Hi Folks

Posting my Second Weeks progress on TSM.

Sunday - 0 units

Monday - 10 units [3/4xPill]
Disappointing .. but the force was strong .... The Sauvignon Blanc cut through my shields of steel (NAL) like butter. A poor showing, but I screeched on the brakes at 10 units ... It could have been so much worse. FYI: The Monday "poor showing" may have been a consequence of me playing with 1/2 to 3/4 pill. Moving forward I will start on a full pill.

Tuesday - 0 units

Wednesday - 22 units [1xPill]
Christmas Day .. No stopping my drinking today. But 22 is reasonable compared to my standard Christmas which would be closer to 40u. Got bored as evening got longer & left my final drink & went home.

Thursday - 0 units
Today I start on Campral. Campral is intended to reduce any cravings, as the NAL is used to block the highs. I am hoping that with Campral my days drinking will collapse, however I will always have NAl in my pill case for drink days.

Friday - 6 units [1xPill]
Woke feeling bit anxious, may have been the Campral may not. Anyhow despite good intentions I did end up drinking, today, so the Campral didnt seem to help, however that may change as the quantity increases in my blood stream. Wasnt too disappointed with only 6 units, I think without the NAL it would have easily been double or triple. FYI I am still enjoying the wine but the buzz is not noticeable.

Saturday - 0 units
Woke up with a doozy of a hangover from 6 units ??? Jeez how can I feel so bad after 4 medium glasses of wine. Anyhow managed to do a bit of exercise & used a little bit of will power to keep of the grog in the evening. Despite my hope the pills will be a silver bullet, I think the reality is I will need to apply a level of restraint/will-power to ensure I don't go totally of the rails.

In summary: 38 AU units (under 50% of my normal) and 4 Alcohol Free days.
This week was much harder and less glorious than week 1.
I am still a believer in the NAL, but not 100% sure about the Campral.

Regards
Beeryoda

For a wine drinker's second week, those are fine numbers. Christmas screwed everything up for a lot of people, including many normal people who drink too much on that day.

I wonder why wine drinkers have a harder time of it? Wine must taste good. Or something. Maybe there's another component in wine . . . we need more studies on this stuff.

Happy New Year Guys

My Week 3 & start of a new year.
All in all, a very successful week considering it included NY Eve.
24 Units & 4 AF (only 1 bottle of red on NY Eve)

My NY resolution (goal): I want to average better than 32u & 4AF a week.

Other Stuff:
- My irritability has totally gone
- I have noticed certain foods encourage me to drink (Curry, Mexican, Pizza)
Conversely certain foods put me off drink .. typically plain ones.

This latter discovery has motivated me to try the 5:2 diet (which some friends are doing ... http://www.52fastdiet.co.uk/ ). Basically it is based on the premise of 2 days a week being fast days (very low calorie days). As a bare minimum that would guarantee me 2 AF days per week.

Happy New Year, BY

Looks like things are moving in the right direction. It's interesting that you note that spicier foods make you want booze... There was recently a study completed that claims that those of us who like spicy food are more likely to be boozers, and that amongst boozers, those who like spicy food are more likely to be helped by nal. I posted about it in the "naltrexone in the news" section.

The idea is that spicy foods give you an endorphin rush, similar to alcohol. It would make some sense that if you get that endorphin system revved up with spicy foods, the pump is already primed for the booze you are about to pour into your system. It might be worth doing an experiment - if you are planning on having spicy food and drinking, take the nal before eating, so that you don't get the endorphin rush from that either. Who knows, it could yield an interesting outcome?

Finally, as a fellow wine lover, I feel your pain. It's pretty easy for me to overdo it on wine. I've been on nal for almost 2 years, my life has changed drastically for the better, and I consider myself a different person... however... If I open a bottle of wine, there is little chance that I won't finish it. It's just too nice. In the old days, I would go through 3 bottles in a night, so just having one is certainly quite the improvement, but it's not exactly normal behavior. This comes back to the point you make, that I also observed, that nal isn't a "silver bullet" for me. It doesn't turn me into a normal person, it just gives me some measure of control. Nowadays, I CAN indeed use sheer willpower to stop drinking, though it's often unpleasant. What I prefer is to have beer instead of wine if there is any danger of excess (big parties, special occasions, etc.), as I find myself far less likely to overdo it on beer. Anyway, that's just what works for me. Best of luck amigo!

What is it with British people and weird diets?

That's an interesting identification of your cues and triggers and primes. I'm glad to see that you're making such rapid progress.

It would indeed be interesting to see if the nal blocks your enjoyment of those foods. It's believed to suppress the mini-high from things like chocolate and ice cream, but curry? That would be interesting to learn. I look forward to your further progress reports.

Finally, someone else who associates certain food with alcohol...I've been thinking it's just me! It's not spicy foods in particular, but I have a definite association between certain foods and wine. Pizza, curry, cheese, crisps, Steak...the list goes on. However, beans on toast and wine/eggs and wine...no way! I'm not sure whether it's just years of conditioning of sitting down for my evening meal with a couple of glasses or whether there's something else going on, but it is making it a bit more difficult to break the habit. And yes, I know the answer is to just eat eggs every night for dinner

Glad to see you're doing well.
Ruth.

Week 4

Back to work this week, so all the traditional triggers & obstacles are back

Weekly Score: 31 Units & 3AF (0, 0, 8, 0, 7, 8, 8)

I should be pleased with my score for this week, after all its approximately 40% of what I was consuming last year. However I still feel a bit disappointed. I feel with a little bit of effort (more will power) I can be getting these scores under 30* on a regular basis.

*Under 30 was my pre-TSM goal.
The good news is I am not going above 8 units in any day.

Note: Limiting myself to having one bottle of wine in the house at any point in time appears to be a wise & simple insurance policy for myself. I seem pretty satisfied after one, however knowing another is not in easy reach does help. The downside is if I open 1 bottle .. I must drink 1 bottle.

This last problem is 100% psychological … maybe the solution is to buy 1/2 bottles for home drinking.


Update: Following on from Week-3 advice/comments - I have been trying NAL before I start eating my curries (my drinking trigger food). The effect was noticeable. By taking NAL my appetite for hot food decreases i.e. no going back for second helpings. For me, It appears NAL works on curry like Alcohol.

You're on Week 4 of a process which usually takes at least 12 weeks. Chillax, Beeryoda. You're doing fine.

I'm really happy that you have enough AF days. You're getting some good contrast there.

Five weeks completed.

This weeks score was: 0, 0, 8, 0, 11, 0, 10 : 29u & 4AF

As expected, this was a more difficult week as work is now back in full swing & that means business lunches.
Its hard to avoid drink when you are wining & dining clients.
Anyhow, despite a lolly overload on Friday, I came out of the week bang on target.

My 5 week progress report is as follows

Rock on!
Great numbers, Beeryoda.