No change in drinking in the past couple of weeks BUT just came back from a visit with family and typically, this involves a lot of drinking. Usually I embarrass myself at least once by getting out of control. This time, there was still drinking every day but my cravings were down - I wasn't as anxious to get started. And when I did get going, once I felt the buzz, I would slow down because I didn't want to lose control. There was only one day that I felt a little out of control - more due to someone else refilling my glass too quickly. I'm good at passing the blame

I'm only averaging 1 AF day a week, if that. Not sure if it's the Nal or the regular drinking but I'm feeling really subdued with less enthusiasm for anything. Would like to have more AF days so that I could see if it is the Nal.. Like many others, I was hoping for greater progress at this point. Also wondering if I'm deluding myself on the small progress that I think I'm seeing - it doesn't seem to be related to drinking less but having different feelings while I'm drinking, maybe being more in control but maybe that's a false feeling..

Just realized while writing that I had more AF days in the past because of hangovers ( 2 or 3 a week) and now that I'm having a lot less hangovers, it's easier to drink everyday. Crap... that wasn't the goal....

Hadn't been on the board for 2 weeks so I was hoping to see tons of 'I'M CURED' posts... a little frustrating to read all the struggles / doubts but I can totally relate and hope for the best for everyone...

Virginia

Hey Virginia --

Reading between the lines I see a lot of positives. On a prefatory note, extinction takes 3 to 4 months MINIMUM to kick in, so unless you have a honeymoon, you would not be noticing any difference in your drinking patterns less than two months into the program. Having more control and fewer embarrassing moments to me is HUGE! Also, you must have missed this post -- we are going to set it aside and make it more readily available -- but in the past two weeks NUMEROUS people have declared themselves CURED. Go here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=610

TSM works! All you need is patience and the formula (nal + drinking = cure). Also, I am purposely having fewer AF days because extinction occurs more quickly with more frequent drinking sessions. So, you may not like the fewer AF day trend, but you are probably speeding up the time it will take to be cured with fewer AF days.

Hang in there, we're rooting for you. It WILL work.

Nick

Thanks for the link Nick. I had not seen that thread and that is great news... I'm looking forward to seeing many more names on the list.

Also, Hapful - thanks for sharing your history - very interesting.

I think part of my impatience stems from reading the book and the stories of people with dramatic results. The details don't provide the same sort of details of the process that people on this board are giving. The book results seem almost too good, too fast. I do wish more information on others in the test group was given and I wish there more great results posted in other places on the Internet. Whenever I search, I find the same few articles or postings. This isn't causing me to doubt TSM but I'm now out of the phase where I thought there would be quick, dramatic results. Slow and steady until the 'switch'.... Can't wait for that 'switch'....

Feeling a little down - the last 3 drinking sessions verged to the out of control. Not completely but I felt like I had no ability to limit myself and was drinking the same amounts or close to my worst days. Once I took the Nal, I just counted that hour, then started slamming drinks. It is quite a change from how I felt in the last couple of weeks. I am just hoping, hoping, hoping that this is a stage in the process... I have to be AF for the next couple of days, just to get over this trend.. I don't think I'm capable of taking the Nal and limiting myself to a drink just to keep the process going.. I have to not take the Nal - that is the only way I can keep myself from drinking.

Was feeling so good that I wasn't sneaking drinks anymore but that is over.. yea, I say sneaking but my husband would be a fool to not notice that the vodka is disappearing while we're drinking wine and I'm back to my stupid, passed-out self.

Need to get past this...

You will. This is part of the TSM roller coaster ride I've read about over and over again on this board before witnessing huge improvement. Improvement on TSM is not linear. Keep you chin up and remember the amended formula: naltrexone plus drinking plus patience = CURE.

Virginia,

Do not be discouraged. I don't think it is all about quantity. I drank more than I wanted to on a few occansions but I noticed that I did not have to drink the next day. Every cell in my body was not craving the booze I wrote in my journal and moved on.

My desire is to stay below the sensible drinking guidelines (see below), but I am under no illusion that I will never go outside those guidlines again. My non-alcoholic friends and family members drink too much on ocassion: weddings, family reunions, wakes, and so on. If I drink too much as long as I take my Naltrexone I'll be ok. I will get up the next morning feeling a bit crappy but I'll do what non-alcoholics do - sleep, drink plenty of water, take tylenol and go on with life.

Naltrexone + Drinking = CURE.

Regards,
Tom
Cured - WK 17.

This from: http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/dictunit/notes6.htm
Sensible Drinking

The principal reason for knowing about *units of alcohol* and *standard drinks* is so that advice may be given on drinking without damaging the body.The part of the body which is most at risk from alcohol is the liver. On this organ falls the major work of disposing of nearly all the alcohol consumed. If the liver is overworked it will fail, and the consequence of that is death.Think of the liver as a filter and, just like any filter, the rate at which liquid (alcohol in this case) can flow through it is determined by its size and condition. On average, the liver of a *full-sized normal healthy adult* can process 8 to 10 mL (about 1 UK unit) of alcohol per hour. BUT, don't think that it can keep that up for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are certain other effects which are cumulative, and bad! Advice on sensible drinking is usually given in the form of the maximum number of *units of alcohol* or *standard drinks* which should be consumed in a day with another maximum for the week. Somewhat surprisingly, considering the variation in sizes of the respective units, it does not vary widely over the different countries. Very broadly it is Men 3-4 *units* per day with a weekly maximum of 28. Women 2-3 *units* per day with a weekly maximum of 21
Lots of other advice is available. Like, have at least one 'alcohol-free' day a week, use lower limits with age, never have more than 6 units in any one session, and so on. Best of all, "Less is Better!" Perhaps most important is the fact that women appear to be much more at risk than men. That is, for the same quantity of alcohol, on average women's health will suffer more than men's.

Hi Virginia,

Don't despair - crazy spikes are just a crappy part of the process. I just posted a reply to AJ that my highest number of units in one day hit at week 7, and he's already feeling close to the cured list at that point! We're all different, and while it's great to come here for support and encouragement, it's counter productive to compare our individual progress/experience to that of others. I know you're tired of hearing this, but just stick with it. Nobody knows how long or difficult your journey will be, but you need to expect some really rough times. It's particularly disappointing when out of control drinking follows what looked like a real positive change. Don't let the doubt get to you - it will surely come MANY times, but you have to believe that TSM will work. Just forget the bad times and move on. Enjoy the good times, and the hope they bring of a bright future. When the bad days return, just refuse to let them bring you down. Don't beat yourself up and never give up. This WILL work for you - just hang in there!

I am definitely trying to keep the big picture in mind and not get hung up on daily results. Was AF yesterday but had that slight hangover feeling and wanted junk food and wasn't too productive. Today, I got a ton of stuff done (4 kids getting ready for school) but as the day progresses, I can easily envision having wine with dinner.. So I guess, in the future, I'll be able to have a great day and not feel the AL craving building.. I used to carry around a list of all the reasons to not drink and don't think it stopped me even once. Going through the Sinclair process and tracking results has really brought it home that I DO have an addiction and was on a downward path.. so many times I could rationalize my drinking (stress, kids, job, husband, other people could control their drinking) but was kidding myself. How many times did I try to only drink Friday - Sunday???? Then say, ok and 1 day during the week. Think during the last 3 years, there has been a quick progression in the strength of cravings and the inability to face it. I was a heavy weekend drinker for so many years but once I had my twins, think the stress was just overwhelming and alcohol became my coping strategy and it grabbed me down to such a different level.

Climbing out of the hole now.... (Thanks Nick, Kris and Tom!)

Just wanted to add a recap here so that I can look back in the future and see how far I've come... (fingers crossed)

Weeks 1 - 8, Unit range of 23 - 34, most weeks had 1 AF day (Note that I am counting drinks according to my history and if they were actually measured, the units would probably be about 20 - 30% higher)

Time is a huge factor, when cravings are high, I drink way too fast and will 'refresh' my first drink (will count that as a unit). On most weeks, I'll have one or two days that I feel hungover. This is a decrease from pre-TSM when I would probably feel that way 3 or 4 days a week.

Also to note, last night, I thought about taking Nal but kept putting it off. I knew that once I made it to 8:30 pm, I wouldn't take it to start drinking at 9:30 pm. It feels like a level of progress to know that I will absolutely not drink if I don't take it. Plan on trying that again tonight to actually have 2 AF days in a row... I really don't want to go another 2 months, drinking 6 days a week, so I may not follow complete protocol of drinking as usual. At least, I'll try to get in more AF days. Just don't see myself drinking less on the days I do drink. If that was possible, I wouldn't be as concerned. Over thinking perhaps??? Just want to get off this downward, depressing trend...

You and I are on similar paths, I think. Still drinking a lot, but the grip of alcohol is loosening. I also decided to scrap the AF days a couple of weeks ago (used to have three of four per week, pre-TSM) and mix in a few days of having only two on those days to speed up extinction. I think it's working. Overall, my numbers are slightly below TSM but are spread out over seven days rather than three. The net result: no more blackouts, no more stupid behavior, and hangovers (which used to ruin at least two days a week) are a thing of the past.

Yes, it's easy to over-think it. But, the beauty of it, is that it's clearly working for you. I've never heard of someone show significant signs of change, only to have them disappear. You are on your way to THE CURE, the only question is when.

Congratulations.