I recently read the Newsweek article and read the respones, have seen the arguments in other forums like sober recovery, and wonder if TSM will ever be accepted mainstream. My opinion is it ABSOLUTELY should be, it's a lifesaver, a home saver , a job saver, for me plain and simple a miracle. It makes me angry to an extent to read some moronic AA response that goes "there is no miracle pill", when the person saying so has not taken it personally and has ZERO knowledge on it. It's almost like they veiw it as an attack on the cult. Another one of my therioes is because there is truly no money as a whole in TSM - ie generic drug, no rehab needed, no counseling etc - the mainstream treatment model will fight hard to suppress this method. This method flys in the face of the most current model of treatment, abstinence. But hey at one point everyone on the planet beleived the world was flat, and how many "witches" were burned at the stake?

For myself, when I first found TSM I was in a place I simply didn't care. I wanted to quit or moderate but I simply couldn't see myself as abstinent. I had no wife - the fiance left over the booze - no kids, no anything breaking my balls to make me quit. The family tried and intervention. I simply told them unless your paying my bills and I live with you get the hell out of my house. Intervention over. As far as a job, I was and am, self employed and I wasn't about to fire myself. Point blank it was my life and no one was going to tell me any different unless they paid my frieght then I would have to live by their rules. I had a doctor say I was not gonna see fifty the way I drank, I didn't care. To say I am sensitive to anyone trying to control me is understatement. My theory in life is fairly simple - I am 100% responsible for myself.

When I first found this method it was like an alcoholics wet dream - I can and need to keep drinking to become cured or ridded of this alcohol affliction. I was so excited. I remember my mind set was "hell yeah, I can take a pill, get drunk an nothing bad will happen and the alcohol induced depression will go away and life will be great again". Funny, for as bizzare as that thought process sounds it's sort of what happened. The one thing that didn't quite pan out was the getting drunk part. Naltrexone and TSM eliminated my bizzarly high tolerance for whiskey from the get go and ended my whiskey career to the point I have hung my shot glass up for good. I remember in the begining trying to figure out my units and when I look back I am pretty sure I was off. I would take a water glass load some ice and fill half way with Crown..lol one unit. It was probably more like 4. In the end the units really didn't matter to me.

After a few months straight alcohol made sick. I put a story in the forum when I was out with the boys and I had the obligatory shot - first drink of the night totally sober - and had to run to the bathroom in a bar to heave. I was humiliated. No more shots anymore - can't stand them now and won't drink them. I was now down to beer. In a setting I would generally drink no more than 3 and on ocassion sometimes I still do 11 months into TSM.

The term sobriety and it's definition was INGRAINED in me from the time I spent in AA. Abstinence and abstinence only or you are still a worthless drunk, PERIOD end of story. I wrestled with this in my head, it was such a struggle for the first few months of TSM. Even though my drinking was way down and I had no more "incedences" I keep thinking "gotta be abstinent gotta be abstinent or I have failed". AA Cult Rubbish flooding my mind. Situations would come up - like friends stopping by - I would take my nal and have a couple beers with them to "fit in" and when they would leave I would this mental war going on in my head " damn you broke down, your weak, your not completely sober..the other half of my mind..you only had 2 you didn't get drunk there was no icedent nor obnoixesness". It was a mental struggle.

After about 4 - 5 months I looked and my life and 100% mentally decided for myself I AM SOBER AS DEFINED BY ME - TO HELL WITH THE CULT'S DEFINITION. My life was and is going awsome. I havent been stone trashed in month's upon month's. The majority of time in "situations/triggers" I no longer feel the need to drink. However, there are times when I drink and I am fine with it. When I say drink it is PURELY pretty much social for the most part. do I view myself as a cured social drinker? NO I view myself as a guy that loved (past tense import to me) whiskey, that could probably fall in love with it again without naltrexone and TSM. But I am Totally fine with this, how simple can it be? If I want a drink take a pill. The thing is for me, the 'wanting" a drink peice is low on the priority list anymore, to me it's bizzare how it happened and to me a miracle.

I mentioned before I got back together with my fiance who left me over booze. We are now living together again and have been for 4 months and everything is going great. It was funny we went over a friends house this past Sat and we stopped and got a 12 pack of beer. I took my nal just in case. When we got there my buddy and his wife were trashed. He is not really a drinker and they have been having some marital problems lately. I had two beers all night and the second was left warm and half un-finished. My friends were making some kind of foo foo shots and I declined. This is funny, my fiance doesnt really drink and left me before over the booze, was like " one isn't going to hurt you". Then I got the typical "drunk badgering" from my friends but I simply didn't want the shots. ZERO effort on my part to decline. My girl, like in the past, had and has ZERO influence on wether I have a drink or not. On some things I can be a jerk with the my way or the highway peice...she loves the fact now I can DRIVE down the highway with ZERO chance of a dui/dwi - never had one.

As far as I am concerned, today I am sober zero problems with alcohol whatever you would like to call it. I have zero desire to fight with the retarded AA mentality. They can sit in their church basements, smoke cigs, drink coffee, find some other degenerate to guide them called a sponsor and bitch and complain about booze and live in fear of it all they want. Not my problem, I choose to get on with life. My fiance is a higher up in the pharmecutical industry and we have talked many times about naltrexone. Her opinion - generic = no profit = why push it. Thats sad.

It's ironic to me that a method, TSM, 100% contridicts the current mass accepted method of treatment that clearly as a whole doesnt work, saved my life bigtime with the protocol drink your way back. I still get awstruck that a paperback and some pills fixed this problem. Christ everyone was telling me rehab - minimum like 30Kish..lol. As far as AA goes what better defense for the pharmacutical and medical/rehab industry to stand in front of and guard with a passion. They have all those retarded cult foot soldiers out there saying how TSM doesn't work "no miracle pill" on command with zero knowledge of the drug or the method for free..now thats beautiful...I wish I could set my business up that way.

Sorry for the rant.

Crown, your story continues to be an inspiring one. It's nice to see how you have gained perspective on alcohol's place in your life. I think anyone reading this would say you drink like a normal nonalcoholic person with one little exception you take naltrexone first. For people with heart burn taking Pepcid AC before eating spicy food makes them able to enjoy spicy food without the less pleasant effects. Not much different here. Thanks for continuing to post.

ha good rant!

So glad that TSM worked for you, and especially heartening to hear that you got back together with your fiancee.

I initially felt similar frustration, but I've come to realize that arguing with anyone over TSM is pointless. Our friends and family who see the change in us will get the word out better than posting on the Internet.

crown

that is a great post, and huge encouragement for those of us still working through the method.

Thank you, and bravo!

I loved it!

Bob

Crown, I loved your rant. Thanks so much for posting, it is inspiring for those of us still working through TSM. And congratulations on getting your life back, on your own terms!

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this crown! I think I'm on my way but I'm not there yet. But hey, it's friday night and I've had A beer. A........beer. count 'em. One......................beer! I could've never ever ever imagined that in a million years! Thanks TSM.

It's so inspiring to hear from you "cured" or moderate or abstinent or whatever you call it people! I'm going to stick with it.