I know this is an older post but I wanted to comment on what NoDict looks like. That's the stuff I have.

It's a round pill, not flat (sort of convex on each side), a light orangish color, with a scoring line down the middle of one side. There are no numbers or other embossing on the pill. If I can remember this evening I can take a photo (though since this is my first post I might not be able to post or link to it).

Just a little on topic - I've been on Nal for a month and I'm definitely in a phase of increased drinking after a week of decreased drinking, which started to worry me. But I think what I am doing is drinking through it to get to the intoxication. I have noticed that means I need to drink way more than usual to get there, so I guess it's working. Last night, I stopped at a light buzz because I was tired and wanted to go to bed. So, that was nice. Rather than falling asleep with a drink in my hand and spilling it on the floor or falling asleep on the sofa with a half-drunk drink on the side table.

So, I certainly recognize the psychological conditioning I need to break.

BTW, I am a daily binge drinker. I probably drink 12-16 american units a night. Usually to passing out, but not blacking out (that rarely happens anymore). I drink after work and on weekends. I generally don't day drink (but sometimes brunch with my girlfriends happens). Funnily enough, I don't think I have a regular physical addiction. I do believe I have the opioid receptor one, but when I do have AF days (usually related to work travel where I really need clarity of mind to work long intense hours) I don't get any withdrawal symptoms and feel great because I am well rested, hydrated, etc.

I'm also relieved to hear from folks who stuck with it and it eventually did work for them. I think that will likely be me.

Anyway, I didn't mean to introduce myself here and hijack this thread. I really only meant to describe what the NoDict pill looks like. BTW, I did read about it taking longer to take effect so I chew mine up. They're extremely bitter, but some cold water and sour apple gum takes care of it really quickly.

Thanks for the reply, Heavy!

In late Fall, my Nal refill came in like you described. I didn't know different and drank after an hour. Actually, at that time, I was pushing it to 45 minutes. Anyway, I definitely think it made me backtrack some. I'm back on track and will have under 20 this week. I'm at 10 (great weekend!) and my week ends after Thursday, so it's looking real good.

I don't mind you posting here. The more the merrier! I will say, though, that I only respond here, now--I don't post new things. There is a much more active TSM site that I frequent daily. The people here are awesome, but I needed more frequency.

You can find that here: http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/ ... ss-stalled

With a success rate of 80% (maybe higher among those who follow the rules faithfully), keep at it and it's quite likely you will succeed!

Hope to see you around!

Thanks for the welcome! I did see you moved over and why. I'll go check it out. Congrats on your success! I can't wait until I have regular AF days and have weekly consumption that's closer to my daily...

See you on the other board!

Hi Hvy and welcome!

I was at about the same level as you when I started TSM and after I started, I initially drank as much as I wanted. I still saw improvement month by month, although week by week my numbers were up and down. That's always more pronounced at the beginning, it's called the Honeymoon Effect. You'll have times when you drink more on TSM, but even if you get drunk, the addicted part of your brain won't remember that you enjoyed drinking and that's what causes the compulsion to fade.

That being said, it doesn't hurt at all to try to lean against those upswings and use any tricks you've used in the past to lower your drinking levels. Otherwise, don't try to rush things too much. One trick I used after a couple of months was to leave my beer in the fridge in between sips and keep a NA drink close at hand. Using some chore or diversion between sips would find me forgetting about the drink for a half hour to an hour or more. Especially, if you can stick with an NA drink when you normally drink faster (like when you're watching TV or you're on the phone), you can begin observing and changing the habitual part of your drinking behavior while Nal is working on breaking the links between alcohol and pleasure that have grown in the addicted part of your brain. That's mainly what TSM does, it reverses the neuroplastic changes in your brain that chronic drinking put there. That's a process that takes months and month and is up and down all the way.

Thanks!

Frankly, that's a relief to hear.

I tend to come home from work, and after doing chores, etc, I start drinking when I sit down for the evening to read. Usually between 7 and 9p. So, perhaps having some herbal iced tea in the fridge, keep that with my while I'm reading, and get up to get my cocktail...that might be something I should try.

I'll have to find another strategy for when I'm social drinking. I also drink fast then, too. Maybe for each drink, I have a glass of water before I have another drink... I already do that sometimes, especially once I feel I've downed too much too fast and I'm feeling it and don't want to go down. I'll switch to water for a while. Perhaps I take a more pro-active role with using water.

On the days I manage to cut myself off and put myself to bed always make me feel good about myself because I was in a place where I didn't feel the need to keep going so it was easy to stop. Like last night. I think I had 8 units last night. Rather than the double of that I often have.

Well, it certainly sounds like TSM is having a positive impact, so the rest is about 100% compliance with taking the Nal and patience as your brain becomes deprogrammed from it's current alcohol-seeking wiring.

Having a glass of water in between drinks is a great idea, maybe you could intersperse with wine flips or a kalimoxto to purposely slow the pace.