"Every day off" for me meant the days I was not working night shift (which starts at 7pm). I usually work three nights a week, so I have at least four nights off (obviously, during vacations, I had seven nights off). Before I started night shift, I drank 7 nights a week; for the first 7.5 years of night shift, I drank at least 4. Regarding AF days, on my second week, I had two effort-free AF nights, which was the first time I had done two in over 11 years. Keep in mind, though, that meant I went five nights without drinking since I already worked three (confusing, I know). My opinion is that alcohol-free days are the key to success, but some might disagree. I've mentioned that rtk98 TSMer who drinks 2 drinks 7 nights a week and is perfectly happy with that.

BTW, I finished my three-year, 60 credit hour (with 7 month internship), no-online-class health admin. degree yesterday!! I had stayed up the night before having a terrible time in ICU (cleaning up alcoholic poop - yuk -- FYI, he advanced cirrhosis in his 40s with just a six-pack a night for twenty years). Both of these two things would have been enough for me to get smashed last night. I never even considered it. We all went out for ice cream and then I went swimming and hot tubbing at the gym with my teenager. Another TSM victory.

Well, I had a very interesting weekend in terms of TSM -- relatives in town, graduation weekend, Mother's Day. Friday night, I took my Naltrexone, had a couple of beers and generally felt good. I didn't want any more after that. Saturday was graduation (a reason to celebrate with drinking). My daughter and I sang the national anthem in front of a large crowd -- except that I completely choked, got incredibly nervous, and had to stop in the middle of the song. I could feel my face contorting from terror and turning red! It was horrible (but has led to many subsequent laughs). Saturday night, I felt like drinking it up, so I only took half a Naltrexone. Well, I had a bad experience. Severe brain fog, such that I couldn't even take one sip of the beer in front of me. All I wanted was to get rid of it, which I did through eating lots of food and waiting about an hour or so. I was kind of feeling sorry for myself that I can't even drink anymore, which was one thing I was good at. I was thinking, "Be careful what you wish for" in terms of TSM. I did want to make it harder to be a drinker, but now it's become too hard. Sunday night, I decided to try drinking without Naltrexone (just an experiment, I'm not giving it up). I wanted to at least get a buzz or something. Wrong. Couldn't even drink half of a Guinness -- it tasted disgusting. Poured it out and moved on. What I was expecting to be a heavy drinking weekend turned into 2.5 beers.

Heya Barry

I'm very glad to hear you are doing so incredibly well. You are easily the fastest and strongest response to nal that I have read about on these boards. Unfortunately we don't have the science to explain why your case is so extraordinary, but really, who cares? Your life has changed, and I salute you!

but....

I want to issue a word of caution to those who read your thread and comments. Barry seems to be fundamentally different from the rest of us. Most of us have to undo decades of neural adaptation reinforcing our drive for alcohol, and then on top of that, learn to cope with the things we used alcohol to cope with. I'm certainly not saying Barry didn't have to work hard, or re-learn an enormous amount, but he either responds to nal differently than I do, or is of a stronger mental character than I am.

I don't say this to take anything away from Barry, and Barry, I hope you aren't offended. It's just that reading your posts, I often worry that they could be discouraging to someone like me, if I was in the middle of the journey, slowly declining in units but drinking too much and unable to understand why it doesn't work for me like it does for you.

Finally, for most people, it seems that drinking off the nal every once in a while to get a buzz can be a disastrous experiment. Hesster, an old friend from on here got nailed by this after turning his life around and we haven't heard from him in some time. For you Barry, the process has been sufficiently short that restarting might not seem like much. My journey has taken more than a year, involved a lot of questioning and self-doubt at times, and isn't finished yet. The idea of giving up my hard earned gains is terrifying.

I will second generic. I'm sure there are others out there that can respond quickly, like barryb, however, I think that is the upper end of the TSM graduating class. I believe most of this group are well over the 3 month treatment plan.

Barryb,

You got gonads. I can't imagine singing the national anthem in front of a large crowd. I think it would be cool, but not only do I think I would sound horrible, I'm pretty sure I would choke or forget the words.

Hi Barry

Well done on your qualification ... and continued success. You have done SO well and are an inspiration ... thanks for continuing to keep us up to date.

Generic ... thanks also for your insightful remarks .. As Chris and you agree ... some of us are on the slightly slower road ... I've had a general reduction to about half of what I was drinking ... but a bit of an increase these last 2 weeks in May ... hope its a normal "bump" that others sometimes report

Good to hear you're all still out there Lorraine

When I sat down in embarrassment and shame after screwing up the national anthem, my first thought was, "Man, I would have done so much better if I had drank some vodka first!" I still cringe several times a day thinking about it, and it was now four days ago. I now have PTSD.

Generic, regarding the buzz thing. I know my greatest risk will be when and if I re-enter a severely stressful situation in life (e.g. death of a family member like spouse or child, or loss of a job). I know I would be at high risk for turning to alcohol again, as it has served me well in the past during crises. When there is no crisis, it's just been an enemy and destroyer of time, talent, and treasure.

Yes I noticed spikes occured when something changed, a new trigger occurred, new situation that sort of thing. Important thing is to keep using the Nal, and recognise it when it happens - TSM still allows you to regain control, but it is possible to drink through it if you don't give a stuff.

Just a quick update...It seems like last weekend's bad experience with trying to drink carried through the week. Even though it's the Naltrexone that sometimes makes me feel like crap, my mind equates it with the alcohol. So, I'm slowly developing an aversion to alcohol. This past week, it's had about as much appeal to me as broccoli. My 0.5 this week was my lame attempt to drink a Guiness on Mother's Day. I plan on a couple weeks alcohol free. I have a big beach trip coming up in June with a heavy-drinking brother in law -- haven't figured that one out yet. I might just tell him straight up I "barely drink" anymore. His wife's pregnant, so she won't be drinking, either, so that might help!

Ciao

Good on you, yes at times I really mostly do not like alcohol at all - and I don't mean because I hate it, because the smell, taste, effect just holds no appeal.

If you tell him you don't drink, what's he going to do about it?Hold you down and pour it through a funnel?I bet you'll have some real fun with him.

I think I'll just straight out tell him about the Sinclair Method and let him know I have to take a pill one hour before I drink, and that I don't (indeed, can't) drink like I used to. He hasn't see me since I started TSM. I'll bring my good blender and probably mix up some virgin drinks for me, the kids, and his pregnant wife at night. He's the kind of guy that buys you a drink and puts it in front of you before asking. "Here you go. A rum and coke." So, I'll have to be up-front with him.

Things have changed so much for me since last summer. I got fall-down, black-out, vomit-city drunk last year in front of everyone. Oh, and probably drove, too. That man is gone.