Before I begin: yes I read the book, articles, and many of your posts. I'm grateful for this forum.

Started TSM on April 3rd. I didn't notice much the first couple of days. Since then each day has been a little different. I have had a few AF days where I did not take the Nal or drink (this is not totally uncommon as I am a bit more of a binge drinker). I have also had a couple of occasions where I didn't drink when I normally would have. This was quite liberating as the obsession to drink seemed to be quieting down considerably. I felt that this was really working... and quickly. I still think it is going to work. I'm just curious to hear some other people's experiences/perspectives as I continue this journey.

I work the night shift so it is not uncommon for me to drink in the morning. I did not have a drink yesterday and no Nal. This morning I felt like having a drink. Took my Nal and went on some errands (including buying some bourbon). I didn't feel like I HAD to drink, just sort-of wanted to. This is good because I still feel as though the urge has decreased. There is one thing that keeps weighing on my mind however:

In the beginning, does it matter how often we drink after taking our Nal? In other words... does anyone think that we can learn faster or easier by how often we drink? I feel as though, based on what I have read (and the Pavlov's dog thing sticks in my head), we can "unlearn" better, or quicker, if we drink more often using TSM (this sounds so silly, that's why I'm proposing the notion)? I hope I am making some sense here. Interested to read any perspective. I still want my AF days, but could too many of those in a row "throw off" TSM effectiveness...possibly?

Everyone is different and our habits vary, but I think you're doing exactly what you should be doing. Follow the golden rule and don't drink if you don't feel you have to. Personally I do NOT think yo can speed things up by drinking more or more often or when you don't want to. Ifn fact I think that will probably make matters worse.

The only other things I would suggest are be patient (as you now know this will take months), hesitate between drinks or alternate with something non-alcoholic, And on days when you are AF and Nal-free introduce a healthy behavior......go for a walk or a bike ride, work out at the gym.

McDad

Yes you are doing ok, TSM takes time and patience, all you need do is take nal 1 hour before drinking, then drink as you feel like - which also includes not drinking if you don't.

Go with the flow, don't force it are my tips based on my experience and reading about the experiences of others. I've also noticed those who break the habit by consciously and actively reducing their intake, tend to achieve success earlier - but you are still in the very early days, and I'd say it isn't time for you to be worrying about that yet.

I have seen people over think this process, they tend to get in a spin, which is probably very typical of addicts!

Nal + alcohol + patience = success

Funny. This is what my wife said to me this morning.

Thank you for the excellent feedback. I am optimistic for the future.

Thanks for posting this question McDadx2, I was just having similar thoughts this morning before I even read this. I'm with you that I don't really like the idea of drinking almost every day for months at a time because I feel like I'm doing a number on my health and I just feel gross every day, but at the same time I know we have to drink with Nal at least at some frequency to extinguish the behavior. Personally I think that after I've been at this for a while I'm going to start including much longer stretches of AF time but still allow myself to drink from time to time if I get the urge. I guess as everyone else is saying, patience is key. For me, even if it slightly slows down the process to include AF stretches it's worth it in the long run and we'll achieve the same goal eventually.

Hey McDadx2 - Welcome!

I have been doing this for 2.5 months. I just want to say that I don't "know" the answers, I am just giving my opinion, so keep that in mind

I was a binge drinker that had my binges get closer and closer together until they were daily. I quit drinking in 2013, using Naltrexone the 'wrong' way. It helped curb my cravings and I went cold turkey. I slipped in December and the drinking behavior came back hard - I knew within a week I was probably more addicted than I had when I quit - so was going to take Naltrexone to help me quit again, and then realized I had used it incorrectly. I decided to do TSM and have been doing it since February. It has been a bit rough because I had many years sober and now I am drinking very often and at first, I was drinking A LOT and had a number of really rough mornings as a result. It was hard to 'tolerate' the process, if that makes any sense.

I have been drinking any time I feel like I can tolerate it. I personally think the process will go quicker and I am desperate to be completely in control - so I focus on drinking often and measure my progress by how much less I drink per session (or even if I drink 6 drinks in a day, if it is over 6-8 hours instead of over 2-3 hours). I am definitely seeing progress and am significantly more in control when I am drinking. I don't know if this is common but I do find that if I skip a couple days, my drinking seems to be heavier when I come back to it - perhaps it is all in my head, perhaps a very minor version of the alcohol deprivation effect? Not sure.

Finally, I do have a pretty strong reaction to alcohol as far as my mental health goes. If I drink too much (get too drunk) I can have pretty strong depression symptoms afterwards and it significantly affects my sleep patterns. Because of this I do try to give myself a break every 3 or 4 days, just to give myself a chance to feel good and feel strong. I find that if I drink for too many days in a row, I can start a downward spiral that can be pretty uncomfortable but if I focus on staying in as 'good a place' as possible, both physically and mentally, it isn't too bad anymore. I am pleased to say that my overindulging to the extent where it really affects my sleep and emotional health has been cut down significantly - maybe once a week or 10 days, and even then, to much less of an extent than it was before...much more manageable.

I do want to reiterate what everyone else says. This really isn't a quick fix, no matter how you approach it (drinking more often or less often) so it really is about taking the best care of yourself you can during the process. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Just follow the 1 hour rule and then make whatever other choices feel right for you. As long as we get there, right?

Hope this helps!

Jephiner

Thanks Jephiner - that was some good stuff. Seems your drinking pattern/habits are very similar to mine. I don't have a problem going a day or 2 AF, but then I get the urge and want to drink, then sometimes have trouble stopping. After 2 weeks I am noticing the AF days to be easier and the urges to drink a lot less strong. I hope to eventually get the moderation under control.

I try to keep in mind what UKBlonde posted about "over thinking" it. I get it and I can't do that. It's too early to concern myself about how I'm going to get better, just that I will if I keep at it. I expect I will have some slips or bad days - as long as they decrease over time I'll be okay.

Thanks all. I'm grateful for all the info here.

I also struggle with over thinking things. It's a funny concept- the problem is critical to the solution. It's the opposite of the abstinence model, where you work and work at recovery, and if it isn't going well, you work harder... Forever. So for me, it's easy to feel like I should be *doing* something. Thank goodness for all the experienced TSMers telling us to keep calm and carry on!

Some trying times right now. Grandmother died last week. Father-in-law with S4 pancreatic cancer... going soon. All in all things are still going well. Drinking obsession is still greatly reduced. I still drink too much - but it is a far cry from what I was before.

Sometimes when I take my Nal I feel like I don't want to "waste" it... so I should drink more. It's a very subtile feeling, but it's there none the less. Weird. Still I drink less than before. It's so cool. I feel more in control. Just trying to keep up the practice of moderation. GL all!

I am sorry about your losses McDad, it can be easy to over drink in those circumstances.

I'm just wondering, what exactly do you mean by not 'wasting' it?