Hi,

I was wondering whether cured people still take nal. Do you take pills all the time or only on days you intend to drink? Or maybe you don't take pills at all? If so do you observe increasing craving or more units consumed per week?

As far as I understand it, once you are cured you will continue to take Nal ONE HOUR IN ADVANCE of drinking, and at no other time.

That way you will not become re-addicted

There's LOTS to read on this board about TSM. Here's a link to the basics:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=37
Also, if you go to the board index, you will see quite a few topics that probably answer most of the questions you may have.

Hi,

I'm referred to as "Cured" and since I am under 10 units per week for the last 3 weeks, I am believing it finally.

To answer your question, I am Naltrexone-free most of the time since I don't drink on most days now. But when I do, I take my Naltrexone 1 hour before drinking, and then drink however much I wish, which isn't that much these days either.

The craving is mostly nil the past few weeks and does not build at all after consecutive days of no Naltrexone. On days that I do want something to drink, the craving is low to mid-range and generated, I believe, by memories of how it used to be, rather than the way it really is now. I expect further extinction and longer periods without Naltrexone in the near future. It is completely different than forced abstinence where the craving builds with time often only on an unconscious level.

Bob

Feier,

Once never stops practicing the Golden Rule.

Like everyone else where who practices TSM, I take Nal 1-hour before I drink and will do so the rest of my life.

Q

Regarding the golden rule: I believe I'm one of the few people on this board who discovered early on that I could achieve success with Nal at half the recommended dosage (25mg), thereby avoiding all side effects. At this time (it's been over 5 months since I started), I've achieved my moderate drinking goals and am thrilled (as is my family) with the outcome. I still enjoy a pint of beer with my evening meal, but almost never a second. That's pretty much how I feel about my 16oz mug of coffee in the morning -- I really enjoy it as part of my morning ritual, but never have a second cup. In other words, I'm experiencing both my morning coffee and my evening beer at roughly the same (i.e, normal) craving/enjoyment level.

I believe I may be the only person on this board who has deliberately tinkered with the recommended TSM dosage. In fact, I've experimented (over the last couple weeks) with not taking it at all -- in order to objectively report whether I perceive the drinking experience any differently. My perception is this: I haven't noticed any difference in my desire to drink, nor have I noticed any additional "kick" from drinking. That being said, my personal rule these days is to take 12.5mg an hour before my evening meal and beer. Obviously, that's doing the trick for me, 'cause at this point, I'm averaging less than 12 light beers per week, and never more than two (24oz) at a sitting. At this rate, my most recent Nal refill should last a couple of years.

I certainly don't recommend anybody else modify the program as prescribed -- but I did want to provide this information to add to the anecdotal TSM body of knowledge. The fact is, we aren't lab rats, so it's to be expected that there will be a wide range of experiences to report as time progresses. I feel it's important to be honest about those experiences -- even if they don't fit the norm.

In the name of full disclosure, I also only take 25 mg on the days that (1) I know I'll only have a couple and (2) when I know I'll have the drinks within a few hours of taking the naltrexone. I just don't like the idea of blocking my endorphins for 24 hours when I'm exercising, etc., if it's not necessary as I'm a daily exerciser. As this is not recommended in the book, I'm NOT recommending this for others but it seems to be working well for me.

Thanks a lot guys, it's going to be so much help to others in the future to hear how people are tweaking their own use of Nal to find their cure.

Nick,thanks for your honest post. I think it's a good idea!

I dropped to 25 when my duration of drinking session contracted to 4 hours or so. Wed. in the wee hours I popped another 25 due to an impromptu Irish wake for Teddy Kennedy (I have a distant connection and it was heartbreaking). Yesterday was my birthday and I popped 50 to be careful, and it turned out to be a good idea.

Netty, I got the idea from your post and the article link in it, and Dr. Eskapa's comment to you. I appreciate your sharing that information.

I had some ambivalence about posting this because I've noticed such things have the potential to get distorted. But I think we do a good job of correctiong one another when info is inaccurate, and besides, we all are responsible for how we use the information we find here.

So now that I am down to 3 to 5 drinks, and 4 to 5 hour sessions, 25 mg seems plenty. I make it a point to keep another 25 mg handy, just in case. My plan for post-cure is to cary 2 -25 mg. doses.

One thing I would argue against is ever going without. I was forced to for a while due to my illness and, yes, it does not feel different to drink off nal. But it was disheartening knowing that I was rebuilding the neural pathways I had been dismantling. Readdiction does not happen overnight of course. But just as we could not consciously feel the dismantling of the neural pathways, we do not consciously feel them rebuilding either. In my view, it's just not worth it. My progress in the cure is too precious to me to compromise it.