Hello TSM: I was born and live in the USA, but my genes run deep into Scotland and Ireland. I inherited a drinking problem from my Irish grandfather, who had thirteen brothers and sisters. All six of his brothers were raging alcoholics. I could share a new story every night for the next ten years and never run dry, no pun intended.

After a decade of denial about my own drinking, I got serious about seeking help. No matter how much I loved my grandfather, I did not want to end up like he did, nor would he want me to, God rest his soul. I recall my mom's stories about how his AA meetings and interventions ended up being a waste of time, as so did the numerous dry spells he was forced to experience sitting in Folsom prison (in California), without bail money or his family knowing where he was until he sobered up enough to recall his own phone number.

My drinking stories pale in comparison, and I'd like to keep it that way.

A few weeks of research brought me to TSM, after stumbling across Claudia Christian's TEDx YouTube video. I bought the book, decided that it made sense in so many ways, and found a doctor who prescribed a 30 day supply of 50mg of Naltrexone along with a huge amount of guidance and suggestions - most importantly, she/he is also using TSM and is absolutely non-judgmental.

I've been on the pill for seven days now. I can definitely tell that something is going on, but I am moderately worried. My pre-drink cravings are substantially reduced, but when I do start drinking an hour after taking the pill, I feel very little; yes, this is supposed to be good, I know. But my brain has been talking back: "OK, you're not feeling it, so you need to drink more."
I've actually ended up drinking more this first week, trying to get to that special place, which I guess I would call "normal."

I know this will pass, the reward feedback mechanisms will start to be extinguished, and I need to also consciously reduce my bottle count using some good old fashioned will power.
Whatever the case, it is a little scary. Any feedback would be appreciated, and good luck to all of us out there.

Cheers,
John

Hi John! Congratulations on getting started with TSM!

It's odd, some people notice something "missing" when drinking on Nal, I was one of the ones that didn't. It still had a huge impact on my monthly totals though.

Indeed, people often start drinking less right away on Nal, but then rebound as the addicted part of their brain reaches out harder for it's "old buddy". This continues throughout TSM, first you hit a new low in your numbers, then you get a rebound as the receptors in the Lizard Brain upregulate and try to reestablish that connection that it's so used to. That up and down action is most pronounced at the beginning. Just keep taking the Nal an hour before and your numbers will roll back off.

I can help considerably to try to sort out the difference in how "craving" another drink feels vs just habitually chain-sipping your drink, especially when you tend to drink more during the night, like when you're on the phone or watching TV. Beginning to develop a conscious, fly-on-the-wall experience of your drinking can help you do this. Insert little pauses to give the conscious part of your brain a chance to pipe up and wonder if you really want that next drink (or even the next sip) ....right now. Keeping your drink in another room while you keep a NA drink close at hand is one way of doing that. Initially, the object isn't to make you drink less, it's just to help you notice how you feel when you crave another drink (or even another sip) vs how you feel when you simply want another. Generally, the former won't leave you alone, the latter isn't so urgent and allows you to put it off for a bit. Leaving the drink in another room and getting engaged in little 15 minute tasks can help you sort the one from the other too. Even researching something on the web, just some little distraction.

The Lizard Brain has exercised a fairly heavy-handed, iron-fisted rule heretofore, now we begin (with the help of Nal) to sow the seeds of a good old-fashioned insurrection.

So, this can start with just a few seconds of noticing what feeling is present when you're really motivated to pour another one or take another sip, i.e., when it's there, how do you know that it's there?

NB, this was never really a part of the original form of TSM and plenty of people had success by just taking the Nal and drinking until they literally didn't want anymore. Dr. Eskapa is planning to update the book on the subject of using "mindfulness" with TSM, as it really can make the ride smoother.

BTW, this board can get awfully slow at times when you try to navigate or post. It's gone down entirely for weeks at a time in the recent past, so be aware there's another TSM community at http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/. It's fairly active over there, so you might want to have a look about when you get some time. I'm JoeSixpack over there too.

Thanks JoeSixPack, your feedback and sharing of experiences really helped. I'm about two weeks in so far, Naltrexone everyday. Drinking is wavering all over the place, both more than usual and less than usual, just like you mentioned.

Chat later.

Cool. Whenever you get time, we'd love to hear from ya!