Yeah, I don't know about that post. Plenty of people don't have SE's from Nal. Usually how it's broken out is (of the 20%) half aren't compliant and half do comply but it simply doesn't do anything for them. I've read plenty of posts that say "something is missing", but then I never noticed anything missing myself. I still get the relaxing feeling and still got toasted if I drank too much, but I've dropped from about 84 units/wk to the low 20's. Looks like I'm on course to dip under 20 this week. Even if it turns out that it doesn't work for you, there are other meds you can look at. Something for everybody out there, for sure.
I'd suggest making another run at recording your drinks. I have a spreadsheet I cooked up that tracks my daily numbers and I just rigged it to give me a running total for the week. Now that weekly total is popping into my mind when I reach for the next beer (a welcome intrusion of conscious thought), so there's a little fight at the 'fridge (ahh... yeah, naw... I don't really need to open another.), kinda helps me out. Let me know if you want a copy.
If you haven't read The Cure for Alcoholism, we can get you a free PDF copy of that too.
Have a look at Joanna's post, she gives some good suggestions about mindful drinking:
http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/ ... hints-tipsAside from that, you might try purposely breaking up the first couple of drinks, like take a sip, put it down and walk away. That helps by removing a visual cue and you're also not holding it in your hand. Come back in a bit and have another sip, just keep working that angle and see if you can expand it, so you're not hoovering up the first drink or two as ususal. I also (for instance) quit taking my beer out with me when I had a smoke. That connection was a prime example of unconscious drinking, that beer would be gone in about 15 minutes, so maybe look for where you have a similar connection (talking on the phone, watching the tube, etc.). What you're trying to do here is both break up the habit and allow so space for indifference/ambivalence to surface, so hunt for it at the beginning, towards the end, maybe it will be somewhere in between. The Nal is going to be driving you in that direction, so keep an eye peeled for it.
Another tactic is "Selective Extinction", that's mentioned in the book. It's a good opportunity to culture some desirable habits to replace the drinking habit and Nal can help you with that too.
If you're in the US, CThree Foundation has a list of physicians, the "verified" ones know how to prescribe Nal per TSM:
http://www.cthreefoundation.org/find-a-physician.htmlI say that because not only is it good to have a TSM doc in your corner, but you can use GoodRx.com to get the Nal for about $40 if you're paying out of pocket.
Well, "Nal On" and let us know if we can help!