New, used to goto aa long time ago, now I'm going for TSM

angie.ridesnow · **Joined:** Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:05 am **Posts:** 34

Hi Seth,
I'm new to the forum but wanted to let you know that I am a Veteran as well and was prescribed Naltrexone from my Psych Nurse Practitioner at the VA. However, she did not inform me of TSM nor did she mention pharmaceutical extinction, just merely gave me directions on how to take it. So you have a head start which is great! I wish I had found the book and forums ahead of time and started TSM the right way. Now after being sober for a while, I have to start over with TSM and reintroduce alcohol to my body. Well worth it if it's going to kick the cravings!

Welcome! Everyone here has been extremely helpful and I'm so grateful!

reboot · **Joined:** Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:22 pm **Posts:** 336

Hey Seth,

We have a few quirks here as far as terminology but pretty easy to handle once you figure it out.

AF has been explained.

GR or golden rule is what you will hear a lot of. The golden rule is to ALWAYS TAKE A PILL AN HOUR BEFORE YOU DRINK. Set a timer on your phone or watch so that you do not drink to early.

SE is side effects. There are many who experience side effects when first starting out. Most here will tell you to start with a quarter or half pill and work your way up to a full dose. You can probably search side effects on this site and see a lot of helpful hints on that subject. But almost everyone reports them going away or being diminished to minor issues.

AL is alcohol

TSM is The Sinclair method

NAL is the short cut for the medicine itself. There are several other med abbreviations used as well.

The tracking of the drinks or units is a way to see your progress and to bring awareness to how much you are drinking against the "norm". Since everyone pours drinks differently and each type of liquor has different percentages of AL a lot of people use units to convert every thing to a common measurement. But it is not a requirement that you track in any particular way -just try to be consistent so that you can track your own progress. If you search 'drink units' you will find plenty of info on that.

A lot of people track their progress based on a how many units they have consumed in a week and how many AF days they have had in the week in their signature at the bottom of the post. You can add this signature stamp by going up to the right hand corner of screen and clicking on user control panel, then edit profile, then edit signature. You add what you want and then each time you post it will appear below your post. You have to update each week to keep it current but is pretty easy to do. There is a maximum amount of characters allowed so eventually people convert ot tracking by average drinks/units in a month and how many total AF days in a month. Again - not a requirement just something to help track and for people to see your progress.

While waiting for your meds it would be a good idea to go through the weekly progress reports, the cured sections and FAQs. The active posts shortcut on the top left side of screen is an easy way to keep up with the most recent posts.

Good luck

seth.i.rosen · **Joined:** Tue Jan 05, 2016 1:58 pm **Posts:** 7

Bardo wrote:

Some folks here elect to publicly track their progress. AF = Alcohol Free days. The numbers reflect the units consumed. If you haven't already you're advised to read,"The Cure for Alcoholism". Therein you'll better understand the extinction process and/or the treatment. For example it directs participants to keep a personal log of their drinks in order for you to have a better grasp on your progress.

Keep us posted.

Thanks I have the book I'm reading it, wish there was audio of it.

jaba · **Joined:** Wed Jul 15, 2015 9:35 pm **Posts:** 1426

Seth,

There is a link to Sinclair with a pod cast (I hope it works) on this forum. It explains TSM and how he discovered it, but it isn't a podcast of the book.

Jaba

zontar · **Posted:** Sat Jan 09, 2016 6:48 am

welcome Seth. you've come to the right place. absorb the book and follow the golden rule and odds are you'll see progress. good luck!

seth.i.rosen · **Joined:** Tue Jan 05, 2016 1:58 pm **Posts:** 7

Day 54 update: Things are great last month I had 5 AF days don't have units at the moment. So far this month 4 units and this is day 6 AF. So on one day on nal this month. I'm planning on having a few units Friday night unless I get a craving before then.

Yesterday I attended a new SMART meeting in Philadelphia which was nice, they are TSM friendly and one other person was using nal which was really cool. If anyone wants info on the meeting it's the only one in Philly listed on the SMART website.

Seth

jaba · **Joined:** Wed Jul 15, 2015 9:35 pm **Posts:** 1426

Seth,

Your progress sounds amazing! I never could do a stretch of AF days in the beginning (I could only have one after a nal over), so be proud of that stretch it really is remarkable!

seth.i.rosen wrote:

Yesterday I attended a new SMART meeting in Philadelphia which was nice, they are TSM friendly and one other person was using nal which was really cool.

I am so happy to here this. I wished I lived near by, for I would love to sit in a meeting where you could actually talk about TSM. Maybe there is hope yet for others to follow suit!

Keep doing what your are doing for it is working, and thanks for the tip about that Smart meeting.

Jaba

JoeSixPack · **Joined:** Sun Dec 06, 2015 11:28 pm **Posts:** 1646

Hmm....

I envision such a meeting, with a section for those that are curious, One Little Pill playing...

While that's going on, veteran TSM'ers can talk, swap ideas and have a drink if they like (and aren't driving). Extinction charts everywhere! lol!

New, used to goto aa long time ago, now I'm going for TSM

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