Nal can be a miracle, but like you said, it doesn't make everything easy. but it sounds like your progress is allowing you to give AL a backseat in your general activities. you'll slip and slide here and there, but keeping taking and it'll happen less and less often.

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Weeks 14 & 15

Units:
(3.5, 0, 5.5, 5, 0, 3, 2.5) ::: Total 19.5
(3, 4.5, 6, 0, 0, 0, 4) ::: Total 17.5

An uptick in drinking recently. Seem to have had a few >3 evenings. And several hangovers. Nothing like before TSM, but I've been observing a little bump in urges and drinking patterns for whatever reason. I've basically just gone with the flow, and let urges dictate if I open another beer.

On nights I have 0 drinks, it's literally no problem. I don't crave and really enjoy chilling out doing whatever. I especially love sleeping great on those nights, and waking up feeling fresh. I can get so much more done after a NA night, and without a mild hangover from like 2-5 drinks.

I haven't tried to curb drinking, set goals or resist in any way. If I drink I do. And some nights I drink more than "enough." In fact, just last night while cooking I opened a nice bottle of red and drank almost the entire thing over the course of the evening. My wife was having white. I even cracked 2 beers after she went to bed! Pretty interesting really. I felt revved up and ready to get a buzz on... and continue drinking on top of that solid buzz. I definitely drank more than enough. And I am headachy and fairly unproductive today.

So with no resistance comes no guilt-- which is nice. Whatever happens happens. I've been extremely pleased with the general path of unit reduction through taking Nal, but I feel like I'd like to see fewer 4+ nights. I may consider taking grabbing the reigns more, and do a full AF week or something. This recent uptick is interesting though.

We'll see if it continues... Tonight, I'm headed to a Rihanna concert with a rowdy heavy drinking crew.

Sounds good, Wolfie. Let us know how it goes!

stay the course and your numbers will start to drop. although a Rihanna concert, would probably cause me to drink a lot.....

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Thanks guys.

Rihanna was actually a lot of fun. Or as much fun as a relatively sober, dorky middle-aged white guy can have. I had about 4 units all night including a double rum and coke at the show and then a single stiff cocktail at a bar with friends after. (If this was 6 months ago I would have pre-gamed several beers, had more through the show and probably continued to party at home after...)

Yes, Jaba, nal is definitely working for me. I'm pleased. The wife is pleased. Weight down a bit. Even my dog seems to like me more.


I've have noticed though, in the past 4-5 days of several drinking 4+ drinking nights, my old friend anxiety is back. It's mild but it's there.

Throughout the day today and yesterday, I'm feeling like 10% nauseous. My right hand feels twitchy. I'm unsettled, and can't relax. The past couple evenings, falling asleep is more difficult, and I'm struggling a bit to get motivated to be with others. I hate it, and think it's almost certainly due to more drinking this past week. I've had times of much more severe anxiety in the past where I would drink a ton to cope... and the drinking would make me feel anxious the next day, and so on, and so on...

Nice to not have major anxiety or depression rule my days, but this l'il uptick is a nice reminder of what's lies down the path of heavy Al.

Excellent point, Wolfie!

Glad to hear you had fun at the concert without getting carried away. Job well done.

nice work on the concert! shows/concerts were a huge breakthrough for me. I too used to get "primed" with at least 4 beers before even leaving the house. going through a whole night and not getting blind drunk is very nice now...

Wolfie

Your posts are always interesting. Thank you for sharing. When you had the bottle of wine did you enjoy it ? Do you think you were chasing the buzz of old?

Sounds like you are going well- it's those habits that are hard to break.

MD