Krazy1 how are you doing?

Are you still taking Bupropion? I am really curious if Bupropion can have something to do with the addiction

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=452561

seems Bupropion messes a lot with the GABA system, which is very much related to alcohol addiction

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation with your mom and I know it's easier said than done to just stand back and not let it upset you. It's so hard when your parents get older and refuse any advise to help them, I know I'm at that same situation with my mom . Do you have other siblings to help you with her? My siblings are what's keeping me sane through all of this. But on the positive note I'm so happy that you got your life back with TSM and that now you can handle the hard situations in your life without the help of AL. Your post is so encouraging to read, thanks for sharing.

Keep posting
corkit

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, and I hope 2010 is treating all of you well. I also apologize for not being here more often to welcome new members and support to all of you. It feels selfish of me to just post here in my own progress thread now and then, but I feel it's better than nothing. Please know I wish the best for everyone here, but just cannot keep up. Thanks to all of you for your kind words, especially as I try to deal with my Mom. She doesn't see what her self-imposed misery does to the rest of the family, but I'm finally getting to the point where I'm at peace with knowing I can't be responsible for her happiness. My siblings and I will do our best to help her see that changes need to be made for her own safety, and for our sanity.

On a more positive note, the holidays went well, even though heavy drinking was involved. I enjoyed all the festivities, never getting drunk, but certainly did a good amount of drinking. This doesn't bother me much anymore, because control was all I was ever hoping for. It's still a miracle to me and my family, even though many would see my level of drinking as an indication that TSM hasn't "cured" me. The truth is, IMO, there is no concrete definition for "cured" - to me it's freedom from the pain that alcohol caused me and my family, and for the most part, that is gone. I still go too far on special occasions once in a while, but so do "normal" drinkers. Holiday parties are bound to encourage excess in both food and drink. I need to lose 8 pounds as a result, but I feel no need to repair any damage cused from drinking too much. That's HUGE for me.

I believe that I need to go through all the events in the cycle of a year to fully extinguish those triggers. The holidays only happen once a year, so why shouldn't we expect an increase in drinking during that time? Even though I've been doing TSM for so long, there are still situations that may trigger a "binge" but it will be milder and much less frequent than what used to be the norm. That's good enough for me. I know I should care more about my health/liver, and reduce my consumption just because of that. But guess what? I've never been good at that - even before I was a drunk! It's not valid to compare my current behavior to that of my pre-TSM behavior on all levels. It's true I no longer put myself or others in immediate danger because of drinking (by driving, etc.), but I'm not going to turn into a health nut automatically as well. One step at a time. . .

Overall, I'm still very happy with the results I've seen. I know many are hoping for a dramatic and fairly rapid change, but it just doesn't work the same way for all of us. It can be a VERY long and VERY rocky road, but isn't that true of life in general? Even though I'm thrilled with how far I've come, I still hope to improve even more, and if I'm not mistaken, the studies showed that improvement continued for up to 3 years. And who knows what the results might be beyond that? I only see it getting better. Whatever path leads you to a happier place is a good choice, and I wish the best for all of you. Happy Trails!

Hi Krazy1,

It's great to read your last post. I feel encouraged. I've been with TSM since July and have not experienced the kind of improvement that I had hoped for. It doesn't help that I am terribly inconsistent about keeping a record of my drinking...but I have a sneaking suspicion that there has been a slow downward slope to the number of drinks per week. Not the number of days AF, since it is a rarity if I don't drink every day.

Anyway, I really appreciated your post. Thanks for sharing it.

Sante

Me too,

AF days...no,...but I can have one usually after a hangover which has been relatively rare on TSm BUT when it hits....I can have an AF day easy the next day.

I've been here 4+ months and have not had the results i was hoping for BUT.....

Its 12.30 AM and i'm not obliterated. I do have a drink and had cravings as I WORKED (I'M A MUSICIAN) BUT IT DIDN'T overwhelm me. So i look to that as progress. I just wish I wasn't in the basement writing this sneaking drinks...ughhh

Much love everyone,..I won't be a stranger...Best, Jim Clark