Hi all -

I've never jumped on a bandwagon this quickly before, but after reading about the Sinclair method for the first time last night, followed up with a lot of research and 50% of the book, I'm ready to take the plunge.

I have an appointment tomorrow with my GP to discuss Nal. I've found a lot of inspiration reading the boards, especially generic and Charles' accounts which I relate to most strongly. (I'll read more as time goes on, forgive me for not mentioning you as I started less than 24 hours ago )

Some history: Early 30's, married with children, and hooked since my first drink my first week of college. Diligently (militantly?) straightedge before that, but it all melted away during rush. Good degree path, but quickly became addicted to EVERYTHING. Happy to graduate with a decent degree, and have been gainfully employed since then. Lost 1 job because of drinking, but with rec's and 'allowed to resign', I've turned it into a decent career. As sole breadwinner there's pressure, but I've innovated a couple of things and now find myself in a good position at a new firm.

A good position that requires a LOT of travel and entertaining. Great things for a drunk.

As for my drinking, it's been daily for 15 years, with a 3 month and then 2 years bout of AA (or legally) induced sobriety. Done the steps, did the group, endured the detox. Last time was the longest, but constant thoughts and herbal enhancement haunted me. 2 years ago work stress brought me back, and I'm back where I started - as a full time but strangely functioning drunk.

I don't drink a bottle of wine a night. I drink an 18 pack of light beer (not an alkie, right, since it's miller lite, right? mostly water?) and a few glasses of wine, or some cocktails and an IPA or 12 (who knew beer could be so tasty? Hated hops til I felt it, now I'm a beer 'connoisseur') . Figure 15-25 USA units/day, or way more if I do the UK conversion. We're fond of our imperial system so maybe I'll do the conversion tomorrow. AF days don't exist.

Wake up call work event a few weeks ago, and the strength is back to change. I seem to have checked off most of the hopeless boxes... pissed myself? check. pissed in public? check. blacked out? every night, so check. Only booked hotels with mini-bar's and mapped out the closest liquor store? W/D symptoms if I finish a flight with less than 10 drinks in me? check, check check. etc. etc. etc.

3 or 4 months ago I discovered that clonazepam works miracles on hangovers. Panacea! .5 mg when I wake up, .5mg at lunch, and the sweats/shakes are kinda at bay until I start drinking again. Otherwise it's full blown withdrawal before breakfast. 6 pack quick before dinner, then wine, then more beer, and if that's not working quick enough, something else.

I'm a hopeless drunk, failed on AA and other more pricey inpatient programs, but I hope TSM will work for me. Appointment with my GP tomorrow, and hopefully tomorrow night will be my first night on Nal.

Thanks all for the inspiration...

Good luck. Follow the golden rule always.

The first time you take nal, there may be side effects. Be somewhere safe and that you dont need to drive. Some take 25mgs for the first two doses.

Good luck, and welcome.

With those levels of consumption, you may take a while to respond. May I suggest that you start tracking your consumption right away? The early progress will be more noticeable on paper.

That's quite a story. I can see why you want off the sauce. Was there any particular incident that tipped you into wanting to get a grip on it, or are you just good and sick of it?

Thanks -- noted! I will be at home tonight and tomorrow. I will start tracking immediately.

I've read some horror stories about horrible hangovers early on. Should I wait until the weekend, since I have to work tomorrow? We're also going to a party Friday night where I will definitely be around beer. Is this a bad idea, early on?

I expect response to take a long time, but then I didn't get this way overnight

As for my reasons now... During a blackout not too long ago, I did something horribly embarrassing, and it has work implications.

I realized deep down that I couldn't promise anyone it wouldn't happen again, so I have to regain control.

Thanks all for the kind words.

If I were you, I wouldn't wait. You seem to be pretty good at getting things done even with horrible hangovers , and only some people get nal-overs anyway. It's up to you, though.

The party is not a bad idea re TSM, but it might be a bad idea for harm reduction. Are you reasonably sure that nothing bad will happen at the party?

If you frequently go to parties, you can't reasonably be party-free for the next six months or so.

Well, after reading I decided to go ahead and try. Took 25mg near the end of a function, 1:15 before I was home and would have a beer. Eyelids felt a little heavy, but no nausea/other side effects, so I'm thinking placebo there.

On beer 4, doesn't quite feel the same, less urge to chug 3 or 4. Also probably placebo, but I'll take it

We'll see how I do tomorrow. I picked up a client dinner tomorrow night (yay), which I think I'll do - historically these have never been an issue sans pre-partying, and I am good at keeping to a drink or two if I want to, provided I know I have a full fridge at home. (Which I do). If I have any doubt I'll skip dinner.

As for the party, it's a friendly group, doesn't run late, and uber was invented for harm reduction . I was more worried about weird interactions the first few days on nal. (Would I be slurring after 2 beers? Passing out after 4?)

I'll be in a better decision to decide to attend, or not, Friday afternoon.

I sometimes wish I wasn't so good at dealing with massive hangovers and never vomiting!

Thanks again for helping out.

Not necessarily. Even some very heavy drinkers turn out to be quick responders, and we beer drinkers tend to respond more quickly than the wine drinkers do (liquor drinkers vary).

I guess what I'm saying is that it's good to be braced for slow response, but we can also hope for the best. You don't want to psych yourself into a slow response, after all.

Let us know tomorrow how it turned out, okay?

Hallo -

So last night went well(ish). Drank more slowly, but still ended up at 15 by 1am or so. This is a) less than I typically drink, and b) MUCH later than I'm typically drinking, so these are both positives. Never really felt drunk, and I can remember drinking more for the sleepy, time to go to bed feeling.

More often than not, that sleepy feeling = blackout, so while I was more aware of my drinking than ever, I never really got drunk and went to sleep on my own when I was tired. (Of course that was 2am and my alarm went off at 7am, but it's better than normal)

15 beers seems like a lot to most I'm sure, but with my tolerance/physical addiction, that's 'my' normal. Never felt anything approaching a loss of control, which is great.

My goal is drinking at a healthy level so I have a long way to go, but the more I read (finished the book last night), the more I think this will work.

No SE's, and woke up feeling fine. Feel good today, if tired. (5 hours of sleep isn't enough for me!)

Took my 25mg 45 mins ago, will meet a client for 2 beers (imposed limit for me today) in 30 minutes, then finish up at home. Plan is 50 tomorrow and forever when I drink. I'll report back.

(Writing this is fairly theraputic )

Yeah, so many drugs these days are sold that work slightly better than placebo. This isnt one of them.

The effects are often profound. You wont get the full effects until you take a full dose.

That's the truth, so far!

Day 2 yesterday... Took half dose, was with a client, few hours in (very moderate drinking, he was at 2x me and that NEVER happens), felt something approaching the old buzz and took another half dose. Ended up at 8 beers by the end of the night, which is WAY less than normal.

Today, full dose 1 hour before I start. 5 beers in over 3 hours, and they've dono NOTHING. I'm tired. Frankly, I'm angry that my beer isn't working. Annoyed that I'm not slipping into oblivion, like I normally should be at this point.

Irritable, but that's SURELY w/d's as I've gone from 20+ drinks a night to < 10 in 3 days. Wow.

Didn't expect it to work like this! Glad it does, but at the same time scared that it's working so quickly.

I could go to sleep now, completely sober.

The thrill is gone...