Hello,

First post.

My nal came in the mail Saturday.

I am probably 120 units per week.

Day 1, nal was a strange experience for the first 2 hours. Best comparison was like a slight buzz of weed, but that is based on remembering what a weed buzz was 20 years ago. Had about 18 units.

Day 2, nal was not quite so strange, but I def could tell It was in my system for the first half hour. Still had about 18 units.

Day 3, Stayed up late day 2 and felt really tired. Tried nal at noon because I was feeling the need to drink around 1 due to hangover from last night. Probably had less than 18 units.

Day 4, Felt less need/crave. Had only 10 after nal.

Day 5, Really felt less need/crave. Took nal, but only had 3. I guess I'm feeling the honeymoon?

Day 6, Thursday, Same as Day 5, Took nal, but only had 5. (Here comes the weekend.)

Welcome! How are things going for you since your last post?

Still on Nal.

I guess the honeymoon is over.

Pre Nal 120 units per week. (I base this on roughly an 18 pack a day.) 10 units on the way home Mon-Friday puts me at 50, before home beers and vodka evenings and weekends.

Wk1 80
Wk2 80
Wk3 90
Zero AF so far.

Currently in week 4. I need to keep better track. I'm also feeling like I'm slipping back into my normal routines. Pint of vodka on the way home from work everyday (Mixed with a couple of large fountain drinks). That places me at 10 units before I get home. Then beer and sneaking vodka shots at home afterwards. The vodka on the way home is hard to stop. Any suggestions. (One thing that helped bring my count down in Week 1 and 2 was drinking beer instead of vodka on the way home. 4 beers in a big cup as opposed to my double cup 1 pint vodka cocktail. Back on the vodka cocktails again.)

This week so far. S18, S18, M12, T20, W15

My wife just asked me on the phone if I had a lot to drink last night. I lied about how much I had, however, I'm guessing about 20 as I don't remember going to bed. I asked why she is asking, because my 15 year old son told her he thought I was drunk.

Edit, updated for Wed. Had 10 units on the way home, ate dinner, and had 5 more.

I'm sure it is on here somewhere. Help me define US unit vs UK unit vs UA units.

You must have a very high tolerance to drink a pint of vodka quickly on an empty stomach. It sounds as though you're driving while you do so, which is super dangerous (as you probably know). I can relate.

So, you're taking Naltrexone an hour before work ends and then downing a pint of vodka (8 shots) on your drive home? And, then, having more vodka and beer after dinner? That's some serious drinking. I guess my only "tip" would be to try to NOT drink that pint -- that floods your system with alcohol and surely overrides the Naltrexone. That would definitely be "drinking through" the Naltrexone. Your blood alcohol is probably greater than .14 or so after that, so you're probably pretty f-ed up by the time you come home to the wife and kids. "Wasup faamly? Hiccup!"

If you're stronger when you're sober, use that time to fool-proof your ride home. Personally, I always hated to have my first drinks unless I had a completely empty stomach. Try eating something when you take your Naltrexone pill. Try just buying two minis at the liquor store and drinking them on the way home (that's plenty to "take the edge off"). See if you can increase the time between your first and second drinks instead of chugging 8 shots of vodka. Tell your wife about TSM and your drinking problem. If you're like me, you probably come home and grab a beer real quick before kissing her so that she thinks the boozy smell is from the beer -- let her know what your habits are so she won't fall for that trick. Watch YouTube videos on drunk driving when you're sober.

Anyway, ultimately, we all have to do what some call the 13th step: "Stop Drinking, Stupid!" Whatever it takes to get you there, do it. It sounds like you could be heading for either a legal quagmire or some serious family issues. "Son, where did you learn to drink like that?" "I learned it from you, dad. I learned it from you!"

This might help Chris...

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccalcoh3.htm

You should search through the older Weekly progress posts from way back and the cured stories. There used to be quite a lot of poster who were drinking heavy amounts like yourself.

A pint of vodka would have me nearly lights out even when I was drinking. I was always a beer drinker. Shorts just finish me off.

Just follow that important rule of taking your Nal 1 hour before and if your still at it say 5 hours later. Then have another one to cover you.

If you can remember to keep track of your units that will help but don't to worried if you can't always.

That's all you can basically do at the early stages. I wouldn't try to wreck your brain too much worrying about progress at this point. Knowing you had a honeymoon stage in the first place is a good sign.

I've always though of TSM as.

If you know your gonna keep on drinking anyway, there's no harm in taking a pill before hand. You've nothing to lose really.

Hi Chris,

what country are you in?
1 uk unit = 0.564 US units
1 uk unit = 0.789 Australian units.

See here for more: http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccalcoh1.htm

I also just started TSM mid Jan.

And so far am not seeing much luck; see my posts in weekly progress if you like.

I am having a problem with having drinlks through the day when not at work; i don't get drunk really, just continuously influenced.

As for drinking on the way back from work - just do not buy the alcohol. I know it's easy to say and hard to do. How long is your drive or walk? If you are driving can you maybe car share? then you'll be less likely to drink

But most importantly do not give up hope!

Ok, I just figured out, thanks to your help, that a pint or actually 375 ml is 8.45 units. I had been assuming it always equaled about 10 beers, but now I realize it is a little less. Big deal I guess, still a lot of booze on the way home in about 60 minutes or less. (I always used my drunk justification that 5 beers was 60 ounces, so if I dilute 5 beers worth of vodka in 60+/- ounces, it was equivalent, even though it really isn't, because I can surely drink the soft drinks with the vodka a lot faster than drinking 60 or 120 ounces of beer in that short time.)

My history of the vodka drive home. Years ago it would be a 6 pack, and I would have 3 or 4 cans of beer. Eventually I would take the long way home and finish of the 6 pack. Then I got wise and realized I could get a macho soda, 52-64 ounces and add a half pint, 200 ml, 4.5 units, and be way more sneakier on the way home. That has evolved into me taking a slightly longer way home and getting 2 macho sodas to disperse the pint/375 ml.

Last night however, I barely finished the first macho soda, grabbed a second right before getting home. (No long way home, thanks to Nal I think.) Then I did finish second macho soda, vodka cocktail after dinner plus a few more smaller drinks. I think I probably only had about 12 units last night. I remember everything that went down last night, so I guess that's a good sign also.

And yes, I have a pretty big tolerance, but I'm also a pretty big guy. 6' (290#). And I have 25 plus years of practice.

My wife does know I am on Nal and I have shown her the TSM website before starting. She understands, however, I still lie sometimes due to embarrassment on the high end numbers. Like Tuesday night when I estimate 20 and not remembering going to bed.

And yes Barry, straight to the beer fridge once home to hide the smell. Been doing that for years.

If I could just stick with beer, it would help a lot. My wife even tells me and our close boozer friends, "he can't handle the hard stuff" "he needs to stick with beer". She's right.

Beer is easier to count at least and usually, I say "usually" a slower linear progression towards drunk. The more booze I drink, the more I drink it like beer, and wham, straight from buzzed to sloppy drunk blitzed.

Thanks for everyone's comments. I plan on sticking with this. Maybe a second Nal even after 5 hours also like mentioned above. I had not considered that.

Pre Nal 120 units per week.
Week 1-3 USA Units 80, 80, 90
This week 4 so far. S18, S18, M12, T20, W15, T12


_________________
Started TSM 1-19-2013 120 US units per week or 18 a day!

Wow, your vodka drive then beer and vodka sounds exactly like me, except I'm 150 pounds and never had a very high tolerance. The last time I drank a pint of vodka, I was stumbling and throwing up. I guess I'm sort of a lightweight. The other difference is that my ride home was only 20 minutes -- but I can see how an hour ride home and a taste for vodka can be a bad combo. I'd crank up the radio, crack open a half pint, and let the party start! I've called vodka "the most evil of all" for me because of how easily I can drink it (I just chug it straight) and how my wife doesn't seem to be able to detect it on my breath. I've heard the drink progression for heavy drinkers is from "brown to clear," mainly because of the smell factor and the chug factor. I've certainly met my share of hardcore alcoholics in the ER, and the majority be lovin' the vodka.

Since I started TSM about 7 weeks ago, I've only had about 5 shots of vodka. This has been the main effort I've put forth with TSM (Naltrexone does the rest of the work for me). Even without Naltrexone, I've always had a hard time getting drunk on just beer because it's so much effort and makes me feel so full (a feeling I hate as I'm an "athletic" build with no gut); plus, as a secret drinker, it's so much harder to hide beer both in terms of breath, the time it takes to consume it, and the waste (cans and bottles galore). But, if you got pulled over, if you're drinking four beers instead of eight vodkas, the officer is more likely to smell the beer than the vodka.

Wow, you're so close. If you could just eliminate the drinking on the way home, you could probably cut your intake by 70% and would rarely be drunk, especially as Naltrexone seems to work for you.

Tips off the top of my head:
(1) Call your wife and talk to her on the drive home for a few minutes every day. Let her know about your "temptation" to drink on the way home and tell her you want to talk 10-15 minutes about your day every day until your temptation goes away. You'll get major brownie points for this and your sex life will probably improve.
(2) Download some good podcasts either about drinking or about something else you're interested in (or an audio book, if you're that type) and listen on the way home.
(3) Buy a breathalyzer (I've had one for years) and, if you absolutely refuse to stop drinking and driving after work, at least check your BAC when you get home. Then, read all about DUI penalties in your state and watch shocking videos about drunk driving on youtube or elsewhere (this latter part helped me).
(4) Make a playlist or CD with some anti-addiction songs that you find inspiring (if you like country, there are lots of them). Pop that CD in and listen to it all the way home every day.
(5) Refuse to drink an entire pint of vodka on the way home! At the very least, switch to a half pint and one big drink. I bet you have enough inner strength to do that.
(6) If you're truly following TSM, keep your naltrexone pill on the front seat of your car. Take it as you start the car for the ride home and, when you get home, crack open a nice beer as usual. (Just committing to #6 alone would probably bring you very quickly towards your "cure"). Be sure to let your wife know your plan and give her a big (perhaps french) kiss upon arriving home before cracking open the beer. Anybody (unless they're just super-naive) could smell a pint of vodka in a kiss. Use the motivation you have to not be a disappointment to your wife and children to your advantage. Think about the poor souls in AA and how envious they would be with the idea that they could come home from work and drink all the beer they want and be proud of that!
(7) I know this is hard (believe me), but try not to lie about your drinking. I keep an accurate MS Excel spreadsheet with my daily drinks which she can access at any time. I also printed it out after month one and gave her a copy.
(8) Try to do alcohol free days during the work week. I don't know what your situation with alcohol free days is, but, in my opinion, nothing builds strength better than that. Plan, with your wife, a night when you promise not to drink on the way home, nor at dinner, nor after dinner. Make it a night when you both agree will end in sex -- sex, for most guys, trumps vodka every time. Start to enjoy sober sex (which I went almost ten years without experiencing!) and use that to motivate you. Tell her that, per the Sinclair Method, you are supposed to have more sex on alcohol free days so that your body learns to crave endorphin rushes from things other than alcohol -- see if she buys that line! If you can't manage an AF day yet, see if you could manage a 2 beer day. I bet you could.

Anyway, I know I don't know you from Adam, but it seems as though the root of your binge drinking is fixable and that your future is bright. Booooo Vodka.

Working on it. I need to update my progress daily, I think it will help me.

Pre Nal 120 units per week.
Week 1-3 USA Units 80, 80, 90
Week 4 results S18, S18, M12, T20, W15, T12, F10 = 105

Week 5 so far. S14, S16, M5, T11

10 Friday night only had 3 unit cocktail on the way home. Then guessing 7 more at home throughout the evening. Did good on the way home, just not so good at home. But 10 is better than 18.
14 Saturday afternoon/evening drank for about 8 hours averaging about 2 an hour, mostly beer, a couple shots of vodka.
16 Sunday mix of vodka and beer over 12 hours.
5 Monday half pint only on way home. (GOOD MONDAY FOR ME, THAT'S CLOSE TO AF FOR ME)
11 Tuesday half pint only on way home and beers at home.

And Barry, Yes the 5 unit Monday did get me some (closer to sober) sex with the wife at bedtime.

_________________
Started TSM 1-19-2013 120 US units per week or 18 a day!

_________________
Started TSM 1-19-2013 120 US units per week or 18 a day!