Love that, Electra: Nalover vs. Hangover.

Viva la Nasty Difference!!!!

A Nalover is one of the nastiest hangovers I have ever experienced!

Loving the continual creativity on this board,

Ketchikan1

Hi dragonfly

I can remember some Mothers days when I have been in the bad books for drinking too much. Read some of my posts & I'm sure you'll relate!
Glad to hear you have experienced the honeymoon - that bodes well for success in the future.
I wish I could go back there - too tired to stay up past 8.30!!! That certainly reduces the drinking. No seriously, I wish you well for your TSM journey. Be prepared for a long haul with plenty of ups & downs. It's better than my 18 years of stuffing up over & over in AA...

Cheers
Sticky

Honeymoon is over. Blah. These last three days I've been right back at it- 7 units, 9 units, 8 units. Hubby could tell I was drunk last night. He's a little confused because as he says "aren't you taking that medication to make you cut down?" He needs to read some of these posts to know it's part of the process. I wonder how many people drop the program at this point. It is very deflating, even when you're expecting it.
It's almost entirely faith and hope in the process at this point. There are still some slight changes that I'm clinging on to for morale like increased awareness when drinking. And, hey, at least I haven't gotten all the way back up to 10+ units in one day (yet) right?

Hey Dragonfly,

Don't be too down. From what i can understand you've made a great change in your life during the past few weeks.

Do you still feel in control? Is stopping at 8 easier than it used to be?

If yes - you have made excellent progress.

Are you still drinking in the mornings (weekends and / or weekdays)?

If no - then even more applause for you. This is an excellent indicator.

As Nick said, “Beware the rollercoaster that is coming and expect a spike in drinking. It's just your body reaching for the old endorphin rush that is suppressed by Naltrexone. Realize it's part of a long process. You'll get there."

All I can do is say you are taking the right steps to sort out your drinking. Just think how you'll feel when you complete the 5K run...

Keep going. We believe in you

Yes dragonfly, keep the faith! I am also in the post honeymoon phase but I am a)focusing on the increased awareness b) experimenting with stopping drinking maybe one or two drinks shorter than I would like and c) remembering how awesome it felt to be in control and not care about drinking during the honeymoon period. It will come back!!!!
EL

Thanks Andy and EL! You made some great points Andy- thank you for putting some things in perspective! Yes, stopping at 8 is MUCH easier now. In fact, I can barely go over that - only one night I got up to 9. No, I haven't drank in the morning at all still since starting TSM and my weekend drinking has been much more reasonable- I haven't started until 4 or 5 pm and I haven't had to sneak any drinks.

Keeping the faith and hoping for a much better week 4!!

-dragonfly

That's absolutely f***ing fantastic. Sorry for the expletive - but it's true.

Well done - you must feel good about yourself. Imagine how happy you will feel when you stop at 7, then 6, then 5...

Take it one day at a time, but it's clear to me that you are making excellent progress! Well done.

Andy.

Ended week 3 with a total of 45 units. Definetly a spike up and, more worrisome, I seem to be enjoying drinking almost like I did before. My husband noticed my increase this week and commented on it. Then I told him that it's actually a little less than I was before- I'm just not hiding from him how much I drink anymore. He was pretty surprised because I've been a very good closet drinker. It really has been a load off my shoulders to not hide it anymore.

There was a slight glimmer of hope on Sunday when I got home from the store on Sunday. It was only about 2:30 but that wouldn't have stopped me before- especially on a weekend. Instead, even without thinking, I set the bottle on the counter and went about doing things around the house. It didn't even enter my mind to open the bottle!! I didn't realize this until about an hour later and I got hopeful that maybe there really is an subconsious change going on. Once I thought of opening the bottle I was able to put off the urge for another hour and didn't open it until I started making dinner.

Though I am still drinking far more than I should, at least for the past three weeks my pattern of when I drink and how much has been much more "normal". I don't start drinking until 4 or 5 and I'm done by about 9. I haven't drank in the morning and I haven't had a drink during a 2 am waking. In fact, I haven't even gotten out of bed with insomnia at 2 am!!

Take care guys,

dragonfly

ooops. Just noticed that I counted my units incorrectly- week 3 total is 54 units.

dragonfly, I think that is more than a "glimmer" of hope - I think that's a clear sign that TSM seems to be working for you! The ability to not completely obsess about alcohol....what an amazing dream that TSM might make possible for us!
I totally agree with you that even though sometimes units can seem too high, you feel like your drinking was by and large in control. I think I had a similar week in that regard.