Well I haven't updated I guess in well over a year. I quit using the Sinclair method around that same time. I noticed changes but at the same time I wanted to feel that good warm feeling you get when you drink so I quit taking pill. I still don't drink like I was when I first started the Sinclair Method originally (Drinking till I get sloppy drunk and Getting Drunk in the mornings) but I still been polishing off a fifth or more a day on most days. I know I can't keep that up that is why I am back. I still have some nal left and ready to start again. Let's see if I can get it together this time ..In a nutshell it was helping me, I quit taking nal because I wanted to feel drunk again, my drinking has since picked up a lot and I am wanting to get back on track!!!

Welcome back Smootie ! I hope that this time you manage to stick with it and maybe work out WHY you wanted to still have that feeling - and maybe try and stick around here more and get the support - I really find that it helps! Hang in there -

Hugs, Maggie

Thanks maggie

I keep coming back for torture I guess. I was going to risk my new job and just go to rehab but I couldn't get ahold of the state substance abuse center. I figured if I could suspend my drinking for 30 days I could get my head together enough to stop. The only problem is when I called the number it was busy each time so I decided to use the $200 worth of nal pills I got. I been using them now for one week but I am drunk. I am starting to feel like this is my last hope, I am so tired of being sick in tired.

"I figured if I could suspend my drinking for 30 days I could get my head together enough to stop."

Ah, but by now you know how the Alcohol Deprivation Effect works.

Good job on getting back on the Nal. Are there any underlying issues that support the drinking that you've drawn a bead on?

Smootie - I am sorry that things are going as they are - it doesn't sound as if you really want to stop though. Do you? Have you thought about counselling to work out why you need to drink? How old are your Nal pills? Please check the expiration date on them - the efficacy might not be as good if they are out of date. Also - posting and being a part of this forum really can help - it did help me.

Wishing you well with this - I surely hope it helps you. I can hear the desperation in your voice.

Hugs, Maggie x

Smootie,

Sounds like it was working before so it should work again. Very interesting reading your thread. Saw a lot of names that are no longer here but pretty much saying a lot of the same things that are still said today. I could relate to Christopher's stages reference. Especially the last one about the drinking buddies. That seems to be my current sticky point.

smootie: I was so sad just reading this thread. I hope that you take the nal and stick with it this time. I am almost a year in and not exactly where I want to be but I am SO much better than I was a year ago. For some of us this just takes a long time. For Maggie it took eleven months, but it has just kicked in for her and she is doing SO WELL. I want that for you too. Please let us know how you are doing.

xoxo Newlife

Just to give an update I am taking my Nal and I am slowing down again. I drank a little too much last night and I am feeling rough today which is good because it makes it harder to want to drink I guess. But I can see a big improvement in my drinking though and so can the miss. I guess it is my addiction that wants instant gratification. I don't want to be sober and weigh less in 4 months. I want it NOW! Which is not going to happen. Thanks for all the well wishes and support and advice. It is much needed. I don't know about underlying issues,I have a lot of addicts in my family. Might just be hereditary, but than again does a crazy person know they are crazy or would they know the issues they've dealt with are not normal from anyone else's ?

Hey Smootie -

Thanks for coming back and giving us an update. Check in more often and get some support in getting to where you want to be, you know we'll get behind you!

Yeah, it does indeed sound like there's a hereditary component. There could well be a stress component too. Might be a behavior component as well. Did you get ahold of a TSM doc or are you ordering your Nal off the internet? I'm using a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner to get the meds, myself. I have a background of depression of sorts, so once I get the alch issue sorted out I'll have a relationship in place with someone that can help me with the depression too.

Anyway, don't be such a stranger! Gitcha butt over here once or twice a week and tell us what's up for you! LOL! Even if you think it won't help, you might be wrong, plus you'll probably be helping someone who's new and needs to read about what you've been going through to give them to courage to dive into it themselves.

So, it looks kind of like you've been notching down over a period of years, on and off the Nal. Is that what it looks like from your side?