I'm glad you got through it with no trouble.

Is it all childhood, or does your family kind of . . . suck? Mine kind of sucks, and God knows some alcohol would make them easier to take. Not worth it, though. The sucky family visit will end a lot faster than a revived alcohol addiction would.

No, my family is great. Well, as great as family can be since you don't get to pick them. We all get along and have a great time with each other. As long as my brothers are not present (and they haven't been around for a long time - one passed away four years ago). I really think its me. Whether it is childhood issues or me trying to self medicate to ease whatever uneasiness I have, I don't think that my consumption is rational or helpful. And you are right about the sucky family time vs. the resumption of alcohol addiction/dependence. I think the alcohol would only amplify the sucky family time. It would certainly amplify the subsequent events which most likely would not be good.

It's been over a year since I started TSM. I can definitely report that consuming alcohol today is vastly different than it was for me a year ago. Over the last two weeks the hangovers have intensified to a point where I can't even take the medication. I'm beginning to wonder if the medication has permanently altered my body's reaction to alcohol. I dropped down to 25 MG this week and still had the most intense reaction to drinking. Yesterday I didn't take the medication and drank a bit and still had the same reaction. And I didn't drink that much. I woke up with that incessant stretchy feeling, tired, groggy, and with a persistent headache.

Maybe I am in the final throes of my dance with booze. I am really gun shy about drinking at this stage simply because I don't want to feel like sh** the next day. That seems to be the case regardless of how much I drink or how much medication I take. Although the romance of booze is still there, if I stop to think about what the next day will be like I can pretty much resist the temptation. That is different than pre TSM. I could always rationalize my way to a cocktail by the afternoon reagrdless of how many railroad spikes I had planted in my head the previous day. This is not what I expected, but if this is it I will take it. I'm shooting for a completely AF week this coming week. Best of luck to everyone!

This seems to be really significant. I'm so glad to hear that the thought of a hangover makes you able to choose not to drink...that's real progress.

I've had a similar experience lately. It got to the point that just two glasses of wine would give me a pounding head for the whole of the next day. I decided it must be the Nal and experimented drinking without Nal or with 25mgs, but I still got the hangover. I think my body just can't take as much alcohol any more. The biggest part for both of us is that we're now able to make choices about drinking whilst thinking about the consequences....something that previously didn't come into the equation.

Enjoy you're AF week

Well, I failed again at making it a completely AF week. Damn! I made it 4 out of 7. It seems that the pressure just builds to a point in the day and some days I succumb and some days I don't. Right now I am heading into the danger zone for the day. Late afternoon to early evening. It's sort of like having little demons nipping at my heels and whispering sweet nothings in my ears. However, given the fact that the hangovers have become unbearable, I am at least able to rationalize it to a certain extent and when I do so I have a better than 50% chance of heading it off at the pass. And I am definitely not over consuming, which I'm taking as a positive. And the really weird thing is if I can make it through the hours from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm or so I end up feeling so much better and more positive and the compulsion is gone for that day. I don't get it!

I went over a year on TSM a few weeks ago. My numbers have dropped considerably during that period and my AF days continue to climb (although somewhat slower lately). I'm better than 50% AF each week. That's all good news. The frustration is that the voices remain and it is hard work to shut it off each and every day. Perhaps at this stage it is a matter of learned behavior by way of changing my behavior patterns. I certainly spent enough time learning to drink, it's probably going to take some time to learn not to drink. And maybe some willpower, no?

I'm just replying to report that I tried 25 mg of naltrexone yesterday and today and this was something I noticed as well. It doesn't seem to be reported as a side effect, except anecdotally, but I have seen numerous people report it.

To be clear, (and this is just my experience, but I suspect yours is similar) I'm not really stretching like cooling down from a workout; this is actually pandiculation.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/pandiculation

The human body is fascinating.