I can honestly say after one year of being "cured", that I can think of life without it. It seems that is the direction TSM is taking me anyway. I would not be surprised if I'll be entirely abstinent within the next 3 months. And the beauty of it will be that it will happen on its own, with no effort on my part.

Bob

And it's amazing TSM only works with a very fractional few..you guys (and the gals wherever they are) posting above being the ones mostly. Most of us on here, it doesn't & won't work for. I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but in my difficult time between TSM, trying BAC & now the plunge to Topamax..the research bears me out. Most people do not respond to NAL/TSM.

Baclofen is the latest deal, but UGH - those SEs!!! I HATED feeling like a walking zombie and even worse, the weight gain!! From what I've read on the MWO forum, which was started by Roberta Jewell, taking Topa & all her herbs & crap...and talking to folks it worked for...onward & upward. Never one to fall on my pitard, I am going to try this new medicinal therapy and hope against hope I lose 20 lbs, not my hair, and also the desire to drink!! THAT would be a miracle indeed! ****

If that doesn't work - I will figure out PLan D because I know there MUST be something out there that will stop my brain from wanting wine in massive quantities everyday of my life!!! GAWD -

And to all, a good night! XO

I must emphatically disagree that it is a "very fractional few". It certainly isn't 78% (from Sinclair's research) of the people who have stumbled onto this site. And it definitely takes longer than stated (in Eskapa's book). The exact percentage I do not know and neither does anyone here know what it is. It absolutely has greater effectiveness than the self-remission or AA rate of 5%.

Let's face it. Cured people leave. What's the point of staying here talking about a problem that's no longer a problem? It is difficult staying engaged. I recognize that people for whom it does not work leave too. I myself will leave when I go abstinent or on December 15 of this year, whichever comes first. My wife has requested that I do so, so as to make up for the time lost over the years from alcoholism and then from being engaged with my friends here. So I have set the limits and will go on with my life without alcoholism and maybe life without alcohol.

For those that have not read my history here, I was a daily over-drinker for I don't know how many years. When I tried to moderate I could not. I tried 21 or 22 times to stop over a period of over 4 years using different methods ranging from AA (the most ineffective method) to Aversion Therapy (the worst physical experience). All failed. TSM seemed like it wasn't working until I was many months into it, when I developed control and dropped to moderate drinking levels. I feel that a year after that "cure" date, that I have so much control now, I may stop altogether. I could not say that a year ago, so was I cured back then or am I truly cured now after 17 months?

So please don't be discouraged by those who it has not seemed to work for... yet. Patience is important. There is nothing to lose, even if you try other methods, always take your Naltrexone.

Bob

Bob & everyone else -
I do not want to discourage ANYONE from trying TSM. I'm just saying...well, what I said. It has been a miracle cure for many of you, but a non-event for many others of us. I still encourage and am passing the book on to many people (discreetly and with the time frame of "the cure" modified)...

There is no doubt this method works for a WHOLE LOT of people, but a "majority" or "most"??? I dunno - I'm trying to be diplomatic, but I actually think it's working better on beer & hard liquor drinking men/women rather than strictly wine drinking females. I only know this because I talk to "them that is like me" all the time. Not to discourage wine-drinking females!!! TRY THIS METHOD PEOPLE - IT JUST MIGHT WORK!!! Who knows!! LOL

Again, The Sinclair Method is AWESOME and a MIRACLE for many people. I strongly recommend it...as opposed to NAL while being abstinent, etc....and everytime I read the above posts, I am humbled beyond belief. If the testimonies of the ones on here are anything - I would go with them. Awesome stuff! I am beyond disbelief! NAL works -no doubt about it, many many times.

Just doesn't work for a number of others for a number of other reasons. Just sayin'...

interesting to read all this stuff. I haven't been around since June and was going to wait until Sept before coming back and reporting how I was doing. But reading all the above comments got me thinking.

In my case I posted 'cured' months ago, and for the most part I was cured. HOWEVER, I still want to kill my anxiety and depression with alcohol. I don't mostly, but sometimes I do, especially on weekends when hubby drinks more (he has wine every day and will NOT cut back even to help me). My head tells me this is really stupid. It does not work. It makes me feel worse not better. The fact that I'm still trying would seem to mean that I'm not cured. Yet I feel cured in my body - it's my head and emotions where I have the problems.

So my "problem" is no longer alcohol per se, but trying to relieve my unhappiness by blotting it out with booze. I'm actively seeking other things - like L-glut and 5HTP to raise seratonin levels, and I'm going back on HRT to try to normalize mood swings and not sleeping well - all this will help I'm sure so that I can feel good again.

My personal problems however at this moment are unsolvable. So I guess my only reality is to stop drinking. This is the hardest part. Knowing that I can't dull my pain with wine. Knowing that it simply fails to do the job.

Am I still pecking at the lever? Am I cured? I never drink without the Nal, thank goodness, so I'm always in control. But I hope some of my other strategies work for me as I really would like to be alcohol free. Great discussion and I'm glad to see some of you are still here being honest with yourselves and us too - it all helps.

BGH: I have chronic anxiety, but no depression. I take 40mg Paxil and 5 to 10mg of diazepam daily to function normally. I actually take less diazepam than I used to when I drank. My psychiatrist is happy with that. He has a saying that "less is more".

Getting de-addicted from alcohol obviously does not solve your problems or any psychiatric conditions. It does take one more complicating factor out of the equation. I have read that Baclofen treats the underlying cause that drives people to use alcohol for relief. Personally, I never tried it because my current medication regimen works well. Others seem to need to address the root cause.

Bob