Okay, this is my first time finally trying to post a graph, hope it works right.



You can see I was still all over the map and fairly high in units for a long time, and the blank spots were where I didn't log at all (though I was still casually taking my Nal) so those were probably high. As I've mentioned in other strings, think I'm finally making a little more progress now that I'm putting in some effort and staying in tune with everyone.

Illuminae

illuminae,
thanks for posting this. i am very interested in seeing the results of those who have been at this for a relatively longer amount of time. i was wondering, do you know where your consumption was before you started tsm? did you have a big initial drop like many here, or did your units stay largely unchanged?
glad to see your trend line dipping down these days. keep at it, success could be just around the corner.
path

Hey you guys (i had to chime in as I've been in the middle of a project and havent had time to do anything and will be busy for the next few weeks although I'll try and be more active).


Anyways, thanks for your help I really appreciate it.

UnfortunATELY, I had a pretty bad slip up after doing some Non NAL drinking and the Mrs has had enough so i'm kinda just not drinking. This is day 2 and I'm finding it uncomfortable. I have to for two reasons though. 1)I'm engineering a project, 2) the Mrs has been very upset and really has had enough and I guess one more reason. I'm kinda sick of drinking at least for now. SO i guess I report on your thread because you guys were so kind to me. Thanks. I will continue to use NAL when I drink but for a bit anyways, I'm not going to and I seem to be OK with it.

I hope ya'll are well and I do miss you, again I will try and check in more often but I'm going to the vineyartd and will have limited access to internet and it will be an itouch...>Take care, jim

hijack alert!
jim,
good to see you here, no need to apologize, sorry for the spousal problems. just wanted to point out the thread posted earlier titled "you decide". this little break from drinking could be your "aha moment" when you see that tsm has in fact been working for you. just a thought... don't mean to get all polly anna on you, but it could be possible right?
stay the course, all the best,
path

Jim - I was wondering where you'd gotten off to. Hope things are better soon and sounds like at least with a big project to focus on that will help you. Chin up! And I agree with Path, you should check out that "You Decide" post. Interesting.

Path - pre-TSM I suppose I was averaging 50-60 units a week. Equivalent of about 1 1/2 bottles of wine a day or sometimes 2 bottles on the weekend. I saw an initial drop off those first few weeks and then the big spikes were over the Christmas/New years holidays. We had company for 2 weeks and she was just as big a drinker as me an my husband, so we'd all start cocktail hour around 5pm. Then for months I just sort of took my pill and didn't think too much about it. I was happy that I wasn't having the desire to drink during the day, leave work early, and that type of stuff. Now I'm trying harder to reduce overall and I guess that' the recent results you see.

Very inspiring to see that someone has been doing this longer than I, and is finally having real success this far into the program! I've been taking more AF days myself, and am surprised to find how easy it is. Hopefully we'll meet at the finish line soon!

Thanks also for being around, with such a large influx of newbs and with the way all the cured drift away, it's good to have some folks who can share what's been learned here in the last couple of years

Here's this week's update. Overall a good week. No AF days, but basically moderate each day.



I started topamax on Friday along with most of the rest of the My Way Out methods so we'll see if that starts to make more difference or not. I can say though, if I just end up staying where I am now, never having another ugly incident, remembering when I stopped drinking and went to bed and what I said/did, no hellish hangovers, etc. I'll take it. I would really like to lose some weight though. I've been doing relatively well in the food department, have to reduce these other nasty calories if I'm going to really be successful there.

Several people over on the MWO forum are trying Nal. I got really mad a few nights ago at one of them though. This guy just started Nal, has read up on TSM, as well as topa, bac and camparal. He's posting about how he just has to quit drinking, he's giving Nal a try, but only for 3-4 months. He proceeds to call TSM unscientific and a cult! Totally pessimistic about any of the methods working. I tried to be positive with him and Lo0p tried to show him some of the science and results and he bascially came up with ways to dismiss anything we said, so I quickly stopped trying. The worst part? This guy was posting on someone else's thread who was excited that Nal was working for them! I can't understand these types that come to these forums saying they need help and then blast every person that tries and challenge all of the methods.

Anyway, my thread, my vent, right?

Hope everyone has a good week,

Illuminae

Your' thread, your' vent. You Go Girl!!! I agree with you 100% about some people. Why even try something with an attitude like that? We are what we think. What's he thinking? Scary.
ALWAYS, JANE

Hey Illuminae,

I just went over to MWO and checked out that interaction, and I agree ... made me mad too! He sounds alot like that JamesCT guy who was here for awhile, pissing people off. I would bet a lot of money its the same guy. Why is he posting in the first place? Clearly, he is not looking for support.

I don't think any of us minds skepticism. But coming in and claiming something does not work, when it clearly has for many people, is arrogant and stupid at the same time. This guy was making claims based on no personal experience whatsoever, only his interpretation of the science or lack thereof. And who knows what his actual credentials are.

I don't think anyone here is saying to keep trying for years on end. We are simply saying give it enough time to be sure, and for many people that ended up being 6-12 months. So we are all here sharing advice and ideas, based on our own personal experiences.

Bottom line, I can see why that made you mad. What an A-HOLE!!

Anyway, on a happier note .. looks like you are continuing a downward trend, and I am so happy for you! I am curious to hear about how you combine Topamax with Naltrexone and how that goes.

Take care! -YG

hey illuminae,
glad to see another good week. i was wondering why you decided on adding topomax. you must have considered bac as well as some other meds. would you mind sharing why topo was your first choice?
wishing you fabulous success with your new protocol.
thanks,
path