I went to the store tonight and meant to buy wine, but forgot! That's a good sign.

But, since then, I decided to drink some beers though I'm just barely getting over being sick, and that's not a good sign. And now, it's almost 11 and I should have been in bed 1/2 hour ago and I'm up drinking.

I noticed I was craving a buzz tonight and that's why I'm drinking, though it's mostly making me tired.

I'm hoping that I'll stop craving a buzz and not care. I REALLY like getting buzzed.

I'm still sorting out what people mean by drinking through the Nal, drinking out of habit, etc. I'm thinking that people drink out of habit when they don't feel the craving, but I'm hoping the craving being eliminated will help me to easily break the habit.

YES, that's a big part of the idea. Most of us probably have routines or habits that are a big part of our drinking. I know I sure do. We drink at a certain time or while doing a certain activity or whatever. I can't do household chores without a beer, for example. It's just habit to pour one before I start working. I also start drinking Saturday afternoons out of boredom. I'm feeling restless and the craving hits me and beer seems like a great way to pass the time.

Nal can help us kill the craving and ease that unbearable feeling of "I MUST have a drink." It won't go away completely for everyone, but the craving can be much easier to control.

But you still have to break the habits. If you drink out of boredom you have to find some other way to occupy yourself. In my case, I've gone out for hikes, gone to the driving range to hit golf balls, met a non-drinking friend for lunch, and other stuff to keep me occupied. If you can't clean out the garage without drinking, drink something else or switch to snacks or something, anything to snap the habit. And so on.

Breaking those habits is much easier when Nal is helping you control your cravings, but if the habit AREN'T broken you will have a really tough time totally overcoming this addiction because it's so tied up in the everyday moments of our lives.

For me, right now Nal is going a great job of helping me maintain control when I drink. The big thing for me now is to break the drinking routine I've been in. Come home Friday, open a beer first thing, and don't stop until the weekend is over. Since starting Nal I've definitely had those Friday beers out of habit rather than out of craving. That needs to end, otherwise Nal will only get me partway to where I need to be.

Thank you coopersale for helping me understand....

I'm happy with my progress, wonder if it will continue or if this is honeymoon? I can't imagine drinking 33 units in a week again.

Last night I was at a gathering for about an hour and had one beer. I felt relaxed, chatted with people and wasn't very distracted by getting my next beer. Normally, I would have been totally focused on that. I did have 3 more when I got home and I noticed that I was sort of wanting more but the volume was turned way down.

I feel sluggish today, from 3 beers and 4 ounces of wine.

Oh well, it's going to be a good weekend and I hope everyone else has a good weekend!

Thank you for being here.

maggiemay,

Look at that progress! Your units are going down, your AF's are going up and you have a positive attitude. I think this is more than a honeymoon this is you wanting to change and using a tool (TSM/Nal) to help you make it happen! You know what to do! So keep doing it!!!!

Yay for you!

Rich

I went to a concert on saturday night and had 2 1/2 drinks the first half and around 4 the second half. I was sick as a dog yesterday. I would not have been this sick off Nal.

Yeah, I've found that I feel much worse the day after drinking when on Nal. Not necessarily with a big headache and sick to my stomach, just really really off.

I drank a similar amount of alcohol two days prior and I was fine the next day. I may have drank slightly more because I lost track. It's baffling. The one thing is, I guzzled 6 oz of wine then drank a beer. Maybe I drank too fast, faster than the other night. I remember thinking to myself, I should dump this wine out, then I guzzled it.

Anyway, the "other night" was Thursday before this past Saturday concert and I have to confess I cheated. I walked into my hair appointment and they had champagne flowing. I drank two small glasses and felt no buzz. I had taken NAL the night before, less than 24 hours before my appointment so I wonder if it was still in my system. I did go home and take a NAL. waited an hour, then drank a bunch more in a night than I have been, 7 1/2 units. But as I mentioned, felt pretty good the next day, unusually so, compared to other nights when I drank less. I suspect I drink too fast sometimes because I'm not feeling any affect from the first drink.

On a positive note, tonight I participated in an activity where I always drink and don't want to go unless I can drink. I didn't drink and had a good time!

I drank very little this week though I'm not sure what's going on. I haven't felt like drinking but I haven't been feeling very well, very sluggish and tired probably due to my hypothyroid.

I drank even less this week! I'm in amazement. Alcohol's power over me is greatly diminished. I'm very grateful. Two months ago I was worrying this wouldn't work for me and it seems to be working great!