I've been a lurker for a little over a year and a TSMer for a little under a year. Naltrexone made it very easy to finally stop drinking excessively and dangerously and switch to what probably can be considered a moderate drinking. Not sure how TSMish my approach is because I do aim to meet my minimal goals and adjust my drinking accordingly. So it is no surprise that on average I consume close to 2 units per day or 14 units per week. The non-averaged picture is a bit more complicated as can be seen from the graphs (sorry, this is my first time using imageshack and they turned a little big):

Daily units:


Weekly units:


The big difference from my previous many attempts at moderation is that it is virtually effortless now. I.e., as long as I say "that's enough" or "I am not drinking the next three days", that's what I really do, no drama and little craving (the craving is suppressed completely by a cup of tea standing where normally a glass of wine stands). Quit smoking in the process, too.

At this point the really big question for me is whether I want to drink NAL as frequently as I do now for the rest of my life. Complete abstinence is probably possible but would be very awkward socially. Another option is to only drink socially - which would bring drinking days to no more than once a week on average. Health-wise, I don't have any problems with the idea of 2 glasses of wine every day - so this is also an option. For now at least, the plan is to keep doing TSM the way I do it now for another year, then decide. We'll see. Maybe I'll get "cured" and no decision will be necessary. Hey, it's possible, right?

I'd say that's pretty close to cured already. 15 units a week? impressive. I'm glad you showed yourself nutella. so for you it pretty much dropped right off in the first couple weeks and stayed there?

can you elaborate on how you have done this? like how much effort did you really put in to cut back the numbers?

Impressive. It is interesting to see how the range increased somewhere around 35 wks. Something similar happened to me, which I interpreted as my addicted brain bouncing around trying to find it's place in the new naltrexone reality. It sounds like you have short term goals combined with a long-term plan; a proven winning combination in TSM. Congrats on the quitting smoking BTW!

Eskapa says "set your own goals," and like me, you've been able to eliminate the problem drinking.

8 months into TSM, I've kinda come to the conclusion that the journey never ends. Sometimes we'll drink more, sometimes less, but if TSM eliminates the problem drinking (i.e. getting drunk) that's more than half the battle.

So glad to hear it worked for you.

joe12pack,

Nal had rather immediate effect on me - wine "tasted funny". Slightly unpleasant, I'd say. So the first few weeks reduction happened very naturally - I literally couldn't drink more than a bottle. Once that happened, I was very encouraged and started to set my drinking goals - but with an assumption that if I "really" want to drink, I'll drink regardless of the goal. And so this is how it went - I try not to drink more than two units a day but that does not work roughly half the time. To compensate, I adjust the following day to meet the goal of no more than 14 drinks a week. This also does not always work.

The key to all of this to me is to have no drama and no guilt if I do drink more that I "should". The effort to do all this is real but minimal in comparison to pre-TSM effort to stay AF even for one day (which tended to be hell). E.g., most days as I drive home I consider drinking that day (in other words, to take the pill or not). Almost always it is clear that I would absolutely love to have a couple of units, maybe better if more (so that's why I don't call myself "cured"). But on the other hand, whenever I decide that there will be no drinking at all, the outcome is that I come home and behave pretty much like I would with wine - except that it would be tea or just water. I think it took around six months to get to that stage. And then, not infrequently, it also happens that when I decide on drinking that night, I end up drinking only one-two units with no desire to take more. Those days are the best!

I've noticed an immediate funny taste in wine too Nutella--it definitely tastes different & not as good. I have a 1/2 case of a yummy Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc that I could previously drink like kool-aide, it tastes awful to me now and I'm thinking I'll save the rest of the bottles to bring over to dinner at friends' houses. Certainly helps cut down on consumption and also contributed to the first AF day in months (recalling the funny taste on the wine I drank the day before, my stomach turned at the thought of drinking anything so I didn't). I'm curious what a cosmo or margarita will taste like, but I'll have to wait until I'm out to try. If I buy the fixings for mixed drinks I have a bad habit of going through the entire liter bottle of liquor in a night. I'm not sure if that'll happen with NAL but I sure don't want to find out.

Nutella,

Thanks for posting ... it is interesting to see your process. I have been doing the opposite, not trying to limit at all and waiting for Nal to do its work at the subconscious level. But you have shown that working on a conscious level can eliminate problem drinking as well.

Bottom line, as I see it: TSM really can work, and there are many different paths and timelines.

Congratulations on making it work for you!!

YG

I really appreciate your long term trend line putting the week data in perspective since you've been doing TSM for so long--even with numerous spikes & valleys the bottom line is that you have significantly, drastically reduced your weekly alcohol consumption since starting TSM. It's helpful for people like me still obsessing over day to day results, and also a beacon for those weeks and months out ready to be "cured" and wondering if there's hope.

Six weeks passed from a previous post. Time for an update. The weekly and daily graphs are below. Not much has changed. An average consumption and patterns are the same, so the fits haven't changed. Definitely not cured. It's not a struggle but I think about wine daily. In the back of my mind I even long for a feeling of being really drunk (maybe that's just depression/self-medication thing, I don't know). The big difference is that I don't seem to be able to get drunk. Typically, somewhere past four units taken over the course of couple hours wine gets slightly disgusting. This little queasy feeling of no longer enjoying it and being a bit revolted. So all in all it is still mostly planning that keeps me firmly at 14 units with 1-3 AF days per week, but it feels that even if I take the foot off the brakes completely, under no circumstances it will top 28 units/week. AF days come a little more difficult than 2 units days. Feels more on the habit/psychological dependence side. End up drinking a lot more tea on AF days. But none of it comes anywhere near white knuckling. It feels like if I have to, I could go completely abstinent without much trouble. But that's not my goal. At least not yet. For now the plan is probably go another 6 months as is and then, if nothing changes, try something new. Maybe a whole AF week twice a month?

nutella,
thanks for continuing to post your progress. you are covering territory that many of us may be in down the road. (hopefully me included.) what is interesting is that you are continuing nal use and drinking, rather than becoming largely abstinent as many of the "cured" have. i think it's great that you are still tracking your thoughts and desire about drinking, so that you are aware of the subtle changes as you continue down the tsm road.
thanks for sharing your journey
path