Hi guys,

Haven't posted for about a month. I went completely off the Sinclair Method because I couldn't tolerate the Nal.

But I have to start over as AA still doesn't appeal to me.

So - this time I'm going to stick with 25 mg for as long as it takes to get past the extreme fatigue and strange metallic taste in my mouth. What the hell, even if it takes me months to get up to 50 mg - I'd be drinking anyway so I might as well be working towards something.

Good luck to us all.

Hi samsara,

I too had very bad side effects when I first started the Nal. What worked for me was starting with 12.5 mg (quarter tablet) and working my way every few days slowly up to 50 mg (where I am now) increasing the dosage by 12.5 mg increments.

Please stick with it - I am in my second week, and the SE have almost gone away completely!

I hated the side FX of nal at first too. But now I'm drinking 9 drinks instead of 15 on an average night, and let me tell you: it rocks!! The pounding head, the spacy brain . . . I would've had em anyway. Taking nal almost gives me a hangover, but since I would have had one anyway, I'd rather be making some progress.

Problem is I don't drink every day. So, I would only take 25 mg maybe every 3-4 days. I am re-reading Eskarpa's book and he is pretty clear that the extinction effort is most effective when you have many incidents within a short period.

I think I have to try to alter my drinking habits and drink a little every day for a few weeks until the tolerance for the drug kicks in.

Glad to hear you're doing well. I deliberately kept away from any Sinclair people who were trying hard on the program because I didn't want to be a downer and rain on anyone else's parade.

I'd take the small dose of NTX whether you're drinking or not - until the side effects go away. Eskapa will tell you that the danger here is receptor upregulation but that only comes into play if you subsequently drink without taking the naltrexone. For now I think it's more important to get rid of the side effects, which should happen whether you drink or not. No sense drinking if you don't feel like it. I read a study that said receptor levels drop to normal within a week after the cause is eliminated.