way often have underlying issues that cause a big upset for them (at least from my POV). I, for instance, am dysthymic and while that went well with boozing, I've been far enough down the road with TSM that when I get stressed, booze just doesn't show up on the menu of remedies for the situation anymore. And I get stressed considerably less than when I was boozing, so part of the problem fixed itself. So, I guess what I'm saying is keep an eye on things and make sure you're winning some ground on that front too.

you're experiencing a lot of what I have. I EMBRACED drinking in quantity and I just can't go there anymore. yesterday was opening day of college football, which I love watching and drinking beer to. 3 beers on the whole day was all I could manage. I may has well had tea, for all I cared...

embrace it and go with it. you may drink less, or you may not drink at all. Nal can be a real lifesaver for some of us.

Over the weekend I drank a fair amount of alcohol, (about 10-12 drinks each day over a long period- about a drink an hour) but what a different experience. I was drinking but not getting high, and really just stupidly drinking because it was a party atmosphere.

I didn't get drunk, which is progress because normally I would be blasted. In this situation I would normally have drank 20 plus drinks and been the drunkest guy there. Also I would have woken up with regrets and haunting visions of the previous night. These things did not happen. Even with the booze drinking, I feel like I made progress.

This weekend I realized that I can give up alcohol and drink minimally or complete abstinence. I am excited that NAL works so well. Going to start having AF days and on the days I do drink I'm expecting it to be 2-3 drinks.

Hi Zontar- I can relate. Sports and gambling on sports is a big one for me. I think I am on my way to very low or zero alcohol consumption soon. We will see. Hope all is well for you.