Guapo - it sounds really good - I am just starting my journey but live in hope that I will get where you are !!

Thanks for the pep talk!

hugs, Maggie

DebsJS, what leads you to try the Sinclair method? Has your consumption been creeping upwards, or are you just having trouble cutting down by conventional means? I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just wondering why.

If the social experience you seek is just getting tiddly together, you can do that on naltrexone. What you can't get is euphoric. You've already discovered that for yourself, of course . . . and many of us have been there, wondering how we can jigger this so that we still get a hit of euphoria. Basically, we can't. We need to seek our endorphins elsewhere.

It's a great chance to take up vigorous exercise. If you're not quite that ambitious, maybe treat yourself to a sundae?

Everyone else is right about how this fades in importance once the addiction is broken. Some of the things that first worried me turned out to be such total non-issues that I can only look back and smile.

I've had a proper read of your opening post.

The idea of saying goodbye to alcohol can be a scary one, and certainly in the UK social life can appear to revolve around alcohol.

I don't know if it will reassure you but I am in the UK and was a classic binge drinker. I loved clubs, going out, meals out and I still do. The difference is that I no longer have to have a drink, and in fact started to look at alcohol in a very different light. I do go out to a DJ or club night, probably once a month and do dance, and talk to people without having any alcohol at all. I usually go home around midnight or 1am. Some of this is because I know I want to get up in the morning to do one of the many other things I've taken on in my recovery. I no longer have mornings or whole days recovering from drinking the night before, no pieces to pick up. Friends have gotten used to me not drinking and their drinking reduced, or I simply have different friends now.

I have attended all day weddings and said no all day, it wasn't easy but since I took the decision to not drink I have taken it in my stride and am grateful for it. Quite a few people have remarked on how brave I am!

I did drink in moderation with TSM for just under 2 years, but the alcohol lost it's gloss and glamour - which is when I decided to go completely tee total.

Sorry for taking over, I wanted you to see it is possible and not as daunting as it may seem. The beauty of TSM is you ease into drinking less gradually over time, so are able to evaluate and make your own choices.

To reduce the harmful, problem drinking you will also reduce the at home drinking. I've guesstimated 8 units on your at home nights, which although not horrendous could be said to be way over no-additional-health-risk, recommended amounts.

On the price front, nalmefene is around £3 per pill, that represents 1 drink in a bar or restaurant, or 2-3 beers at home or half a bottle of moderately priced wine. Cutting down by these amounts is expected and you'd then recoup this money, and most certainly on nights out! I'd also hazard a guess that you may have other consquences from wild nights, the removal of which might be worth more than a few £££s.

Welcome DebsJS, I suggest you read "The Cure for Alcoholism-The Medically Proven Way to Eliminate Alcohol Addiction" by Dr Roy Eskapa. Also I would say to read, read, read lot's of posts here that can help you along your TSM journey.
Nal On!

Thank you for such interesting replies. On reflection of course I do have friends who don't drink , either for cultural reasons or because they have had alcohol problems. They all seem perfectly happy. Part of what makes me want to do this is my age. I am in my 50's and it isn't nice getting falling over drunk in front of my adult children who are relatively sensible drinkers.
My mother is an alcoholic and still going strong in her 80's and I think I have always used her as an excuse not to worry about my drinking because she has managed to hide it.
In all other areas of my life I am very much in control, I take lots of exercise and have a really healthy diet, alcohol is the only thing I can't control. I have had 4 days of drinking now and taking namalfene and I haven't noticed any difference. It is early days and I haven't been really tested yet. I take the point about the cost - I probably spend a lot more on wine. I will read the book. Thanks again, I am reading all your replies with a great deal of interest.

Thank you for sharing this, it's really helpful and I respect what you are trying to say.

I too train a lot, but in the end alcohol took my exercise away, I was too ill.

I do remember an NHS alcohol worker telling me I was just a binge drinker, that I should get a grip and control it just as I controlled my exercise and diet (when I wasn't drinking). I don't know if age is important to you, I started Nal/TSM in my late 30s which is almost 4 years ago now.

Sorry you've not noticed anything with the Nal so far.

I have written a post on someone else's thread that says even when it doesn't appear to be working, taking the pill with the chance it may work could be well worth it, and does no harm.

Eskapa's book is very good but please do be aware that his 3 month timescale is not typical experience for those not in his study. From posts on here and other people I know who have used TSM, I'd say the time for success is between six and twelve months. I was lucky enough to have my units halve over night, but then I started to drink most evenings because suddenly it was safe.

One thing most tend to notice is that even if drinking doesn't reduce, there is a reduction in destructive behaviours whilst drunk. I don't know if this will apply to you or not but I wish you all the luck I can give.

how are you doing with SE's now that you've taken the Nal a few more times? Nalmefene does tend to hit people harder initially as you're not able to ramp up to the full dose like you can with Naltrexone, but they do go away over time

-badger

This is interesting because the literature I'd read whilst Nalmefene was being developed, said that side effects would be easier than for Naltrexone, but I'm hearing that that is not necessarily the case. I'm now not sure what the advantages of Nalmefene are over Naltrexone, apart from being able to charge three times the price to consumers!

I dare say that taking the full dose 18mg of Nalmefene from the start may have fewer SE's than taking the full 50mg dose of Naltrexone, but there's not the option to start with a 1/4 or 1/2 dose of Nalmefene

I suspect that Nalmefene is just an "evergreened" version of Naltrexone - ie altered just enough to get around the patent so it can be sold for more than generic Naltrexone. I'm not aware that it works significantly better than Naltrexone

I've also understood that nalmefene was developed to overcome the effects that naltrexone has on the liver.