First she dropped baclofen, then she started saying she doesn't "enjoy" drinking at all with the naltrexone, or that she didn't want to wait for an hour; then I sensed it coming, and after 15 months of bliss, she started drinking. First secretly every once in a while, then every day a glass of wine or a beer, and now it is becoming like before. And it is such an obvious and clear -as well as devastating- process, it is unbelievable. Slowly, as if her brain is learning alcohol and she is becoming an alcoholic all over, once again. Of course, this time it's faster, within a month or two.

I will not take our names off the "cured" list, because we were cured. She is just choosing to get ill again.

How sad for both of you.

I don't enjoy drinking on nal either. I'd prefer to enjoy drinking on nal, but I'd rather not enjoy it than be addicted, and those are basically my choices.

Maybe she has forgotten how bad it was, or is kidding herself. Can you remind her? Without judging or nagging, of course. Everybody hates that. But maybe talk less than fondly about the bad old days?

Thank you for posting this update, hard as it must have been. It sounds like such a familiar story of my pre Nal drinking days, in and out of sobriety, and how quickly the alcohol takes over left to its own devices.

I wish you both the best; hopefully she'll choose not to be ill and get back on the Nal or Bac or whatever worked before.

Take care.

Addiction can have more than one component. Targeted naltrexone is the bee's knees for physical addiction, for craving, for feeling compelled, for fixating on alcohol, for many components -- but there are some it can't touch. A burning desire to get high, for instance, won't go away because an avenue of getting high has been voluntarily surrendered.

Since her complaint was that she no longer enjoyed drinking, I can't help but think that something like that is what's going on here.

Unfortunately, the natural highs (e.g. exercise) are weaker and require more effort. Drugs are fast, easy, and powerful.

I guess there's sex. Sex can be pretty intense, and heavy drinking interferes with orgasm. I dunno if there's any way to leverage that or not.

I feel bad for you. It must be terrible to watch her leaping back into the trap it was so hard to climb out of.

Hi Joe. I'm here to say that I put myself - in a very boastful, arrogant way - on the cured list - but now must crawl back to report renewed drinking, like your wife. I'm so sorry to read that your poor wife who has gone through so much is not able to see her upcoming downward spiral as stoppable and STOP.

My story is a bit more hopeful - and thanks to my reading your post today I have renewed my efforts. My spiral started at a party a week and a half ago - so silly really as I'd been completely and happily sober for ages. But I'd not put myself in danger either - living a very very quiet life. So at the party I allowed someone to pour me one which I just sipped at and didn't finish. Then we moved to another neighbour's place for dinner, so another one got poured. I sipped at that one and didn't finish. That was all I had that night. But the next night at home I thought what the heck I might as well have one glass of wine with DH. The next night I had two with DH at dinner. And the next night the same. I was upset with this pattern remerging but what happened really was:

I had stopped taking Topamax weeks before because I thought I was SAFE. I thought because I was CURED I didn't need it anymore, and I didn't like the side effects. So the CRAVING came back - I'm really surprised at this!!! And I'm pretty bummed out too.

Then this morning I read your post. I was feeling depressed about the renewal of my old drinking patterns so quickly, and I thought I'd check into the Sinclair site and see how things were going - how Providential!!!!!!! The Lord is good.

So thanks to you Joe, and to your post, I realize though I do consider myself "cured" I have to be ever SOBER, ever ABSTINENT, yes, even at social events - even if someone pours me a drink I simply cannot sip at it - I have to put it down somewhere and eat something and walk away. If I'm brave enough I must say "no thanks, I don't drink" and if I'm not feeling that brave I have to come up with an excuse. And I have to keep taking Topamax to keep the cravings at bay. No question, for ME, it keeps the cravings at bay, and I'll have to keep at this for a year at least. I was a fool to think 50 years of drinking would be 'healed' in months.

I will never be "cured" in the sense that I don't have a problem with alcohol. I can't turn back the clock and make myself into someone else. Not gonna happen.

Joe, you are a resource and I hope you continue to pop in and help others as you've helped me today! God bless!!!!

To others out there to may read this - Hi!!!! I'm still plugging away at this demon we suffer with, but today - even with a week or more of "failure" to overcome I'm back on track and I know how to do this: take my 'meds,' quit drinking and humble myself by knowing I have a ways to go yet.

sideeffect2 is right. We need a FAQ on this.

dothework, I am happy for you and also glad these posts are helping someone. I will never forget the moment I found this forum -after googling "alcoholism" and "hope". Unfortunately traditional medicine is not helping naltrexone and baclofen get more credit, so these forums are our way out.

melissa1928 is right: The chemical part is maybe the most important element for fighting alcoholism, but there are other factors; especially those because of which we became alcoholics in the first place; anxiety, depression, loneliness, wild night life, whatever they would be. Some of us can make good choices and get out, others, not so much.