My numbers keep going up. AF days are very hard. What is going on with me?

Heya GM... I'm also in the process of trying to really increase my number of AF days. Just like you, I derive so much less pleasure from the bottle, but I go back to it. Kinda feels like a compulsion sometimes

Here's what I have been doing:

Day 1 AF is always the hardest. Day 2 is easier, and 3 is easier than that. I try to string together as many as I can, and I have been rewarded by a focus and clarity that I haven't felt in years.

Try to replace drinking with something fun or something creative. If all you are doing is depriving yourself, your mind will just dance and dance around the bottle, even if you don't actually WANT to be drunk!

Best of luck friend. Keep us updated.

Thanks Generic. I know what you mean. I don't really crave the drink but I do drink almost out of compulsion. I think I have done it for so long it has become the norm. I don't like the way I feel when I do drink. Not fun anymore.

Great advice about replacing it with a fun activity. I use to love to read and do crossword puzzles at night. It was my way of shutting off my brain at the end of the day. That has gone by the wayside and I miss it.

Something happened last night that broke my heart. It makes me want to cry every time I think about it. I did drink last night and it was too much. My 13 daughter who doesn't miss a thing looked at me and asked me if I was drunk. Wow! If that isn't a motivator to stop then I don't know what is. It just killed me inside. I knew there there would be a turning point in this process and perhaps that was it. No more in front of the kids.

Hope all is well. Going for those AF days.

GA

Keep on keeping on. But I know the feeling of your kids talking to you about alcohol. My 5 year old asking my wife if Daddy is going to have a sick liver.

Georgiamom, you should read my posts and my progress... I am in month 16 and am still seeing the changes for the better, its really a nobrainer to take NAL, just take the pill one hour before you drink and then let it do the work for you.....

You will have some times when you think that its not working but then you just have to put a little elbow grease into it and it will help you along...

It takes a while and then some more time and then longer but I am seeing results and so will you. remember you got to where you are over a long time. You did not wake up one day drinking 40 units, did you? You will not wake up one day with out the desire to drink,,, but it will be less time than it took for you to get to 40 units.

You have already done the hard part which is finding the Sinclair method, getting the Nal and deciding to take it...

You are a winner and you will win this!

I've really appreciated these last postings. I heve been on NAL for over 19 months and know my alcohol cravings have pretty much disappeared but I "enjoy" drinking on weekends but once I start I can't seem to stop and don't enjoy the extra drinking. A mild buzz helps me with my generally ntroverted personality and makes me a better person to be around but I wish I could stop after maybe one or two drinks. I've rad some posts where someone takes another 50mg of NAL three hours after the first pill if they continue to drink. Another mentioned that chewing th pill seemed to show better results. Anyone have any experience with this?
I don't undeerstand the chemistry behind this but ifit is supposed to block the opiates that generate the pleasurable feeling form rntering my brain... why do I want more alcohol after my first drink? Shouldn't I have NO pleasure derived from additional drinks if the blocking of opiates is working?

Something similar to what happened to Georgiamom happened to me last week. Quite an eye-opener!!! My wife has stopped nagging me on my drinkng, attends ALANON meetings to deal with me and has learned that there is nothing she can do to change me, etc etc etc. However, she opened up and told me that in her mind, in a very painful way, she has accepted the idea that one day I will die very suddenly from the effects of alcohol. She is expecting it, she is accepting it, and it hurts her very much. She thinks it will be sudden probably painful and probably due to a ruptured artery or intestine which has been dmaged due to excessive alcohol consumption over the years.

I NEED TO REDUCE MY CONSUMPTION! HELP! I can jhave 4 or 5 AF days, no problem... but in a weekend I'll consume 750 ml of vodka. Holy sh**!!!

I'm going to pipe in here and give my two cents: I have to be honest and say that initially these recent posts are a bit discouraging and being a member starting out for the third time, I almost want to throw in the towel. However, my heart goes out to all who struggle with this nasty addiction and I have the utmost respect for those who keep trying to kick it. After all, I haven't been able to stick with this more than a couple of weeks, so I admire your tenacity. Thank you for sharing your struggles and reiterating just how difficult this journey can be. I really do hope it works in the end. Keek

Hey there. I have been a binge drinker for 20 years and in and out of rehabs, jails and institutions all over the state of Texas. Last summer I was in ICU in a coma after a binge. Nothing could stop, or even slow me down. My girlfriend had heard of TSM and I finally started on naltrexone November 29, 2012. It worked immediately although I had some severe nausea I had to manage. I now take 20 milligrams of promethazine with naltrexone and I have no nausea. I will tell you I was doing great, but last weekend I started cheating a bit by not taking the entire dose, not waiting the full hour and not even taking it. I was acting a fool and blacking out again. But see my alcoholic thinking tries to find an easier, softer way. I finally got over the withdrawals 3 days ago and I won't try cheating again. I don't know if you have alcoholic thinking or not. Just wanted to throw that out there and say it will work if you are honest about it.

Hi Georgiamom,

I'm also a 43 year old mother of two kids, young twins. I haven't yet posted my story or done a very good job of tracking weekly units but I have been taking Nal daily (because I drink daily) since Dec 2012. I haven't noticed it working much yet or helping me decrease my units or cravings but I've been a heavy drinker for 20+ years and from all that I read on this board, I think it takes some time.

Stick with it!

I found cutting out strong drinks and not racing it down really helped. The times when I wanted more tended to be the times when I drank very quickly - so might be something worth trying.