So far, I've just been following the golden rule and not doing much else. I did decide to set a 3 drink limit when I went to a concert the other night and I was able to stick to it. But then, I went to a party last night and drank 6.

I like the 2 drink nights, but I don't like the 6 or 7 drink nights. I'm thinking about trying to set limits or even maybe go alcohol free.

So I'm wondering... Should I try to set these limits or make a decision to go AF or is this just supposed to happen on its own? I'm just not sure if I should continue to go the way I'm going or if I should be trying to set limits regularly...

I'm about 5 weeks in and have followed the golden rule perfectly.

I was lucky and never had to set conscious limits. The reduction just happened, because after a couple I would start to feel bad. It was the opposite of craving more. I would enjoy the first couple and then it would suddenly seem gross. I poured out a lot of half-empty glasses at first.

I don't think going AF will hurt anything, since if you suddenly experience a horrible craving or change your mind you can always pop a nal and go for it. If you like the 2 drink nights, that seems like the way to go, since the nal seems to allow you to stick to your self-imposed limits.

Thanks, Magda! I signed up for downyourdrink.com to give this moderation thing a try. Before TSM, I could never have hoped to have success with controlling my alcohol and setting my own limits! This is amazing. I think I'm going to set a 5 drink limit, as that seems to be the max I can drink without hangovers or regrets.

I cut down quickly because i didnt want to take nal and experience the side effects. Thankfully extinction happened quickly, though every few months, the rat in my brain wants to push the bar, just to check.

I always tried to set a limit on my drinking, before NAL. For me it was around 1 liter of wine, or a little more. I was always proud when I could stick to it, but mostly I couldn't. So when I started with NAL, I kept the same limit. With NAL though, it didn't take long at all before I never exceeded my limit. Then gradually I would set a new, lower, limit when I was having trouble drinking an entire liter (!). I think I went to 750ml, then to 500ml, and then to a glass. I stuck with that glass forever because I was terrified to go alcohol free. But one day I did, -and the rest is history. So for me, I did set limits, but they were never tough limits and it all kinda happened naturally with little effort except for the final AF phase, which in retrospect was easy, -but very scary at the time.

I'm glad to see this thread. My boyfriend was pushing me to set limits and I kept saying I just wanted the Nal to do its own thing because that's how it works. But if you all set limits and succeeded, I'm going to try harder.

I'm also glad to see I'm not the only one starting out with a liter of wine - though lately it's been more. I buy the 1.5L bottles to save a little money but I might have to start buying 750mL at a time just to prevent myself from drinking any more.

Setting limits and waiting between drinks finally did the trick for me. I had NO trouble drinking to excess with TSM before that. That's the goal anyway and it gets easier more automatic as you go along. Opinions vary on that but doing nothing but the medication will likely take far longer and may be frustrating.

Eventually the thougt of even drinking a liter of wine is horrifying (I could drink way more than that in the day)

It eventually becomes your new normal

Did you have trouble setting limits before TSM? I guess it's a silly question as most of us obviously would, but I'm curious if it's noticeably any easier with TSM.

Limits were difficult before TSM, often impossible after a certain amount. Stopping and letting the NAL work decreased desire to drink more. Now it's a total non-issue as I rarely drink in the first place

None of this happened over night but it just kept getting better and eventually effortless

Did I mention "EFFORTLESS" ?