Hello all. Second try is going to be tonight. 36 years old and have been drinking vodka every freaking night after work until I pass out for the past 15 years. I tried the pill for 2 nights a few months ago and felt pretty uneasy both nights. I hated the way food smelled and felt very "weird" I didn't drink much at all but hated the way it made me feel. I will be trying half a pill tonight and will stick to it this time. I just now discovered TSM and this gives me hope. Here comes the alcoholic in me talking,,, I still want to have a night here or there where I can go out and tie one on. Can I just skip a pill for that evening? I have read this board quite a bit and I know this method works. My main reason for wanting to get drunk every once in awhile is probably different than most. I really really want to quit drinking for my health and 100 other reasons but.....I fuc* my wife like a freaking rockstar and can go forever when I am drunk. That is the one and only thing I would miss about drinking but is something that I really really want to be able to do on a Saturday night once in awhile. Is this a recipe for disaster or is it even something that I will still want to do if this all goes as planned?

Hi mvnup2, I wrote this awhile ago and thought maybe it could help you too as it worked for me.

The Cure for Alcoholism: The Medically Proven Way to Eliminate Alcohol Addiction book and TSM state that there are no or very little side effects but from my experience and reading others posts on this site,it appears many have some sort of side effects. I am not trying to scare any newbies as they may not have any side effects at all but as I say from what I have been reading some people are giving up in the first week or so without even giving Nal a chance. I am just writing this in hopes that others don't have to go through side effects feeling alone and know that they do diminish in days or weeks.
I am only on week 4 and of course I am not an expert by any means but my suggestion would be as follows.
If taking Naltrexone I would ease your system into taking this by starting with 12.5 mg for a few days, then upping to 25 mg for a few days and finally taking 50 mg. I would also say to take with food and lots of water at first which can help with any nausea (Nalmefene, cannot be split up). I actually cannot even take my vitamins on an empty stomach or I will be sick.
OK just my 2 cents but hopefully that helps some people new to TSM.

Also follow the Golden Rule and NEVER drink without Nal or you might as well not even do TSM. If you really want help this is the way to go. So many people have got to cured where I am still keeping on but other than when it was out of my hands and I could NOT get any Nal I have followed the Golden Rule of take a Nal, wait 1 hour and drink!

Nal On!

Also follow the Golden Rule and NEVER drink without Nal or you might as well not even do TSM. If you really want help this is the way to go. So many people have got to cured where I am still keeping on but other than when it was out of my hands and I could NOT get any Nal I have followed the Golden Rule of take a Nal, wait 1 hour and drink!

Nal On![/quote]

Is it that big of a deal to have a night of drinking without Nal? Seems like if I want to get drunk once every couple of weeks I would have to fight down the drinks taking Nal? My 2 days worth of experience made me really not want to drink. Probably best that way I guess. Like I said, this is the alcoholic in me looking for an excuse already.

Yes. Your opioid receptors will be much more sensitive and will respond heavily to the endorphins released by drinking, which will be like dropping the car in reverse and mashing down on the gas pedal.

Don't worry too much about what your drinking habits are going to be like until the compulsion to drink is erased by the Nal, which will be some number of months down the road yet. You will look at booze a different way. The "alcoholic in you" will largely be silent. In my case, I get a wisp of a notion, just the tip of an idea that it would be great to have a beer, then it evaporates. Kind of like that song that's on the tip of your tongue, you almost have it, then it's gone. At that point, you have actual free choice about whether to drink or not, because the automatic compulsion that you mistook for choice is erased.

If you drink without the Nal, the compulsion will begin to rebuild itself, as your receptors still will have an outsized response to the endorphins released by alcohol (compared to a "normal" drinker). So you'll be "cured" within the sense that you won't feel compelled to drink and the craving will be gone, but your brain's exaggerated response to drinking will still be intact. So you'll need to follow the One Hour Rule for the rest of your life, unless science comes up with something better.

I would also add that I experience uncomfortable and weird side effects for the first week or so but they gradually went away. You will still be able to tie one on as long as you follow the golden rule. But as was said the urge to do so will eventually go away as well. I'm 10 weeks in and can already notice things beginning to change.

Treat that alcoholic voice as a separate entity that has parasitically taken up residence in your brain. It hides itself by convincing you that it is you and that it's thoughts are your thoughts. TSM (as I understand it) is a way of making your brain an inhospitable place for that parasite to live in and after a while it leaves.

Good luck and keep at it. You started TSM for a reason -- that true self of yours that has been pushed to the background by the parasite wants to come back to the forefront. Let it happen. So what if you have to endure a few unpleasant side effects in the meantime. What you will gain in the end far outweighs this aspect.

Ok, day 4 is tonight. 1st night I didn't drink much and the last 2 I can tell that I drink slower. I have probably cut out a couple drinks each of the last 2 nights. My only problem is it makes me feel a little uneasy and unsocial. Kind of like being a little stoned? I really hope this passes because my wife keeps asking what is wrong. She knows it's the pill but it still has me kind of lethargic. I also think I will have to go from half a pill to a whole pill if I am going to kick this habit but I really don't want to feel even worse at this point. Should I keep with half a pill for a week? 2 weeks? 1 month? Let me know what you guys think.

My experience was that the weird feelings passed for the most part after a week or two.

I would recommend staying at the present dose for a month or two at least so that everything can even out. You can readdress the question of dose at that point.

I'd say stick with half till the side effects pass, usually within a couple of weeks. I was in a really pissy mood for the first few days. Try taking the pill on top of a meal and with lots of water along the way.

I had a couple of slip days. There needs to be a thread on how to make sure you have a pill every freaking place you could ever possibly be at any second of your day. All cars, office, home, inlaws, parents, friends, local park, daycare and everywhere in between!! Back on track the past 2 days. Still having the zombie phase. Now it is at the point where I have a beer and maybe a drink while I fight about 1 hour of pure retardism and then kind of fight/wait/drink my way out of it. I am still down on drinks though. I want to up the dose but I need to function with my wife and kids. I just gave my boss half a pill and he was freaking on cloud nine! "I only drank 3 drinks, felt great and this is a miracle!!!!!!!!!!" "I have an appointment to see my doctor and I am cured"!!!! **** him. I feel like **** 90 minutes after taking this pill. I don't want to fight the side effects with alcohol.
Any ideas or just keep on schedule?

Sorry about the Zombie SE's.

Hang with the half dose till you're comfortable, then up it a quarter and see if you feel ok, then go to a whole pill. So you've had 7 doses of Nal so far?

My doc told me to keep a few in my wallet, if you do that and keep some in your car too, will that cover you? You might want to wrap them in a bit of plastic.