Hi Greg,

I'm feeling . My intent in the original post was really not to drive you away, but to act as a wake up call, since your post sounded as though you were essentially saying, "Oh this will work for all of you but it won't work for me so I'm not going to try it but good luck to all you guys, anyways." Now I get a better picture of a guy who is rationally working out a treatment plan for his addiction.

Good for you! I agree, it sounds like you're using your head. However, even tho your doctor will only prescribe Naltrexone for abstinence, it will not work that way to extinguish your addiction. Many on this Board have had their doctor prescribe for abstinence, but then use The Sinclair Method (Naltrexone+drinking=cure) w/o their doctor's knowledge. We/they figure that once the Method has worked, the doctor can be informed. My SO and I are very fortunate in that we have an understanding, compassionate and cooperative doctor.

Don't be a stranger - keep us posted on your progress. I understand baclofen can be a great addition to the program, for those who suffer severe anxiety. (Have you tried Kava Kava in conjunction w/St. John's Wort? It was a life-saver for me. . .)

Greg,

I have expressed exactly the same concern in other threads on this forum. However, I have decided to address the drinking problem now - for two reasons. Firstly, I see a therapist on a weekly basis and she is firmly of the view that my alcohol consumption is interfering with the therapeutic process; I am inclined to agree with her. Secondly, I recently had a liver function test, which clearly showed that I need to seriously reduce my alcohol intake. I plan to continue therapy in order to address the emotional baggage.

Good luck with the hypnotherapist!

V.

Thanks everyone for your support, and I wish us all success in beating this. Thanks ART for your wishes, I'm also glad hypnotherapy helped you and I also hope for positive results.

Hey G4M feel good OK, you have helped me to wake up! You saw my feelings and my attitude during my last post very accurately, and I'm grateful that you took the time to read what I said and decided to reply. I experience times when I feel very depressed and almost ready to give up on myself, and I am usually alone during those times. If I seemed to want attention, maybe that's why. But I also refuse to give up. I do realise that naltrexone does not work during abstinence, I'm just telling my doctor a white lie to get the Nal. I hope to tell him that it works via TSM a few months down the track. My decision to try baclofen is exactly because of its ability to help with anxiety, in my case social anxiety/social phobia aswell as anxiety during alcohol reduction of course. I have considered both Kava Kava and St John's Wort but haven't used either of them long-term or in combination yet, but thanks for sharing this. I'm always willing to consider new ideas.

Thanks Virgil, I realise drinking probably ruins therapy, and once the liver is shot then it's basically all over.

Best wishes,
Greg

Hey Greg -- So glad you decided to stick with us. The liver can regenerate healthy tissue! Read up on milk thistle. Eskapa says if you are working with a therapist whan you start TSM then by all means continue. Eskapa, p. 97. It's tough for many of us to sort out the chicken-and-egg conundrum of the relation of depression and anxiety to our drinking. Although naltrexone itself does not treat depression, many find their depression and anxiety resolve or at least abate as we wrest free of the grip of alcohol addiction and get or lives back. Sinclair found that patients reported a significant improvement in depression symptoms after about three months on TSM, based on the Beck Depression inventory, although this is not univerally true. Eskapa, p. 96. Sounds like you have a supportive therapist you can trust; many of us envy that. Maybe if he can be patient while you do TSM then your progress in therapy will be unstoppable!

Thanks for sharing and come here often.

I am there with you on the milk thistle. I had a compromised liver on a test and took milk thistle tincture and had a daily salad of dandelion greens, (easy to come by in my neck of the woods) and after three months (if I remember correctly) when I retested my liver was given good marks!

I believe in regeneration!

Hi again Miss Greg, right??
I believe you are a woman, right? Which matters none but I think some are referring to you in the wrong gender. Please do not give up on this method! And I find it funny coming from me because I have had the biggest doubts after someone on here said if you don't see any real changes at 2 months then you are probably in that unlucky percentile this method won't work for.

I wrote you what I thought was a great email back in early March (LOL) about this being baby steps. Everyone on here is in your corner. You may be alone, physically, but you have US here every minute of every day. Keep logging on & like they say in AA, keep coming back. We are working it & it works!! I believe it to be so. I believe it because I, too (and I am not alone LOL) suffer from lonliness. I have family, friends, kids, but I spend a great deal of my time alone after work. I have been nursing a broken heart, I want to love and be loved by the perfect man for me, just like you wish for a good realationship with a good woman for you.

You say you live in a small town - do you have a job? Are you entrenched there?? Maybe after awhile you can start thinking about making other positive changes in your life...liike moving away and starting fresh. The fact you are on here, talking to us, thinking about how to resolve the alcohol addiction...and honey - there are are only a few of us on here who want total sobriety. I cannot imagine my life without alcohol: the perfect martini, wine with dinner, beer at the beach, etc. but in MODERATION!! Normally. Try to see it as just that: reduction & go into it with just the goal of breaking the addiction to massive amounts that you/we consume. 6 months!!

Do what you have to do in the beginning as far as your doctors there, etc., but don't throw in the towel before you ever even tried it. We are here for you & ourselves, girl!! Be Aussie strong!! :-)

Once again, thanks everyone for your support and advice. The therapist I refer to is not confirmed yet, due to the very high costs of hypnotherapy and many other types of therapy. I don't have private insurance and also don't have enough savings or income to cover it if it's going to run into thousands of dollars, but a few therapists are kind enough to charge at a rate that is covered by public health cover.

Er...not meaning to be rude in any way...but I'm not female or gay. I'm a straight male. I'm now getting a bit worried that I have been somehow thought of as a woman. Since I still hope to meet a female partner once I break free of the addiction and other problems, I hope I don't sound/act feminine in real life! If so then it's time for me to straighten up my act!! I know it's not usual for guys to admit to so many emotional problems, and I'd never do that in front of my real-life mates, but I do feel a need to share all my s**t somewhere instead of continuing to bottle it all up. Even the toughest men probably have insecurities, and by hiding them they maintain their tough outer image, but if they ever need someone to really talk to, there are few options left. Thanks for all your support. I do live in a small town and I'm going to be here for several more months at least, and I don't have a job at the moment despite a good work history in the past. I know I can get back into the workforce once I get some control over this addiction.

It's getting late here so I'd better go for now.
Greg

Greg, don't worry - I never for a moment thought you were female. I suspect our mutual dependence upon alcohol tends to level the emotional playing field between males/females. We're all in this together, and most of us experience the same feelings of anxiety, depression, isolation, despair, etc.

But we're ALL on our journey out of this hell. How great is THAT!

BTW. For the second night in a row I went to bed and made the conscious decision not to have that final nightcap. Yesterday and today there was still a glass or two of wine left in the bottle. That hasn't happened for years! Yesterday and today I feel very good and clear-headed. Also, I'm finding my desire to socialize with all those friends who drink as heavily as I do (did) is somewhat diminished. There are more productive, fun things to do in life than revolve around a bottle - and I'm wanting to get back to them.

Greg
I was rather amused by all this about you being a woman speculation as I saw
your photo on MWO - looked pretty masculine to me !
But long live your feminine side . Balance is best .

Likewise. I've never met or known of any female whose name was Greg.

All the best,

V.