Started taking 50mg of naltrexone daily about a week ago so I'm not really following the Sinclair method per say, but taking advantage of the buzz kill of naltrexone to reduce my alcohol consumption. I was drinking about 6-8 beers a day about 4-5 time a week and my didn't like it. I'd read about naltrexone so told her I try that. Got a prescription from my regular Dr. I see about 1/year for regular checkups. I'm a 55 year old man in North Carolina and work at a mechanical engineering job. started drinking in college at about 19 and have done so probably weekly very since but not at quite the rate I described above. I was basically in my mind just getting a buzz after work or on weekend nights abou 5 days out of the week. Since I started my naltrexone routine I haven't had a beer since My wife only wants me to try it when the kids aren't around and there's nothing we need to do. Seems like it's actually reduced my desire to get a buzz so that's been a good thing to me. I want to try drinking while I'm on it so I can see how effective it is at keeping me from getting a buzz. Maybe this week end or in the next week or so. Wish me luck and good luck to all you that are trying to reduce or eliminate you dependence on alcohol.

Hi JD, welcome to the forum!

The way you're taking Naltrexone currently doesn't really work all that well in the long run, it's been studied many times. TSM depends on taking the Nal an hour before you drink, only on drinking days. The Cure for Alcoholism explains that whole situation, if you'd like a free PDF copy of it, let me know and I'll get you one.

I'm a beer drinker too. I find that the Nal doesn't kill the "warm and fuzzy" relaxing feeling I get from beer, as a matter of fact it doesn't really feel that different at all to me. NB, Nal won't keep you from getting drunk, not in the slightest. Aside from the opioid receptors (Nal blocks those receptors), alcohol also cranks up your GABA receptors and tones down your Glutamate receptors, which gives an overall calming, relaxing effect. Naltrexone doesn't change that. WRT the buzz, you may or may not notice a difference, that seems to be peculiar to the individual. It seems from what I've read, folks that drink hard liquor are more likely to report that the buzz is missing. Some talk about a "jolt" they usually get that just isn't there when drinking on Nal.

So I'd say don't wait, if you really want a beer then take the Nal, wait an hour and have a beer. Take it slowly and notice what's different about drinking on Nal, don't gulp it down. If you really want' another one after the first, go ahead and apply the same rule: Don't chug it, sip it. Repeat that until you get the notion that you've had enough. At that point, listen to what your brain is telling you and leave the other beers in the reefer.

On your 2nd alcohol free day when the Nal is out of your system, hit the gym, or go for a hike, go get a massage or have a spicy meal. That will release endorphins that will stimulate your now very sensitive opioid receptors and will help you replace the beer habit with a healthy habit (this is called "Selective Extinction" in the book). So basically, you're getting two different uses out of the same pill. You're withering the craving and boosting the healthy habits that you would prefer to have.

All that said, again, welcome! If you have any questions about TSM, fire away and someone here will get you an answer.

welcome to the forum. I am very close in age to you and had very similar drinking habits. I too would recommend taking Nal only on drinking days, but I'm happy to see it's working for you the way you're taking it. good luck!

Welcome John! I concur with the others - you really only need to take nal on the drinking days and then an hour (at least) before drinking. it is pretty much a waste of a tablet to take it when you do not drink. I agree with Joe saying that you need to read the book - it explains it all. Let us know if you need a PDF copy ....

Hugs, Maggie

I don't take a lot of other meds, actually none but caffeine in the form of coffee, so it would be nice to reduce the amount I take of NAL even though reading up on it, it seems to have few bad effects. I did some more reading and found that some folks like myself experience less desire for alcohol while on it and that was one thing I was curious about since that is the biggest thing I seem to notice in taking it everyday and not yet having a drink while on it. I kind of wondered how much was the Nal vs any psychological effect of wanting to not drink and making the effort to take something to help. Also wondered if having my opioid receptors blocked to even any "naturally" occurring opioids in other foods or if the body produces any, like when you run or lift weights, was having something to do with it. Seems like in order to do the routine of taking an hour before drinking that I'll have to have one handy at work since my typical routine lately was getting a beer or 12 on the way home from work. How does it hold up if it's say in a pill case in my clothes pocket where it would be close to body temp all day. I could have a supply at my desk but I hate to have it scattered around.

There's a part of me that would like to be completely alcohol free and there's a part of me that will miss getting buzzed/drunk, even if I don't need that drink to "cope". Maybe because I associate my drinking with feeling really good/good times. If I quit drinking altogether, I'll feel good about that, but wonder if I'll never feel quite as good as I did when I drank and had a good buzz on. So far on my daily NAL I feel as good without drinking as I have in a while. Many years ago when I didn't drink at all I always kind of liked that I had a lot of healthy habits like exercising and wasn't dependant on bad habits like drugs, smoking or drinking. I'd really like to get back to that way of living, i.e. not needed to drink in order to "enjoy" life.

I found the link to Cure for Alcoholism so I'll try and read it in the next week or so and maybe adjust my dosing schedule accordingly. At this moment right now as I write this I feel like I don't even want to try drinking even while on NAL because I really just want to be a non-drinker again like I was 36 years ago before I'd ever had my first buzz that I enjoyed but started this whole thing.

John - I had a pill holder on my key ring that I always kept some Nal in - I got it at a drug store and held about 10 Nal - because my routine was to have a Guinness as soon as I walked in the door! I do not think it would be an issue if it was in your pocket - your body temp isn't that high in that it could damage them . And I would keep a few at work just in case you forgot to fill the pill holder - or like mine did once or twice - it came apart, I lost the bottom half and ALL the Nal in it!

It sounds as if things are going well for you!

Hugs, Maggie

John -

In the book you'll find out why taking the Nal every day doesn't work nearly as well. You need to have that rise and fall of Nal in your system so you're not throwing a blockade on your opioid receptors all the time. The method of waiting for the craving to surface (or simply taking it an hour before your normal drinking time) and then responding to the craving by taking the Nal, waiting an hour and having a drink is what makes TSM effective, because you're showing the addicted part of your brain that drinking doesn't result in the expected endorphin release. In the book it's likened to Pavlov's dogs, you'll see it in there. Taking Nal every day while abstinent, on the other hand, gave no better results than placebo in study after study after study. From the book, page 39:

"Nevertheless, despite eighteen publications or reports by 2000 that naltrexone is not effective clinically along with abstinence
and two more using nalmefene, another group of distinguished researchers at Yale University proceeded to run a huge trial in which
627 veterans were tested using the Naltrexone + Abstinence approach.26 Essentially, the researchers retested this already-refuted
proposition: Take naltrexone but do not drink when you do. The results were, of course, abysmal."

That being said, if you'd really rather be abstinent, there's a medication called Campral that you could look into. You have to be dry for about a week (as I recall), then you take Campral 3 times a day and it simply quashes the cravings. Some have great luck with it, some here have tried it and it didn't work, so they ended up here. One way or the other, there's something out there for everybody though.

Thanks Joe!

I'll try and read up this weekend.

Well since starting I've had a few evenings where I drank a bit after having taken a 50mg tab in the morning. As I've seen folks say elsewhere, although Nal stops the opioid receptor buzz, you definately still get the pleasant tingle/numbness in the rest of your body feels from drinking. So it's still pleasurable, but I do sense it may be less addictive. Still planning on taking a 50mg tablet every morning and keep this daily routine up although might switch to carrying it with me to work so I can take one an hour or so before leaving. That way maybe it will be a little stronger blocking if I decide to pick up a beer or few on the way home. And then in a few months I might switch to only takeing one when I definately feel like I'm going to stop and pick up some beer after work.

Keep in mind too that the Nal only covers you for 12 hours, so if you plan on drinking 12 hours after the first dose, you'll need to take another dose and wait an hour.