Hi HG!!!

I am wondering when the last time you got really drunk was. And why do you drink if NOT to get drunk? I mean, isn't that the point?

I am just curious and a bit confused.... Why do you drink wine every night if not for the buzz? But a bottle of wine is a mild buzz, right? How are you able to stop? Why would you want to stop?

I am 26 weeks in and I either abstain completely, and thankfully those AF days are racking up, or I drink 10-13 units and get pretty drunk.

You, on the other hand, are driving the middle road. Do you ever deviate from wine? Do you drink more or less ever?

Your drinking pattern is very interesting to me. I hope you'll answer my questions.

Thanks,

Ketchikan1

Hey Ketch,
I'm not HG, but I figured I could give you my 2 cents on the issue. I certainly drink without aiming to get drunk or wanting to get drunk sometimes. Part of it is the taste; part of it is the social inclusion I feel when drinking in a group; part of it is the ritual, a time marker that draw the line between work and play; and part of it is that I am learning to prefer the feeling of a very mild buzz (1-2) drinks over that of total drunkenness. The more I appreciate my sober days and my hangover free days, the less I WANT to get raging drunk. Of course I still enjoy a few drinks. But I learned, very gradually, that I reach the maximum "good" feeling towards 3 drinks or so, and anything after that will make me more drunk, but not more elated. This is actually backed by medical proof...there's sort of a law of diminishing returns when it comes to alcohol. But trust me, I did not always believe this...

Hi All - Thanks for replying to my post. I am so glad to see that you are all still here.

WJ - I did not know that you declared "regained control." That is so cool. I reread your posts and see that you are indeed doing very well. Good going.

Sticky - Glad to see you are still here. You are doing well, so hang in there. I can tell that you are still extinguishing so just keep going.

Ketch - I can easily answer your questions. It is really quite amazing. I don't drink to get drunk, and I don't get drunk anymore. I don't seem to need to or want to anymore. Yes, I would say that I can still get a buzz off of a bottle of wine but don't seem to have that going on either. The whole matter is really quite interesting, even to me. I have little or no craving for alcohol anymore. Can't even imagine getting blasted anymore. Nal doesn't provide for a pleasant experience of that anymore. I have one example of that only. I had run out of wine a week or so ago and all I had left was bottle of red that had been sitting there for a couple of months because it was brand that I had bought which had a particularly "oakey" flavor I didn't like. I didn't want to go to liquor store as it was getting late. So, I opened the bottle to see if maybe that "oakey" flavor wasn't there and poured just about an ounce to taste. Wow, did that taste good off of Nal. It even smelled amazing as I lifted the glass to my nose. Don't worry, I took my Nal and waited before I drank anymore. I don't deviate from red wine. I usually have about four bottles in the house at a time and if I finish a bottle on any night I don't have anymore. So, to make a long story short (since I haven't been posting in awhile), I truly believe that as long as I keeping taking my Nal it keeps working on loosening the grip of alcohol on my life. I also believe that one day I just won't pour anymore wine and that will be the end of it for me. Not sure yet how long that is going to take, but I can say for sure that my life has changed dramatically in 40 weeks. There are no adequate words to explain that change. I used to see my consumption go up a little with each passing week and I would have two or three nights of stupor. Now, I see my consumption declining a little each week and I am fully present in my life. I truly drink out of habit now and since my present consumption hasn't affected my health or life I haven't dropped the habit.

Take care everyone and I'll post again soon.

Actually Ketch - I have one more example. I gave up white wine many weeks ago (around week 20) because I can still get drunk if I drink white wine. I didn't realize until you asked your questions that was the reason I gave it up. I no longer liked the feeling of getting drunk and if I drink white wine I start slurring my words!

I just keep taking the Nal, always. I just reread MLB's thread because he had such a weird ride on TSM. His thread is a real inspiration. We all have to be willing to jump off the train when we are ready. That's where I'm headed, at least I hope I am.

HG

Hi All - Been off the board for several weeks. I had my first AF this week. In fact I had 3 AF days so far this week. I have been stuck for months and months at one bottle or a little less of wine per night. Now that I've finally had AF days I'm hoping that I will see more progress. I really do believe that for some this is a very long process. My year on TSM is coming up on 12/1/11.

I'll keep checking in as it is still my goal to someday hit the "cured" list as a non-drinker.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Good luck to you, HG - I'm pulling for you!

--mike

Hey HG!!! Nice that you popped in!

Glad things are headed in the direction you want! We all know that this treatment takes what takes and as long as it takes. That's a hard pill to swallow for a lot of us probably because by the time we get to this forum, we are so sick of ourselves and our out of control drinking that we want immediate results. Not gonna happen for most of us.

Your name will surely be on the cured list. My prediction? February. Maybe around Valentine's Day.

Let all of know when you call it.

It will happen,

Ketchikan1

Hey HG -- The AF days are good signs. Though it's taking more time than you want, you'll get there. Stay with it and stay with us!

Great to hear from you again, HG. Glad to hear there is some progress, even if it feels very slow sometimes! Nal on!

Hi HG

It's good to hear from you and congratulations on the AF days!! My progress has been frustratingly slow too so I am inspired by your success.

Cheers
Sticky