Read Bob3d's thread: he was ready to give up on TSM and he was way longer into the method then you are and then one day he had no interest in alcohol. My turning point was around week 33. You are in for a long, roller coaster ride but you'll get there. It takes patience. Hang in there.

My best,

Nick

thanks nick-

and let me be a little more clear: i am in no way ready to give up on this process. this process is a potential life saver. i will stick with this, there is no doubt about it.
this board, with it's ability to let us see the future in a way, is a big part of the reason for my above attitude. that and i know that i am completely f'd if i go off the naL- the beast inside me continues to lurk, ready to completely take over again.

Hey Ready, thanks for the posts, updates and stories. I am pulling for you. I will not pretend to offer you any advice because the future is ahead of me and I maintain hope for both of us.

I had a nice 3 month sobre period a couple of years back (craving badly the whole time) using community support at another website. I could find it by searching, "We quit drinking" on google.

There was a large community of people supporting each other and it was a great help to me at that time, as this board is now. Hopefully, the numbers on this board will continue to grow.

Just know that the JDog is in your corner and keeping track of your journey.

All the best!

Hi Ready33, hang in there bro. Your pre TSM levels were similiar to mine. You are in the early stages, past honeymoon which can be a bit disenfranchising. Stick with it because your brain wiring needs continued convincing that it should dismantle those superhighways it built to respond to alcohol. Remember that every time you take Nal one hour before drinking you are reteaching your brain to live without needing alcohol. So every drinking session (with Nal on board) is a lesson for your brain. Try to make sure you take Nal at least an hour before drinking because your progress will be more steady. I got a bit lacks at your stage and took it as I had the first drink and felt that it impaired my progress slightly. Anyway best of luck Ready, hang in there and you will get there.

You can do it ready. Reading your posts when I was down really helped me. We are all here and pulling for you. Esp me.

Hi ready33

It's good to read thru your posts.You may have a point about not having so much desire to exercise etc while taking nal. I've been able to have 2or 3 AF days each week thanks to years in AA and lots of 6 months sobriety periods. Even so I have felt a bit slack about exercising.
I used to crave sweet things, especially chocolate when not drinking. Since starting TSM I haven't had cravings for sugar - it must be all the wine I'm drinking!
I too have stuck out my hour tonight and am about to have a glass of wine. Wish me luck!

Cheers
Sticky

Jdog, 80's baby, sticky, warren, nick et al-
thanks for the replies and encouragment!- they really help, esp. because i have told absolutely no one except for my physician that i am doing the sinclair method so it is nice to have a sense of not being alone. (i feel like i am in the minority in that i am single and live alone.)
last couple of days have been good- 7 units total which is a nice drop.
i am starting a period of not working so much so i am worried about an uptick in my units. that said, pre- TSM i would invarariably go on a serious bender with so much time off. now i can honestly say that i don't see that happening over the next week and i am really excited to see what i can do with regards to my writing (i am an aspiring comedy writer) over the next week. while i do feel like my numbers will increase somewhat i don't have the sense that i am going to go completely off the rails. this is a nice feeling and i will let you all know how it goes.

@warren- i absolutely agree with your caution about following the formula of at least one hour between naL and drink. i feel that this is really important given the difficulty of extinction and the concept of upregulation. over the course of my 7 plus weeks on this method i have only failed to heed this rule twice, as related in an earlier posts- once i just totally forgot during the euphoria of victory and the other time i did not double dose during a more than 12 hour drinking session.

i am feeling a shift, if ever slight.

may the trail rise to meet us all.

p.s. just got my new 100 pill naL prescription. it feels good knowing i am set for awhile.

FYI, I live alone too.

FYI - I drink alone! Does that count?

Ready, you are a welcome addition to this board. You are really serious about this and keeping good track of things. Like Nick says to so many, you are well on your way to regaining control!

hello again.
it has been awhile since i posted.
i had a week off of work a couple weeks ago and thought i could handle the free time. i could not. it was a massive trigger and i went on a week long bender (see units for week 9 below). man- i had not done anything like that since i started this method but so it goes.

i am going to stick with it however and hope for the best. the last ten days i have settled back into the groove of about 5-7 units during the week and 10-12 on the weekends. yup- i am one of the seriously hard core everyday drinkers amongst us but so it goes.

i think what is most important is that even during the weeklong bender and all the other nights i have consistently followed the golden rule and have stayed safe. i think the desperation i feel about making this work is a good thing.

off to check up on others and their progress.

may the trail rise to meet us.