Hello! First post.

I'm 11 compliant weeks into TSM after 24 years of heavy drinking and one year of out-of-control drinking. Very inspired by the science and stories. Started around 80 drinks a week, still in the 50s/60s. Some mid-stream questions:

-Biggest thing I'm still not clear on, is should I push against cravings and use willpower to get numbers down? Or does extinction work by drinking whenever there's a craving like Pavlov's dog?

-Drinking feels a bit less-euphoric, but I still "like" it. Is that common?

-I quickly stopped having morning cravings, still have afternoon cravings some days. Night drinking feels much more entrenched, like digging out the root of a tree. Common?

-Only screw up was the other day when I thought I'd taken pill, had one shot and then saw pill on counter. Waited 1.5 hours for next drink but how bad is one slip like that?

-Is there a general correlation between how long you've been drinking and when the "cure" happens? Are career drinkers more on the 6-12 month end?

-For cured people, it seems it happens over 2-3 weeks once it kicks in from reading stories. Typical or random?

Thanks for any insight. Going to stay compliant no matter what, but would love to be as informed as possible.

Hi Jtothe!

Do push against the urge to drink, but don't avoid the cravings. When you crave is the optimal time to take the Nal. You only need one drink after that to hold up your end of the bargain, unless you really, really want the next one.

That you still like the drink is common, but because the Nal is blocking the endorphins the addicted part of the brain won't remember that you enjoyed it. That's what causes the addiction to fade.

All-day drinkers usually get rid of the morning drinks first and eventually back off till they're only drinking in the evening, then push back the evening start time, etc.

One drink without the Nal isn't going to be that big a deal, but you're dealing with something that's relentless. So you have to be MORE relentless. Be sure to have some Nal with you at all times.

There doesn't seem to be a huge correlation, it's just my observation that most people take 6-12 months. Some do take longer, but they get enough of a reduction along the way that they're more than encouraged to stick with it.

I called my cure in retrospect, the beginning of it is marked by overall disinterest in drinking. Once I got down to 3 or less a day, the addiction really started falling apart.

Thanks so much, Joe SixPack. Super helpful! Gonna keep on keepin' on.

You're welcome, Jtothe! Keep us up on how you're doing!