I Bought the book, signed up on the board, and am waiting for my first shipment of Nal from All Day Chemists. I have been between doctors for a year after an insurance dispute and don't feel like I can spring an ongoing chronic issue on a new MD. I also don't want a Scarlet Letter "A" on my permanent record. I have abused alcohol since I was 15, along with other things, but booze is the only thing that stuck through my early forties. I have been exceedingly fortunate to not be in prison although I have almost died a dozen times due to drunken misadventures. Throughout it all I have remained more or less employed and twice divorced ( I remarried my first wife 2 years ago, and have a darling 2-and-a-half year old.)

The anniversary of the death of my best friend, via acute liver failure, due to a taste for cheap whiskey just passed two weeks ago. The outlook is bleak if I don't get a handle on this. I blame AA and inpatient treatment facility woo-woo for the death of my friend. His parents sent him there with the best of intentions and he played the game like a true believer but it didn't stop him from selling off his prized record collection and moving far away from those who loved him to hole up with an endless supply of cheap bourbon until he died at age 42. Despite this, I have not stopped; If anything, I have increased my consumption. You can call it mourning or complacency or laziness. I have no idea.

As an atheist, I have absolutely no use for the 12-step cult and couldn't follow their tenants if I tried. I looked into SMART Recovery but was jumped all over by an admin because I would not kiss the butts of the 12-steppers. They do not seem to care at all about the people who join unless they tow the party line. I looked at Rational Recovery but that just seemed like a lot of hooey about imagining invisible monsters that trick a person into drinking. There is nothing rational or scientific about that either. So here I am with fading hope and 88 bucks less on my VISA, waiting on a delivery from what I hope is a reputable company, that my wife seems to think is some kind of scam selling fake medication out of India.

welcome to the forum pleatherface

plenty of people on here use All Day Chemist with good results so you should be okay on that front - convincing your wife may be tougher though

it sounds like you've done your research, but to set expectations, you may be lucky enough to be a quick responder, but most people take *at least* 6 months to reach a cure, so strap yourself in for the long haul

good luck & look forward to hearing how you get on

-badger

Hi and welcome Pleatherface!

I just typed out a whole response and for some reason it vaporized into thin air! So, in short I just wanted to say if you haven't read the book yet, get on that! It explains the science behind TSM in detail, which sounds like is important to you. I found it to be a bit oversimplified, but when you're appealing to the masses, sometimes it needs to be!

I, too, found this board when I was in a holding pattern waiting for my Nal. I took the time to read as many posts/threads as I could. I posted a billion questions (sorry guys!) but I wanted to be as prepared as possible when my Nal came. I'm just three weeks in, but the support I've received here in the past 6 weeks has been terrific.

Poke around and ask questions, if you have them. We're here rooting for you!

Yes you do. We all do. It's just the way we're wired even though we try not to admit it. Nothing is ever going to "scare" us away from drinking. That would be a rational reaction of course, so normal folks can't fathom our behavior. But everyone here fathoms it perfectly. You're in like company.

TSM is going to get all that weird wiring straightened out, making you just as normal and humdrum as everyone else, and you'll go on to live a long life and enjoy your grand kids.

Just one small catch: You always have to take the pill before you drink for the rest of your life. Otherwise, those wires are going to get all mixed up again.

And you know what that means.

I was skeptical at first when I was told there was a pill that helped you stop drinking. If that were true why haven't I heard about it before? Well 16 weeks in I am drinking less than half of what I used to do pre nal and even go a day or two a week without wanting or even having a drink. Not a magic pill by any means but it does work if you follow the golden rule. Sorta creeps up on some and others it happens right away. As far as cost - I know I have saved thousand of dollars in bar tabs since I started taking the pill and hour before hitting the bar stool. I was one of those guys that once I hit a certain level I would buy everyone drinks until I was out of money or the bar closed - so it has definitely saved me a lot of dollars.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Welcome pleastherface,

I started TSM because I thought the science would work, but I was afraid that this forum and the process was a farce; however, from the first time I have posted the replies have been sincere and helpful. I have been doing this since May 8 and I can say that my drinking is in control. This does work. It can take time and it does work differently for everyone. The book simplifies this process and you might have to find little tricks to help you along, but it does work.

I direct people to read Generics thread, for I think if he can make this process work anyone can! It did take him a little longer than most, but when you read his story it makes sense.

I do hope that you stick around and start a progress page, for everyone experience is different. If no one has told you, please start counting your intake, for it will help you in the future.

I am happy you have found TSM, and I hope to be hear more from you,

Jaba

Minnemom,



If that should happen again, just hit your "show previous page" on your computer and what you wrote should come back up. You will have to copy what you wrote, and then paste it on a new reply post. It has happened to me too many times!

Jaba

welcome to TSM and the forum. All Day Chemist is reputable, and Nal works for a lot of people. I started in April and I have a MUCH greater sense of control over my drinking. quantities have lessoned, and I just don't care about AL like I used to. YMMV, but it's been great for me....

Thanks for the welcome advice, everyone. I still have a few days before the shipment is due to arrive. Does anyone know what shipping method All Day uses? The tracking number they gave does not coincide with any searches I have done.

This week I am involuntarily cut down/off from booze anyway because I am on 24 hour call. This has never completely stopped me, but it does significantly decrease my intake. In the past it has been like playing Russian roulette with the phone so as to allow myself the time to dry out enough to respond. On particularly bad nights I have just "accidentally" turned off the ringer and asked forgiveness. This happens a lot more than I would like to admit.

It was a bad weekend with the wife, as both her and the baby were sick with colds, I was trying my best to be the good, sober, helpful guy. Of course that does not last because I am not exactly easygoing when I am without the stuff. I tend to be hyper-reactionary to the hyper-critical. A slammed door and shouted F-U was enough to send me to the store. I really want this thing to work, but I am not sure my wife is on board. She wants me to quit but tells me I am intolerable when I am sober. She does not drink like I do, but given the chance will binge hard on the weekend. She also lost her good friend and drinking buddy last May to alcoholic misadventure and is quite often despondent.

Is there a description of the shorthand everyone is using for tracking their units? Numbers often look like squiggles to me on the screen and I am not really sure what the records mean. Also do I need to begin the Nal after several days of "normal me" drinking or will it be okay to follow "on-call me" drinking?

I guess my intro is done. Where should I continue posting, or should I just keep this thread going?

Welcome, pleatherface. There is a weekly progress thread which is a good place to start a progress thread with your name in it so we can find you easily. It helped me a lot to read other people’s progress threads when I was first getting started.

My shipment from All Day Chemist comes through the USPS. It usually takes ten days to two weeks.

People have different methods for posting their progress. I put mine in my signature:

Weeks 1, 2 - 15, 50 AF/0
Weeks 3-11 not tracking AF/0
Weeks 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19- 25 AF/1, 18 AF/1,18 AF/1, 21 AF/1, 20 A/F 0, 20 A/F 0, 13 A/F 3, 16 A/F 1
Week 20 - 28 A/F 0 

On week 1 I had 15 drinks and 0 alcohol free days. On week 2 I had 50 drinks and 0 alcohol free days. On week 12 I had 25 drinks and 1 alcohol free day. Week 20, 28 drinks and 0 alcohol free days. As you can see I did not track weeks 3-11 and that was a mistake. It really does help to write down what you are drinking.

I hope that you can get your wife on board with TSM. I can understand why people are skeptical. We have all be brainwashed to think that AA is the only way to get sober. Have your wife read the book, if she will. It makes so much sense. Have her read people’s progress on this forum. There is also a place where she can post as a concerned spouse.

Nal is not a magic pill. It will take some patience and mindfulness to work. There is a lot of support on this forum. Please post your progress and questions and you will not feel so alone in your journey.

Dee