Susie,

It sounds like you are doing great. Keep up the good work, for TSM is working for you.

It is funny about those triggers, for I have the same one (coming home after vacation) and it was hard at first to distinguish between that habit and real desire.

I also have that issue with heartburn and drinking, and heartburn never stopped me from drinking but the nal did!

You should be proud about those AF days, for they remarkable!

Keep going the way you are, for you it sounds like you are almost there,

Jaba

Jaba,
Have you stopped for good? I see you don't have a progress signature so was just wondering? Yeah, that heartburn sucks and how idiotic of me to never have made the connection before!!
I sure hope this continues, I feel like a different person. I have never ever in the last few years come home from vacation and not had a craving for AL and then drank a lot.
Susie

Susie,

I wouldn't say that I have stopped for good. It has been about 4 months since I have gotten drunk, and I haven't had a drink since the weekend before Thanksgiving (U.S.).

I had been sober for spells before TSM and I noticed the connection with heartburn and drinking the second time I stopped drinking. My indigestion was so bad my kids would tease me that I would get heartburn with water! My kids get tired of eating things that have no spice, for we eat a lot of chicken and plain rice.

I track on my calendar on my computer, for it was hard for me to figure out how to make a signature and now I have no reason to track. I never drink more than 3 glasses of wine in a setting and I have more AF days than drinking days. I think if I tracked anything now it would be my desire for a drink, for that hasn't left. It isn't as strong as it was when I went sober, but it is still there. It is a faint reminder that I have a problem, but the difference is I can take the nal. and stop with a glass or two, where before I would drink until all the alcohol was gone in the house (and be looking for more).



It will continue, for nal. is working you. You will have good days and bad days, for it is like a roller coaster. But, it will never get as bad as it was before the nal. The biggest thing for people is compliance, for if the nal is not taken all will be lost.

I am happy for you, for it sounds like that switch has been flipped!

Keep doing what you are doing, for it is working!

Jaba

Jaba.... you've been AF for 2 1/2 weeks??? That's fantastic! Did you mindfully set out to stop drinking for a period of time or has your desire just diminished so much that you don't care to drink at all anymore? You're sounding like a textbook success story!!! Congrats to you!!

MinneMom

(Sorry.... not meaning to hijack your thread, Susie!)

MinneMom,

I am by no means a textbook success story, but I have gotten past that hump.

I still have a lot of desire, but it just isn't worth the calories now.

I am trying to lose another 15 pounds and bring my fasting blood sugar down below 95 (normal, but still too high). I am getting past 50, so my weight and blood sugar is something that worries me. Alcohol is a lot of empty calories and really messes with blood sugar. It is funny for when I drank 2+ bottles of wine I would workout 2-4 hours a day to maintain my weight, and my fasting blood sugar was always over 105 (I ate low carb as well), but now I do not workout as long and as hard (getting to old for the joints to handle it) and I feel better, but that blood sugar thing is bugging me. If it wasn't for the nal. I would be drinking those 2+ bottles of wine, so I have success, but I can very easily fall back into that trap of drinking every night (I did when I got back from Europe). The good thing is when I have a AF day it is a traumatic as it once was, but it still takes thought. I still have that fear that this isn't going to last which is a good thing, for it means I will always take my nal!

Minnie, I welcome the hijacking
I hope I do as well as you Jaba, that is my dream and my goal. You sound like a normal drinker!
I had a craving today and bought a bottle of wine, but am trying to drink it slowly. I know it will get easier, but just the fact that the wine isn't gone yet (not even half gone) after 2 hours is remarkable. Alcohol just doesn't feel the same anymore.
And, actually I do get heartburn after drinking water and sometimes with nothing in my stomach

Yep, after a good night of drinking, it doesn't matter what I drink or eat I will have heartburn and it also hits me when I workout (if that isn't annoying). Once you get control and drink less frequently it doesn't happen as often. For the longest time I couldn't drink red wine because of the heartburn, but now it doesn't effect me anymore.

Your time will come!

Jaba

Not a great week at all, feeling somewhat discouraged especially after having such a good week the week before. Oh well, it can only get better.

Susie,

Welcome to TSM rollercoaster. You had a good week and then a not so good week, and it is just part of the process. The good news is eventually the highs and lows are a little more even keel.

Just keep up the good spirits and be complaint then all else will follow.

Jaba

Susie,

Not to worry about a little up tick after a good week. Do not be to hard on yourself. As Jaba says it is a roller coaster but things are heading in the right direction. And thanks for getting that info out of JABA on how she is doing.

Jaba: 2 1/2 weeks AF! Wow! That would be strange - although I am thinking of contacting Dee on the cleansing after the holidays and thought I would try for a 7 day AF and healthily eating span. Try to make up for all the cookies and food that has taken the place of AL in the past few weeks.