hello
prior to TSM start: 60-100 units (i wasn't counting but the hazy memory seems to indicate this as a good number--- basically i was drinking super heavy 4-6 days a week and 4-7 drinks on ALL other nights)
week 1 drinks with TSM= 47

so obviously. numbers way down in the first week.

impressions and thoughts:
the naL made me feel spacey and apathetic the first couple of days. the side effects have now gone away.

the naL definitely has curbed that feeling of having to drink till super drunk/ pass out/ be unable to talk. this has been amazing and i am very thankful.

went to the my healthcare specialist who deals with drug abuse and told him i am trying sinclair. he did not know what it was. (how can a professional not know about a legit treatment for something that has been so start treat for thousands of years!!???) to his credit he said he would give me a 3 month run as a provisional and try to help me keep my naL prescription (10 bucks an month with copay which is real nice)

i feel i am settling into this and ready for this continuing journey.
regarding the journey-
i want to rid myself of being an alcoholic. i have been one for practically my whole adult life (23-33 y.o.) i am excited and scared of what the future holds. how exactly does one live without the alcohol as the central part of life? this is part of the addiction that naL will not solve and so i am going to be proactive in really taking a look at myself and challenging myself to change and become someone who can be happy without the alcohol as life's center. advise and thoughts on this topic greatly appreciated.

i would love for this thread to become a place for people who are starting out to compare notes and work through this together. (perhaps i will just make another thread for that... thoughts?)

also- is there anyone in the los angeles area who would like to meet up and start a type of support group because at the heart of it, (IMO), alcoholism is about the alcohol AND the way it makes us live. IMO- change will come from limiting or eliminating the alcohol intake AND figuring out what to do with oneself once that is done.


thanks to all who gave feedback and encouragement in those first couple days! it really helped!

i'll be posting alot. i hope some of you will be part of the journey!

-ready33
los angeles CA

Hey Ready - I will be part of your journey! We are all in this together. I relate to everything you wrote and experienced most of it my first week. I'm in week 10 now and if I can stay the course my units will be 35 compared to my 60+ pre TSM. Amazing to me the progress. It is sure slow, but it is steady.

HG

first week= 47
second week= 53 (ish)

so, honeymoon feels over.

made what i hope is not a big mistake: took my naL around 11AM for some beach drinking. got invited to a jacuzzi and juice party that night and ended up drinking till like 2AM. i forgot to take another naL. i ended up blacking out. hopefully the lack of naL in my system during a drinking session does not push me back too much. that was was my first error on TSM.....

settling in for the long haul and hope that i don't slip up like that again.

Becoming an alcoholic takes a long time and unwiring the addiction also takes a long time. Your one slip up won't hurt you but always keep naltrexone on-hand. Some folks keep a little container handy at all times. This method works but requires patience -- think 6 to 12 months. The journey is a long roller coaster but does work for most people. Think regaining control of your habit versus having no inclination whatsoever to drink for the rest of your life. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

My best,

Nick

Welcome Ready! I too am a newbie just completing week 5. I had a honeymoon and than my units went up and up and up, last week was the worst. But I am noticing subtle changes and with the posted experiences of all those who have gone before me I am staying the course and feel better prepared for the ups and downs.
I had the same thought yesterday, that I would love to be part of a TMS support group in my local area. It would be nice to spend time with people going thru this process. The boards are great and extremely valuable but face to face would be an added support. I actually googled Seattle and Nal and TSM last night to see if such a group exsisted and all I found was a few articles about TSM in local papers. On a side note I read the articles and they were all positive. I think TSM is so unknown in the US that there are just not enough of be create support groups-YET.
Keep visiting, reading and posting!

thanks for the encouragement!

i'm definitely down for giving this a good try. a:nd on that:

from what i understand about nueroscience and extinction it is very important not to drink without the naL as this will stall or even reverse the extinction process, even if this event is rare. that is why i am bummed about the 15 hour drinking escapade that only involved one naL. still, it was quite the time.

unrelated:
here is a serious question i have been wondering about:
the naL seems to dissapate my cravings. is it a bad idea to take it if you are trying to achieve alcohol free day and want the naL to help with that endeavor?

Hey Ready - I hope some of the old timers will jump in here to answer your question, but if I recall correctly fromt the book we are not supposted to take Nal on AF days as we don't want the endorphin receptors blocked on those days. Hope that helps.

TSM specifies you only take the pill one hour before drinking and not on AF days. Personally, I don't want Natlrexone in my system 24/7. It blocks endorphins which means it can have a depressive effect on your mood, among other possibilities. If you are following TSM, you take the pill before you drink only.

checking back into this board for my update and to see what's shaking:
seems like i have settled into a pretty steady rate of about 50 drinks per week.
i have to say that the cravings are definitely still there and i seem to still be blacking out about once per week. (as opposed to 3-4 times most weeks prior to tsm)

i think there are many interesting aspects to this TSM thing. among them is the real consciousness and honesty that comes with counting your drinks. for along while i played mind games to try and not really deal with just how much i was drinking. with the counting of units, this is no longer the case. it is what it is, as the saying goes. i feel like this open acknowledgment (while still private- i have not told anyone i know personally that i am following TSM) is psychologically freeing and allows me not to be so internally bent. in psychological terms, the amount of cognitive dissonance has gone way down. coupling this with the fact that i am honestly facing and trying to fix this drinking problem has given me a sense of calm.

as i hold off on my first drink for another 30 minutes (gots to follow the golden rule!!!!) i am going to wander around these posts and gather strength.

i hope this finds those who reads this well.

prior to TSM ~60-100 units (no AC days)
TSM week:
1; 47
2; 52
3; 50
4; mon- 4; tues-4; wed- 7; thursday- sunday= the future
note- no AF days yet but a couple of night of just 2 drinks

i'll follow my positive post with one a bit more down:

on the negative- i have been a daily drinker for the past 10 years so i have been taking naL every day and it has definitely lessened my desire to exercise and kind of mellowed me out a bit in that it has made my desire/need to write a little less urgent (i think a good writing session for me releases endorphins....). i am willing to take these side effect for the time being as my drinking problem prior to naL was super serious. one thing at a time i suppose.

prior to TSM ~60-100 units (no AC days)
TSM week:
1; 47
2; 52
3; 50
note- no AF days yet but a couple of nights of just 2 drinks