Sorry Sante, but I live at the far SW corner of the state - have no suggestions as to a Dr. who will prescribe. I did find that alldaychemist.com has much cheaper prices (almost half) than River Pharmacy - and they deliver within two weeks.

WTE, thanks for the welcome. I'm feeling "optimistic" and had a much, much better today than yesterday. My husband and I worked together in our yard -- trying to "enjoy" the chores of keeping it up!

G4M, I live in the NW part of NJ (Sussex County). Right now, my husband is supportive of my buying naltrexone online. With my experience with doctors and psychiatrists, I'm not hopeful of getting a prescription. If you or anyone knows of a worthy site where I can purchase naltrexone online and get a better price than River, I'd be grateful. I read that alldaypharmacy requires a prescription...

Count down has begun. Literally counting the days until I get the meds and can begin.

Sante

Welcome Sante!!!

Isn't it wonderful to know you aren't alone and here there is always someone who understands. I, too, have a supportive husband. He has read the same letter, and it explained a lot. While he still doesn't understand the problem, he is there for me. He sometimes gets frustrated, but soon realizes I can't help it and I am trying.

Good luck and know we are all here holding your hand!

ps...I received my Nal from medsranch.com and it was much cheaper than River, maybe try 4RX.com as well.

Hi Sante, and welcome.

Now that you've made the decision to do TSM, you are probably on fire to get your nal and get on with the program. But you can make good use of this time to prepare yourself for the next 4-6 months. Take a look at what others have been through, so you can carry through those rough spots we have all encountered. Picture what your life will be like as the chains of alcohol addiction begin to dissolve, and the real you begins to emerge. As with any other journey, the better prepared you are, the more surely you will reach your destination.

Let your hope and excitement run rampant; you can draw on this when things seem like they are at a standstill. Remember what it took to get you to this point in your life, because the undoing of the addiction can sometimes feel very strange. It is so wonderful that you have a supportive husband, because he may be the one to hold the hope when you are doubting. He's in for a bumpy ride too, but in the end it will be so worth it. Many of us are going it alone, or dealing with disbelieving SOs, but we persist despite the doubts because we know that this is the solution we have been seeking.

Set up some kind of system to track your progress - some of us are using MS Excel to make charts so we have visible evidence that we are moving in the right direction. Try not to get hung up on day-to-day numbers. It's important to see the big picture, and to keep your eye on the long-term results. Also be prepared for qualitative changes in your drinking. Most of us have experienced reduced hangovers, less drunken behavior, increased control, and over all better manageability of our lives with TSM.

This thing works, for sure. Some here have declared victory. Some know they are winning, though there are still a few twists in the road. A few are despondent, even though their numbers show overall improvement. There are a couple who's change is right around the bend. This might take a bit more time than we had originally thought, but we will all find success in the end.

Keep posting, and we'll see you in the winner's circle!

Hi Sante:

I have been making a point of introducing myself to everyone new here but somehow you slipped through the cracks! Sorry! I too had to fight with my GP to get naltrexone. What got it for me is this article in the New York Times, which you should copy and bring to your GP.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/healt ... one&st=cse

This article cites the definitive precedent for family doctors, GPs -- NOT addiction psychiatrists -- to lawfully prescribe naltrexone. Naltrexone is NOT a controlled substance. Your doctor needs to be educated! Start with page 203 of The Cure for Alcoholism (together with the Times article). I would highlight the following passage and read it out loud to your doctor for full effect:

NALTREXONE WAS ORIGINALLY APPROVED BY THE FDA AS AN ADJUNCT FOR USE WITHIN COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS OF ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT. THIS SITUATION HAS NOW CHANGED. THE COMBINE STUDY -- THE LARGEST CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL IN THE FIELD OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE -- FOUND THAT NALTREXONE WAS EFFECTIVE EVEN WITHOUT INTENSIVE COUNSELING. IT WORKED WITH ONLY MINIMAL MEDICAL SUPERVISION, SIMILAR TO WHAT CAN BE PROVIDED BY GENERAL PRACTITIONERS. THIS CONFIRMED SIMILAR RESULTS FROM AUSTRALIA AND FINLAND.

If you read this statement and hand over Jane Brody's article in the New York Times, which concludes the same thing -- GPs can lawfully prescribe naltrexone -- then even the thickest, most conservative and most stubborn doctor will have no legitimate excuse for not giving you a prescription.

The tricky part is TSM -- namely, telling the doctor of your intention to drink away your addiction while taking naltrexone. You will probably have to resort to some deception here and say something like, "Well, I am hoping to abstain from alcohol. But if I do slip up and drink, I want to be on naltrexone."

These doctors are literally committing malpractice by telling people to take naltrexone and abstain because the clinical trials clearly show naltrexone is not effective this way -- in fact, it's counter-productive with abstinence. But your HEALTH is paramount, so you should say what you have to say in order to get the drug. If you say something along the lines of my quote, above, you are not technically lying to your physician.

Welcome! TSM works! For more than 80% who try it, according to the studies and more anecdotally, for the hundreds or people who have posted on this board.

Take care and congratulations on finding TSM and the drastic improvement in your life it will almost assuredly afford you.

Nick

Thank you to all of you. I really appreciate you words of encouragement and advice. Nick, thank you especially for your suggestions. I have had no success getting through to the psychiatrist I worked with several years ago, but am emboldened to try to go back to my GP with the NYT article. My position with her the first time around was to use naltrexone as an anti-craving drug in conjunction with attempts to abstain. She was familiar with the drug, but claimed she wasn't able legally to prescribe it. I should have The Cure for Alcoholism book on Monday. Maybe, as you say, between the NYT article and the book's characterization of naltrexone, I'll have better luck. I hope so.

I'm trying to abstain today. I really overdid it yesterday and last night. I sometimes don't know what is worse: the drinking or persistent depression I feel.

Thanks again for all of your words of encouragement. I need this to work.

Sante

Firebird,

I need to call out how much I appreciate your reply post. Thank you. You are absolutely right that I can use this time -- while I wait to receive the book and meds in the mail -- to prepare to start TSM. I have tried so many other programs, giving them my all and failing time and time again. I want to be enthused but realistic this time around.

I used to track my drinks daily at MWO, but got so depressed with my lack of progress compared to others than I gave up. This time, based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I'll have more realistic expectations and look to a slow reduction in consumption (about one drink a month?) taking me between 9 and 12 months to be "cured". This kind of realistic expectation is crucially important for me, but also for my husband.

I'm not familiar with google's charting, but have some limited experience with Excel. I see others plotting their progress and I can see the real value in doing this on a daily (rather than weekly) basis. I'll give it a try.

Thanks again -- all of you -- for your welcomes and support.

Sante

I don't know how I missed welcoming you, but better late than never! Welcome.

I can't really add much more to your welcome than has already been well stated in this thread already. I can only say the above advice is invaluable and comes from those of us who have gone through the process personally.

Thanks for joining our growing community of those of us who want to free ourselves from the shackles of addiction via medical science [Personal Opinion Alert -->]instead of the cult of Bill W.

Bob

Sante, a warm welcome. I am also a heavy drinker and optimistic. I am also a woman 59 yrs. old! I also started at MWO but Topa didn't work at all for me so here I am. Having my ups and downs like most of us and know it will take some time, but here for the long haul! Good luck to you and keep posting. You are not that far from me either living in Ct. We have people from all over the country and also Europe!

Hi Bob3d,

I'm not a personal fan of AA, either, but I don't have any complaints for those who have found it helpful. I was in "the program" for roughly 4 years and finally left in '87 full of guilt and shame. Still and all, while I was in the program I was abstinent -- but not "cured". I'm hoping the science behind TSM will lead to a better, more sustaining sobriety. One that will stick.

Hi LaBear,

Wow, we do have some in common! I also tried Topa, but got so full of anxiety while I was on it, that I could barely function. I'm more hopeful that the side effects, if any, with naltrexone will be tolerable. If it just amounts to nausea, then it is more-than-worth the try.

I'm gonna give this my best shot and, like you, prepare to be here for the long haul.

Sante