Week 25 and in a holding pattern...

Haven't been posting much because there hasn't been much change.. drink levels the same, cravings the same. and am not trying for a change until after the holidays.

It's only when I think about the lack of hangovers, the lack of sneaking, the take or leave it attitude that I realize how far I've come and if it takes another 6 months to get to the final goal, so be it. The AL voice in my head is so much quieter.. The worst is still when I have 2 AF days in a row, the ADE kicks in but still not as bad as in the past. May not drink as much but get the same quick buzz.

Then I shudder to think where I would be at if not for TSM..

one bad thing though... have been turning to food more as a stress relief. Saw the link to the Sinclair research on obesity..if they plan on testing w/ Nal, then I really can't see how it would work. It hasn't decreased my appetite at all and it's in my system the majority of time. Just wonder what a different method of using it for obesity would be. A caveat... I'm not obese so my experience may mean nothing.

Hang in there virginia, it sounds like you're just about to turn the corner and from what you said you have so much to be thankful for all ready, control!

corkit

I think the difference is two things:

1: The drug used is Naloxone, not Naltrexone. Naloxone is a much more potent but much shorter acting antagonist. This allows the patient to practice much more selective extinction. For example, they could eat unhealthy foods with naloxone and healthy foods without within the same day, I think.

and

2: They specifically mentioned obesity caused by an obsession to consume "high value" foods which are likely to release endorphins. This I interpret to mean calorically dense foods with high sugar content.

Good to hear you're noticing good things Virginia!

Hesitate to give an update but the last couple of weeks threw me for a loop.. it seemed like I was making a choice to drink too much but there really wasn't a choice. Triggers were in full force and I paid the price. I got caught up in the every day drinking so every day, it took more and more to get me there. I'm now trying to readjust and let it go. Was AF yesterday and I can just feel my body needing a break from the abuse. The one thing about Nal is that I can envision not drinking for a few days but still don't know if I can do it...just waiting for the little cravings to start whispering in my ear.

and why does it take so much champagne to catch a buzz???? It's like freakin' juice but maybe the sugar explains the intense hangovers.

Oh yes the holidays . . . . Huge trigger for so many of us. Sounds like you are making real progress, though. I take that to be good news! Hang in there with the rest of us.

Thanks Lena... also would have to add the holidays equal food trigger, crying triggers, just huge swings in emotions. On the first week out of that period, I'm slowly climbing out of a depressive state. The key right now is to not create such high expectations. Drinking levels are coming down, cravings are starting to taper off.. I'm starting to regain some control. Overall though, it seems that progress is so slow at this point - I haven't noticed week to week changes (except spike weeks) for a long time. Don't think I've put enough effort into using willpower yet - oh well. Just seems to be a lull on the board where people are doing better but not to the cured state yet.. hopefully by summer, there will be a lot more people declaring success.

Hang in there V. I notice that your start date is one month after mine and one month ago I was bummed out about my progress. Today I'm on day 8 AF with no cravings and I'm thrilled with my progress. It could happen to you too and soon. The most disappointing aspect of the book is the three to four month time frame for the cure -- it's not realistic for almost all of us and sets us up for disappointment. But TSM does work, it just takes longer than advertised for most of us.

Nick, I read your post when you were 7 days AF - that is utterly amazing and I'm so happy for you. Wanted to ask if you are avoiding trigger situations or just able to not drink no matter what the situation is?? My worst trigger is still if I am AF for 2 days in a row - that really sets me up to go overboard. Even though you said you aren't having cravings.. what does that really mean? That you may be AF indefinitely? No signs at all of ADE?

I've been rooting for you for a long time.. your posts give a lot of hope

Thanks V.

Basically, I've been living my normal life with no alcohol deprivation effect. I haven't avoided triggers, other than making a conscious decision to not go out to bars on the weekends and chase females. And this past weekend that was quite easy. The one trigger I faced -- watching football at my buddy's house -- was easily defeated.

Day 9, feeling fine.

I'm rooting for you too. Hang in there, there is light at the end of this dark tunnel for the vast majority of us.

Week 37 and still not cured. My units per week are down but not per drinking session. I'm finding it easier to have an AF day then to limit my drinks once I start. Seem to be chasing the buzz when I drink and it sucks. The last 4 weeks, I've had 3 AF days per week which is awesome BUT then when I do drink, I want to sneak, I want more and I just feel like I'm in a trance. Rationally, it's stupid because I'm not enjoying it so why am I doing it???

Think I may have to push for the AF days and hope that something is happening and a real change will come soon..

Well, I'm just going to let this ride until a year has passed... it's hard when you see others w/ longer time periods of addiction and the cure seems to come more quickly. But I do believe I went on the path of addiction when I had my first drink at age 17 and the pathways were built quickly - there is a ton of alcoholism in my family so maybe those superhighways are just tougher to take down..

as always.. happy to read about the cured and wishing the best for everyone on the journey..

Virginia