Well, another 8 weeks passed since my last report and graphs. Nothing essentially changed, so I am posting only one graph below. I continue to have an easy time moderating and keeping around 14 weekly units, give or take a few. This typically translates into 2-3 AF days that I end up planning. Without planning and a little will power, I'd probably be drinking around 4 units every day. Because I want to. I am not indifferent to alcohol. The good news is that I always take Nal in advance and while on it, 3-5 per day seems to be close to the maximum I can drink with pleasure. Drinking 2-3 bottles every day like I did for 15 years is a physical impossibility for me now. So in that respect TSM turned out huge for me. Not a "cure" but close enough in many respects.



I will keep things this way for approximately 30 more weeks to make it two years on TSM. At this point I doubt anything will change during this remaining period. After that I'll either try baclofen on top or see what happens if I drop TSM. (Yes, I know what almost everyone who tried it reports; but I need to witness it myself in order to strengthen my potential life-long commitment to taking pills).

Thanks for the update, Nutella. It's good to hear that you are continuing to have long term sustained success.

Great progress. And just so you know, the "safe levels" mark is basically a completely concocted figure. Lena wrote about it on the board a long time ago. There have been no real studies about what is a "safe" amount to drink and so a medical review board arbitrarily made up a number that it considered "safe". I always highly doubted that only fourteen drinks a week or so is "safe" because from personal experience I have seen more people than not drink more than that and live into their 80s. And if these numbers were accurate, places like Ireland would have a life expectancy of 35.

If you are hung up on the "safe drinking level" issue, you should not be. Consult your doctor for regular tests to determine if drinking is having any negative impact on your health. I was shocked to find out years ago that I was in perfect health, even after years of drinking 50 a week.

My best,

Nick

Nick,

I do realize that the number 14 is completely arbitrary. The fact that Australia, UK and Sweden all define a different "safe" number is reason enough to know it. I am just sticking to some number, any number and 1/3 of a bottle of wine every day seems like a perfectly reasonable one. No health concerns about it either.

What I am hung up on is the fact that I can't get to the point of being indifferent to alcohol. I think about drinking daily. And AF days don't happen "naturally" - I have to plan and enforce them. It is very easy to do but still. The way I see it, this makes me very different from non-alcoholics who really do spend most of the days never having a thought about drinking. In ideal world I would like to only drink once a week in a social setting. This does not come naturally so far.

Hey Nick, Now lookey here. There is no need, no need I say to put out Irelands name like this. I do take exception.

Nah, Im only joking. I really dont know what it is about the Irish people that love drinking so much. Maybe its the old emegration story we trot out so well, we all grew up on sad stories and songs of children leaving the shores of Ireland because of poverty and hunger never again to be seen, with their parents dying of broken hearts still lamenting the loss of their children. Maybe if any nation of people were spoon fed these stories as children they too would be alcoholics.

Of course its probaly the only country where traditionally the one and only place people go for entertainment is the pub whether it be a christening, communion wedding or a wake.Very often two or more of these occasions could be celebrating or mourning in one pub at the same time. Going out in Ireland doesnt mean bowling or the cinima or anywhere else, its the pub. Its actually a very easy country to be an alcoholic in, you would have to litterly be on the street before you would stand out.

Thanks for the update Nutella! And some of you may have seen the article in Time magazine that came out in Sept or Oct 2010 about the results of a peer reviewed scientific study that showed that heavy drinkers outlived nondrinkers . The researchers chalked it up to the stress reducing and social interaction effects of alcohol. Go figure.
Nutella, do you think your life is structured in such a way that alcohol is a part of it socially even in moderation? I only ask because I drank alone 99% of the time so it's been easy to just stop without thinking about it much since I've been a a new diet regimen . I know I will face challenges once I look better, start socializing with friends and fraternizing at the faculty club on campus, which is a noted swill-hole. I know everyone's journey is different but since you are a true veteran and still posting here we need to mine you for information