im on month4 with tsm, and i already experinced the honeymoon in the beging when i first started.my consumtion droped in half for about 10 days. after that i continued the 9 beers everynight. BUT for me all my hangovers have completely gone,since i started naltrexone.i can get up after 6 hours of sleeping, and dont need a 2 hour nap. by the way i sleep like crap with or without booze. i know i could probley stop after a six pack BUT i dont want to. is this just out of habbit or i need more time with tsm? plus i cant picture dinking 3 beers, what would be the point. i never drank in my whole life 2 or 3 beers. that would be boring and pointless. i would rather drink lemonade then drink beer.i still up till now in my life wonder why people have a drink or two do the get a baby buzz? or they just want to look cool? who knows. i quess what im asking is when you guys(cured or almost cured) see you drinking comming down is you buzz vanishing as well and if so isnt that strange drinking and no buzz?


ps. i always said if my hangovers where gone drinking whould not be a issue in my life. BUT now im thinking how much longer am i going to continue drinking 9 beers, for another 25 years. i know i have to quit for my self. my wife could care less if i drank my self to death. and in my culture (arbic)they dont know what the word alcholic means. so im on my own.

Hi Larry,

First off, I envy your lack of hangovers, I had horrific hangovers with Nal, so you are lucky in that respect. But I can relate to what you said about continuing to drink if you don't get them, I used to think like that too: if only I didn't get hangovers I could continue drinking, but now I could imagine nothing worse than spending nights getting trashed on my own, it's such a sad and lonely waste of time, I think now.

As you already know, the rapid drop in units followed by an increase again, is normal, and a sign that you are responding to treatment. So you just need to be patient and ride it out. If you feel you could stop after 6, try it. Food is a big help to me, I always drink more if I am hungry, so these days I NEVER drink on an empty stomach.

It's possible too that there is an element of habit in your drinking, there is an element of habit to everyone's drinking, so perhaps you could try and find another activity to what you usually do when drinking. If you tend to surf the net when drinking, as I used to, then it might be wise to avoid the computer, that way you break the association. Can you think of another way to occupy your time?

As for what's the point of drinking a beer or two? I hear you on that too. I used to think like that too. But you know what? I enjoy my few units (I drink wine mostly) SO much more now than I did when I was abusing alcohol. I don't have to worry anymore about getting drunk and making a fool of myself. I don't have to worry about not getting enough when I'm out, I'm not watching what others drink, and I don't wake up in the mornings in a panic worried about what I did or said the night before and frantically searching the internet for my posts.

These days I enjoy my wine for the wine's sake and for the social aspect, I like the taste and how it makes me feel (I still do catch a buzz, but not the out of control one as before) but I also love that moment when I feel 'full' I feel I've had enough, like with a nice meal or dessert, you enjoy it, but you come to a point where you can't eat anymore.

I don't know how old you are or how long you have been abusing alcohol, but 4 months is a relatively short time, someone in their 50s who has been abusing alcohol for 20 or more years will take longer to regain control than someone in their 30s who has been drinking for a shorter time. TSM works (for most people) but it works in different ways for different people so just keep going and see how you feel in a few months.

I hope my post helps. I know the forum is slow, it always has been. It's much smaller than a lot of other forums and people tend to be less personal here. It's been a while since there have been some new arrivals and the ones that are already here are either cured or well on their way, so they feel the need to post less.

Curi

Ok, so as your tolerance goes down...yes, you do get a buzz from two drinks. It's actually the best buzz, it doesn't get better than that two drink buzz...My problem, like that of a lot of people here is that we think if two feels good, how good will three feel??

But it doesn't work like that.

OMG, as usual BOTH you girls are chock full of wisdom! But this quote is my absolute favorite...that 2-BEER BUZZ is the BEST...the prime, the sweet spot, & at only 350 calories, a true "Buzz Bargain"! But it's definitely a bell curve - 3 is on the downside, etc. I've known this...forever. I still resist it! At least I no longer run the bell curve down the back slope to 5, 6, etc,. These days, a big, over-do night is usually 4. Plodding forward, ever forward...

Thanks EL, for giving me what will be another oft-repeated TSM quote, which I will chant as a mantra on my drinking days...

first i want to say i love you CuriousOne. (i hope you are a girl) everything you wrote back pretty much answered all of my questions, and i feel so much better.i mean realy that was perfectly worded. and ElectraLou. that was very very helpful. and chrissie your right 2-BEER BUZZ is the BEST... another great quote from you smart people. i wonder sometime are all you people college proffesers, you guys put all your words down so perfectly, or am i just a moroon.(i never went to college).o byt he way im 45,and been drinking since i was25 everyday. and my life till now like the movie groundhog day.
i want all of you that responded back to me to pat your back . you did a great deed by repling back



ps. i love you guys. and GOD bleass all of you and your famlies.

Here are some reasons, relevant to me only (hey, really I'm the only one I can talk about authoritatively), for stopping at just a couple.
THE BIG ONE: I don't wake up the next day with all the same head issues, PLUS the additional burden of maybe having to apologize for something, or lie about something, or just feel like a total $h## for once again having been a failure at controlling my drinking. For a very long time I proved to myself that booze would indeed make anger, disappointment, jealousy, etc., etc., etc., fade away for a few hours, but it took me a couple decades to figure out the simple reality that the nexty morning it was all back, but worse.
In addition to that, a good weight for me is around 190, and booze took me all the way up into the 230's, plus the beginnings of liver damage, plus high blood pressure, plus early neurological symptoms, plus some broken bones, plus some damaged vehicles, plus a couple near-misses with the police, plus a bunch of other downsides that I just don't have to be concerned with any more. Weight is now in the high 190's, headed down; BP is much better, might be able to drop the meds soon. Never drive drunk any more, much less belligerent when drunk so no concerns about the cops, and on and on and on. All thanks to calling it quits after just a few, and not even that except in appropriate circumstances. But TSM, while a help, is not the entire answer for me; I have to think about the why of every drink, and only take it if the answer I come up with is benign. And the first answer is not always the correct one; most of the time I have to dissect that first "why" and be sure I'm not just making something minor into a big deal to justify another drink.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm in my fifth month, averaging three units per session, high so far five units, and weekly total of 15 or so with 2-3 AF days. If you choose to read up on me elsewhere you'll see I'm doing TSM starting from full sobriety, so not the typical scenario, but I was up well over 100 units a week this time last year. So it can be done with NAL+1 hour+drink+headwork. Without that last part, the slope is a lot steeper, as it took me far too long to discover.

I agree with Curi. Count yourself EXTREMELY fortunate not to have hangovers on NAL. The hangovers I get on NAL are nothing short of godawful. Even if I have a relatively light drinking night, I can always count on waking up to some discomfort. Their are days, as a binge drinker, that I'm confined to bed or the couch until 1-2pm because of how bad the hangovers are.

As far as the "Buzz" from drinking, I don't believe the effects of AL ever change. You still get drunk/buzzed when drinking on or off NAL. NAL doesn't change this. The only difference is that ones craving for that buzz slowly diminishes to the point, that you aren't yearning for it.

Q

thanks q and ellpee, whats so sad is i have no hangovers AT ALL and feel so great the next day after drinkg(10 beers 7% volume) BUT im not going to use the no hangovers as a excuse to continue drinking. here is my story in short. i been drink for 25 years but the last 10 have took a big toll on my life. i have not told anyone this but my shrink now i will tell you guys. for the last 10 years i would wake up at 4 pm and start my day. basically avoid my wife and lie to her that im looking for a buisness. then come home about 7 pm look at the clock to wait till it hits 11 pm.(kids are sleeping, wife is sleeping) then i drink 10 beers in two hours and go to sleep. when i need money i run to my parents. im 44 and my parents help me(what a joke). i use to make so much money, but in ten years i pretty much waisted it and basicaly could not function. since i been on nal, believe it or not, i can get up early and stay focused. i asked my shrink and he said that it could happen. i got lucky thank GOD. anyway i love all you guys. have a great day.


ps. im still taking nal one hour before drinking

Hey Larry, I sympathize with your struggle....keep trying....and keep trying to cut back....even if it's just by one unit...it's a victory. I'm cheering for you.

Wow! how can you even function on so little sleep? You are chronically sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation can have very negative consequences on a person's physical and mental health, cognitive functions and self-control.

Have you ever tried taking Melatonin? It can be bought in drugstores and health food stores as a health supplement, no need for a script and it's cheap!

Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. It helps regulate other hormones and maintains the body's circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour clock that plays a critical role in when we fall asleep and when we wake up. When it is dark, your body produces more melatonin; when it is light, the production of melatonin drops. Being exposed to bright lights in the evening or too little light during the day can disrupt the body' s normal melatonin cycles. Take 3 or 5 mg in the evening before you intend to sleep. Sit in a quiet, low-lit place or in your room and let the melatonin supplement and your own natural melatonin production do their magic. Avoid brights lights, noise and stimulation (computer, TV etc...) before sleeping. You could try listening to an audio book for example.

The world is SUCH a better place after a good night's sleep.

Curi