Agreed. Keep posting.

And here is another (moi) with anhedonia, though unrelated to Nal, and definitely unrelated to Bac, as I've never tried it--though the positive SEs of Bac sound awesome! I'm sort of a 'basket case'--nerves, people scare the sh*t out of me--but I do have something to do, now, career-wise (that actually makes sense!), so any boost would help. If only I could be a robot with my programme(s) of choice.

writeratlarge--fabulous username, BTW--excellent recommendations on L-tryptophan (I mentioned 5-htp, another form), L-theanine, and GABA. Some people might not dig the nutritive approach, or perhaps would squawk over the price of supplements. To the former, nothing can be said. The latter, however, I can tell them I no longer vomit, nor am I assaulted by steamroller headaches, and if I do get any sort of hangover, it's a fun-fest in comparison to what I used to experience. I don't try to kill myself anymore, either, which is a bonus for the love of my life and those others who depend upon me.

For writeratlarge and anyone else interested in supplements that aid a more healthful body/mind: B complex, 5-htp, 4k of vitamin C or more a day (1k an hour; it's cheap at Trader Joe's, probably online, too, just get the crystals of ascorbic acid), 1k niacin per day, not the time-release rubbish, though (super-helpful if you've had DTs or crazy thoughts/visions), some EFAs, a good broad-spectrum multimineral, and a good multi-vit. Looks like a lot, but it's only seven items altogether to add to one's day. I split it into two batches (except the C, which is pissed out at anything over 1k an hr.).

Ives, sounds like youre doing marvellously. Again, I urge kindness to oneself. Yes, taking stock of one's actions, consumption, etc. for certain is wise. But never give yourself hell. Hasn't over-boozing given us enough in that realm?

All the best to you and yours,

Xanthippe

Ah, supplements. Yeah, I am taking several of them actually.

Lecithin - 2400 mg in the morning. Supposed to help reverse liver problems caused by drinking, and improves memory.
EFA (essential fatty acid) supplement - 2400 mg each of fish oil, borage seed oil, and flax seed oil, taken in the morning. Fish oil contains vitamin A as a bonus.
B-50 complex - Heavy dose of B-vitamins, typically 50 mg or 50 mcg of each vitamin in each pill. I take one in the morning and one with lunch. If my urine isn't bright yellow, I know I missed my dose.
Vitamin C - 1000 mg in the morning. Could probably be taking more of this.
Vitamin D - 1000 IU gelcap in the morning. A doctor once told me this helps with anxiety, and I live in a northern latitude where I don't get enough sun exposure most of the year.

Hello Ives,

I have really enjoyed reading this thread. I've gotten much out of it. I just wanted to mention this in case you are still not able to sleep with the natural supplements. I don't know where you live or if you have access to a doctor, but a prescription med that is extremely helpful with sleep is Trazedone. Millions of people take this....and trust me....you WILL sleep. It is a very safe drug, first employed as an antidepressant, but the doses that were affective for depression made people so sleepy that it was ruled out for this purpose. It is now used very successfully as a sleep aid. It has helped me immensely and it is NOT addictive. Hope this helps.....

Cindy

Week 0: 72 (week before starting TSM)
Week 1: 63
Week 2: 57
Week 3: 69
Week 4: 50

A good week overall. 30% less drinking compared to week 0. Getting close to that first milestone already:

Sun: 4
Mon: 4.5
Tue: 9.5
Wed: 7
Thu: 5.5
Fri: 9.5
Sat: 10

Except for Tuesday, I did really well on work nights. Went camping again this weekend and had quite a few, but nothing too crazy. Feeling optimistic about this next week.


Thanks for the tip. I'm hoping to avoid relying on medication to sleep. My problem isn't that I can't sleep, but that I will not get naturally sleepy until it's really late. I generally need to be asleep by midnight, but without alcohol or something to help that happen, I'll be up until 2 AM, and I will be a mess the next day because I really need a full eight hours. It's good to know that there are options out there though if it becomes more of a problem.

Hey, Ives, great progress. Let's hope when your body adjusts to less alcohol your sleep patterns will level out a bit. So many people report the same thing. Don't remember if you have tried melatonin or not but it's very safe even at high doses and will re-set your internal clock rather than act as a 'drug.' You might try 3 mg an hour before bed for a week. At least google it as see if it's something to try.
Babs

Because of TSM I have not been properly "drunk," as in, experiencing the euphoria that comes with it, in over a month, and deep in my brain I am craving that feeling very badly. The last couple of days have not been good, in the sense that I am drinking aggressively, trying to break through the naltrexone blockade. The blockade is very effective and very frustrating. Following the one hour protocol must be absolutely critical, because I can remember in my past attempts when I was not following it strictly, I was still getting that response to some degree. This time, I get almost nothing, but I want it desperately. Rather than having four or five drinks, keeping my BAC fairly low and not being bothered by it like last week, I'm actively seeking to hit a high level and with considerable motivation. Last night I managed to keep it to just 7 somehow, and fortunately after taking melatonin, going to bed finally became the desired course of action as I finished the last one. Tonight I'm working on #7 and now taking a melatonin in the hopes that I can shut this down before it gets further out of hand.

Yes, that's what I use currently. Thanks for the tip, though.

Hi Ives,

It's such a double edged sword at times, isn't it? The Nal is doing what it does, what we want it to do, what we hoped it would do and yet a part deep in our brains still puts up a fight. I've read lots of other posts on here where people have had the same response. It's like the beast won't lay down and die without putting up a fight.

I don't know what the answer is but I just read this in the book...."Be alert that, even very early in your treatment, you may occasionally experience a suprising ability to stop after only a couple of drinks. However, this decrease in drinking and craving is merely an artifact of the treatment.The naltrexone is blocking some of the effects from the first drink and from the stimuli that have become conditioned to release endorphins: this helps block the "first drink effect". The powerful effects from pharmalogical extinction develop much more slowly and cannot cure you in a week or two. It took you a long time to reach your current craving and drinking levels, and it will take at least three to four months to reverse the addiction"

All the best,

Ruth.

Hi Ives,

After a good week last week with my units noticeably down, I too, am struggling this week, and perhaps not fighting it exactly, but not trying too hard to listen to the Nal voice. I'm not feeling the glimmer of indifference that I was starting to get. Which may be due to my Dr. switching my antidepressant to Prozac - although my mood is better, I wonder if the Nal and ProZ are at cross purposes? Last night could almost have been an AF night for me; I am enthused about a new fitness app on my iPod with hundreds of classes available and I did my first workout, finishing about 6:30pm. In fact I had taken my Nal about 5pm but chose the class over a drink! Progress, yes, but only to a point, because I still opened a bottle of wine... to celebrate doing the workout? Out of habit? I don't know. And then settled in on the couch with a few episodes of Dr. Who, ended up staying up too late, and finishing that bottle, then opening another and having one more glass. I'm going to have to push myself a little harder and be more aware of whether I really want that extra drink or two. Anyway, all that to say, I feel your frustration and it's not necessarily a smooth or straight trajectory, but it will continue to decline if we let it.

Ruthie, thanks for posting that excerpt - a good reminder for so many of us who are only days or weeks in to TSM and impatient for those breakthroughs, that are months in the making for most.

Week 0: 72 (week before starting TSM)
Week 1: 63
Week 2: 57
Week 3: 69
Week 4: 50
Week 5: 73 (?)

It was a very bad week. 10 to 12 drinks every night from Tuesday through Saturday. Several mornings waking up to find myself still slightly drunk. Friday and Saturday put me over the edge, as I stayed up very late Friday drinking at a party, got very little sleep, and then spent all of Saturday drinking. Today's hangover was one of those special ones where I can tell that something was seriously wrong. No headache -- it's not dehydration. Instead, a feeling of malaise, like you might get from a flu...tiredness, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, depression. I can't remember the last time I had a hangover of this magnitude, it's been probably about six months. With such a long streak of heavy drinking and no off days, my body stops being able to bounce back from it. I think my liver enzymes must be depleted or something. At age 28, I can still recover from this and return to normal within a day or two. As I get older, I don't think I will be able to count on that.

Despite this unpleasantness, this coming week is a new week. I will be in bed soon, having consumed under 4 drinks for the night. Hopefully last week's nightmarish excess and the punishment I endured as a result will be a strong motivating factor for me to get myself back in order.

Looks like you are having a return to previous drinking, and possibly nallover combined.

After cure point I used to get a strange taste in my mouth and feel really flat if I drank more than 2 or 3 days in a row with nal. It's not a great combination but it is necessary. Hope you get through this.