I have been following along for a bit.

Just want to say hello; and have a good day.

Tim

Welcome, Tim! Are you just getting started with TSM or have you been at it for awhile?

Joe,
I started in June this year.

My initial results were WAY better than expected.

I had a couple of slips this month. However, I still feel that the process is working.

Thanks
Tim

Sounds good, Tim!

TSM is rather up and down, with the biggest variation being at the beginning. Scroll down and have a look at the graph on this page:

http://www.cthreefoundation.org/options ... self-sober

That's a 4-month graph, though we find that most people take 6-12 months to get to the point of indifference towards alcohol (with improvement along the way, of course).

When you say you had a couple of slips, did you mean drinking without the Naltrexone, or was it just that you drank more than you'd expected to?

I think most folk are used to drinking at home, so if you go out and drink you may hoover up a bit more than you'd counted on. That's pretty common, so don't let it get you down. Whether you're at home or out and about, it's good to practice active reduction techniques to go along with the work that Naltrexone is doing in the background. For instance you could put off your regular start time. You might put your drink out of reach or even in the next room, while keeping a NA drink close at hand. In general, work on slowing the pace and any tricks or techniques you've learned along the way will help break up the habitual/automatic part of drinking. Envision what you might be doing when you're drinking only half of what you're drinking now and what your evening might look like. Maybe there's something that AUD stopped you from enjoying and you'd like to get it back in your life?

In any case, please keep us up on how it's going for you, good, bad or neutral. We're keen to hear from you as often as you have time for!

Thanks for asking, I meant that I drank more than expected.

I find compliance with Naltrexone to be very easy.
I just set an alarm in the iPhone; and take it.

Thanks

Ah yes, there will be those times. At least Nal was protecting you so the addicted part of your brain couldn't use those slips to reinforce the addiction.

If your progress begins to slow, one of the areas you can push around a bit is your start time. Wait till you actually crave a drink, then take the Nal and wait an hour. Get a good glass of water down just before you have your first drink. At a few months in, I decided to start leaving my beer in the fridge after the first sip, that helped me stretch them out as it was easier to forget about it if it wasn't right next to me.

That said, I'm glad to hear you're doing so well! Keep up the good work!!