Hey Hapful --

Remember the one where the recovering drunk went to the wedding on nal, started doing shots, blacked out, only to get home by the kind work of a cabbie? Well this is one episode we don't want to see in re-runs. Be careful! And have a good weekend.

BTW, I went home for lunch and what was waiting for me in the mail? My breathalyzer! Thanks 1 for the Road, I'll never have to use those crummy BAC tables again! Boy, I had a good laugh when reading the instructions: "Do not use the AlcoScan AL-2500 as a tool to drink and drive." WTF? Why in the hell else would anyone buy one of these things? To have contests to see who can blow the highest number??

Cheers!

Interesting past couple of days to say the least.

Friday...my wife and I were house sitting for a friend... they are moving out of country and they took a small vacation to Vegas to get some needed R&R.

I had planned to drink on Friday...so I was gearing up for that. Planning my drinking time frame around my Nal.

As it turns out the wedding we were going to attend on Saturday...the venue was changed at the last minute. So it was up to a handful of people including my wife to quickly locate a new venue and get that venue set up for the wedding.

After venue selection, there was a mad rush to get things looking appropriate for a wedding. This was to occur the next day (Saturday).

Friday went pretty good, I drank probably 7 beers and ate kind of alot in between beers. Not sure if other people have noticed this, but to me, food taste awesome while on Nal + Drinking for some reason. Pre TSM I would have absolutely no interest in food only drink.

I would have cut myself off at 6 beers but my wife came home and had a glass of wine, so I decided to have a drink with her. Went to bed feeling pretty buzzed actually.

The next day, I had the same really tired affect thats been going on since being on Nal. But what I noticed, while I struggled to get up, once I got going I was surprisingly full of energy. Raced around helping on setting up the wedding venue, took care of some items for the folks we were house sitting for.....felt like a really really productive day. No hangover beyond just feeling really tired in the beginning. (stomache was a slight bit queezy)

I learned that they planned to serve only sangria at the wedding....so a buddy and I planned out our own beer menu to be stashed in a cooler that only a select few would know about.

Anway, the wedding went off without a hitch. I had taken my Nal, and we drank. Im not quite sure how much I drank last night, I know it was probably 5-7 beers, and sips of champaigne and sangria, oh and someone brought some rum too, so I had a couple of sips of my friends rum and coke. When I say sips, they really were only sips.

What Ive noticed since TSM, I do not act like a fool. Last night I actually danced with my wife...who loves to dance. I used to dance alot in my younger days. Pre TSM would find me drinking up my courage to dance (I think) and by the time I felt like dancing it was really late, and I was too drunk to really dance. But my wife was pleasantly surprised to find me out there with her.

I was expecting a real doozy of a hangover today. But..so far, only the tired affects when trying to drag myself out of bed. I still feel a bit spacey and queezy, but I noticed that my energy level is way up again today. I will actually DO somthing today rather than sit around feeling like crap.

Im thinking that the Nal side affects are waning which was the cause of the horendous hangovers I previously felt. I really hope thats what it is. Because I have been consuming waaaaay less than pre TSM levels. I would barely have a hangover with this type of consumption pre TSM.

Ive also noticed that while I may WANT to drink more, my body just wont let me. I start to get sick. At the end of the night I found myself nursing my drink...basically so I wouldnt get sick, but also to maintain that buzz, because the night was not over yet.

Good night all in all, and Im feeling about 75% right now. I would have to say TSM is obviously working on many levels, too many good changes not to notice. So far so good, atleast only half my days are wasted now, not all of my day after drinking.

I plan to go AF until Wed eveving for a going away party. Plus I really think my body needs a break from the frequency of AL nights since being on TSM. (Ive actually been drinking almost every other day since TSM)

Some of the things you are noticing are signs of TSM in action. Changes in taste of food/drink for sure is something many have noticed. The not acting like a fool part is just one of those immediate benefits that many if not most of us have experienced.

I would urge you to try to keep accurate count of your drinks, otherwise it can be very easy to slip into underestimating actual consumption levels. I know this is the case for me. It's tough to do if you're sipping here and there, but having a system for drink counting helps.

Keep after it, sounds like you're doing great.

Hi FB thanks for the reply and the advice.

I will definitely find a way to track my consumption levels. One...it seems that when I even attempt to do this, I notice that I am more aware of where I am at feelingwize, and I seem to be able to cut myself off. Two...I think that it will serve as encouragement for me later on down the road.

Problem is, I seriously cant remember how much I drank pre TSM. I would normally drink until I passed out. I would have to think it was well over 20 units on a given occasion. So far I am well below that. But only because my body just cant take any more. Hopefully this stays with me.

I appreciate the detail in which you post your updates....your pattern of drinking along with Nick's seems very close to my own. The details in yours and Nicks posts left many clues for me as to what I am feeling and probably somewhat of what to expect. I have also benefitted from everyone else who has gone before me.

Thanks much,

hapful

This sounds really good overall. You can't put a price on not making a fool of yourself, getting a nice buzz and not ruining your next day with a hangover. That was my weekend also. I am finding that my estimate of my pre-TSM numbers is a wild guess and probably far lower than what I actually consumed. Now my biggest nights on TSM -- around 15 -- occur over many hours and I go to bed with almost no buzz. Whereas, pre-TSM I used to blackout and fall asleep most Friday and Saturday nights totally wasted -- am starting to think I had at least twice as much as the 15 max I'm having now. Wow, scary. Anyway, TSM is really working for me and I'll offer more details tomorrow in my weekly update. And I'm really glad you have benefited from my experience. BTW, FB, loved the Myspace page.

I think a lot of us have to "wild guess" at our pre-TSM levels, and I don't think that is really critical to the process. I found that accurately charting my levels during TSM helped me to me more active in the process of my own recovery. I find that I can predict my patterns now, based on the drinking records I have kept, and allows me to "flow with the process" when I might have been working against it otherwise. Even when it means drinking more some times.

Also, when you have accurate records of your drinking, you can go back and revist those records when you are feeling discouraged (which you are bound to at some point). There is nothing like saying, "Hey, my consumption is actually down 30% from the beginning." to brighten your spirits. I've seen plenty of people on this site get discouraged, only to have it pointed out to them that their levels are down since they started.

I just thought of another amazing change in only the first week of TSM.

Pre TSM, after a hard nights drink...for many days after I would avoid everyone basically, especially the people I went out for drinks with. I felt that people were looking at me, like they knew, and I was afraid to face the people I drank with the time previous, it was like a shame thing. But.. eventually I would always return to the drink and the people that I drank with. They are good people and are good friends. But I felt as if I was just using them for the drink.

But now it seems, I dont mind seeing these people after drinking. I am not ashamed, I know I didnt make a fool of myself, talk too much etc.... I actually see them when Im sober, Im not hiding from anyone now. Even went and played golf with a few of them. AMAZING (to me atleast)

Anyway, Im going to try and start tracking my drinks more consciously now. Ive tried to backtrack and remember how much I drank the times previously since starting TSM. I have a calendar and will eventually build a spread sheet. I can safely say at this point I am half of what a normal night pre TSM looks like, and only because I physically can not drink further with out feeling sick.

Just thought Id post that bit of revelation for me.

Oh yah, my son finally took his training wheels off his bike today! Good stuff happening all around. lol

Ive been AF since wed. Im into my 3rd week now on TSM.

Wed. night we went to a going away party. It was uneventful really. Over a 4 hour span I drank 7 beers.

When we left the party. I thought to myself that I would have another drink when I got home. That didn’t happen. Not because I used moderation or will power really, it was just that I was already pretty drunk, almost feeling sick. I didn’t want to go beyond that point for I knew what that would bring. (Hmmm maybe that is will power?)

Anyway, I didn’t eat as much as I should have before or during the party…which is probably why the AL hit me so hard. Low blood sugar level allows more AL into the blood stream faster, I think. Note to self: Eat!!! (Basic rule of drinking)

So what differences have I noticed so far?

I am being affected by AL at much lower consumption levels than pre TSM. This is good in the fact that I am more coherent, and I basically remember the whole evening.

I believe that I would keep drinking if I could. I physically can’t.

While I think the next day hangovers are getting somewhat more manageable, I have yet to be able to drag myself out of bed before 11am. That tiredness kills me, I hope its just a lingering side affect of the Nal that will wear off in time.

While I want to go out and drink, the hangovers are definitely a deterent at this point.

I find that I have been drinking with more frequency than pre TSM. Only because I don’t have as much of the guilt associated with making a fool of myself the night before. But.. this is more disruptive to my daily life than pre TSM, because of the hangovers and wasting a good portion of the next day.

So in tracking my progress I have to look at the drinks per session and hangover affect rather than looking at the week as a whole.

Anyway, Im probably drinking less than half of what I normally would on any given session. I am affected by the AL way more than I can even remember. Probably like when I was a teenager. Its like my tolerance level has dropped to that of a normal person, but my drinking habit is still the same. Its an odd battle to fight right now, because the experience is so new and different.

During the next few months I will definitely have to learn to pace myself or face the next days wrath.

While the above may seem negative, Im just reporting what Im feeling and noticing. To make it clear, TSM is working, it may not be all positive for me in the short term, but it is definitley doing something.

I realize that Im updating my thread after every session so far and this is the "weekly progress" section....but things are so new I feel compelled to update myself like this. I suspect my updates in time will drop to weekly eventually.

Anyway...last night was the 2nd session in week 3 for drinking on Nal.

We decided to head to a bar & grill. Owned by a friend who just had her Grand Opening. Post thoughts of the place leave me thinking she will be very successful.

Just a bit of history on it: A well known watering hole located up the block from her, where she worked for 11 years, was shut down by the city. Not sure why, somthing to do with lease being up, historic stuff blah blah. There was alot of petitioning to keep the place open. But to no avail, its not there anymore. So my friend...opened up her place right up the street. Even got some of the items from the old place, to include the antique bar itself. She knew all the patrons of the old place, which I suspect is a big part of her clientelle now, among many new ones. Which is why I think she will be successful. She told me she has been working non stop since opening, from 9am to 3 am. I found myself envious actually, because while she may be killing herself working, she is punching her own clock. Great feeling.

I decided I would not make the same mistake of my last session, and eat a good meal before heading out. As soon as I had food in my system I took my Nal. It was actually almost 2 hours later before I could have my first drink. Couldnt be helped.

I found myself, wanting to go out, but not wanting to go out.

I had 4 beers over a 3 hour period. Drank a glass of water in there too. We decided to leave, a bit after the Bronco/ Niner game.

My habit told me I didnt want to go home yet. But somthing else was telling me that it would be ok if I did. My habit won out on that urge. We ended up sitting at a local bar near my house. It had been 2 months or so since Ive been there. It was under new management and they changed the place around a bit. My subconcious didnt like the change, come to think of it, neither did my concious.

This is a place that I would drag my wife to at the end of some evenings after normal people would go home. They have a juke box that has some good selections in there, and I like to hear music when Im drunk. Normally, on any given night there, country would be playing on the juke box, and I dont like country, especially when Im drunk. Being the a** that most bingers are when binging, I would take a $10 bill load up the credits, and pay extra credits to over ride everyones songs to play my own. What a **** I am!

To move along.... I felt awkward going in there. Normally Im pretty lit up by the time I get there. Its a place I go that I really dont care what the people think. Anyway, ordered a mini pitcher of bud light. Which is 32 oz. I finished a glass and left almost half of it sitting in the glass and the pitcher. We stayed only 20 minutes. I suspect one of the reasons being, is that it was Karaoke night there. Domestic beer here, because of stupid state laws, has to be 3.2% al, which is half of a normal beer. So normally you find yourself drinking double because of this.

I was thinking I would have some sips of wine when I got home. Thats my habit talking. When we got home, I didnt. My wife brought me a glass of water, and I said to myself.. This is ok. I can live with water. Flipped on the TV. Watched some Brubaker, with Rob Redford. Fell asleep at about 1230 or 1am? Woke up off and on.

I would say I consumed 4.5 beers over the evening. Thats really low!

So today. I got myself out of bed at 941am. I have no hangover to mention. Tiredness is more than manageable.

Nal + Drink = Cure? Wow!

Here's my new formula: Nal + Food + Drink + Water = Cure and less chance of hangover.

Im gonna go out on a limb here and say, best evening and next day yet. Progress?

Hi everyone,

Wanted to post this link http://www.joesgoals.com/ it was suggested to me by the person who introduced me to TSM. Thought others might want to try it too.

Cut and paste from the site:
100% Free.
No Download Required.
Easily shared with friends.
Achieve your goals.
•Get control of your life.
•Have as many goals as you want.
•Place multiple checks on the same goal for those extra-productive days.
•Share your progress with your friends.
•Use negative goals to track your vices.
•Keep track of your progress by watching your daily score.
•Add notes via Joe's Logbook to track your successes and failures

As a side note: This person used CBT (Cognitive Behavorial Therapy) to push things along While they were on TSM and actually still use it after 3 years AL for other things. So maybe its not a bad thing to bust out the positive thinking books and videos like "the secret" etc...especially for those that may feel they are struggling.