Since I've committed to this process, I thought I'd start my own progress thread...

I'm on Day 11.

The good news is the naltrexone side effects have gone away The bad news is the honeymoon seems to be over

My 1st week was great. My desire to drink was minimal and my bingeing 50+ units a week was a mellow 35.

Starting my 2nd week, I've been doing 9-10 units a day. My hubby is traveling which is a trigger for me. This is typically when I binge. Unfortunately, he is traveling a lot for the next month. On the positive side, I've managed to keep my kids safe and I haven't felt out-of-control (just a bit hungover). On a crazy bingeing day before, I can drink up to 20 units. So far, I haven't done the crazy!!

Thanks for reading. Good luck to all. BTDT

it's all good. the honeymoon is a good sign that you're a responder. it may be a good thing that hubby's traveling so you can drink through your triggers early in the process. it might actually speed things up

Thanks Joe,

I needed some reassurance. With so many years of AA, it's hard not to feel guilty about drinking. I'm just trying to trust the process.

Hi You have chosed a different road now and you need to drink to be cured, but I do understand its hard to think that its legit to drink when all along your aim was to not drink. Just relax and let nal take its course

Hey BTDT, thx for yr post on my weekly progress thread. You say u hv a kiwi hubby... And u visited NZ in feb? Cool ! It's a few years since I've visited that US ... But we are saving to take the kids to Disneyland Anaheim in a couple of years... And hope to travel further in land on that trip.

All the very best with your TSM journey. I read yr comments about 'keeping the kids safe'.... Oh heck.. I know what you mean. My kids are the biggest reason I'm doing this. They are my inspiration to succeed. I'm sure u will draw inspiration from yr kids too.

Hugs
Kiwi x

Thanks to all for your support. I don't want to be hard on myself.

My hubby, friends and family are supportive. They get that this the means to an end. Hopefully this will hold up.

I guess 24 yrs of AA is hard to brush off... I think the AA folks meant well. I just felt guilty for falling on my a## so many times.

I think my hubby is happy with the idea that we won't have to pay for one more round of treatment

So far with naltrexone, I've managed to stay out of the hospitals. Sad but true...

God. 24 years. i'm soooo glad i found an alternative. you really have been there done that. glad you're around here. so many of us have tried the AA thing. I'm still a little peeved at Bill W. but it gets a little better every day

I just finished my 2nd week.

When I came in I could do a bingeing week with 50-70 units but I was an active (but relapsing) AA member and had been trying to abstain again. My first week was low (35) - honeymoon - but this week my units were high (58). I swear this is my ADE (alcohol deprivation effect) kicking in. I've spent so many years trying to be abstinent that once I gave myself permission to drink I really wanted to go overboard!! The upside is that I felt much more in control and was able to pick and choose the timing, mostly evenings etc, no blackouts, getting sick, drunk driving, embarrassing moments, etc. Hopefully I worked thru some of the cravings.

I feel much more relaxed about things now and expect this to be a quieter week. I meet with my doctor (chemical dependency specialist). It will be interesting to see how he responds. He had given me the naltrexone to manage cravings while staying abstinent. hope he'll be receptive to me using it for TSM. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Thank you to everyone who offered feedback and support! This board has really helped me keep committed.

BTDT

Wow, what an amazing week this has been. I am in my 3rd week on TSM and I don't even recognize myself.

I have been an alcoholic drinker from the very first drink at age 15 and I spent the better part of the past 25 year trying to abstain to avoid the dangerous stuff. So, 24+ years of AA and abstinence with small periods of crazy and dangerous heavy drinking binges followed by remorse and more years of AA and abstinence. Round and round until I stumbled across TSM on Wikipedia. The description spoke to me and I knew I had found a long term solution!!

First week was easy, second week I did some binging but this week has been amazing!! The first couple of days I had to work to finish two glasses of wine. I dumped out half of the second glass one day because I was too tired and uninterested in drinking it. In my life, I have NEVER felt this. I don't know who this is but it reminds me of what other "normal drinkers" have described experiencing. This is something I have never been able to relate to.

On Day 3-4, I drank 3-4 glasses of wine/champagne barely. My hubby and I had a great opportunity to fly to Rome and 1st class with an open bar with no kids. Honestly, I was fine even without but had a glass of champagne before the flight (my hubby did too) and had one small glass on the plane and had a glass of wine with dinner. I had a hard time finishing each glass and was more focused on the meal than the alcohol.

Last night, I decided I was going to let loose and drink up. I drank four glasses barely and left the last glass for my hubby to finish. I was too tired, jet-legged and honestly did not care. Normally, I could down a bottle or two myself.

I also met with my doc on Friday. He is a well-regarded Chicago psychiatrist specializing in addiction. He had prescribed me Nal on the basis of using it with abstinence. I explained what I was doing and he was sympathetic and willing to support me in this. He was concerned about using it generally because of the general lack of medication compliance (I guess this is hard since not everyone truly believes they need it). But, supported me fully and gave my a full prescription. I guess the growth in this method is one doctor and one alcoholic at a time.

He said it doesn't apply for everyone and he deals with many people who don't necessarily believe they have a problem. I guess I have to agree. This works only for those who understand what they need and are ALWAYS willing to take naltrexone one hour before they drink. I don't question my need for help

Best of luck to all who are using it. I want this to work!!! BTDT

nice progress. thanks for posting and stick with it. I hope you are one of the ones who gets cured quickly!