Hi All. Some may be aewar ethat last week I decided to try to go alcohol free for a bit. Today is day 7, the first few were real hard.

I really want to be 'cured' so I'm hoping some of you can share again how long, where you're at, approximate intake/reduction and craving levels...

I'm real conflicted right now but so wnat to be 'cured'.....

Hi Solice,

I can so identify with your desire for a cure. How long have you been doing The Sinclair Method? My understanding is that, if you want a true cure (as opposed to always being 'a recovering alcoholic), then you must continue to drink, but always take naltrexone an hour prior to drinking. This can be very frustrating for those of us who want a cure, and want it right now!

I'm not suggesting you fall off the wagon to 'go Sinclair.' But it sounds as if you are white-knuckling your way into sobriety, which means there's a high risk of relapse drinking. If that should occur, rather than beat yourself up for it, simply take the Naltrexone before you drink - and know that you're on the road to eventual recovery.

Either way, I'm confident you'll be successful!

Give it time. Just started a few days ago and while it is a little weird to be drinking toward sobriety (for me), I definitely don't have the desire to drink beyond a few drinks. In fact, the second drink is hard to finish which is definitely a first for me.

My advice would be to stop stop drinking and start drinking.

When you feel a craving coming, just take 50mgs of nal- wait an hour and have a drink. As Douglas has noticed you will probably have a bit of trouble finishing more than one or two to start with anyway, after about a week this will wear off and your drinking will probably go back up again, but it is the only way to get 'cured', the alternative is white knuckling it for years, avoiding social situations, and being the designated driver for the rest of your life.

Although my drinking did go back up after the first week, I am now back to a steady 3 drinks a day for the last 6 days. I now feel I can easily cut that back to two- Yes, there may still be a day where I might go overboard, but it will be a day, and not a 4 day binge which is what it would have triggered in the past.

It takes time and patience- but we have been addicted for years, we can wait a few months- but you do have to drink for it to be able to work.

You will have the resistance to drink for awhile but it will wear off. My honeymoon went for two weeks. I had mistakened it for the real deal. Enjoy it for it is a snap shot of things to come.

SpringerRider - how do we know if we are ever cured?? I assume one day we can stop taking it and then what........

When you know longer care that you drink. At some point, a drink will not have much more appeal than a glass of milk. You may like the first one but feel filled on the second. I am much closer to that goal than I thought I would be. I mix a drink and think, 'Oh wow!' but as I drink it, i just lose interest. I get busy doing something else and after a hour or so, I realize I had not finished it.

In other words, once the addiciton mechanism is extinguished, you will drink like a non-alcoholic, if you choose to drink at all. And remember, you may end up being "naturally" abstinent which is just fine. Many of us have been hurt so bad by alcohol that once we become unadicted, we choose not to drink at all (but we carry Nal with us at all times).

I am only drinking 3 to 4 days a week and only 2 to 4 drinks on those days.

Just let SM take you to its end and your life will be much better. Be patient. You are on the right path.