My husband told me tonight that he doesn't believe that Nal is working for me and is thinking it is a bunch of crap. I wish I could defend it but I'm starting to think that it is not working for me.

My husband wants to start a diet and it will not include drinking and he thinks that if I am going to help him with his weight loss that he would like me to not drink so he isn't tempted. We have always drank together, so I understand what he is saying. He doesn't want to smell it when he isn't drinking because it isn't the same and he thinks it will damage his diet progress.

I wish I could say this would be an easy task with me being on Nal but right now I'm freaking out. I feel that I haven't been able to control my drinking being on Nal so far how am I going to do it now?

HELP!!!! What am I doing wrong on Nal? I can't believe I don't see any positive changes in the last 8 months. Should I increase my dosage to 75 mg? I need this to work for me.

Any advice would be appreicated.

I don't know what to say, but I have been so lucky and saw an improvement right from the start. I'm now at a point where I believe I'm in control - I drink what I want to drink, which a lot of the time is very little if at all.

I know some people give TSM 12 months, perhaps that would be a good idea for you. I am pretty sure from personal experience that the diet thing won't work.

There are plenty of examples on this forum of people who didn't see results at 8 months, but got very good results later.

That is an issue if you aren't ready to go abstinent, but your husband wants to as part of a diet. I actually did this at about month 8-9: I went on the HCG diet for 21 days and didn't drink at all during this time. There were a few times I felt the urge, but overall it wasn't too bad. Mind you, I declared myself cured at about month 7, but was still drinking at about 15units/week.

My suggestion would be to give the diet a shot with your husband, but keep you NAL handy. You may find that going AF isn't as difficult as you thought it would be. If you have a problem and think you might drink, take the NAL and don't feel bad if you do end up drinking.

Q

Hi Dancer, Do you have to give up on Nal ansd alcohol entirely? Just remind me of your unit log and progress?

Do you have less blackouts?
Have you refused drinks
Are there fewer embarrassing / pathetic incidents?
Do you leave drinks / pour them away at the end of the night?

If you can answer yes to any of the above then Nal is working for you.

I've given up alcohol but haven't asked my wife to give up.

I'm also on a diet - the slow carb diet: It really works great - I have dropped 8 lbs in 6 weeks from eating no carbs during the week.

However, I'm not asking my wife to give up bread or chips (fries) so I'm struggling to understand why you should have to give up alcohol because your husband wants to cut it out.

I don't know the dynamic or relationship you have - but that seems a bit of a domineering attempt from him to make you give up alcohol.

If he thinks Nal is a "bunch of crap" - then this might be his way of trying to help you abstain. He's probably really trying to take care of you in a caring way and this is the best option.

I may be way off the mark and don't intend to offend, but it's really, critically important that you stand up for yourself. If you want to change, and even remotely believe in Nal then don't give up. This isn't about your husband's diet, it's about your long-term health and well-being.

Andy x

Hang in there Dancer!!!

Maybe all that undue pressure coming from your husband's high expectations is fueling the fire of your alcoholic intake.

Can't he just back off and realize that A) You are an adult and are quite capable of deciding for yourself what is best, and B) TSM takes longer for some, myself included.

Here's the deal, why not create a couple of columns on a sheet of paper and figure out what is better in your life since you began TSM and what has not improved or has even regressed in your life despite being in TSM.

You might be surprised with just how far you've come. Might you just be a bit impatient at this juncture?

Keep that chin up,

Ketchikan1

Hi Dancer,

I’ve just re-read every post you have made. From what you have written, you have made some excellent progress… allow me to summarise:



You’ve also said:

I do believe some of my problem is I drink out of habit - I would usually drink a bottle of wine in an evening, pretty much every night of the week.


Maybe I am just expecting the medication to do ALL the work for me. I have to remember that it is just a tool to HELP me gain control.

The future?

Your first post mentioned that you have done 21 days alcohol free.

You also mention that you come from a family of "recovering" alcoholics that have used AA to get them to a good place in their lives.

Your husband certainly doesn’t want you to keep drinking. But what do you want? Do you really want to stop? If Nal doesn’t work, is this an excuse to go back to the old ways?

From what I can glean, Nal is working for you. You could try a higher dose at 75mg. Or you could try and abstain for a while… but if you are feeling down and unmotivated, then doing any specific action will give you confidence that you are trying to sort your self out.


As you said, Nal just helps you achieve your goals. We all want you to succeed – so have a think about your next move to fight this b*tch

Wow! I am so thankful to all of you for your posts. You are all so wonderful and very supportive. Andy, thank you for bringing me back to realization as to my past posts. I guess there are some positives that have happened since starting Nal. I suppose I have just been on that "roller coaster" ride as so many speak about. I'm not going to give up on Nal. I still believe in it. I guess it is just taking longer for me to see results. Last night I had only one vodka tonic and never wanted another. I wish it was like that all the time.

I know my husband's intentions are two-fold. He wants me to help him with his diet and with hopes that I will abstain for my own sake. I'm ready for the challenge. I will work hard to break this vicious cycle that I find myself.

I will keep you posted as to the progress. Thanks again to all of you. You keep me going!

Q - Did the HCG diet work for you? That is the one my husband is going to do. I will start later after I have a medical procedure. Just curious.

Thanks.

Yep, lost 30lbs on it and have basically kept it off. It does work, but it a pretty brutal diet. I felt light headed alot and lethargic. You shed the weight pretty quickly, but you have to have pretty good willpower.

You most definitely can't drink AL with that diet and expect it to work.

That is a difficult one. If you aren't ready to totally give up AL, you will have a really hard time.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

Q

I'm glad to know you've noticed some development in your tretment with Nal, Dancer1. I know what it is to be desperate and not noticing any remarkable results...
Well, when it happened to me I was alone, hadn't found this site yet, so I DID it: I doubled the dosage! Thank God that worked marvelously. Yes, yes, but now I consider diminishing the dosage to 75mg. I still have to do a blood exam to measure my hepatic functions...

But, whatever, who cares? Not me! I'm regaining my LIFE back! Today I took a good ride on my bike! People are returning to talk to me on the street, my son haven't seen me drinking or in hangover anymore, I never had another absent at work, my workmates are slightly showing more confidance and simpathy on me!

But, I have to say, no one else here does what I'm doing. Everybody sticks with the pattern 50mg dosage, a few ones with 75mg. Only I do this...
Of course I'm concerned about the future. That's why I'm glad you are seeing good results on Nal.

Just keep on "naling", baby!