Gotthegene, I'm always so happy for new people starting out, because I think your life is bound to become so much better, as it has for most of us here! But on the other hand, I feel sad to read about what new people have to go through at first: the struggle, and "darkness before the dawn", before the Nal gets the extinction process under way. Okay, the THIRD feeling I'm having for you is admiration at your determination and ingenuity in finding ways to get through it, such as going to bed early, exercising more, limiting your units...well done! And posting here. You sound like you have a lot of self-knowledge that will help you tweak the process to get you where you want to be.

Chrissie

Hi, GtG -

How are things going for you at what, 10 weeks or so? I hope all is well...

Chrissie

Dear Chrissie,
I so appreciate you checking in on me! I realize I've posted on a few other threads but not my own for a while.

Last week I had my best total ever---13.5 units---with 2 AF days. The AF days were ONLY b/c I drank too much one night and was really hung over the next day; the second AF day was harder b/c I no longer was hung over but still managed to get one more AF day in there. That 2 AFs in a row was a really big deal for me.

Fast forward to this week and things aren't as great. Last night I didn't take a Nal and tried to just keep it to 2-3 drinks. After the 3rd, I went to bed but couldn't help myself and got up and had a 4th. Then woke up this morning with a mild hangover. I've returned to being a "light weight" drinker and any more than 3 units seems to give me a headache. The upside is that I seem to be able to take 50mg of Nal with no side effects.

I'm still going to the gym 4-5 times a week and going to bed early. My husband now has the flu so I've been sleeping in my daughter's room and we go to bed at 8:30---an effective way to keep the day short.

It continues to be one-day-at-a time but I check in on this forum daily and find that each day someone inspires me and gives me motivation.

To those who celebrate, Happy Easter!

Just reporting that yesterday was the first time in 2012 that I had an AF day that wasn't due to suffering from a hang over that day. I decided to go to the gym w/ my son after dinner so didn't drink wine w/ dinner like I usually do. We finished up at the gym at 8:30pm and I realized I hadn't taken a drink yet. So I muscled thru the next hour or so drinking "Sleepy Time" tea. Not easy b/c I was thinking about a nice cold glass of chardonnay every 5 minutes but I did win that day. Doin' the sobriety dance

That's great!

You may find that, because of nal and reduced drinking in general, your tolerance will drop and your hangovers will get worse. These are good signs, I think. While I'm at a plateau of sorts (at 9 months) I'm drinking much less per-week than in the old days. And the "lost days" are harder to tolerate -- I just can't stand them now, which is a big incentive to stay moderate.

Stay the course. You're doing swell!

An AF day, cool beans! That's great you realized you just had to hang in there another hour or so to achieve that...you didn't wear yourself out in anticipating it and worrying about it: it just "happened" (almost). An AF day is a good milestone, & breakthrough.

thanks for posting, sounds good to me!

Chrissie

Just checking in b/c it's been a few weeks. Went on a cruise to celebrate (or runaway from) my bday and so the last 2 weeks I've lost progress. Quickly gotten used to drinking more so back to 3-4 drinks a day---which still is far better than where I started in all of this. No black outs at any rate. Anyway, the fun's over and am back to focusing on limiting this drinking problem.

Hope all is well out there!

Losing focus on that cruise a few weeks ago has proved more troublesome than I previously stated. While I was never "on the wagon", I'm no longer hanging onto a wheel but am running far behind it. Have been slipping into having a vodka or two later at night (after my 2 glasses of wine)...and not measuring so closely....so were they just 2 units of vodka or did I slip in a couple extra? And I had stopped taking the Nal.

Woke up w/ a hangover this morning. Surprise! Forcing myself to get onto this forum and not lose site of this drinking battle. So promise to self that tonight I will resume taking the Nal and be diligent about counting.

Thank you for providing a place to be honest.

Hi Gotthegene, It looks like you might be following in my footsteps with the backsliding. I too have gone off of the Nal for unknown reasons. Actually, the reason is I like the initial feelings I get from Alcohol and don't want to interfere with those feelings. I don't know about you, but I have a number of excuses I subconsciously give myself for not sticking with this program: "I'm not THAT bad", "I'll be able to control my drinking this time", "The hangovers are worse on the Nal, so why take it", " I might as well just admit that I'm probably going to die a drunk, so I might as well enjoy it", " The Nal makes me more depressed", etc. etc. etc. Please don't give up. I look forward to following your successful journey. So, I will agree to not take a drink without the Nal, if you will. Also, I agree to post tomorrow. Much success, Keek

Hi Kekede,
Just saw you posted here too. Comforting to have your support. I promise I'll take my Nal tonight. Hope you do too