Hello, everybody

I am half-way into my 4th week, and I haven't been able to have an AF day yet, let alone have an AF weekend (three days really, it seems, as Friday evening is also AF) that Dr. Eskapa describes in the book. For those of you who have had AF days in succession, did you have to taper down in order to do so? I drink 10-11 bottles a beer daily, so to go cold turkey on the day after would definitely involve very strong withdrawal symptoms for me. For those of you who have tapered down, especially those of you who are morning/afternoon drinkers, has the Naltrexone itself been the reason? In other words, has it helped you to wait until later in the day to begin drinking, hence has resulted in less alcohol consumption for that day? I still rate my cravings at a No. 10, so I am still beginning to drink at around 11:00am-12:30pm. I suppose that until I am able to defer drinking until 3:30pm or so, my daily consumption will remain where it is at present.

francophone

You are still a bit early on in the treatment process to expect an AF day, given you were drinking 15 or so units/day everyday. Just keep taking your NAL and drinking. The decrease in consumption will gradually come on its own. Remember, the people in the trials presented in Dr. Eskapa's book were drinking on average about 1/3 of what you are now when they started TSM, so you can't compare yourself to them in terms of timelines. You treatment is going to take longer. Don't expect any real results for at least another month and don't be surprised if it takes you a good 6 months or more to see a cure.

The coming weeks are going to be a real roller coaster for you. Keep a positive attitude and know the cure is out there. As Lena stated very accurately in another thread, the biggest effort you need to put out is good patients.

Good luck,

Q

Yes, please be patient. My consumption was lower the first few weeks, then spiked back up. . .leveled a bit off. . .and then went off the charts a time or two (or three) at 4+ months in. I was so discouraged! But suddenly, just as the spike hit its peak, my craving and drinking levels went way, way down. Yesterday without even trying, I had an AF day. Now that might not seem like much, but after 8 years of daily heavy drinking, and only 2-3 AF days in the past half dozen - that was amazing.

This is not a fast fix. At your levels of drinking, you can expect 4-6 months to go by before you will notice a distinct drop in craving and consumption. In the meantime you may (or may not) have 'glimpses' of what the future holds in regards to feeling like a 'normal' drinker. Just hang in here with us. . .and we'll help one another find our way out of this hell called alcoholism.

Hello, Q and Goin4More

Thank you for your advice and reassuring comments. I will remain patient - I just made a telephone request to my doctor's office for an additional month's refill (or two) of Naltrexone. Hopefully, he will call me to honor my request. I suspect that I will need 10 more months's supply. I still have a month's supply left. Otherwise, I will have to order from River Pharmacy, or the source that Lena recommended. Again, thank you for your support.

francophone