Excellent, excellent progress. How do you feel? Your self esteem must be through the roof. Or “Off the Chizang" as Chris Rock likes to say

Can I add one comment?

I don't think it's the nasty hangover from Nal (the dehydration and headache) that prevents you from drinking. To paraphrase what you said earlier, it’s the fact that you now have the power to choose to have a drink if you feel like it.... and in your own words, "I just don't feel like it."

I absolutely agree with Nick about the cravings. This is the massive difference from AA. Here - there is no stigma attached to having a drink. Giving into the craving (in moderation) will actually help you to tame this beast. I've re-read the 'Cure for alcoholism' book and there's a good part about dealing with Cravings - P111 to 113.

"By now you should know that the end of your craving and addiction won't come from trying to abstain...as the urges arise, you permit yourself to drink - but only if you have taken your medication."

I like this part the best: "Remember, the cure occurs incrementally - drink by drink -... as the addiction in your brain is dismantled, weakened, and ultimately broken through extinction."

Keep up the absolutely marvellous work - you must feel so proud

Server, I think that's all great news. Whether or not you've got some lingering triggers left to extinguish or not, I've got total faith that you will handle them just fine Did you find that the desire to not drink, in between taking the nal, just quietly slipped away? I ask because I feel like I'm getting a lot of control over my drinking when ON nal, but I don't see much of a reduction in times that I feel like drinking yet. I'm not complaining - in my mind, drinking 2 drinks four times a week is better than 8 in one sitting - but I don't (yet) feel a decreased interest in alcohol if the nal is not actively in my system.
EL

Hi EL,
Thanks for the congratulatory words. I find that when I planned on having a couple of drinks on a Friday night, I spent time thinking about alcohol all day Friday and after drinking (Saturday). I didn't like that. I found that after 3 or 4 AF days in a row, that craving went away. So I decided to go many days in a row AF, and not plan on a drinking day (I'm on day 10 AF now) and I find I don't think about alcohol at all. I pick my kids up at school at 2:30pm, and when parking the car at 2:45pm I used to look at my watch and think "I have to take my NAL asap so that I can get a drink in by 4". Now I look at my watch and think "I'm glad I don't have to take that NAL because I've got stuff to do". I'm not sure what triggers are left and what the future holds but every single day AF is a gift to me. In my house growing up (hard drinking, hard working Irish Catholic farmers), drinking celebrated the end of a long day, prosperity, hospitality, a treat. I will always have to overcome the feeling that to be happy and celebrating, you are drinking. I saw an article written on a rehab website about the Sinclair method and it made me really sad. It made me sad for the hundreds or thousands of desperate people just like us who will read that and never try the Sinclair method.

http://www.originsrecovery.com/what-abo ... air-method

I had almost come to the realization that there was no hope for me, and now I have so much hope for the future.

Hi Andy,
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I feel pretty good about myself and where I am right now. I did make the mistake of reading a posting from the Origins Recovery Center about the Sinclair Method and it really upset me. Angered me.

http://www.originsrecovery.com/what-abo ... lair-metho

White knuckled dry drunks they called us! I know what it is to abstain and white knuckle it and fall off the wagon and this is nothing like that. They said we are incapable of following rules regarding taking the medication. I never once, ever, even thought about taking a drink without at least an hour after taking NAL. Saying that anyone who achieved success with NAL weren't really alcoholics at all, just maybe heavy drinkers. I just feel so upset that people will read this article and discount ever trying NAL because of what they have written. The reason I found the article was that I read another news article on Dr. Sinclair and how his company has produced and opiate receptor nasal spray that they are testing out on people with eating disorders. The article went on to describe the amazing success Dr. Sinclair has had for the past 30 years treating alcoholics with NAL. I guess I shouldn't be so naive that a rehab center that looks like a five star resort would want you to check in for up to a year instead of trying NAL from your own home...I just am so thankful that I tried NAL.

Don't feel down about their useless article. I'll bet a 1-month stay costs $30,000 to $40,000 if not more. They have everything to lose if people can overcome their addiction with a cheap pill available over the internet.

Wonderful news Server, you deserve every bit of happiness your regained control brings you. I look forward to following your continued progress. Happy times on the board this weekend. Congrats.

Wk 29 is over and I'm at 0 units again this week. AF for 17 days. I found the week very easy. I'm starting not to think about the hour of the day, when I would have taken my NAL, and AL in general does not have a big place in my thought processes anymore. I also find that I do not have many cravings anymore. The odd time I see booze ads on tv (the NHL playoffs are on, of course) and I think about celebrating and the place that AL plays in that. I realize that there are lots of people out there who choose not to drink at all; whether religious, health, or just not wanting to, it is always a viable choice, and one that I never considered before. Right now, I'm very content to move forward, use my time self-reflecting on my life, where I am right now, and where I want to go from here. It's a good feeling...have a great week everyone!

Congrats server! I dare say you sound..."cured"????

Week 30 is over and another 7 AF days. The weeks go very quickly now. I do not think about alcohol much at all anymore. I feel much better and have lost most of the puffiness and bloat that I guess came with drinking. I am not sure what the future will hold in terms of drinking again or not. I do not want to put pressure upon myself to do one thing or another. I just feel really good with where I am now and want to enjoy this feeling. I hope everyone is having a good week. Progress sometimes went so quickly for me, and sometimes it felt like I was not moving forward at all. It is hard to keep an eye on the big picture, but in the end, that is what got me here.

Wonderful Server, you have a very Zen-like attitude about your journey. It's great you are not putting expectations on what's next. It all sounds very un-alcoholic to me. What a shining example your story provides and more proof that no two cures look the same.