I have read so many of the postings on this site and am glad to see the progress of so many and the strength of others to keep at it for the long haul. I have been on Nal for 9 days now. My drinking hasn't changed much, about 60 per week. I am a little neaseated in the mornings and have felt a lack of desire to "get started" for the day. Hope the neasea goes away soon. I have been drinking daily for approx 43 years. I really, really want to get this under control and will keep up the Nal. Thanks all for your support by posting to this site. Keep me in your thoughts as you are all in mine.
LindaM

Good luck Linda, there are a lot helpful members here that I am sure will chip in.

Linda, if it's any comfort to you, it would progress for me to cut back to 60 units. Last night was the 4th Nal I've taken, and I drank 35 units. To get to your levels, that would leave me with 25 units left (5 drinks) for the rest of the week. I'd have to have alcohol free days to get to 60 units. You're already ahead of the game! This gives me a thought. Maybe setting a specific goal for units might help. Like a diet. I already spent over half my calories for the week.

Rebecca,
Thanks for taking time to reply. I would probably be dead by now if I drank at those levels. I would be passed out all the time. If you have only taken 4 Nals I wouldn't expect much to happen yet. I quess it does happen fast for some. I am having the neasea problem still after a week. My sister has just gone thru some chemo and had the daily neasea and told me to try to keep something light on my stomach all morning. I made a nutritious smoothie this morning with apple, herbalife powder, pumpkin seed powder and rice milk. Kinda nursing it and seems to help. I need some protein cause I lift weights a couple of times a week. Hang in there girlfriend, we'll make progress together.
Linda

Welcome Linda.

I've been drinking daily for 24 years, so I can relate. A lot of habits for this pill to break.

Keep us updated.

Welcome, Linda. I too have a little (or a lot) of nausea most times when I take a nal AND the next day, and have also found that if I keep eating a little food it really combats the nausea. I'll take that over my ol' drunken days and hangovers anytime!

Good for you for starting TSM and good luck with your nal journey - we're all rooting for you!!

Linda,
I realized that I was miscalculating my units. First, I drink a a 1.5 liter bottle of wine, not 1.75. There are 10 5 oz units in a 1.5 liter bottle. 2 750 ml bottles equals 1.75 liters, so our levels are very similar. I drank 7 units, but reported it as 35. Still way too much, but not as awful as I thought. I feel much better now that I have the unit piece of the method figured out correctly. With NAL, I'm down to 3-5 units which is progress. Before NAL, it was typical for me to drink most of the 1.5 bottle in a night, or 8-9 units. So, I now think I am responding to the NAL, thank goodness, and am aiming to get under 30 units a week. All great success to you.

Rebecca,
That's wonderful news about your unit counts. Looks like things are happening slow but sure. Keep up the good work! Yesterday I made a big mistake and drank before I ate. It was only 5 units but enough for me to get pretty drunk (w/o food). I then ate and took a nap. Passed out would be a better word for it. Woke up with terrible headache that I coulnd't seem to get rid of. On the bright side, I didn't drink any more during the evening which I usually would even with a headache. That booze sure has it's hold. Hope I learned the eat before you drink lesson again.
Keep up the good work.
LindaM

Christopher,
Thanks for the welcome! I am having progress already. I see that I am averaging about 5.5 units a day rather than 7 or 8. I seem to be stopping after dinner too which is unusual. I usually just keep going. My neausea seems to be gone too. I love the support of this board. It is so nice to hear about people making progress and also see the strength of the folks that keep on trying without much success at first.

I agree with your comment about habits to break. There are so many buttons being pushed that get us going. I know one for me is talking long distance on the phone to my sister. She is recouperating from chemo treatments and I talk to her every day. She lives quite far away and we only see each other once a year. She talks a lot about her very disfunctional family and it makes me want to drink and drink. Since I am aware of this, I am trying hard to slow down during those conversations.

THanks so much for your support.
LindaM

Yes, Eat.

One tool I have been using to assist Nal, is food. Nal has helped me break the habit of somewhat starving myself to leave room for the booze. Nal helps me make the decision, when I know I am going to drink that day, to eat a lot more than pre-Nal before alcohol.

Yesterday, I over did it. 2 Plates at my moms Easter Lunch, plus desert. I never ate dessert before. It took up way too much space for booze. Then 2 more plates at the in-laws, plus desert again.

The eating definitely helped the Nal keep me to 6 Easter Beers versus 12-18 plus in years past. Plus, I actually enjoyed the desserts for once.

Keep it up Linda.