Hello All,

New to the Board. Just started TSM, Saturday May 6, 2017.

About me, male 47. Despite my screen name Vodka is my poison. Drink 2 to 2 1/2 liters a week. I think that's around an average of 55 drinks/week. Always after work starting around 6ish, earlier on weekends. So figure I average 5-8 weekday, 7-10 on weekends. Almost never have an AF day.

Haven't had much luck quitting on my own. In 2015 I went a whole month without a drink, then tried to moderate with just wine but a few months later I was back on vodka and drinking as much as ever. Costco is my pusher.

Heard about TSM before but never looked into too seriously but this year has been ****. My wife is battling breast cancer so I figure this is the year I need to start taking better care of myself and have been seeing several doctors for various check-ups (colonoscopy done! ). Convinced my primary doc to give me Naltrexone to help curb my drinking. He had never heard of it but prescribed it anyway and told me that I had to abstain.

Started 50mg on day 1. Have a little light-headedness and headaches. That seems to be improving over the days but moderate headaches still begin in the afternoon.

So far I have to say that I have reacted to it pretty well. First day, what likely would have been a 8-10 drink day was only about 3. 2nd day also 3 and 3rd day (yesterday) was only 1 and half. It's weird because usually when I drink and watch tv (my usual evening routine) I will glance at my glass and it will always be nearly empty, now it seems to always be nearly full without any conscious effort.

Feeling optimistic but I know I have a long way to go.

Thanks for listening.

Welcome YoHo!

Sounds like you're getting a good confirmation from the Naltrexone! Most folk find that there's a rebound after the initial drop, a Honeymoon Effect as it were, so if you see the count go back up don't worry. It'll roll back down more slowly from there. There's often a rebound after hitting new low numbers too, but if you keep your graph up to date, you'll see both the highs and the lows getting lower.

Congratulations on getting started on TSM! There's another community at http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/, if you find this board is down the other is usually fairly lively.

Are you keeping a drink log?

Thank you for responding and the additional information. I'll start keeping a log.

My main concern with any new program, diet or exercise is that i get obsessed early on but the enthusiasm fades over time, especially if I'm not seeing results. Hopefully however the headaches start to go away and it will be easy for me to keep taking the Nal.

The side effects usually pass within a couple of weeks and a headache is one of the more common side effects. I got one at the base of my skull when I started TSM, but it went away in about a week, so hang in there!

Here's a link to a spreadsheet graph combo that you can use for tracking if you like:

http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/ ... graph-tool

You'll probably see some old postings that mention that "TSM is a roller coaster". I found that my daily/weekly volume would vary considerably and others have too. I tell people to log the days, tally the weeks and watch the months. That seems to be the best strategy.

On those weeks that you're seeing an upswing, alter your habits by being aware of when you drink more quickly (like when talking on the phone, watching TV, etc. Another technique that people use to slow things down is to put your drink in a different room, out of your sight, while keeping a NA drink close by. Maybe throw in one or the other little task in between sips and see if you forget about the drink for a bit. When you feel moved to retrieve your glass, take time to notice the feeling that moves you to retrieve your drink, watch and experience how it feels. This isn't to quash or resist the feeling, it's to become familiar with it and consciously recognize when it's present. That's all you have to do with that, just feel and recognize it. When you really feel it, that's the time to have another sip, as the brain is really expecting it's endorphin treat. Which makes that the prime time to disappoint it and show it that booze no longer brings the pleasure it seeks.