I am 1 1/2 months into TSM, about 1 month into bac (40 mg right now.) Daily units are about 4 right now, and thinking about pushing for some AF free days.

Although it's a huge win that it even seems conceivable now (previous efforts led to night sweats, which my doctor told me was early sign of DTs, which scared me out of going AF), still just thinking about it leads to some anxiety. Alc is still heavily related to recreation, the end of day, a reward for work done, etc. And the sleeplessness and night sweats from before are still a scary memory. So my Q:

-Is having been at 4 units per day for the last 3 weeks or so low enough to not trigger physical withdrawal symptoms anymore when going full AF?

-Hopefully, there are others here that have made the transition to AF: how have you dealt with these psychological barriers? Did you insert AF days, or full AF weeks, or what?

-Have I given TSM enough time, am I pushing too hard? I have noticed that taking nal seems to delay the onset of drinking, sometime even 3-4 hours after taking it. I have no idea if this is psychological, but it seems the simple fact of taking it makes beginning of drinking less pleasurable as I know it has less opiate effects then. But in reading other threads - perhaps I'm not utilizing TSM fully effectively if I do this, maybe committing to TSM means, a bit ironically that I need to start drinking an hour after?

Any thoughts are appreciated... I'm glad with the progress made, and others that have gone full AF (or even further down from 4/daily) that can share insight would be great.

Hi prospects..


I am new to TsM but certainly not new to alcohol addiction. Withdrawal as much as should be taken seriously but I feel in most cases it's over hyped. Specially by the doctors. Again I am just saying based on what I have experienced and read.. Not a specialist advice. U have to decide on your own.

If you are just someone who drinks only in the evenings/nights, and goes thru the day without alcohol and without any withdrawals, I guess you should be ok. You just have to try it yourself. May be gulp a glass just before you are about to sleep and keep another one by the bed side just in case u feel uncomfortable eve though I don't think you will need it. Or you slowly reduce your daily intake by half evy 3-4 days and then go AF. What ever works for you.

I have tried AF several times soon after my high levels of drinking and have mostly escaped with night sweats and loss of sleep. That goes in a couple of days. A few times I have had vivid dreams of spiraling out of my bed and flying to the roof. A bit scary the first time. Other than DTs I don't think any condition is dangerous and DTs are very rare. Everything else is worth it.

Do some more research on withdrawal. It will be good to hear from seniors here who have already had lots of AF days.

Wish you good luck.

I agree with the above post and I would be of the opinion that 4 units a day should not be enough to bring on withdrawl if you were to cut it out completely. Night sweats are not always due to alcohol withdrawl and neither are bad dreams - I have had both of these whether or not I've been drinking.

Thanks gonda and ukblonde.
ukblonde i'm curious about your signature =- do you mean that nal worked for you immediately, or did it take some time? If not immediately how long did it take?