So I'm at the ass end of week 5 of Nal and decided some days ago that this would be my first stab at an Alc Free day. I have to admit it's going a little easier than expected, but not without a palpable nagging from the grumpy old pusher in my amygdala. I was hoping by now being able to take a day off would be — if you'll pardon the pun — a no-brainer.

Anyone here like to give me a little confidence push right about now? I don't want to say I'm losing faith but jeez, where's the beef??

Am I expecting too much too soon?

Thanks,

Oz.

Hey there, hope I'm not too late for the cheerleading. For people who drink every day usally,TSM takes a while to work in the sense of having AF days. You are being very brave and ambitious by doing it week 5. But yes, I suspect effort is usually part of it. There are time when I actually don't want to drink in any way shape or form...but there are a lot more times when I make the calculated decision that I don't want to drink for x y or z reason,...if that makes sense?

Based on all I've read, I think an AF day at week 5 works if it works but should not hang you up if it's a horrible struggle. I have not gotten there yet.

Thanks for the reality check.

You'll be happy to know that I made it through the evening successfully. The real struggle was right around the 5:00 hour, when my body robotically attempts to obtain a drink out of literally decades of practice. If I can keep myself distracted for an hour or so, until roughly 6:00, I'm basically free from the magnetic pull of Al and can go on about my evening without any trouble. It's from 4:30 - 6:00 that I have to hold on tight to the reins, like I'm sitting on a rodeo bull. The bull only bucks for an hour or two and then just lays down and sleeps for another 23 hours. Sound familiar to anyone? Funny how the brain works, eh Dr. Pavlov?

I won't get too specific as to why I chose this particular day to go Nal and Al free, but suffice it to say, the moon was in the right phase for some other adult activities my wife and I were looking forward to. There's a whole other world of discussion regarding Nal's side effects surrounding certain such activities. Can you say, nal-d***?

So I'm starting to get the picture here that TSM is not necessarily a guaranteed 90 day trip, start to finish. I'm seeing folks here talking about "week 28" and "2 years" and such extended courses. For that matter it seems like the timing of this program can go all over the map. Is this the norm, or is there a general average that people are reporting?

I have "the book" on hold at the local library, so I intend to start reading up before I make too many more assumptions about TSM, but I appreciate any insight anyone would like to share on this.

- Oz

That's great! I wish I could slip past the beast. It just lurks until I give in! Some day I'll ease past the evening urge. Maybe some day soon.

As for time frames, they're all over the map. Check this post:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2442

I think a forced AF day is a good idea.

Whilst TSM dictates that you should drink as you normally drink, forced AF's will allow the endorphins to start creeping back in. You can then start to associate endorphins with not drinking, and reinforce not drinking.

As Nal can stay in the system for over 24 hours, it may be that it takes 2-3 Consecutive AF days to get non-drinking reinfocement.

From experience, I believe that having consecutive AF days off Nal aids in reinfocement of non drinking behaviors and can play an important role in TSM success.

MLF