Sounds like a great start!! Keep up the good work!! Newlife

Checking in...The forum won't let me update my signature anymore due to length restrictions. I think I'm making progress still. I'm 2 months into TSM at this point. Numbers wise, my units per week is less than it was when I started, but I'm not sure if it's statistically significant. I definitely do feel an urge to stop a bit earlier than I did before. I felt pretty good about my progress until around 10 days ago, when I had a hardcore blackout binge night that rivaled my greatest binges. However, since then I got back on track. I've had about 10 days off for christmas and have drank less than I normally would on a prolonged vacation.

I haven't mentioned before, but my wife is pregnant with our first child that is due next summer. My goal was, and still is, to eliminate my blackout drinking binges before the baby is born. I'm still not 100% sold on TSM being my cure, but carrying forward for a few more months to see where it takes me.

The spikes are to be expected, Wrench. The lizard brain is fighting back to steer you back towards the same old used-to-be, but the spikes are generally followed by new low drinking days.

Many leave the blackouts behind, but the odd blackout seems to happen to some. How's your upper limit control feeling in general?

Coming up near the 4 month mark now of TSM. Jury is still out... I am drinking a little less, but only a little. I really hate the side effects of nal. Sometimes I white knuckle not drinking, just because I don't want to have to deal with nal side effects/hangover.

I've decided I'm going to give this treatment 6-8 months to work. If at that point my progress isn't much better than it is right now I may throw in the towel.

I just put together a drink graph with trendline and it looks like my progress is actually a bit more than I realized. I know my overall weekly units are "low" but keep in mind I typically binge drink these in 1 or 2 nights, it's not evenly spread out across every day of the week.

Hi Wrench,

I am a binge drinker like you, had some good success with TSM though fell back in my old rhythm of getting blind drunk once a week. I am drinking through the Nal (with purpose)..am in now for about 4 months
any hints guys
cheers
CB

Colorblind, if you haven't increased the dose to 50mg consider doing so if the side effects aren't a problem. Stick to the One Hour Rule and start breaking up your usual habit by any means you can, even to the point of pouring the drink, taking a sip and then walking away from it. Watch for times during the evening when you start drinking faster and switch to a soft drink (watching tv, talking on the phone, etc).

You can shorten the time TSM takes by consciously pushing back against the "habit" part of the addiction, so work on that aspect. Slow down the rate of your drinking so if your brain is trying to tell you it's had enough booze for the night, you don't blaze right past it. Too much booze too fast and you're going to numb the very faculty you want to have help you.

Thanks a lot Joe
I decided to change tactics. rather than waiting for the craving which comes once a week I now got some booze at home. I take one Mal (50mg) one hour before and than have a swig and do that every day. Lets see how that goes, 1 Nal + 1 drink every day, lets see if the urge to get drunk subsides with time...
thanks for your continuous support
CB

Yes, please let us know how you do with that, CB!

Hi Joe
I have been using the tactic with a daily nal+1 drink for the week now and it went well. It takes the craving hike on the WE out it seems hence I didn't get wasted which is the most important. Do you think I could go on with this for a month or so getting the extinction going?
thanks
CB