Good evening. I have never been involved with a support group and I am not sure what to tell you all, so here goes...My name is ShawnAnne, I am from a small rural town in Northern Nevada. Luckily I found a physician here who happens to be very forward thinking and loves a challenge. I thought I would be starting Naltrexone yesterday, but like I said very small town. The pharmacy had to special order Naltrexone and I should be starting tomorrow afternoon. I am 39 and live with my partner of 10 years, Valerie and our 14 year old daughter, Katelyn. I have read The Cure for Alcoholism and many research papers on The Sinclair Method. I am feeling hopeful, yet anxious about starting treatment. I do not want to disappoint my family, again. They are very angry with me. I guess I should give you all a bit of history? I started drinking in High School what I thought was normal for any teenager. Now that I look back I suppose being hospitalized with alcohol poisoning at 15 years is not so normal. Drinking was not my drug of choice, though. I went to a rehabilitation facility at 18 years for a crank addiction. I have been clean of that ever since. I wasn't a big drinker in my 20's. Weekends at the club, barbeques or other social events. I met my daughters father in 1991, he was not a drinker and for 7 years, neither was I. In 1998 I had to move on from that relationship. I was now a single mother, terrified with almost no job experience. I became a bartender. I am not sure how it works in other places, but in Nevada bartenders drink. In Nevada you can actually walk down the street drinking. I suddenly became skinny, fun and popular. My daughter spent most days and nights at her Grandparents. Because I worked nights and had to sleep during the day was my excuse, but really it was so I could get trashy and invite strange men to my apartment. I was a mess, but it was okay because it was a phase after a bad breakup...uh...yea...right. In November of 1998 I met the love of my life. I slowed down my drinking to the nights that she and I would head to a bar or club to hang out. Valerie, Katelyn and myself were thriving and extremely happy. And then I got sick. The doctors did every test imaginable and could not figure out what was wrong with me. I lost 30 pounds and could not function due to pain and continual vomiting. In the year 2000 my surgeon did an exploratory surgery to see what might be going on. She found a bit of scar tissue on my intestine and removed it. I was still deathly ill. Finally in March of 2000 my doctors and surgeon decided that I needed major surgery to figure out what was wrong. The diagnosis was grim. They had found a tumor in my intestine. I had Stage IV MALT Lymphoma. I thought it was a death sentence. I vowed to enjoy every moment of the life I had left. It is now 2009, I have been cancer free for 4 years and alcohol has taken over. One disease for another? I don't know. This disease of Alcoholism may very well be worse than the cancer. I have alienated my family and friends, I rarely leave the house (except to buy more beer).

Wow, I did not expect to go on so long. Thank you for listening.

ShawnAnne

deleted

HiShawnAnne, May I be so kind as to say hello and give you a hardy WELCOME!

You are not alone, and we are here with and for you as you may be for us in the future.

I hope you have a good experience with the beginning of the Nal and that your journey has a rewarding and satisfying result for you.

I am in week 12 and I am experiencing changes, small, slight, but positive.

Best to you and your girls!

Welcome ShawnAnne, so glad you found us!

May this be the beginning of a wonderful journey for you...!

Shawnanne, welcome .
Take heart , this is the place for you . I'm glad you got the NAL .
Read around , the path could get rocky but it's definately, definately one of hope and positive change for you and the drink prob .
The odds that you'd be cured of cancer are not so high what you face now with tsm
to cure your drinking has much higher odds so I hope you feel hopeful once again, there's good reason.
Welcome to the machine , it's afriendly machine but will take time .

ShawnAnn, thank you for your honesty and bravery. Since you have never been in a support group you have done quite well in telling us where you are at. There is a load of support here.
Stay with us. I too am a cancer survivor amongst other things. You are here for a reason and so am I. Let's see what that is by running the course with The Sinclair Method. Our lives should be so much better soon and then maybe we will be able to give back to others by spreading the word on this I hope.

ShawnAnne,

I just want to join with everyone else in wishing you a warm welcome to our community.

Dig in and soak up as much information as you're comfortable with.

BTW, for someone that has never participated in a support group like this one, you have done a great job of introducing yourself and explaining your background.

Best wishes on your journey!

V.

Goodness! Thank you all for the very warm welcome. That was a very nice part of my day today It feels really good to know that others are struggling with me and are so willing to support each other. I hope that I can be as supportive and friendly to you all as you have been to me.

Today is my first official day of NAL. YaHoo!!

ShawnAnne