Hello everyone,

I never thought in a million that i would be typing these words but its obvious that nal has done its job with me. I am cured. I no longer care if I drink and when I do its 1 drink maybe 2. It was a very long 42 weeks and I want to really make this point. Although the book "The cure for alcoholism" states 3 months on average, it takes most people much more time. I remember being frustrated and doubtful, spending money on DNA testing, taking all kinds of supplements like l-Glutamine and Kudzu. But in the end, it was the nal that made the difference. That and a forced abstinence for a few weeks following many weeks of drinking, which gave me a different perspective on my consumption, my life and my health. This was just my path, and there is a different one for each of us. It doesn't matter how you get there, just that you do. So have faith in TSM and this forum which is a wonderful place to gain and give support and meet others who are in the same boat as you.

Thank you to all who supported me. i greatly appreciate your time and effort to read my posts and give me thoughtful advice. Like I mentioned yesterday in my weekly progress report, I'll be checking in on you guys to see how you are progressing through TSM. I wish all of you the best of luck in 2012. Once you are free life is really good. Just keep going, YOU WILL GET THERE.

Warm wishes and nal on,

Hi Nalway - congratulations!


Very true.

I'm curious about the period of forced abstinence, as it seems like this tactic helped other members reach a "cured" state (Andy M is one that comes to mind). Would you care to expand a little bit on why you decided to take this approach? I'll go back and read through your thread a bit.

Great job on the weight loss too! You must really feel like a whole new person right now.

Best,

-H

Hey Hester,

The forced abstinence was totally unintended. The only reason I stopped was for weight loss purposes. The HCG diet is a great way to lose weight fast (up to a pound a day for either 23 or up to 40 days). However, there is simply no cheating or a person shouldn't bother with this diet. It's very unforgiving. So I knew I could not cheat. As the days went by and I kept feeling better and better and losing mire weight almost every day. I just kept going for 52 days. Little did I know that when I tried to go back on Nal, my body had changed and was intolerant of my usual full dose of nal. What I had achieved for the many weeks of drinking had not changed however. So now I was faced with taking the Nal, feeling quite nauseous and not feeling much of a buzz. There was no reward for drinking any more. I played around with the dosage for a few weeks and found that 1/2 Nal works well for me now. I still dont feel much of a buzz, and don't really enjoy the strange way that I feel by taking even 1/2 a tablet. So I end up now just having one or maybe two drinks and then stopping. So that's my expanded version of what happened in my case. If anyone has any more questions or needs my help just let me know. I'd be glad to explain further.

Best wishes,

WOW! You've really lived up to your screen name. With the help of Nal and TSM, you've found your way out. So inspiring and so well-deserved.

Wonderful and inspiring news. I need to keep reading stories like this

Congratulations on persevering!!

Congrats Nalwayout! I must say I'm a bit jealous that you got there before me (since I was already here when you got here lol) but mostly I am SO GLAD for you@!!!!!
EL

That is so great, to see your name on the "other side", though I will miss your progress reports on the Weekly list. Your story is yet another interesting variation of how Nal works for each of us: a combination of different circumstances and motivations. I have followed your story w/ particular interest, as we are in a similar age group, and I don't know about you, but the years that I've put into being unhappy w/ alcohol makes the continuing improvement, all the more SWEET! I hope you'll check in from time to time, but just enjoy your life now, unencumbered...well done!

Chrissie

Hi Nalway

That's fantastic - well done!! I haven't managed a long period of abstinence yet while on TSM, but I'm certainly thinking hard about it.
I hope life continues to go so well for you and thanks for your support.

Cheers
Sticky

Hey Thanks Hesster, Tiller. gwyneth, EL, Crissie and Sticky. Hope I didn't leave anyone out. Wow! What an outpouring of support. I feel humbled and so honored that you all took time from your day to read and support me. And yes, I am truly amazed at my new attitude of "really? Do I really want to bother to buy wine?" seems so strange...

Anyway, I'm so interested to watch and read about all your progress in the coming months. I will check on you to see what you are up to, see how you are doing.

And Sticky I'm so happy you are "thinking hard" about just trying abstinence to see if it changes things for you. It's worth a shot. But I understand that we all have different lives and circumstances. What was most important to my particular succes during abstinence was having something "more motivating" to be involved with than alcohol. It took me away from the world of drinking and immersed my mind in other fun things like health and nutrition. I had given up hope that this old body could be rejuvinated. But to my surprise it bounced back! So if you do give it a go, it would be great to have something else to replace interest in alcohol.

Okay guys and girls, remember, I'll be watching you.. )

Nal on everyone....

Good one Nalwayout.

I too actively chased AF time, not months or weeks but days at first just to break the habit, which then turned into 4,5,6,7 days just because I genuinely didn't want to drink alcohol. If I thought I might want a drink later then sure I'd take the Nal dose BUT if I found after taking it that I actually couldn't be bothered then I simply didn't. Never did me any harm.

My feeling is this AF time gets you used to not having alcohol in your daily life, you start dealing with things without having a drink, without that little crutch and in my opinion your outlook and thought processes, coping mechanisms change. You also start to realise you actually don't miss alcohol, it doesn't actually do much for you, doesn't even at times taste nice. Your body and mind becomes much healthier and your relationship with alcohol is much improved.