Hi. I'm Coop, a late 30s/early 40s something who lacks an "off" switch and wants to get one installed.

I'm not a daily drinker, I'm a binge drinker. Though I do get strong urges throughout the week, sometimes maddeningly so, I can refrain. I'm capable of turning down a drink, and generally hold myself to a "weekends only" rule. When I start, though, all bets are off. Like clockwork I come home on Friday and drink too much, then on Saturday open my first beer some time in the afternoon and just don't stop until I'm way too far along. I'm especially bad in social situations like parties. I keep going until I am a slurring, red-faced mess. I've embarrassed my wonderful family too many times.

Once I flip that switch to "on," I just can't find the "off" switch. I've had candid conversations with my wife, asked her to help, to not be shy about nudging me when it's time to slow down. She does. She's been loving and as patient as one can be with someone like me. I try to listen when she says it's time to stop, but you know how it goes. I just don't listen. I keep drinking.

At this point, I'm putting down 8-12 beers per session, and it goes beyond count at parties. I know others might abuse worse than I do, but I'm bad enough, and I recognize that I have no control. My week day urges are getting stronger and when I drink I'm starting to have more frequent blackout episodes where I can't remember the last portion of the night. In the morning I've found bottles from beers I don't remember drinking, that sort of thing. Plus, my father is a hopeless alcoholic who lost his job, his family, his money, and almost all of his health to alcohol. He is permanently disabled because of his drinking.

I don't want to be him.

At the same time, I don't want to quit. I genuinely love beer, not simply for the buzz, but I love the taste of a great beer. I even brew my own. Beer appreciation is a big part of my social circle. Quitting would be very, very difficult - and I don't want to.

What I want is control. I want an "off" switch.

I'll be starting Nal in a few weeks. I've already started to keep track of my units so I can have a good, strong look at how this is working. I'm hoping that the Sinclair Method, when coupled with my honest, genuine desire to rein this thing in, will help me build the "off" switch I need. The determination is there when I'm sober. I just need help when I'm drinking.

Thanks for this amazing forum, folks. I've been reading it for a while now, since before it got blocked from non-members. The Sinclair Method first came to my attention about two years ago. I delayed far too long. Wish me a great journey towards getting control!

Welcome Coop and best of luck with your plan. You're in the right place and heading in the right direction.

Good luck, Coop. It's been 29 days for me and I'm drinking about 60% of what I was prior to NAL. Not many AF nights but only one night where I couldn't stop myself. I'm mostly beer and a bit of a vodka drinker.

Welcome Coop. I am a 100-120 US units per week drinker on day 2 of my Nal journey. I've been on this site since I read "The Cure for Alcoholism". I've learned so much from this site it's phenominal. My Nal was held up in US Customs for 12 days but I got it yesterday. Swear to God, I am down from 10-16 on work nights and 20-30 on non-work nights to 5.5 last night and 4 tonight, IF I finish the pint of beer sitting in my kitchen. 4 units at nearly 10pm on a FRIDAY night when i started drinking at 5:20pm. Absolutely unreal! A few others have noticed immediate responses as well. I'm just scared that this effect will stop and I'll go back to the way I was. I woke up this morning feeling flippin chipper. Haven't felt that in about a year. Best of luck to you. It definitely isn't some placebo effect.

Thanks folks. I'm eager to begin improving my life, sharing my experience, and learning about the experience others are having. Better days are ahead!

Coop,
Glad to year you're onboard! I am a different drinker than you in that I drink daily and binge on weekends (in the past). Have been on Nal for about 10 weeks. Can't seem to get in the AF days but definitely see improvement. I have been drinking daily for about 40 years. The big difference I see is the "off switch". I would normally start drinking and be unable to stop until I went to bed or I guess passed out is a better word. I still drink 3-5 beers a day but I drink them in the afternoon and then just stop. It is the most amazing thing to me. I even tell myself I want more but something else tells me I don't want more. I am looking forward to the AF days but not pushing it at this point.

So glad you want to get a handle on the drinking at your age and before you get even heavier into it. Keep us all informed. We are rooting for you!

LindaM

Well, it took me a while to sort out purchasing Nal, but earlier in the week my order from All Day Chemist arrived, so I got started on Friday. Decided to begin with 25 mg doses, though I did a bad job of cutting the tablet in half, so I probably got 30 mg last night and 20 mg today.

Last night I drank on the lower end of my typical drinking day, about 14 units. Way too early to attribute anything to Nal, so just tracking numbers so far. One thing I did notice is that despite the fairly modest amount I drank, I felt much worse in the morning than usual. Not a raging hangover or anything, just very off. But again, I can't really attribute that to Nal. Too soon to tell anything at this point.

Bought enough Nal to get me at minimum through the rest of the summer. My thought is that I'll take it through the end of the year and look at the numbers, see how I feel, and assess the level of improvement I've seen.

Both scared and excited to begin this journey!

Hi Coop,

My son's middle name is Cooper so I feel an affinity with you already. That and I also don't have an "off" switch, either. I have battled being an alcoholic since my early 20s, initially getting sober for 14 years and then in and out of sobriety, mostly out, these past 8 years or so. I've tried AA, and last year did a medically supervised detox and then stayed AF for a little over a year, but when overwhelmed by a toxic, hyper-stressful, dysfunctional workplace and a boyfriend of five years who flew the coop (so to speak), I once again succumbed. The Dr. who had previously supervised my detox suggested I try this instead, so here I am. Humbled but hopeful.

I've already seen baby steps of progress but fear my 'honeymoon' was all too short; yet am very encouraged by all the stories and support in these forums and have to keep reminding myself that it took decades to walk into these woods; it's going to take a few months (or years) to walk out.

Take care, take your medicine, and best of luck to you as we start off on this new path.

All the best to you, Writer. May this be the time you get over the hurdle and conquer this!

Well, the first weekend is down, and by units it was my lightest weekend since I started tracking units 8 weeks ago, despite drinking all three days including Friday. So that's positive. Only felt a touch foggy with the 25mg doses I took. We'll see where we go from here.