Hello everybody,

I am new here, and will probably have some questions, so I thought I'd introduce myself.

I am 33 years old, male. I come from a family that was pretty much destroyed by my father's alcoholism. I moved away from home when I was 18, but still had to deal with a lot of stuff related to that, most of it in an effort to help my mother. And it's still going on.

For the last 2 years, or maybe more, I have been drinking about 4 beers every day (500 ml ones). More on some days.
It's hard to remember now AF days, but I think I couldn't string more than 3 at a time, and the craving was very much present when I did that.

I tried therapy. Since I used to work out on a fairly constant basis, the therapist suggested that I go back to that. Couldn't keep it up. Part of the problem is my job: I work on cruise ships, and I am away from home anywhere between 2 to 4 weeks at a time, with some 2 weeks off after that. The job is some 12 to 14 hours a day, and I have free access to the bar, which doesn't help.

I used to fool myself into thinking I only do most of the drinking at work, but then I noticed I was doing pretty much the same at home, as well. I mostly drink in the late afternoon.

What got me worried was that, except for the fact that I craved for beer (and there was a time when I told myself it's OK, I just like beer, that's all) is the fact that once I have my first beer, I can't be bothered to care about anything else (like work still do be done). And then I move onto the second one, and so on.

I read about TSM about a month ago, and then my therapist sent me an email about it. Since I am away a lot, we could not have regular sessions, and even though she did not know much about it, she thought it might help. I immediately bought the book by Dr. Eskapa and read it in a day.

I had a bit of a problem getting the pills. I live in Eastern Europe, and nobody seems to have heard about TSM over here. Fortunately, I have a friend with connections in the pharma industry over here, and he was able to get me a box of Revia (made in Austria). I took my first one last night (50 mg) with great hope.

It felt weird. I definitely felt the alcohol going up to my head, but in a different way. It did not make me "happy", it just made me dizzy. At the same time, dizzier than normal. I would not have dared drive, even though I generally am OK driving after some 2 beers without the NAL.
I had 2 and half beers and then went to bed. Today I feel very tired and still a bit dizzy, and crave for lots of water:) It's also true I went to bed at around 3:00 AM, after driving some 5 hours in the evening. Maybe I was just tired.

Will probably have another 50 mg tonight, followed by some beer, and see how it goes.

I am very happy to have found this forum, and will probably check back regularly. It's good to have people to share this with, since none of my friends would probably get it, and I am still trying to get my wife to read the book.

Welcome Koni. So happy that you've found this board. It's the weekend so things are a bit slow but soon everyone will be checking in to say hello. You might want to cut your dose in half to see if that helps for a week or so. But if the side effects don't last more than another day .50 is the recommended dose in the book and will be what you need.

It is very hard to use your natural will power when you are trapped on a ship for weeks at a time!! Naltrexone will do its job while you still drink so don't worry. Just watch for opportunities as they happen. When you don't feel like finishing a drink, or if you don't want a second beer don't force yourself. Those are good signs.

So welcome. You might want to start a weekly progress thread where, if you have time, you can keep track of how you are doing and we can offer comments and suggestions and get to know you.
Babs

Hi Babs,

Thanks a lot for the welcoming message. Feels good to be "around" people going through the same trials.

Will start a weekly progress thread and I will welcome any thoughts any of you might have to share.