All I can say is give thanks that there is a cure that will allow us to keep drinking our beloved wine, albeit when we want and in a controlled fashion. I can't imagine life without wine

Kris -
So glad your combo of Topa & NAL is working...but hair falling out? I'm not sure I want to have that SE. Have you ever tried BAC? I still don't understand what "GABBA" is...people toss around these terms like we should know and I am totally clueless.

NAL is just not doing it for me as prescribed, and one year in, I want to look at other options...Topa sounds scary...so does BAC...so does my continuing to drink 4-6 drinks a nite/36 - 40+ drinks a week. Just don't know what to do next.

So glad you've found success though! (Being "supermodel skinny" is certainly a draw if I'm not drinking...but not if I don't have hair!! LOL) hmmmmmmmmmm - so much to ponder & look into.

I had to say "nopa" to the topa last year about this time. It made me sick and my hair started to fall out. I have long hair and I like it that way - I couldn't have it. Anyway thankfully it turned out to be a gateway drug to the Nal

I also am struggling with Wine. No longer want beer or vodka. Only wine. What is the dosage of Topamax that is recommended to start on?

I will chime in. I am also a wine only drinker and have not had the success others have had. In fact I am starting on Baclofen to see if that will make a difference. I haven't updated my signature line in weeks just because I have been discouraged about not having any success. Interesting topic.

I could see wine being different, in that wine drinkers are often more of the Med types. TSM works best with clearly defined patterns. But that does not mean it will not work for wine drinkers.

Another point I am stressing. TSM will slow the addiction train down to where it is safe to jump off. At that point I recommend you do so. The odds of us reaching the point of being a three night a week(3 drink/night) are extremely low. Once you get to the point where you can get off the "runaway train", Jump! If you want to sip a glass at Vinnie's graduation and Susie's wedding, consider it a priviledge.

I couldn't agree with you more SR. I don't know that I'll ever be able to really enjoy AL like someone who wasn't once addicted. The addiction for me is gone. I certainly don't crave it anymore. However, drinking AL can be like playing with fire. Perhaps some of this for me goes back to the type of drinker I used to be: A binge drinker. The times I do drink more than just 2-3, I end up drinking in the 8-12 range. Rare now, but it has happened.

For those here who state they are struggling after 4-6 month, I would encourage you to do as SR suggests. Use the new strength TSM has given you and take some control back. As time goes on, I think you will find that it takes less and less control to achieve the level of drinking you are after

Q

I couldn't agree more! I'm feeling it's safe enough now to jump off that slow train. Even if I've only started TSM August 25th. I've dabbled in other alcoholic beverages but wine has also been my first choice for many years. And I just started a new topic about being cautious. I also believe (for me anyway) drinking night after night has always been mostly a habit I didn't know how to break. But as Q mentioned, I feel like I'm starting to take a bit of control back. Now, I've found myself immersed in a whole new joy in my life, my on-line shop, which I devote every waking moment too when I'm not at my 2 part time jobs. It is such a wonderful hobby at the moment (won't be able to ever quit the day jobs) and I am so into it that drinking doesn't take precedence anymore. Oh sure I think about it, but then I re-think that if I'm drinking while working on the store, I get tired, I get loopy, I give up, and that just hasn't been ok with me anymore. I know it's still early in the game for me, and I hope I'm not being overly optimistic, but for now it's working for me. If I can go out to dinner and have just 1 glass of wine and be satisfied, and go home and put the tea kettle on, to me that's progress!

Of course, I do admit to my falling down last week-end as I wrote in my new thread "not cured but cautious?" But I don't give up easily, and I'm back at it.

And SR, I love your quote about wanting to have a drink at a graduation or wedding to consider it a priviledge, that's just beautiful!

-petal

I totally agree with SR, Q and Petal. After about six months on TSM I was still drinking far too much on a weekly basis, but more out of "habit" than craving. I then made a conscious decision to cut down and it was relatively easy. Shortly thereafter, I felt I had total control. At that point, the thought of drinking heavily every weekend struck me as ridiculous and unsafe. And shortly after that, my interest in alcohol has diminished to the point where now I can easily imagine life without drinking and I'm drinking at safe levels. Six drinks in two nights this past week, the rest AF.

You are exactly where I was at last fall - early winter. As the weeks went on, "The Cure" seemed to continue to sink in to the point now that it is quite easy to abstain all together.

So glad you made it over the hump Nick!

It is amazing the difference in the quality of life isn't it? Looking back to where I was a year ago, I simply can't imagine how I lived that way.

Q