Another week down w/ just one glass of wine on election night. So this past month (28 days) I've averaged 1 glass of wine per week. At this rate it will take 10 yrs for tsm to work!!!

I do have these waves of cravings. Had them last night around 5pm but then forgot about it the rest of the evening. I think w/ the changing weather I'm feeling more triggers (shorter days can trigger mild depression which can trigger the desire to have a drink). Anyway w/ the onset of mild depression, I'm starting up the St John's Wort again.

Now back to work...

Hi gotthegene! Just jumping in (I've missed several months of your progress) but your last post sounds.. amazing! I mean if you're averaging 1 glass of wine a week, and you're not absolutely miserable, I'd say you've won the battle. You may feel as though there is still work to be done, but if you are able to cut yourself off before getting drunk and line up that much AF time, I think that's fantastic! Please don't start drinking more often 'to make TSM work'. I tried that (and so did others) and at best it makes no differnece... at worst you're stuck getting into very bad patterns!

Thanks for your post EL. Yes I'm stuck b/w a rock and a hard place in making the tsm extinction process work. I agree, I am far better off maximizing my AF time as long as I can continue to do that. But I would like these periodic cravings to go away. I have been taking nal before my 1 glass of wine and I've noticed I haven't generally enjoyed each glass much. So that's a win.

I started personal counseling and have had 2 sessions thus far. So far we've uncovered that I have been empty much of my life....so if we ever get to the bottom of that it might help hedge off the occasional cravings to fill the void w/ alcohol.

So Friday night (it's now Sunday morning) I had another fairly intense craving for a drink. I didn't have one but thought I was pretty close to losing it. So what's up w/ these cravings lately? Well, for one thing I've been really tired lately w/ the time change...and tiredness is a trigger. Secondly, I've been almost 3 months mostly AF w/ a few "1 glass of wine" nights....the marriage crisis has abated and so I'm more relaxed about my behavior (whether I'm living up to "expectations" around the household). Thirdly, I did not conduct tsm long enough for extinction to occur. So this is where I imagine someone following AA and trying to achieve total abstinence is about to lose it and jump off the wagon.

Well coincidentally, I just finished Olivier Ameisen's book, The End of My Addiction. The good dr cured himself from alcoholism using high dosages of baclofen. I have a big stash of baclofen from my doctor who prescribed it for me way back in February when I started this journey. (He refused to prescribe me naltrexone.) Anyway, I've decided to start taking baclofen on a daily basis to see if that curbs the waves of cravings. I want to stay my course of mostly abstinence. There are still many days I don't have any craving for a drink but more often lately (couple times a week), I get these cravings....I want to level those out so I can keep going.

I know this is a TSM forum but I started my daily journal here and so I hope folks don't mind if I continue recording my (variation of TSM) experiments. I'm going to continue to take Naltrexone when I do drink. And by the way, my DH and I did go out for a drink last night; it was a planned event to listen to a pianist friend of ours play. I took my Nal and ordered 1 glass of chardonnay. My DH didn't say anything about it---but did compliment me later on as to how well I've been doing the past months. I enjoyed the wine but did not have any interest in having a second glass (thankfully) so I do think the Nal helps me keep to my limit.

Anyway in fairness to others on this forum struggling, I wanted to share my experience day to day and what I'm doing to try to achieve my goals. If I eventually have success (mostly abstinence and no cravings), then hopefully this will help someone else. If I don't have success, then that too will be helpful to someone out there.

You are quite prolific, Gott, so I'm sure many here benefit by your experiences. We are all battling alcohol addiction after all. Nal doesn't help everyone, but for those who are able to let the extinction process do it's magic, it can eventually lead to absolute freedom from all craving and interest in alcohol (see the cured list).

Baclofen works well for many people as well. It directly addresses the cravings/interest issue and can be very effective for those who can tolerate it (lots of side-effects compared to Nal). The only downside to Bac is that you have to keep taking it every day for the rest of your life, but usually at a fairly low dose (the initial dose required before hitting one's "switch" can be quite high, however). Nal, via the extinction process, virtually brings our brains back to the state they were in before we ever had a drop of alcohol, enabling us to lose all interest, all cravings -- forever, without having to take it at all once we are cured (unless we choose to drink, of course, and so continue to take it an hour before).

Seems to me, if you are struggling with craving a drink, if only once or twice a week and you are confident that you can have only one or at most two drinks, then why not take the Nal and have the drink? No need to resist the craving! Surely, being seen having a couple drinks a week by your family, if they understand that you are taking the Nal at the same time, cannot cause any unrest will it? You are ultimately doing this for YOU, knowing that your cure = a happy household as well. If you are doing it the other way around, then you will continue to struggle. But I guess if the Baclofen works for you, then you can accomplish your goals nearly as well with that, and that would be all be good. But, of course you know your situation and "climate" way better than I.

Personally, I'm happy to see you continue posting here, whether you are using the Nal or not. You are gifted at encouraging and supporting others here and that is wonderful. And for those for whom the Nal does not work, your reports about the Baclofen might help. You will want to head over to the "My Way Out" forums regardless, as there is a large community of people there taking Baclofen. You may even want to join the "Sober Recovery" forums as well, where a lot of the AA - abstainers hang out.

All the best to you.

God has a wicked sense of humor....Turns out baclofen constipates. On the upside, I did find that this past week, taking baclofen, I didn't really have any cravings for alcohol (or very minor) so (if not just a coincidence) the baclofen may have been helpful. Minimal craving swings meant that alcohol rarely crossed my mind ---having adhered to a mostly AF habit since the end of August---so that was good stuff.

Now what? Well, I'm going to continue w/ the bac for another week (since I can't just suddenly stop taking it), trying to change my diet, and see if that counters the constipation effect.

I've checked out the web sites that Dab recommended. Not sure they are for me since they tend to be abstinence-focused. I did think the "Thirteen Affirmations" on the Women for Sobriety site were useful for anyone...man or woman...in terms of starting each day on a positive note. I printed them out to put up in my home office. Here's the link if anyone is interested. http://womenforsobriety.org/beta2/new-l ... irmations/

Gotthegene,
I hadn't heard about that side effect, but I just ordered some Bac. I am interested in knowing what dosage you are using, could you share that with me?
Thanks,
Diver

Diver,
I was only on 15mg/day thus far which is nothing; I had hoped to get to 30 mg/day but am sticking w/ 15mg for now.

Don't be discouraged by my experience yet; I am extremely sensitive....managed to get a Nalover once after having just 1 glass of wine on an empty stomach. Reading the boards, not everybody has the constipation side effect; we are all different as to how much of a change might throw the system off. Just be aware of the possible side effect as you increase your dosage. You might be lucky and have no issues at all. Good luck!

Baclofen does have a number of nasty side-effects, Gott. Depending on how much you are taking..but you can wean yourself off quite quickly...in a day or two (my experience anyway at about 75mgs). It works directly on the cravings element, but some need to take upwards of 300 mgs before they hit their "switch", and then titrate down to whatever works for them. Eat at least one banana and one apple every day and keep up your water intake and that should do the trick for the constipation.

Good luck!!!

Dab is right that apparently some people have to get to very high dosages before they hit their switch but it varies wildly; I've read 180 mg, 240mg and 270mg. For me, I'd already been AF since late summer and the advantage of being such a light-weight, I noticed a helpful difference at 15 mg. Back in Feb when I was drinking daily and about 42-45 units/week, I started the bac but didn't really notice any difference so am thinking I would have needed much more as a daily dependent drinker than I was taking to notice a change. Back then I hadn't read Ameisen's book so didn't know to take more than what my doctor prescribed. As for the nasty-side effects, I've read the list of "possible side effects" that comes along w/ most medications but Ameisen claimed he had no side effects so I haven't put much weight on that. I did read that you need to wean off slowly or there will be side effects and I have noticed that I feel headachy and a little nauseous if I go off bac to quickly.