BGH, I'm very sorry to hear that you are regretting TSM. However, I would encourage you to stick with it. I've read every post on this board and you are only the first, or maybe second, person I can recall who doesn't want to take naltrexone because it blocks the buzz. I've heard from others who said that the buzz was greatly weakened or entirely different, but off the top of my head I think I can recall only one other person who said they were contemplating quitting TSM in order to get the old buzz back. However, that person didn't quit TSM. Also, as stated, the buzz factor is very different from person to person on this board. Many report an increased buzz on naltrexone, while others say the buzz is very different, but a buzz nonetheless. Also, while I would never tell people they shouldn't focus on the reasons why they drank excessively in the first place or discourage people from therapy, I should note that the studies have shown that naltrexone without therapy is just as effective in curing alcoholism as is naltrexone with therapy. In other words, TSM works in curing addiction for most people without the need for talk therapy.

I wish you the best in dealing with this very complex issue.

Hi Nick,

It's reassuring to know that I wasn't alone in thinking that TSM works by targeting the buzz (whatever that is) we get from drinking. But, as you and many others have pointed out in this thread, that is not its 'modus operandi'.

We appear to be addressing some fundamental misunderstandings here and that's got to be a good thing.

V.

It's been fascinating to read the different responses from everyone on here.

Personally, I get none of what I see as the 'buzz' - that huge endorphin rush - that alcohol used to give me when I drink on Nal. Sure, I get inebriated - drink still quells my anxiety and calms me down, and I get sleepy after four or five drinks, and less coherent, but the pleasure is just not there anymore.

So, although I understood that extinction takes place unconsciously, I had also linked the process of cure with the conscious awareness that the pleasure is no longer there. It's very interesting to know that people who still get a 'buzz', or even more of a buzz than before, will still be cured.

BGH - we say all the time on here that TSM is a rollercoaster, and I hope and am sure you're due for one of the 'up' bits very soon to encourage you -stay strong!! It's another topic on its own really, but I believe many (most?) addicts have issues that they either mask with their intoxication, and/or result from their drinking or use of other substances. I think as we gradually sober up on TSM we can start to tackle things with an ever clearer head - this is the gift I am hoping for from the cure I long for. In my case I know this isn't going to be easy (revisiting some unpleasant past events that I haven't really got over and still need to work through) but I truly believe that having done so, and not being a slave to alcohol any longer, my life will be better than I could ever have imagined.

Hi Folks,

As suggested in my last post on this thread, I am having some difficulty with the word 'buzz'. It's not a word that I would normally use to describe my experience of drinking alcohol. But, it is a word that is used very often. So, I looked into this a little further and came across the following:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 709AAXYMMr

So, what words/expressions do I use to describe my experience of imbibing alcohol? Numbing, sedating, anxiety-reducing, calming, relaxing, disinhibiting, having fun and pleasure-enhancing all immediately come to mind.

V.

Those are essentially my experience on the 3rd drink, if I can make it passed the first 2 drinks which I currently do not enjoy any more. If I am wanting the buzz experience, summarized quite well by Virgil, I can slam the first two, and enjoy the third, then stop. "Chasing the buzz" doesn't work as Virgil's link shows. It's best to wait another day. In a pinch, wait a few hours and go for it again, whatever your threshold drink level is.

If anxiety is the problem and the reason you drink, consider sound medical solutions, Benzos, Baclofen, Buspar, etc. These work well enough that the drink is not necessary to address chronic anxiety, once the addiction is finally broken.

Bob

I've heard some describe the endorphine release as the warm fuzzy feeling one gets after first starting to drink. At that point, you get your endorphine "fix." The continued unhealthy drinking in a session is your brain chasing after that initial endorphine fix.

Nal locks the brain down so it doesn't react to that endorphine release. Unfortunately, we've all spent years teaching our brains to chase after that endorphine fix by continuing to drink alcohol -- This is essentially "Craving." Over time, on the TSM your brain re-learns itself. That is, it learns that drinking won't result in an endorphine fix, so the drive to drink more decreases. That is, the craving decreases.

Q