Hello Everyone
I 've been happy to read interesting posts and see progress . Minneapolis Nick is back I'm glad to see . Saint vincent , Merlot and many more give me a good read .
first I just have to say I 'lm so glad to see this site's continued continuation . I know N101CS doesn't post alot and suggested TSM wasn't enough for him . But he knows the value of the site for us all and so thanks RV !
As for me its been fully two years that I've takenb NAl correctly . Somewhere around Xmas 2008 I was trawling MWO forums and of a sudden there was all this stuff about NAl and then the cover of Eskapa's book appeared . It was rather like those people watching baseball onn TV back in the forties when a Bullover watch hit the screen - the world's first TV Ad . Momentous and historic " The Cure ...." unless it was a cruel joke or delusion . some think it still is .At first I didn't get it right and an addiction specialist persuaded me to take it with abstinence . Then I got in a mess taking it intermittantly and getting hit by "up regulation "
I found myself at eight on a sunday morning seeking alcohol with intense craving and going into town to find it .
I don't think I've actually missed a dose of NAl , although , just as bad I have drunk at lunchtimes when the NAl was 18 hours old and of little use . I have thought about drinking without NAL but shear fear has kept me from adopting it as a day to day strategy . Slightly perverse by nature or just plain alcoholic I wouldn't be surprised if I do it sometime , and perversely , yes , feel i should . No amount of sane advice would probably stop me its . It's like how you know you should call your sponsor before drinking yet it s probably the last thing
you feel like . TSM explains very well why this is . TSM is infinitely wiser than AA . TSM has the answers .
So I haven't gone down that road . I also haven't unfortunately had it as good as some longterm tsmers who enjoy weeks , months of Abstinence . my story is really undramatic
. I just take NAl and drink . The great good news is it is very consistantly 3 glasses most nights of wine .exceptions are rare and not extreme . I have a trustworthy cut off that has worked over the longterm . Cured or not this is fantastic . Normal intake for me was 2 bottles a night and 3 or 4 on weekends . Lying in bed and taking benzos to get straight for monday was how it ended . I've any number of horror stories to be reanimated in my mind to make me feel grateful for NAl and TSm and its the same memories that buckle any thought of quitting NAl to get abetter buzz . in AA they say play the film to the end to see what happens if you drink again .But once again tsm explains why such techniques can fail .All you could hope for in AA was not to drink and endure the craving until it gets unbearable and inevitably for most they drink . But if we take NAl the tsm way we're in with a really good chance ( 78 percent ).

If you're struggling and rollercoasting please hold on , and as Minneapolis Nick says results take 6 to 12 months . Maybe you'll end up with a situation like mine , drinking safely but it may be even better .

Hello! Thanks for the candid post. I am merely a couple weeks in. The side effects have vanished, thank goodness! And I am replacing new, healthier behaviors when I am not under the "spell" of Nal. Walking, exercising, anything else that does not include drinking!

Nal is working for me. Even this early in the process. I am drinking less, though, I have not had an AF day yet. Doesn't matter. I'll take the baby steps at this juncture. I do not care for AA. That's one of the reasons I began intense research to seek and find any other way to beat my brain held hostage by the severe cravings; the relentless yearning for alcohol that I am sure we all, members of this forum, can relate to.

It is subsiding. All of it. The shouts in my head are really rather whispering lately. And that, in itself, is a miracle! Now, maybe I am experiencing the "Honeymoon" period... so be it. I want DESPERATELY to regain ANY CONTROL WHATSOEVER! My drinking is dangerous. I blackout, sometimes fall-- it ain't pretty in the least.

I am determined to see it through, until AF days mark more of my calendar than not. I would love to be completely AF, but we shall see. Time will tell.

Congratulations on your long-term success. It's just the kind of message I needed to hear.

Warm regards!

Hello Ketchikan . I can see you've had some rotten times with King Alcohol pulling you around.
But that is beginning to become history , you'll soon break his rotten back and dethrone him and any other image that appeals . The fact that NAl is having an effect at all is the very best sign because it means it'll work , how well ,you'll have to see . Enjoy the honeymoon , yes it will pass . But in all probability you'll see the curbing effects move in . The Rollercoaster effect can be worrying you may think at times its not working but fortunately quite alot of people have gone down the path now and you can see from them that it'll be ok .
All the best up there in Alaska , sounds exotic ! thanks for posting .

Bonjour Elfern. Glad to see you are still around and things are under control. It is extremely valuable to hear from long term TSM successes like yourself. Please come back when you can and provide updates. Always good to hear from the TSM old-timers.

Hi Elfern,

Yours was one of the first threads when I found this site and nal about 13 months ago. Like you I have never stopped drinking but to be fair Im happy with that. I take my nal and drink. 90% of the time I quit at or before 4 drinks for example last Friday night I was looking forward to having a few drinks and had 2 beers and two glasses of wine and was completly satisfied with that. There are times I drink more but almost never to the extent that I get drunk or blackout. All these were a constant. I guess nal works a little bit different for everyone but Thank God it wasnt the cruel joke that we feared it could be when we heard of it.