First week is in the books. 24 units and 2 AF days. I'm very happy with that - clearly a honeymoon going on here. That's down 35% from my usual of 35 units a week.

I am also happy with how my body has responded to the Nal. I'm still taking only 25mg, and will up it to 50 this weekend. Since this seems to be going well so far, I just don't want to rush my body into a full dose.

So far so good. Nal on, y'all!

YAY!!!!! great news!!!

Hi Takkat, To put my own 2 cents worth from the perspective of someone who is not cured, and still "in the process", I would give you the following advice: No matter what happens keep taking the pill! It's not ever going to be a negative, so why not do it? After being at this for 6 months now, I've reduced my drinking by about 40%. I have to admit I would have liked faster results, but I can't complain. I just need to get to the next level.....

Week 2 is almost over but I am still on 25mg. I didn't want to rush my body to 50mg, and since 25mg is definitely having an effect, I had decided to wait until the weekend of my second week to go to 50. That would have been last night, but instead I had an AF day.

I read someone say something I relate to very much - Nick, maybe? - about starting TSM. Right now, I am not worried about AF days. What I really want right now is to allow my body to get used to Nal; to waiting an hour after I take the pill to start drinking. To ensuring I take Nal on a full stomach. Basically to simply establish a new drinking routine.

My worst experiences with alcohol - not surprisingly - come when I have high-craving, and haven't eaten all day. Now that I think about it, in some ways those were also the best too! The "high" I get at those times is probably the reason I'm an alcoholic in the first place. But the hangovers from those times are the main reason I am doing TSM so...

Anyhow, what I want for now is to get used to doing TSM the right way, and letting Nal do its thing. The main benefit so far is that during any drinking session I am simply not wanting to drink as much. I am sure at some point my numbers will spike, and thanks to this board, I'm mentally prepared for that. But in the past two weeks, I've had only ONE hangover - yesterday - and even that was not a big deal at all. I didn't have an anxiety attack which was virtually guaranteed pre-TSM.

My biggest fear going into TSM after reading the real-world experiences on this board were the hangovers on Nal. And for me the anxiety attacks that go along with them. In fact, I don't even care if I puke my guts out as long as I don't have an anxiety attack. But like I said, in the two weeks since starting I've not had enough alcohol in me at any time to result in one.

The slight hangover I had yesterday I think was due to the fact that on Thursday, I didn't take Nal with very much food. The number of drinks I had (5) was still low for me. So the only reason I can see for the hangover was a relatively empty stomach. I imagine it would have been worse on 50mg which is why I've wanted to take this slow - especially if 25mg is working.

I plan to go to 50mg tonight (with food!). We'll see how that goes.

Hi TakKat,

Just my experience: I had a couple of anxiety attacks late in my pre-Nal drinking career, but since being on NAL, I haven't had any. That's just me. They came the day after big nights drinking, and were clearly caused by alcohol.

Stick with it. It works.

Two weeks down - so far so good! I was lower in week 2 than week 1. I don't think too much about that, except that the honeymoon continues.

I am up to 50mg as of three days ago. The first two doses at 50mg, I was a little extra-sleepy, and yesterday I had a slight, teeny-tiny headache. But other than than, things are going ok.

Nal-on y'all!

Good luck to you. Keep posting.

Thanks JDog! I appreciate the support.

I had my first real Nal hangover yesterday. On Wednesday I had 5 drinks, which is about half of what I'd have on a big night pre-Nal. There have been a couple of nights where I've had 5 drinks and had NO hangover, but then I was only taking 25mg, and Wednesday I had the full-dose. I have a few takeaways from this...

First, 50mg seems like a large dose right now. Maybe it's that my body is not used to it yet. Maybe it really is, in fact, a lot. I am not sure. But at 25mg the entire TSM experience was smooth for me (and definitely had an effect). So far 50 is a little more taxing on me. This is not a huge deal, but I note it.

Second, the hangover I had on Thursday morning was (oddly enough) better than the hangovers I had pre-TSM even though I got a little sick. Strange how I never put together how the panic attacks I had when I was hungover pre-TSM were related to how much I drank the night before. On TSM, I have yet to have a single anxiety attack, including Thursday. My best guess at this point is that TSM has me drinking less alcohol, so even though I'm hungover, I'm not having panic attacks.

Odd (and maybe even a little sad) to be picking between hangovers - - but seriously, I'll take a TSM-no-panic-attack-hangover over the alternative any day of the week!

Last, I had an appointment with my substance abuse counselor on Monday. It was interesting. I showed him the data I'd collected so far. For the 5 weeks prior to starting TSM I'd averaged 36 units/week, and the two full weeks of TSM data was ALOT less than that.

His reaction, btw, when I first came to him was literally to laugh at TSM, saying he thought it was "complete bunk." After looking at the (honeymoon) data, he wasn't laughing anymore. It was a little fun to watch him squirm a little.
He did say a few odd things. Like he basically said that TSM may in fact work for me, but I am in a tiny niche category, and am not a normal case of someone who comes seeking help with alcohol. His "normal" patient, is someone who's either compelled to come see him (like by a judge) or is so deep into alcoholism that they have no medical choice.

I find that sad, and told him so. I have issues with alcohol and have for 20 years. I may not have a DUI, marriage problems, or whatever, but I still have an issue with it. Basically he was telling me he has a one size fits all approach to deal with his patients: abstinence, AA, maybe Antibuse, and talk therapy.

I challenged him to think about TSM more and think of it as one more tool in the toolbox. We'll see if he changes his tune or not. Like I said, seeing as he was a little patronizing at the beginning it is kind of fun to watch him squirm a little. But at the same time, I really don't care what he thinks. I only care if TSM is really working or not, and so far, it is.

TK, I'm right there with you regarding the hangovers. Although PHYSICALLY my hangovers are worse on nal, and come after much less alcohol than before, I have yet to have a panic attack hangover since starting TSM - and that was by FAR the worst part of my drinking patterns. My hangovers now are just lots of nausea, sleepiness, and generally brain fog. Bad enough that I want to avoid them, but not the end of the world after a big celebration, for instance. And because I feel like I am DOING something about my drinking with TSM, I also don't have the crippling guilt hangovers either.
And I also agree with you that 50mg to me (a smallish person) feels slightly toxic...it feels like too much, even after months. However, 25mg feels like not quite enough...I can still get out of control on 25mg. My problem is literally that it's kind of hard to quarter the pills lol and they crumble...so I've been trying to do 25mg and then another 25mg later in the evening. I still vomited from that last Tuesday night, but it was better than only taking 25, I think.