6 months on Naltrexone and this is the first night in 12 years that I have not drank alcohol.

I'm not so cocky yet to post this in "The Cured List" section, but maybe soon?

Way to go, Couchey!

When I started having consecutive dry weeks, I was fairly sure I had hit Pharmacological Extinction, but decided to wait a few months before calling it.

Thanks JoeSixPack.

I'm a little concerned about withdrawal, but I am showing no symptoms so far.

How much per week were you drinking just prior to your AF day?

I had 14 drinks in the 7 days prior to going AF.

4 days AF so far, and zero withdrawal symptoms. Zero cravings also. Amazing!! My mind is blown.

Fantastic!!

I have now been AF for 1 week and I'm starting to notice some unwanted side effects. I've always been a pretty good-natured person but now I'm more prone to anger. A couple of things have happened that would have pissed me off before, but it's definitely gone up a notch. Someone at the pharmacy cut in front of me in line and I let them have it. I would have probably kept it inside me and and moved on previously, but it became an incident for everyone.

And I am now having cravings on and off as well. Last night was really hard but I resisted. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I had one drink, and I suppose it may even help to not go cold-turkey, but I believe I would be terribly disappointed if I did.

I destroyed a dinner I was cooking in the Instant Pot last night and honestly the sky was falling. We had to eat probably 2 hours later than planned because of it and I was losing my mind. I started eating things that were "treats" (ice cream, cookies, etc) just to give myself a reward that alcohol would have provided had I taken a drink.

Also I had hoped that I would be sleeping better than I did when drinking, but I not waking up feeling particularly fresh. Maybe that's just because I'm 52? I don't know.

Is this common?

I suppose the sudden drop to zero might cause something like that and the sugar cravings are legendary. You've been doing well with your drinking levels, so better to respond to the craving for a drink at this point rather than denying it. Don't let the voice of the traditional "abstinence NOW" treatment paradigm guide you here. If you crave a drink, have another extinction session. One and done is fine for TSM.

Thanks Joe, I truly appreciate having your ear.

I'm not going out of my mind with cravings. Last night was hard. Today is ok. The AA-type dogma is not what's driving me however.

I'm still going to fight it. I feel very successful having gone AF for a week, and I know I will feel shitty if I have a drink now. Not the end of the world if I did, I agree. May have been better to have a drink last night in hindsight, but glad I just went to bed.

Understood. Just watch out for a rebound on your next session due to Alcohol Deprivation Effect and try to keep the pace slow.