Hello,

I am fairly new here I found the sight after reading the book this past weekend. I am currently about 76 days af thru the use of antabuse this was a last resort after the last two years have been spent in a wide variety of different avenues inpatient treatment twice, IOP, AA Meetings( I even did the 90 in 90), Camparal, continued care with a addictionologist and therapist. My longest period of sobriety has been 6 months and up until the first of the year I was caught in a wicked relapse cycle that now makes a lot of sense after reading about ADE. At the point when I decided to go on the anatabuse it was a last resort I felt the only way I could live would be to lock myself up in a mental prison at the same time I also started taking Nal which my doctor told me would help me with the cravings. After reading the book I promptly stopped taking the NAL all of the science makes sense to me! This really does seem like a solution.
My current plans are to remain on the Antabuse until I finish school in April which was the original plan when I started taking it. After that I am going to see where things take me I know that I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. The possibility that I may have other options is really encouraging. Just to make it clear I do not plan on returning to drinking to try the Sinclair method but if previous behavior says anything about future actions it is almost inevitable that I will drink again the cravings and instinct are still very strong. Now the decision to stop taking the antabuse just feels a little less like Russian roulette. So I will be keeping up on all of your progress. I do know that If I have a drink I will make sure I take the Nal first.
Roxy

Hello and welcome. Thank you for sharing some of your story.

I too, have tried to "not drink" using many different unsuccessful methods!

And now I find myself hoping this method will help me.

I have to go to sleep now, but just wanted to say hello. Best to you.

Hello!

I also want to welcome you. While many of us have not pursued the Antabuse route, we all can appreciate the goal of sobriety, and virtually any method that gets you there.

My brother is a recovering alcoholic with over a year of sobriety. He has gone the AA route and I think he is even an AA sponsor now. I am really proud of him, and don't mean to minimize his efforts and progress, but it hurts me that I can't comfortably share this discovery with him. I feel it would be too cruel at this point. He has done so well with sobriety via AA (I guess - we don't talk enough anymore), that I don't think I want to introduce him to this yet.

AGAIN, I need to see that this has helped me, because on some level, I'm just not convinced it will work for me - nothing else has. I try to stay positive, but it's like learning another language to me. Kind of sad that I've wasted so many years thinking I just don't have what it takes - especially when I once was very confident and successful. I think my idea of success has changed...OK - I've rambled on too much, and have just realized that I am pretty drunk.

So sorry for the long post, but at least I know most of you will understand...Thanks for lending me your ear - could one of you skinny women lend me a small waist? It would be really cool to get some family photos taken when I appear more thin than usual. And hey - it would be a LOT less expensive than plastic surgery! Let me know what you think. Take care and everyone - please keep in touch. You all mean the world to me! Thank you SO much for your help!!!

Hi Roxy

Great to have you on board!

I have never 'done' AA- mainly because the nearest one to me is 60 miles away, and meetings are held around 11am, which makes it impossible.

I have also dabbled with Antabuse, basically out of desperation- I would sober up, get through the detox period, and start feeling much better, which is then when I told myself "I was OK now", and I would stop taking it.

I also found it was a pain in the butt because I would get a quite severe headache if I 'forgot' and had anything vinegar based.

On the occasions I took Antebuse I felt very strongly although it was stopping me from physically drinking it was not helping with any underlying causes that made me pick up, and it was only a short matter of time before I would be drinking again, and I was always right

Good luck, I look forward to hearing your progress!

Roxy,

Welcome!

The Sinclair Method specifically states that those who are currently abstinent are not candidates for The Sinclair Method.

However; if you do return to drinking at some point, understand that simply taking a Naltrexone pill here and there before you drink is not The Sinclair Method. This method is a 3-4+ month treatment whereby one consistently takes Naltrexone one hour before drinking while continuing one's regular drinking habits. Over time, extinction occurs and drinking levels drop.

This treatment method has only one rule, but it must be followed without exception:

Naltrexone + Alcohol = Cure

Welcome, Roxy. My how our little community is beginning to grow - good news spreads fast. Have you heard about the breakthrough use of baclofen, used in high doses, to eliminate addictive cravings? There's a book out now, The End of my Addiction, by Dr.Olivier Ameisen, a highly successful French cardiologist who practiced in New York, and decided he had to quit his medical practice due to severe alcoholism. He heard about some success with Bac and alcohol abusers, and self-prescribed the drug to try for himself. When he upped the dosage, he discovered he was almost miraculously cured of cravings. Five years down the road, he can now have a glass or two of wine, or a vodka tonic, and not even care for a second. (An excellent excerpt from the book is here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... overy.html)

I'm thinking, as oceanaocean does, that the combination of Nal and Bac might be a powerful tool - there's now a place to sign up for a study that's going to be conducted on pairing these drugs for alcoholism. However, my understanding is that this study will not include Sinclairians, but only abstainers - and I'm determined to see how The Sinclair Method will work for me. I'm going to look into the feasibility of adding Bac to the regimen, to see if it improves or speeds results.

Anyway, I thought that once you're off Antabuse this might be something worth looking into, if you don't want to go back to steady drinking with Naltrexone.

I will be interested too in seeing if any other meds factor in...especially for those of us who fear the SM may not ultimately work to the extent we want it to, ie, truely cutting the cravings & consumption to minor amounts over time.

That element of doubt continues to gnaw as we "progress" at what seems like a snail's pace. Time can be such an eternity - gotta remember it's one day at a time no matter what you're doing!

I am trying to locate the study that is either taking place or is still searching for subjects in North (or South) Carolina regarding the mixed use of Baclofen and Nal. They are having a difficult time finding subjects at my last communication with them. The subjects must report to the lab or facility once a week and since I do not live there no go!

In any case, I continue to use both and I believe the Baclofen is helping me very much. It enables my mind not to get triggered emotionally, I have so much calmness, it is always when my anxiety level goes up, I reach for the AL. I find this not true with the use of the Bac.

And as I have said before I have had prior experience with nal alone, and adding the bac has been a real plus for me.

There is another thread where Dr Eskapa discusses the use of bac but right now I can not find it. I also did not understand exactly what the Dr. was saying, sometimes he is confusing for me to read. Maybe that is just me. In any case that's what I am doing and I feel helped by it.

I have Ameisen's book and I read it, but for now I use both drugs. Be interesting to see if other people have used his method as a result of using the info from his book. Maybe I will ask on MWO.
I found it, the Dr's comment on Baclofen. It is on the thread Naltrexone and Baclofen - My experience So if you want to read what he says check it out. Any comments or ideas and understanding will be helpful to me, thanks!

Many have answered your questions so I will only welcome you.