4 wow that's a lot of dog ! I suppose they are only little. I have 2 border collies and they don't understand why mummy doesn't have a beer any more when we go down the park ! ( I only did this a few times- ha)
Seriously though I think we're so used to getting that dopamine rush and we keep trying to do the same behaviour that got us there before and it doesn't work ! No wonder we get a bit shitty. I went out for Valentine's Day dinner last night and had beer , a cocktail, champagne and a liquor . That was a lot - I was trying to get the rush and it just didn't come . Boy was I cranky - met up with my friend later who was absolutely plastered. She couldn't understand why I just wanted to go home. Drinking without the rush is not fun - it's frustrating. It means the Nal is working I guess !
It's like my border collie doing 12 weave poles in agility over and over with no treat from me. He's gonna get pissed off, bark at me , bite me even and then he'll stop doing them.

Moderatedrinker you are right. All of you who responded are right. I'm gonna keep on TSM and kick this thing. Thank you. Almost 5 hours since I've started drinking beer tonight, and only 8 down. That's nothing for me. The Nal is working. I'm getting ready to go to bed with beer left in the fridge.

I'm only in my third week of TSM, and found that I got very cranky the first few times when the nice, warm, relaxing buzz failed to appear after the first, second or third beer. However, I think I am gradually becoming a bit used to it and am gradually getting less cranky and at least attempting to be somewhat extroverted (which can be hard for me) while drinking and not getting the buzz. I went out Valentines Day and ended up drinking (most of) three pints, but failed to finish the first two because neither the Sam Adams (Seasonal) Cold Snap Ale or the Labatt's Blue Light tasted very good. Just over a week ago I was pounding down Cold Snap like it was going out of season and I couldn't even finish one. In a sense I was happy, but the truth is I was nearly in shock, stunned actually! I wasn't cranky, just vacant and only wanted to go home after finishing dinner (which I never ordered a beer with even though I had been planning on a fourth pint of something Mexican with my burrito).

I find that instead of the buzz, I feel a sort of emptiness when drinking...

I saw another post that said something to the effect of "...it's like my brain just lost it's favorite toy."

The irritation will go away after awhile once your brain gets used to not getting rewarded for drinking. Looking back over time I believe I was a lot more irritable when I was hung over than when I am taking NAL

Hi Billy,
God I know what you mean about actually tracking the amount we drink...once you write it down, it's like, damn. I put a lot of alcohol through this body to process. Congratulations on your numbers...that's awesome! Don't get discouraged if they go up and down when you first start. I have been an almost daily drinker since I was 17 and I'm 53. Like I said in another post, Im 3 months in and was thinking from all the literature, etc. that I was almost there. But I have found out through others at this mark, the 3-4 month is not really accurate, except for maybe younger drinkers. When you think of it, this neural pathway (for me) has taken decades to form, so it's totally logical (and fantastic!) that all that damage can be un-done in 1 year or even 2. Keep taking it WITHOUT FAIL. The way I look at it, a year from now will come whether we take the pill or not and it is SO EASY. We're definitely going to drink for the next year anyway, might as well do something productive while doing it!!

keep taking the Nal and keep tracking. you'll get less bitchy with time!