I remember reading of somebody being cured after a year and can't remember who it was/ who they were. was it BGH? can anybody help me remember so I can read about it? I've been on TSM for 8 months or so and have seen drastic improvement but am not cured. I'd like to see the perspective of someone who was cured after several months or a year for inspiration.

I haven't been on the board as much lately as I've been busy, I'll be sticking with TSM for a year, and if I'm not cured by then I'll try something else. I have seen improvement but don't want to take a Nal almost every day for life

hey joe12,
good to see you here and am glad to know that you haven't been here because you are busy rather than discouraged. i wish i had an answer for you. i know there have been comments to the effect that some have taken a year, but in lots of hours searching around i have not figured out who that is, or if i ever found it it was when i'd had a few and forgot to write it down or remember:oops: .
i hope someone else knows and speaks up. i have the same question for myself. i'm appreciating the reduced numbers, and am still hoping for a complete cure, but the months are adding up... there are a few of us in the same boat, sticking with it for the long haul. hopefully the perseverance will pay off.
hang in there
with fingers crossed,
path

Post from potato
Here you go Joe. It was worth the few minutes it took to find this one from Potato.

I'm needing that same inspiration, I was doing well then got drunk last night. Not terribly out of control but don't want to be 'that' person anymore. I am 4 months so bummer.

I feel that it's taken me a year and a bit to feel confident around alcohol. I had a good effect right from the git go, then spiked a bit, and pissed around for most of the first 6-7 months, but things got better and better.

Now I can watch DH pour a glass of wine at dinner and feel nothing. No real desire, should I, shouldn't I - I could have one but why? So that's kinda what I'm feeling now.

However, everyone has a different definition of cure. Do I want to drink? YES! So in that way I'm not cured. Can I resist with ease? YES! So in that way I am cured. Does alcohol taste great and make me want more? NO! So again I guess I'm cured. But do I want to drink socially for the rest of my life, and does going without forever scare me? YES! So maybe I'm not cured after all - it's pretty complicated!

You can see then that this cured thing is really subjective, and takes a long time. I fully expect to find even greater benefits as more time passes.

I must say though that Naltrexone effected me in a real negative way which really has helped me control my drinking. I do not like the way I feel when I have a drink, and I get bad hangovers on very little booze - this really helps!!! I think twice now about having one. This negative effect was very helpful!

And I feel differently about the unhappiness and anxiety that plagues me at dinnertime - I would start to feel really uneasy and lousy and anxious so I'd have a drink, or two, or three and then feel bad about that...an endless cycle.

But once Naltrexone gave me some real control and I stopped drinking every night I was able to look at my unhappiness/anxiety and see that the drinking was not the right way to get rid of it. As a matter of fact I still have this unhappiness - I just choose not to drink as I now know it does NOT help.

I hope this makes sense - I'm just putting down thoughts as they come. Remember everyone has a different view of what cured means. I truly believe that I am cured. But I'm always going to be on my guard. Alcohol is very powerful. I don't trust it. I will NEVER drink without taking Naltrexone. I will never drink every night to stop anxiety. I will face up to my problems and either learn to live with them or solve them in another way.

A year is nothing in the general scheme of things after all. I didn't feel fully cured until the year was up and I feel I still can get better and better.

My idea of cured would be to always be able to stop before I get too silly. I hope I get there. Thanks BGH

BGH, You said a mouthfull! I BELIEVE I am right behind you. I began tsm 6-11 & I see many improvements! Also think it pays off to put in some effort, I know how difficult that can be but, well worth it. Hang in there Joe! Believe it will happen for you & all here on the board. Everyone should be able to at least see some improvement. I hope so.
Always, Jane

Joe, thanks for the question. And everyone else, thanks for the replies. I am feeling a bit discouraged myself. Although my overall trend is down, I still have cravings for alcohol and I don't fight them (I'm not supposed to, right?)

My decrease in numbers is ONLY because the number of days I drink is down. I have this internal discussion that goes something like this: "Do I want to drink? If so, I need to take Naltrexone. If I have to take Naltrexone anyway, I might as well drink a lot. I am not going to drink a lot, why bother drinking at all?"

So that explains why I have more AF days. I just decide it is not worth taking Naltrexone for a drink or two (esp. since I am on 100mg!) But it doesn't seem to curb my drinking a bit on the days I do drink. The good news is, the AF days are effortless. But after one or two AF days, I always get that urge to drink, and drink almost as much as I would have before TSM.

My feeling discouraged will not change my behavior - I am still in this for the long haul. I am just losing a little steam in terms of being very involved and vocal here. Reading some of the replies in this thread did help, though!

YG

is there something in the stars? discouragement seems to be the common experience today. i spent all afternoon wanting a beer, and deciding not to take nal yet... but, i want... blah blah blah. finally gave in, took nal, then amazingly rallied and took myself out for some exercise, before the hour was up, delaying that first beer a little longer. i feel better after the exercise, but sure wish those struggles were behind me already.
ah well, i for one am hanging in, trying not to let these little battles get me down too much.

here's hoping that the planets will very soon realign themselves into some super supportive configuration that we will all benefit from.
path

I think it is something planetary. I'm feeling bummed too. Even though I'm very early with TSM after a spectacular honeymoon the amount I consume in a sitting is right back up to my pre-TSM levels. I'm going to try to limit it this week but last night I scarfed down my 3 bottles because they were there. I don't want to have to count on being AF to keep my weekly units down.
I just spent a lot of time going through the posts of some of the original folks on this site and was found encouragement in their posts and ultimate results (bob3D, Lo0p, Firebird, lena, jim clark, etc.). I will say that when I first joined here you guys were my initial inspiration.