Hi Pete,
I have seen several people here suggest that we should give TSM at least a year, or even two, before giving up. I have seen a few (can't recall the names now, but on this site) who actually saw changes over a year into the treatment.

The way I look at it, unless you plan to quit drinking completely, what do you have to lose by continuing to take Nal when you drink? Also, are you tracking your units and cravings meticulously? That seems to help a lot of people (including myself) see subtle changes.

Stay the course!
YG

Hi Yogagirl,
Thanks for your comment.
I have not been keeping track of my drinking and I will start. My life is a little hectic with running my own business and taking care of the household now. I still manage to get my drinking time in somehow but I will make a point of keeping a log. I do have a pretty good idea how much I drink. I didn't realize that it can take up to two years to work, the book says 3 to 4 months at least but I know that that is a minimum. I am curious about one thing, does the urge to drink go away suddenly or is it gradual?
Pete

Hi Pete,

I am only in my fourth week, so I can't give long term advice from personal knowledge yet. But I can say that most people here report that the desire to drink tapers off very gradually, and that the road is very bumpy along the way. I am noticing changes already, but they are subtle. Reading through people's weekly progress threads is a great way to see the ups and downs others are experiencing.

Minneapolisnick is great about always reminding people that the 3-4 months in the book is very misleading. All around this forum, people report a much longer time to feel "cured" or "much improved" meaning a much more healthy relationship with and level of control over alcohol. It seems that the longer a person has been drinking heavily, the longer the rewiring takes.

Hang in there, track your units + cravings and just remember the rule - ALWAYS take Nal an hour before you drink.

Take care,
YG

Been a while since my last post. I am at 38 weeks and my prescription runs out in two weeks. I am wondering weather it is worth it to renew the prescription. There has been no change in my drinking to speak of. I heard that the longer you have been drinking, the longer TSM takes to work. I have been averaging 50 units a week for thirty years. Is it time to throw in the towel?

No, don't throw in the towel! (I'm not at least).

You should look at some of the other folks that weren't responding to NAL as they'd hoped and moved to additional measures following the My Way Out methods. I just started looking at that myself. They've got their own website, book and message boards similar to this one.

Some folks are saying Nal + Baclofen (or Topomax) worked for them - so that's what I"m looking into.

Plus, I've stopped simply passively waiting for NAL to work and trying harder to break my habits and reduce units.

I hope you don't give up,

Illuminae