Hi,

I started TSM in April 2015.
I saw a sharp drop in consumption right from the beginning from three bottles of wine a day to safe levels within six weeks.

I have to say that at the same time of starting TSM, I also had a change in personal circumstances and went traveling.
In Australia, I live alone and I went traveling to Europe to stay with friends and family.
With TSM and the changed circumstances, I had no problems to drink quite moderately and I was enjoying life.

So far, so good but those happy days were not to stay.

I came back to Australia and had my driver’s licence stolen and fell victim to identity theft.
At that time, I wasn’t particularly pleased with whom I was so my initial thought was “if you want my life, you can have it and good luck with it”.
When I subsequently saw large amounts of money disappear from various bank accounts, I changed my mind a little and the following weeks were extremely stressful.
My drinking ramped up to worrisome levels once again but I did manage to stay compliant with TSM.
When finally a clever bank teller noticed that this person making yet another big withdrawal with no other identification than a driver’s license, bore no resemblance to the picture on that licence, she sounded the alarm and retained my licence. Problem solved.

A friend came over to Oz and we spent six weeks traveling with a 4WD in Cape York. That was pretty wild. Few bottle shops out there in the bush. I drank very moderately in those days and that was not an issue.

Back home alone again, within a few weeks, I was averaging a bottle and a half of wine a day again.

This is when I got chatting with the women of C3, among who, Claudia Christian.
When Claudia is not out being a glamorous movie star, she is actually quite a nice person to talk to and dedicated to helping people on TSM.
Together we assessed my situation.
I had kept track of my consumption quite meticulously.
With my charted consumption and some circumstantial evidence, it wasn’t real hard to figure out:
While TSM was definitely doing something, when I was home alone, I would still drink too much.
Claudia told me that in similar cases, some people had reportedly benefited from an increased dosage as compared to 50mg.
I considered this and thought about it long and hard for the best part of several nanoseconds.
I increased the dosage to 75mg and then, when nothing happened, to 100mg.

Within just a few sessions after that last increase, the penny dropped;
I didn’t feel like drinking anymore.
It is not as if I was forcing alcohol free days, I just didn’t feel like drinking.
I no longer felt any compulsion. It was gone, just gone.

Does that mean I don’t drink at all anymore?
No, after several weeks of not drinking at all, the other day was particularly shitty.
I bought some wine, knocked back two pills and emptied the bottle (after waiting one hour. Yes, Skippy is a good boy).
I took Naltrexone and this did not lead to a binge. I have been right back on track with no issues since.
As long as you take Naltrexone, you never leave the track to begin with.

How does it feel, not drinking?
It is incredibly liberating to not feel this perpetual compulsion of having to drink every day.
More than a feeling that I don’t have to, it is just a lack of feeling that I do.
Yes, I think that is right, a lack of feeling that I have to drink; it is great.

I have also lost 10kg and I am only another 5kg away of being irresistibly attractive once again so that’s another thing that is on track.

Anything else?
A job would be nice but I don’t think that the holiday season is the best time for that.
Hopefully January.

Fingers crossed.

Have a great that time of the year and don’t drink too much.

That's amazing, Skippy! Congratulations!

Bet you don't miss the hangover and foggy head either.

I salute your victory!!!

Skippy,

I am very happy for you.

I am sorry about the identity theft, for that has to be a kick in the head.

I wish you luck in your future job hunt.

Jaba

Hi Skippy,
I can relate a lot to your experience with drinking and TSM. It looks like we started around the same time and have had a similar pattern with periods of success and the occasional increase back towards higher drinking levels.

This has been true for me as well. I'm glad that you found a way to get past it by increasing the dose and that you don't feel like drinking anymore. I have also found that consciously making an effort to change old patterns and behaviors can be helpful. Thanks for sharing your story and keep it up!

.

Note: I am not recommending that you increase the dose or that it will work for you.
It is just what worked for me.


Are your numbers US units?

Yes, I feel I am just done.
Today, walking home from the supermarket, I passed the bottleshop with a satisfying feeling of indifference.

Good luck.

You may think that i called victory a bit early and I would agree but I don't regret it one little bit.
I have no issues at all staying off the booze but I do drink when I choose to.

This morning my blood presure was 111/66 55bpm.
Now I know that in the morning it can be a bit lower but it hasn't been this low in years!

Nice work, Skippy!

Skippy,

I think you are very victorious in TSM! I have been on this path since May, and I have control but I still have slight desire.

No desire to me would equal victory!

Keep up the good spirits,

Jaba

Great stuff Skippy, you have taken charge of the booze. I too have had an incredibly low BP reading recently, historically whenever fit it was low, just goes to show how quickly the body does recover if you give it a chance.