As I understand it, you want to couple the craving with the blocking action of the Nal, but if you're having good luck with your current tactic I'd say stick with it!

Hi Joe

the whole story ended in a monster bender, the one drink/day just built craving thunderstorm and I went on a bender
I just still have this desire to get totally drunk mainly due to boredom and loneliness
bloody vicious

How has was it compared to your more recent binge days? Did you black out?

yes Joe, the full program...

Keep at it, CB. Eventually TSM will erase booze from the menu of remedies for the boredom. I know it's difficult for bingers to stop once they get started, but try to throw some "hard stops" in there and keep the drink out of your sight after you begin drinking. Anything that will give the conscious part of your brain a chance to surface and moderate.

Have you checked out Moderation.org? Have a look, they have online forums that might help. Also, SMART Recovery (while mainly about abstinence) has a type of CBT that they use, it could help bring up some alternate choices for when you feel lonely.

Are you totally out in the sticks there?

Hi Joe

Binging seems to be difficult to treat, I didn't respond to baclofen either, although I toll really high doses.

With TSM I am worried that with my binging sessions happening only on WE or every 2 weeks I don't get enough Nal to eventually work.
I will stay on course though, now I had 2 weeks of zero again, without Nal or booze.
Thanks for all your support
cheers
CB

Color, a few questions:

1. Are you taking any other meds aside from the Nal?

2. Are you working with a doc on this or getting your meds online?

3. When you binge, are you managing to redose if you go beyond 12 hours after your first dose?

You might also want to take a look at this post:

http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/ ... heck-study

You're about 5 months in now and it seems many bingers take longer to reach that point of control than daily drinkers do. That being said, there are also plateaus with TSM, I ran into a couple of 2 month plateaus that bounced around in a range, then all of a sudden I dropped down into a lower range. Most people take around 6 months till they get the kind of control they're looking for and more than a few take longer than that. Take a look at this thread to see how it's gone for others.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2442&hilit=time+to+cure

One of the things that seems to be harder for bingers is to exert conscious control, so start working on that by breaking up the habitual part of your drinking. Don't keep the drink by you, actually keep it in another room, out of your sight. Start knocking out little chores or cruise the net and give the conscious part of your brain a chance to surface and vote on pouring that next drink. See if you can document that point in the evening where you start to lose control (and throwing the pauses in your drinking can help you do that). Recycle any delay/divert tactics you've learned in the past. You don't need to use it to maintain abstinence this time, you just need to have it break up the habit in tonight's drinking session. This isn't a pass/fail thing, it just has to make things "different". Look to when your drinking tends to increase during the night (talking on the phone, for instance) and see if you can force a switch to a NA drink. Anything to bust up the routine.

Hi Joe

I do take antidepressants (Citalopram and Deanxit)

I never drink past 12 hours, I usually get hammered in around 2 hours since I drink quick

I am not working with a doctor really, I did however do

The habitual part is the hardest to come by (you know I work internationally and I am always separated from friends and family hence when the stress of the working weeks falls off and I look into an empty weekend I get hammered) when I am at home I barely think about alcohol

I have to work on spending my off time with something enjoyable but I fail for a long time

cheers
CB

Color, since more of your history is in your prior thread, let's continue over there:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4906&p=64462#p64462

As to not totally abandon this thread, I'll leave an update.

In short, I quit taking nal 2 months ago and have reverted to my old patterns.

Longer version: I took nal for about 4-5 months and it actually worked rather well for me. My drinking reduced greatly. However I was always bothered by really nasty side effects. The worst was probably severe nausea the day after drinking. I ultimately gave in and missed a dose for a work party, and then continued to justify not taking nal after that. My return to my old state was gradual. It wasn't like immediately I was getting wasted to the point of before. But now after two months I can say I fully regressed.

I plan to get back on it soon. However I'm also not convinced this is the end all cure - non-compliance is just too easy.