Chicken, look at your numbers!!! Way to go.

I wander if people feel that they get more drink from small amounts of alcohol when taking Nal. I have one beer today and felt it very much although I was eating lunch with it. I do not know why I am not yet willing to just order half a pint of beer. It is very hard to change old habits. Luckily, I recently ordered small glass of wine (125 ml), which in the past I never did. So far I have one drink if I go out for dinner or lunch which is very little for me. Nal must be working.

That is sounding so good Tamtam - I agree though - I would never dream of ordering a half pint ! LOL..... but really pleased with the way things are going for you.

hugs, Maggie x

I feel a huge change in my drinking habits. I am much more able to avoid triggers than before. Today, I was feeling a little low and when I was passing a wine shop did not even think about buying a bottle. In my old times, I would. The biggest challenge will be tomorrow when I am meeting up with a friend who drinks a lot. She and I used to drink a bottle and a half of white wine over dinner. This will need to change. Will report how it goes.

Oh yes, the pull of the wine bottle - I know it too well. It is hard for me to pass the wine section in the store without wanting to take a look! Looks like you are making great progress so far. I am cutting down on my wine consumption and switching to light beer. That is much easier for me to control my numbers. Wine is definitely my achilles heel.

I am finding it much easier these days not to buy wine. I have two small bottles at home, but am not tempted to drink them. This is new for me. I usually would plan to stop drinking so that I would finish the wine that I had at home. I usually did not store more than one bottle at home, thinking that this will help me to put a stop to my drinking. But then, I would drink the whole bottle with the intention that I have no wine and thus do not drink This sounds sort of crazy. But I kind of tried to find ways to curb my craving. With Nal, I can now have wine at home and not drink. There is no desire to open the bottle. The only problem now are social occasions. I have to limit my intake there. Tonight will be the first test. I am going to a friend's house who drinks a lot (of great wine!). Usually, I enjoyed keeping up with her. I would drink a glass of wine rather quickly so that more will come. Now, I need to do the opposite. Drink slowly. Happily, she uses very small wine glasses - so that will make things easier.

What you said about buying AL and having it at home does not sound crazy to me Tamtam - it is what we all do - I usually would drink what I have to then 'stop' !! LOL - however I have a four pack of Guinness sitting here that I haven't even put in the fridge ! And it has to be cold to drink or else it explodes when it is opened! I just have no desire - as for the social aspects - that is more difficult ! Good luck with that and good thinking about ways to keep the intake lower!

hugs, Maggie x

Thanks Maggie. It is great to hear that others have done similar "crazy" things. I never talked with anyone who had a drinking problem as of what kind of strategies they have when they drink and when they try to stop. But, it looks that strategies are fairly similar. I knew one person who had problems with binges. He would drink for four days in a row and then stop for a few months. I was able to stop for maximum one week, but never had problems with binging.

Today, I realized how enormous the change has been. I bought a nice bottle of wine for the party I am going to tonight. However, during the day, I have been very stressed. Usually, I would have opened that bottle and drink it and then buy another for the evening. Not today! I was able to deal with problems without the bottle!

Here another example of how change of mindset is happening. Yesterday after shopping I was trying to fit milk in the fridge, which is quite full of stuff. Then I discovered a bottle 3/4 full of wine sitting there. I completely forgot about having it. Isn't that strange?

Good luck Tamtam with your party tonight!

Survived the party event. Drank two small glasses of wine. It was not a big deal. But, I could have had another glass. I did not have craving, but sort of felt that another glass would have been nice. So, I am not totally there yet with Nal. Basically, I drank very very slowly and then there was no more wine - that is why my intake was rather low. It is a nice feeling knowing that one has been able to limit drinks in difficult social situation.