Thanks so much for the all the kind welcomes guys, the encouragement, and a lot of great advice gratefully received!

I'm a big believer that knowledge is power, and there seems to be a lot of it here

There are quite a few things I'd like to reply to properly but can only get a minute online tonight, I hope to be back tomorrow.

Thanks again guys, see you soon!

Hello, and welcome. I am brand new here, just started NAL today, however during my weeks of research I found that some physicians use a combination of NAL and Cambral in their treatment regimes. I find that interesting and wanted to share that. Also, I am in agreement with others. If relapse is imminent...GET NAL NOW! Be prepared.

ShawnAnne

Hello again my friends. I am sorry that I disappeared for quite a while, I didn't mean to be so rude after the kind welcome and such good personal advice from you all.

I had some problems getting online properly for a couple of weeks, and by that time was starting to recover both physically and emotionally due to some weeks without drinking anything on my abstinence program. It's been a long, hard haul for most of it but here I am 15 weeks sober now, feeling physically better than I have done for years, and having really benefited from the therapy and support I've been so lucky to get.

In part I think having the prospect of Nal and/or Baclofen as possible cures for my condition might have helped me get this far. There have been many moments of intense despair where the thought of a lifetime without another single drink was utterly overwhelming, and I managed to get through by offering myself the choice in the future.

Without the thought of a cure I may have developed other little 'tricks' to get me through those days, I have no idea, but it's a crunch time for me right now. The abstinence program finishes this Friday, and I will no longer have full-time support for my alcoholism and the anxiety and depression I've had for so long.

I have other, less-frequent forms of support in place, but now's the time to really look at all this again.

Many would no doubt think me crazy for considering drinking ever again, and a big part of me does myself, but anyone who's alcoholic and has lapsed or relapsed would understand, I think. We all know the figures for eventual relapse using the 'traditional' methods, and even one of the program leaders who I have huge respect for said many many times 'if there was a cure for the disease I would give it to you all, because it would save so many lives'.

Thoughts are changing daily - yesterday I was in a huge panic because I could see myself drinking the very night my program finishes (this has always happened in the past despite best intentions), and I don't yet have any Nal. Then, today, I'm confident that I won't be drinking for at least a few weeks, and the longer I can leave it the better...

So, I'm back researching all this again. I'm very interested in Baclofen too, and that may be my first choice actually, while I am still abstinent, and also because there's some chance of an NHS prescription. But I'm going to get some Nal as well, even before I can get to see my doctors, which will take time, because I can and must be prepared.

The great realisation has struck me, though, that the drinking is going to be completely independent of getting the Nal and Baclofen - having either are not an excuse to drink, and my drinking will no doubt resume whether or not my order has yet come through.

Whew, hope some of that makes sense. It's really confusing even to be in my head right now, let alone try to explain it. I hope some of that came through as it was meant...

So, I'll be posting what happens to me one way or another from now, reading all the invaluable information on here over the next few weeks, and hopefully seeing much more of the great progress for you all I've come across in my browsing the last few days.

All the best everyone, see you around

Welcome! I really enjoyed your post.

As everyone has said, get your nal, just in case. The good news is that you now have two bites at the apple; if the first method fails, you have TSM to fall back on and IT WORKS!

Good luck and welcome to the board.

Nick

8 - sounds like you are being very pragmatic in your recovery & realistic that you will want to drink again. Get Nal. Take it. Accept it. Keep up here - we are in this together. Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the positive encouragement guys

I ordered my Nal a few days ago, but it's not going to be here for three weeks they estimate. I've also written to a private doctor to ask about consultation and treatment costs, but haven't heard anything back yet...

Today's the last day of my abstinence course, so all kinds of emotions are going on. Gotta be strong though.

Welcome 8.

You are in a difficult situation. Based what you are saying, it doesn't sound like you are very convinced your current treatment is going to work for you.

If I were in your shoes and I felt good about the current treatment, then I would stick with it. However, if I wasn't happy with the treatment and was white knuckling to stick with it, then I'd start TSM and look forward to being cured in 4-6 months.

Q

That's more or less my predicament Q, yes.

I've gone 15 weeks now without a drink, and apart from the first ten days of that (inpatient detox) it's been uncomfortable but not unbearable as far as cravings go, but I had a LOT of support, not only with the alcohol side of things, but with the emotional too (I have a dual diagnosis, with my other problem being Generalised Anxiety Disorder).

Now I'm only one day finished and already white-knuckling as badly as I ever have done. It's been a desperate day and I'm feeling utterly lost. A big part of me is telling myself to just get through what's left of today with my sedatives, but another part of me's screaming to get to the shops to buy some beer before they close.

This is a terrible, terrible disease

Well, beer's now in hand. I've got to now make sure this is a lapse and not a relapse. Alcohol multiplies the anxiety for me though, and I've spent the whole day on a 9 for anxiety already (where 10 is I am convinced death is imminent - not a pleasant place to be at all).

My order for Nal's still almost three weeks away from arriving. I'm kicking myself that I didn't order sooner, as I know my usual pattern (finishing treatment sees my anxiety rocket up, and my willpower to continue fall through the floor). At the same time I'm grateful to have what I already thought I knew proven again - that the prospect of Nal or Baclofen hasn't had a hand in this lapse; it's not in any way an excuse to resume drinking.

I won't write much more here for the time being, not much to say till I can get my Nal. No word back from the private doctor regarding treatment costs, alas, so I'll probably just have to wait for my order to arrive in a few weeks.

I might join the other forum if that's a place to discuss lapsing and all the heartache that goes with it.

For the time being, then, my first day back supping the demon drink:

Anxiety: 9
Depression: 8
Craving: 9.5

There isn't a person here who can't relate to your words. Yes, it's awful. Regardless of the path you take, we'll always be here to support you and share our experiences.

Good luck and wishing you my best.

Nick