Yup, yesterday I totally missed my nal and consumed about 6 or 7 units. Ironically I had absolutely no cravings (my friend was drinking beers as we viewed a football game) and then his wife came down offering to make bloodys. Sure, I'll have one. Hah! Is this a major setback to what for me has been a pretty faithful adherence to the regime? My only other snafu has been rushing the nal i.e. immediate consumption after popping tab. Any insight out there?

Insight: DO NOT DO THAT.

FURTHER INSIGHT: iF YOU ARE FOOLISH AND DO IT FOR A DAY, SAY, "OH WELL" AND NEVER DO IT AGAIN.

Thanks guys, I get the drift loud and clear. Will buy one of those pill holder thingamajigs pronto. Thaaks 4 the replys! Jazz

There is only one rule to follow on TSM. And no, it's NOT admitting that you are powerless, or taking a moral inventory, or turning yourself over to a higher power, or making amends to everyone you ever harmed, or spending the rest of your free time dedicated to spiritual growth and your awakening, not to mention spending the majority of your free time in some dingy room with bad coffee and chain smokers for the rest of your life. No, none of that. Just take the pill an hour before you drink -- that's it.

In light of the other "alternatives", taking your naltrexone in advance isn't too much to ask. I'm not spiritual and I'm not religious, but I agree that religiously taking your naltrexone one hour before drinking is a good religion to live by.

All that being said, one slip up will not have a major impact on the de-addiction process. But don't do it again, you are re-addicting yourself any time you drink without naltrexone at a hyper-fast pace because of upregulation. If you don't know what that is, look it up on page 121 of Eskapa's book.

Take it easy.

Nick

Nick, I did look it up and frankly have a hard time fully understanding those 2 pages. I interpret drinking wo nal as producing a rebound effect whereby the rewards are heightened more than they normally would be pre tsm hence the danger. Is this right? Thanks, Jazz

That's right. As I understand it, the naltrexone blocks the opiate receptors and the brain responds by creating more of them, which is no problem so long as you take the naltrexone because they are all blocked. However, if you then drink without the nal, there are more opiate receptors for the ensuing endorphin rush and you get more drunk and a greater endorphin rush than you would have pre-TSM and you get re-addicted that much faster. So, it's a very bad idea to drink without the naltrexone once you start as you will get re-addicted in short order and undo any of the benefits of extinction that you have already made while using TSM. All that being said, one time won't kill you, just don't do it again.