merlot,
your post here made me curious about what the alcohol content of my usual light beer is. i found this online http://www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm i hope this info is useful rather than leading to all more possibilities in calculating units
all the best with the "new mix",
path

Thanks for your comments StJude and Path. Path, the link is interesting. I may refer to it in the future. Fortunately, the beer I am typically drinking now is 5% alcohol which is standard. I may add a 3.5% beer next week and, if so, will count it as described above, basically each 3.5% beer is .7 units.

Update: W10 results. I managed one planned AF day which wasn't too difficult. That helped me to continue to cut my units down a bit this week. I'm happy with the results so far. Also, I've added a new line for AF days.






Data so far:

Weeks on TSM: 10
Units on TSM: 345
Average units per week: 34.5

Typical weekly units pre-TSM: 60+

Goals going forward: at least 1 AF day each week and maintain units at or around upper level of moderate drinking for men (24 units) according to Eskapa's book.

Merlot,

That is great!! Your drinking is down to moderate levels!! What an achievement. It sounds like your goals are realistic and you are progressing very well. Please keep posting your progress is inspirational. BTDT

Below is an approximation of the graph in Eskapa's book on the Finnish study. I found it interesting that the starting amount was only 37 units per week. I started at a much higher level -- around 60 units. I place it here for future reference and to compare the progress in the study to my own progress.



I note that at around 70 days -- where I am about now -- units were down by less than 50%. This tells me I am making good progress relative to this group of patients, although I started at a higher initial unit count.

Merlot, this graph makes an excellent point which we all need to be aware of. Eskapa wrote, "You can also expect your actual drinking to go down to about fifteen drinks per week within three to four months and eventually down to nine drinks per week, as shown in figure 9 (page 120)" The 3-4 month cure that Eskapa talks about in the book is from a starting point of 37 drinks/week average down to the moderate drinking level of 15 drinks per week. From a starting point of 37 drinks per week (5.3/day) this seems a very reasonable definition of cured. It represents a 59% reduction in drinking from pre-TSM within 3-4 months. When you are drinking 60, 80, 100 or 120 like some of the people on this board that is a whole different ballgame. When you're at 120 drinks/week and you go to 50 drinks/week in 3-4 months you feel better but still not cured because you are way over moderate limits. When I look at my numbers at the 3-4 month period I was down 58%, same for mlb and I'm sure others if we look at their charts. This is exactly what the data from Eskapa showed. So I will go out on a limb here and say this for anyone reading. A 3-4 month cure with TSM will only likely happen if you are starting from a 37 drink per week basis. If your numbers are higher there is no data to say how long it may take. Presumably, we who are drinking above 37 drinks per week are more alcoholic, the disease has progressed farther. It seems logical that it will take longer for us to get down to moderate levels. Anyone who starts TSM at 80 drinks/week and thinks they will be cured in 3-4 months is setting themselves up for disappointment. The data don't support a cure that quickly for people at such high levels. Thanks for posting the graph Merlot. This is something I tried to point out to JamesCT when he was on the board but he couldn't/wouldn't see for the forest for the pessimistic trees he was surrounded by. He is over at MWO now making trouble on the Naltrexone thread as "37 degrees" (98.6 degrees F).

Saint Vincent, I've looked at the data in Eskapa's book -- especially the graph of one study on p.29 -- a bit more closely today and here is the approximate data:

Participants: 148
Successful patients: 115 (78%)
Average pre-TSM units: 37 (100%)
Average units after 9 months: 9 (just under 25% of initial 37 units)

The approximate data month-by-month:

Pre-TSM: 37 units (100%)
1m (30d) 27.75 units (75%)
2m (60d) 25 units
3m (91d) 20 units (> 50%)
4m (121d) 17.50 units (< 50%)
5m (152d) 15 units
6m (182d) 14 units
7m (213d) 13 units
8m (243d) 12 units
9m (274d) 9.25 units (25%)
10m (304d) 9.25 units
11m (335d) 9.25 units
12m (365d) 9 units

I graph the approximate data below:



As you can see, an average 25% reduction in units took place by the end of the first month (30 days), a 50% reduction in units occurred by about 4th month mark (or around 105 days) and an average 75% reduction in units occurred after about 9m (274 days). The "cure" in fact appears to be just that: a 75% reduction in units (from 37 to 9 per week in this study) and took 9 months on average.

I may post the above in the general TSM discussion forum.

Very interesting point Merlot, nice analysis

yes, very interesting.
i wonder if we could have a poll of those here, how many are close to this pattern, ie. 25% in 30 days, 50% at 105 days etc.
could we have everyone weigh in as to what percentage decrease they are having at 30 days and at 4 months? it should probably be posted elsewhere, so as to not completely usurp merlot's progress thread. i'm not sure how that would be set up in an easy to use format, anyone else know how? thanks!
path

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll create a thread with this data in the TSM General Discussion sub-forum later today. I think the figures show that it takes longer than 3 to 4 months for most people to reduce their drinking beyond 50% of pre-TSM levels. The people in the study only averaged 37 units per week and it still took them about 9 months to reduce their units by 75%.