that day WILL come. I never thought it would, but now I can have a tough day and just deal with it without AL. what a difference. Nal on!

I agree with Zoltan. It does happen that you can deal with though day without a drink. I used to drink when I had a terrible deadline at work. Instead of doing the work sober, I got drunk and did it that way. OK, I was never so drank to pass out, but still I was not totally together. I was always functioning very well while drunk. Most of the people had no clue that I had a bottle of wine per day. Now, I can deal with difficult issues easily without a drink. I do still like it while being out, but never at home. Home is a tea oasis now!

Thanks, Zontar. That is exactly what I needed to hear! Reaching for the wine is part craving and part habit. I have to let the nal do its job and I need to do mine.

Tamtam, I need to come up with a relaxing ritual after a tough day that doesn't include alcohol. Instead of opening a bottle of wine I need to make a cup of tea and take a hot bath. I am sure if I tell myself I can have a glass of wine after the tea, I won't even want it. It is just so automatic for me.

I read an article recently about a man who is doing wonderful work with the homeless. He was once homeless due to his alcoholism and drug use. At the end of the article he said that, after ten years of sobriety, each day is a struggle to stay sober. It made me so sad and depressed. Am I selfish not to want each day to be a struggle? Reading people's stories here who now find it easy not to turn to alcohol after a tough day really helps to keep me positive.

I was looking at "The Cure for Alcoholism" today and read in the section for medical professionals that "results show that after three months, naltrexone usage was down to 2.1 pills per week, and that by three years it was about 1 pill per week". I wonder how many people, 18 weeks in as I am, still taking 6 to 7 pills per week, just give up when they read that. I would be much more discouraged if I wasn't on this forum hearing that it takes much longer for may people but still works.

there's an article on the C3 Europe site about some remarkable successes in the UK with people doing medically-supervised TSM & some discussion on OSL:

http://cthreeeurope.com/2015/08/28/incorporating-the-sinclair-method-into-alcohol-treatment-a-practical-experience-from-a-uk-alcohol-treatment-practitioner/

http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/thread/78/nalmefene-naltrexone?page=2

I wonder whether there's something in the psychology of doing TSM as prescribed by a doctor & not necessarily knowing too much about how it works, that improves the outcome. that might explain why the book reports much shorter cure times & better success rates than we typically see on here

-badger

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Maybe it'll help you to know that Mr. ND has been taking nal for two weeks longer than you, and just had his first non-nal day yesterday. There have been a couple of days when he didn't drink after taking it because he got unwell and went to bed before he could drink, but yesterday, he just never got around to it and when he was about to, decided against it and didn't drink. Huge! And his intake started a little higher than yours and is hovering a little higher than yours, so if you asked me, you're both exactly where you should be at this moment (which is the only moment you can live in anyway!).

All the best to you, Deena.

At first I wondered if it might have to do with better compliance when working with a doctor. Maybe people working with doctors are more likely to be having some therapy, as well. Since I have started TSM I have done a lot of thinking about when my drinking escalated to an unhealthy point. It was always a possibility with the alcoholism in my family but there was a clear point when it all changed. Perhaps if I was working with a therapist TSM would be working faster. The article by Paul Turner was wonderful. With such incredible results it is amazing that the TSM is not well known.

I do see lots of positive changes, Jaba, and am feeling good about that. I just got off the phone with my husband and realized that he hasn't said "you sound tired" in a long time. I now know that was code for "drunk".

ND, thanks for the pep talk. You are absolutely right that we need to live in, and appreciate, this moment. I am thrilled that Mr. ND made a decision not to drink yesterday. That is huge! I hope that things continue to go well for you both.

Busy day today, restart of the cleanse, and no issue with being AF.

Dee posts:

"
I read an article recently about a man who is doing wonderful work with the homeless. He was once homeless due to his alcoholism and drug use. At the end of the article he said that, after ten years of sobriety, each day is a struggle to stay sober. It made me so sad and depressed. Am I selfish not to want each day to be a struggle? Reading people's stories here who now find it easy not to turn to alcohol after a tough day really helps to keep me positive"

Dee, The beauty of TSM, is that you will eventually not want to drink. No day will be a struggle to stay sober, because you won't want to get drunk.

The abstinence route is a struggle, because no matter how long you do it, you always feel like you are depriving yourself of something. That would be a sad life indeed!

Guapo, that is what made me so sad about the article. Here is a man with so much to give and yet, because of his association with AA, every day is a struggle for him and the message he deals with every day is that he is weak and flawed. Imagine if he had just taken a pill every day ten years ago. If TSM works for me, and I do believe that it will, I will do my best to spread the word.

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