Well I'm a big old regular désappointement... my spell check is doing me wrong. But also I am the same as everyone who ever dealt with achohol before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBbuPnfG0Vo

Yep, it's not good in life if you stip taking nal.... but then again you remember al the reasons why

Sorry for my drunken post but basically things are kind of ****. The past few times I've drank, even though I've taken 25mg of nal (which is what I usually take, but I stopped taking it regularly for a while because I was getting really bad nausea from it again) I've gotten black-out drunk. We're talking like... I'm drinking and things are fine and I'm not aiming to get sloshed or anything and then boom! next thing I know it's 8am or 10am or whatever and I've woken up on the floor in my living room or something else absurd like that. I don't know what's happening, I'm really scared.

Lou,
No worries about the drunken post, happens to most of us especially on this board! I know that I have had a few. Sorry to hear that you have had a bit of a backslide , but the important thing is to rededicate yourself to TSM. It sounds like you probably need to bump up your dose to 50mgs. Have you tried taking Nal along with an anti-nausea medication?

Try not to let the recent slips get you down, just put your head down and plow forward. We are all pulling for you.

Diver

As another "old-timer" , don't beat yourself up. I have also stopped counting numbers, it's just too depressing. My drinking has leveled off 4-5 units a night. I just can't string together those AF days. I'm not giving up, and don't you either!

Hey there, EL - Those side effects have really made your TSM travel a major pain! I can see why you would get fed up w/ them, and discontinue the Nal, but it sounds like that's not working out that well, either

But all is not lost: you were doing so well recently, in adding in the exercise and running into your life...is this harder to do now that the weather has gotten colder? Can you go back to where you "lost the trail" and try to recreate how you were then successful?

anyway, hugs to you! And I'm glad Sandy didn't wash you out to sea...

Thanks guys. I actually don't think my recent backslides are about alcohol so much as underlying depression issues. The thing is, I don't know WHY I am not doing well, mental-health wise, in the past few months. There is no discernable trigger but yep, I seem to have fallen back into depression and then the alcohol just makes it.... so much worse, both because I drink to try and escape it but it makes it worse, and also because my body seems to suddenly have lost its tolerance to alcohol. Clearly I have called my therapist and have an appt for next week, but yeah I'm feeling really clueless as to how all this descended upon me.

Lou:

The very definition of depression is feeling blue when there's no cause for it. It just happens. And it's great you're seeking help.

I have found that drinking on nal makes the lows much lower. Which is a disincentive to overdoing it but a killer when I do.

Hang in there and rely on us as one source of support. I know you got tired of counting and posting. But keep with it.

Thanks Tiller and everyone - I think I will come back to posting more often, it was really helpful in the past. For now, I'm not going to drink at all, probably at least take a week off or so, but then obviously I will return to nal when drinking.

Hi guys,
Just checking in - feeling MUCH better than the last times I posted. I've taken 8-9 days mostly off of booze (4 drinks total during that time) and my mood is just... amazing. I feel great. I've been exercising as usual but also making a concerted effort to experience things without alcohol. Not necessarily to avoid alcohol (I went to a party on Saturday night and had two drinks, for example, which was easier and more enjoyable than trying to abstain totally), but just not making it my default activity. I realized that I had just gotten rather lazy in the past few months, relying on alcohol to fix all of my bad emotions (boredom, anxiety, depression, frustration, etc) instead of trying to deal with them. And I'd also gotten lazy about branching out and trying new things. I had my first booze-free social night on a Friday in a long time and it was great! Since I don't feel like I'm forcing myself to abstain, things feel really different - it's like suddenly something shifted in my brain and I have renewed enthusiasm for booze-free activities. (Which is not to say that I don't want to drink ever, but again, small steps!).
I'm feeling really positive about this (and about putting less nal in my body in general). That being said, I'm going to an event at a bar tonight, we'll see how that goes. (taking nal of course).
I'll try and check in on others!
EL

Exactly! I've always had a big rebellion-theme in my life (even now as a Senior Citizen ), and I know I do MUCH better when I'm flexible w/ myself and give myself options...

I read your other post today, about coming back to try again and how you think extinction is not an option for you (at least for now), but that you are still going to get the best out of TSM and Nal. Nal does SO much for us - gives us an even playing field - like REGULAR people! It makes us no longer hyper-sensitive to alcohol, our "perfect drug". An even playing field so that we can then work on the head-stuff everyone has... I'm glad to hear you so positive again...you've come a long ways, baby!