Hello all. I’d like to ask if anyone else has a problem similar to mine, and if Naltrexone can help people like me.
Some background: I’ve always been a heavy drinker. It was about eight years ago, when I was about 30, that I started getting drunk outside of normal situations, i.e. at home alone or while working at the computer. Classic progression after that.
I don't drink hard alcohol and I don’t drink every single day, but the days where I have just a couple of drinks have almost disappeared now; every third or every second day I drink 4-6 litres of 4.1% beer, like clockwork. At this rate I drink about 70-80 litres of beer a month and, of course, this is rising slightly.
I have plenty of things to be afraid of. Intestinal problems always, increased heart palpitations recently. Perhaps scariest of all, I’ve even noted my memory and brainpower fading in the last year. The fiancée absolutely hates the lone drinking in front of a monitor. Occasional work problems. Bladder problems. I nowadays avoid drinking with friends in the pub because it always ends with me saying or doing something inappropriate.
So far so run-of-the-mill alcoholic I guess, huh? Here’s the crux though. I don’t really have “cravings” for alcohol so much. When I have my kids, when I know I have to wake up early, or when work simply won’t allow, it’s not unbearable to forego drinking. Instead, it’s like I’m a robot under remote control which must obey its master, and get hammered whenever I can get away with it.
Don’t get me wrong: if no “appropriate opportunity” to get drunk presents itself for, say, several weeks, then I do indeed have inescapable cravings and the taste of beer gnawing at my mouth after about five days. What worries me as a potentially worse problem is the fact that I go and buy a large amount of alcohol even when I know I could get by without it. Take today for example. I got very pleasantly drunk with my girlfriend at a party the night before last; I would have had no particular need to drink today. But the second she told me she was going to her parents’ for the night, the choice was made and the result was clear. I couldn’t face the abject thought of just sitting here all evening sober. And so here I sit with my first of 12 beers, completely confounded at how I can be writing this to all of you, whilst sipping away at a bottle. It’s like I’m on automatic pilot coming in for one very bad landing, and at the same time I just can’t find it in me to care. At least not enough.
Hence, I’m not sure this is a problem of endorphins that the Sinclair Method can solve. Or is it? I do know that I want to be able to drink normally, or to quit drinking, and I am picking up a box of Naltrexone tomorrow. I want to live my otherwise very good life, I want to stay with my girlfriend, to have my mind back, to not be terrified every time I have a hangover and the heart is beating funny. But then what do I do? I go and get drunk. It’s like I’m an alcoholic second and generally self-destructive first. Can SM help someone like me? Did, or do any of you have the same or a similar situation? I would really appreciate anything you can share with me.
All the best to all of you who are trying to find your way out of this. Why us, eh? :-/

Sanclaire, every drinker of any kind can potentially be helped by TSM. Your story sounds very, very similar to mine. In fact, in my cured testimony under barryb2, I even described the idea of a robotic attachment to alcohol, just like you. "Cravings" are a very subjective thing -- some experience them as intense, some as extremely subtle. Unlike you, though, I went almost 1900 nights off without a single AF night.

You should know soon enough what Naltrexone will do to you. I'm like some people who have yet to get past three drinks while on Naltrexone (and that was in the first week). I just can't do it. I almost "literally" can't do it, the urge to NOT drink becomes so strong once I take a pill. Not in an unpleasant way, but in a very profound way. The way I see it right now, I would have to really make a conscious effort to get hooked like I was just 5 months ago -- it's seems so unlikely (but I always need to stay on guard, I suppose). The best of luck to you -- you seem to have enough going on in life, and drink at relatively moderate levels compared to many TSMers, that you have a high probability of success, IMO.

I have read your post and it describes exactly what I did in the past. I have just started with TSM by the way.

You've got nothing to lose! Just try NTX / TSM out.

In the past I too had intestinal problems and heart palpitations because of alcohol. I believe it's important that you get a medical check-up.

Altough I'm young I often believed that I had done irreversible damage to my body, the check-ups proved that this was not the case and I think it's very important to have that reassurance.

Thanks so much for your replies, they give me a well-needed dose of hope.

I had my first Nal-night last night, and it was very interesting. Instead of my usual 12-16 beers in a pub setting I left after my seventh, having started getting drowsy and losing pace after my sixth. Didn't feel sufficient aversion to avoid my usual 'bed buddy', the open beer I take to bed like a security blanket, but still drank much less than usual. I suppose it won't always be like this over the next few months, but I certainly wish it would.

Otherwise, had a very strange morning hangover, trembling a lot. Normally 8 beers wouldn't give me much of a hangover at all, but today I felt quite bad...

Great to hear that NTX seems to help you immediately to reduce your alcohol consumption.

But keep in mind that TSM takes quite some time. Because of evulation our brain thinks that everything that feels good is in fact good for our body. Evulation works fine, but not very fast. People synthesizing cocaine, heroine or brewing alcohol wasn't expected (by evulation).

To make a long story short: The human brain can learn wrong stuff, but also unlearn it.

Third day on Naltrexone and I have to say I haven’t felt quite ‘normal’ since I started. I’m jittery a lot, and this morning I woke up feeling like I had a strange hangover despite having only had one drink last night. Anyway, today I’m in my favourite drinking position – home alone, not much work to do, can sit at the computer ‘turn off the brain’ with a game or a movie or do some writing… and drink 12 beers. I’m eager to see what happens. By sheer co-incidence, it’s been raining every night I’ve drunk recently, I hope Nal doesn’t kill the endorphins I get from thunderstorms as an unexpected side-effect )

Completely drunk and off for my fourth 2l bottle of beer... :(

I didn't know they made two liter bottles of beer. That would be roughly 23 beers so, yes, I imagine you would be drunk. Those are very dangerous levels, as you probably know. Hang in there.

I think my drinking style is very similar to yours. I can go days without it and when I've been forced to abstain through AA or other 'promises' I have had months of sobriety under my belt. But when I get the 'green light' to go for it or allow myself to I get lit up and try and get as much of it into me as possible. Binge, blackout and make an absolute fool of myself.
So far (day 4) with Naltrexone I've felt like I probably could stop drinking, but I continue because my alcoholic brain says "you've taken your pill - go for it". Also I'm in a habit of physically getting up, getting a fresh beer, opening it, drinking it. So I robotically continue to do so.

I think that what I need to try to do is take the pill, drink, and then really try to stop once I get that initial feeling that I could. Not just leave all the work up to the extinction process or the blocking of endorphins. After feeling the effect of what Naltrexone can do to me I have utter confidence in it. But as with all other methods I've tried in the past - the will to stop is up to me.
Also, buying a responsible amount for that drinking session. So say a 6 pack of beer instead of a whole case. So once I run out of that reasonable amount, the pill reinforces that it's ok and I can not panic, and just go to bed.
As controlled drinking is my goal, I need to practice methods of control and use Naltrexone to help me achieve that.
I'm not saying I WILL do this, but I feel this needs to be my goal.

McBlackie, that’s a great post, thanks a lot. I’m no scientist, but it seems to me on the one hand that alcoholism is a chemical rather than purely psychological or even ‘spiritual’ problem, and thus I would expect chemistry to help resolve it more efficiently than willpower alone. That said, what can you accomplish in life without willpower?? So like you I’m focusing at the moment on taking the Nal, allowing my normal habit to play out, but when the moment comes that the alcohol doesn’t sit well anymore (which, miraculously, has been happening for the most part) then I’m forcing myself to heed it.
I’m only on week 2 of TSM but whether or not it works in the end, there IS a medical cure to alcoholism the disease out there, somewhere. Alcoholism the state of mind is obviously more complex.