Hi there NL - please do not be discouraged - I am further in than you and often find myself getting discouraged but realise that it took so long to get to this point - if it was easier a lot more folk would do it and more docs would be on board etc., etc. I know that we just need to be patient and stay the course - thanks btw Cheeto for Heavy Fuels comments- it hits the nail right on the head and gives me hope - I love when folk that are further along than us post and say motivating stuff !!

NL - hang in there. It will happen and it is early days yet .....

Hugs, Maggie x

Thank you, Maggie, you are always so supportive to us all. And looking at your chart I can see your wonderful progress, it gives me faith it really does. I suppose some days are just going to be hard.

Thanks again. xoxo newlife

NL - thank you. I never think of myself as emotional - but I really am finding this stuff with Nal very emotional - I am so certain that it is going to work but that we do have to give it time - and we all want it to work NOW. I wanted an AF day today - but have not had one. But your post saying I was supportive to you all made me tear up .....I so want this to work for us all and know it will - it is just going to take time but sometimes I get down about it.

Hugs, Maggie x

Maggie - I am in the very same boat today, wanted an AF day but it was not too be. So we are in this together. It will get better. NL

Ended Week 6, time for progress. 16.5 US Units, but 0 AF days.

I finally am reading The Cure (overdue I know, but better late than never). I feel much better. Now rather than feeling so bad about my continued drinking at levels more than I really want, I am trying to look at every drink as one step closer to extinction. I understand things better - reading the book really is essential and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Finding getting AF days very hard. When I read about the courage that folks like all41 have to try substantial alcohol free periods I am jealous but the thought of that also makes me very anxious at this point. I am not there yet. Although I know that already nal has allowed me to have AF days, which did not happen before, and I know they feel great. I will get there.

I've also been thinking about some goals for myself; where ideally I would like to end up, which of course may very well change. But I want to put my current goals out there: at the end of this journey I'd like to be able, on average, to drink no more than 10 US units per week, no more than 4 drinks in any one day, and have at least 3 AF days per week. And I'd like to be able at least quarterly to be able to do one to two weeks AF in order to allow my body to cleanse. I'd like to be a moderate social drinker. Looking forward to seeing if that is possible; but open to other possibilities.

I am very grateful for all of you; please keep posting. I can feel my life changing but it is also scary. Realizing that if I cut down on my drinking that means I have to face some things that the drinking has allowed me to run away from. I know that many of you can relate.

Hugs to all from Newlife

Newlife I should copy and paste your goals because that is exactly where I want to be at as well! You should be very proud of yourself because you have made progress and all these baby steps add up to great results in the end.

Thank you angelgirl. I really do appreciate it. hope you are doing well this week too. xoxo newlife

Newlife - I so agree with you and AG - that is what I would like to aim for - although the four drinks at a time I would really like to be two drinks rather than 4. I do think that the Nal 'working' really gives us food for thought - I know that I have not had over 5 drinks at any one time for weeks - and the mere thought of it turns my tummy so I know that it is working to some degree. I have also been really down - too much going on in my life as usual - but I have still not overdone the AL - have not been as low as I would like either but in my head it could be a whole lot worse !

I am so happy that you are finally reading the book - it made a heck of a difference as to how I looked at Nal - I knew many folk who had tried it and not succeeded - but I do now think that they just didn't give it enough time or else didn't follow the Golden Rule. I really do have total faith that this is going to work for us all - we are all so determined, it just has to !!

I also agree with you re us posting - it is so important to me ...... it gives me hope and also motivates me !

Hugs, Maggie x

Yup, Maggie, we will hang in there for each other for as long as it takes. I know what you mean about the 4 being a lot; but I was looking at it as like a "safety valve" - hey I could still party when necessary and have fun, you know? It will be interesting to see if when we get where we want to be we even want to do that anymore. But for now it has been such a part of my life and I suppose so much a part of what I look forward to that the thought of giving it up feel like someone taking away my Teddy Bear or my blankey. Just trying now to let happens what will happen, with support from all of you. Take good care, Newlife

Newlife - one thing that dawned on me about your intake - was that as your pre Nal intake is really quite low comparatively, then it is not going to be as obvious for you I do not think, when you are going down - so you need to stop with the worrying and just do as I am doing - and that is to hang in there !! It will work - really it will - that is what I keep telling myself and am telling you now - have faith!!!

hugs, Maggie xx