Hi there. I'm new to the board and TSM. I am a 42 year old mom of two and wife to one. I have been a heavy drinker for over 20 years. Started in high school and never stopped. I drink 3 to 4 nights in a row with the last night being overkill and i end up so hungover i can string together 3 days AF until the pattern begins again.

I haven't had long periods of sobriety really. One 9 month stent in AA but i hated it and didn't feel AA was for me at all. Then i was sober with both pregnancies once discovering i was pg.

I'm really tired of living this way. I think of all the time I've wasted getting drunk, suffering from hangovers, or thinking about alcohol and it truly makes me sick.

I'm so ready for TSM!! I started friday night with my first dose but i tool the 50 mg and i think it was too much for me. I had a full blown panic attack saturday morning and i'm still feeling strange so after talking with Melissa, i will try again in a few days with 12.5 mg dose.

I look forward to getting to know you and sharing my journey.

Hi. I've on the program for almost 4 months now. I was told to start with 1/2 a tablet=25 mg. for the first 2 days then increase to the full 50 mg. tablet. It did give me side effects at first, but not too bad (fatigue, nausea & diarrhea) but they are tapering off as time goes by. Good luck!

Thanks Gail. How's it going for you after 4 months??

gd484 The only panic attack I've ever had in my whole life was about 73 days ago (my last drink) after drinking about 7 drinks and trying to kill my buzz with 50mg Naltrexone (which I don't regularly take). The whole experience has so far "scared me straight"! Absolutely horrible.

Anyway, interesting drinking pattern. I'm curious what your husband and kids think about all this? Surely, you can't completely hide it from them. I would imagine you suffer quite a bit of shame from it all (IMO, a drunk mom is even more traumatic to see than a drunk dad!). I think the fact that (a) you are highly motivated to quit for the sake of your family and life in general, and (b) already have AF days during the week (albeit while in a state of aversion) are positives for you. Some people haven't had an AF day in years and can hardly imagine it (I personally strung together about 1700 nights off without one AF night).

Keep us posted. You should expect success.

Hi Barry.

I've been very fortunate (or unfortunate? ) in that my husband doesn't really think i have a problem. It's weird because i am very open with him. I have told him I've had a problem and wanted to quit for years. I think it's a combination of things that keep him from truly understanding the extent of my drinking 1) i am able to be AF a few days a week 2) i have a highly stressful job and he thinks i come home and have some wine to unwind and "that's ok" to him. 3) he thinks I'm a great mom and doesn't know how it truly effects me on a daily basis 4) he's in denial.

As for the kids, they are still young. My 11 year old has just started asking questions or watching what I'm drinking -which is one of the reasons i am highly motivated to stop this pattern for good. But i don't think the kids think much about it other than probably believing their mother really likes wine. I'm a nice drunk. But i know i will be a much better mom when not drinking like this.

Re-started last night with 12.5, no problems and drank less than usual. Took 25 mg tonight and had 1 margarita. Thought about opening wine when i got back but decided against it. Gonna go snuggle with the kids and watch a movie. Don't know if it's the med or plaebo effect but I'll take it.

But am feeling a little "strange" again, like beginning anxiety. Probably should have stuck with 12.5 again.

Have used Naltrexone for about 10 months. It cut me down from 220/month, to less than 20/month, (with 3-4 AF days/wk) consistently.

What seems to work best is taking it as prescribed, drinking something, and then waiting at least 30-45 minutes before the next drink.

By then, the desire seems either lessened or maybe gone, and it's much easier to just not drink any more. Oddly, at that point I usually don't care, because it just feels better to not be impaired.

That's been my experience anyway, and it's cool that is actually works.

Hi gd484, welcome and good luck.

Guapo,

Thanks for the post because that was exactly what happened! I took 25 mg and went out to eat with a friend and ordered a margarita. It was a 45 minute drive home and by the time i got home i was no longer interested in opening the wine. I thought about it, but wasn't that excited about it so decided not to. Typically, that would never happen. Nice to know that's how it works for you too.

Welcome.

BTW, you are waiting an hour between pill and alcohol right?