just getting started, just started Nalx, seems tobe working, no cravings, ...
question > does it block all reciptiors, like the good ones you get from exercise

Hi, and welcome to the friendliest bunch of alkies in cyberspace!

Yes, the pleasure receptors are all blocked - however, most of us have noticed that, just as we still get buzzed when drinking, we still also enjoy exercise, sex, etc. Please take time to read Dr. Eskapa's book, it's the BIBLE of this program. In it, he suggests that when you can get two alcohol free days in a row, on the second day the naltrexone has been washed out of your system and your pleasure receptors have increased sensitivity, and so that is the optimal time to do other things you enjoy.

Nice to have you on board. Please read the posts to help you get a feel for what to expect, and how this works. Then, get the book - it is invaluable.

Welcome -- Naltrexone is NOT an anti-craving med. It works poorly if at all that way. The Sinclair Method requires several months for meaningful results. You must take nal 1 hour before you drink, and drink as you usually would. Do not take nal on days you do not drink, but keep a dose with you, just in case. PLEASE read some of the introductory materials you will find on the board index. If you truly wish to cure your alcohol addiction, it is imperative that you follow the Sinclair Method. Best wishes for success.

Hello Perk
That's right you have to always do the NAL one hour before drinking . CRUCIAL .
Perhaps you'll say a little more about what type of drinker you are , how long and heavily you've drunk , if you take other pills , binge drink or other as they are the key things that effect progress . The benchmark that it takes 3 , 4 or 6 months you'll see alot . ALthough this may not seem very long looking at in on the page
as an awful lot happens and drinking experience can be so dense it can warp your perception of time and make it feel like it's long . It may surprise you if you see people having a moan but that's just it it can get worrying if you feel progress then slip back but that happens alot . So if you want to have a good moan do so it 'll work wonders when you see the support .
The scenery around us when we drink can take many forms but there's often a common denominator of starting and feeling compelled to go on til the apetite is sated and it leads us astray . But the following tale will just show how you will change .
I had lunch with a friend last week and had some four drinks slowly throughout a long meal and he was very surprised . Last time we'd met was just before I started tsm . he's not a drinker but he accompanied me at the evening end of my days drinking . We went to a bar that at lunchtime is quite cosy and and an old lady
has a few things on the stove and seems to manage the bar too all in one room.
But it's a real drinkers drinking hole and folk just sip away the afternoon and get well lit up . The old lady does too and somewhere around evening she keeps dipping her head to the table and dozing off . She wakes up and can never remember if you've payed or not . We're not always too sure either . Point being we're all on a trip there and don't want to get off and drag off home , my friend was astounded to see it all and had the feeling everyone was in weird harmony and going down to hell in a basket . Well it's the same in many a bar accross town and accross the planet . That's ok because whatever your nightmare has been do the tsm, take the NAl and it'll all stat loosing its hold .
Great good news is that all that ugly waste i just don't do any more .
So , I'm glad you found this site and tsm and take a moment to reflect on all your worst times and feel enthused to start something that 'll put an end to the madness . Above all be patient , the NAL will sort it all out for you .

thanks for the replys. some background & questions ?
classic binge drinker, 1 day usually goes to 3-4 days, 1/2 pint to a 1/2 gallon. just got out of re-hab where i introduced to Nalx, and relized
didn't have any cravings.. with that in mind, came home to all the usual stress we face felt ,pretty good, and always a exercise kinda of guy, but found i was not getting the 'high' i used to get. so me being the 'genius' i think i am stopped all meds, not a good thing, went into a funk, was alone & couldn't stop thinking about picking up, didn't.
Now back on Nalx, think about drinking but not with the usual intensity, maybe i sould look into
taking 1/2 pill ? how do i get the highs from the 'good things' in life while giving up booze,
don't want to take Nalx and drink, i think i am too far along the path to pick up.
i see from the statics that the sinclair method works, when combined with drinking, but about when no drinking at all ?

Please take time to read Dr. Eskapa's book, it's the BIBLE of this program. In it, he suggests that when you can get two alcohol free days in a row, on the second day the naltrexone has been washed out of your system and your pleasure receptors have increased sensitivity, and so that is the optimal time to do other things you enjoy.
So with taking Nalx every day i will never get my pleasure receptors back ?

liked the ending of one of the posts..
Great good news is that all that ugly waste i just don't do any more .
So , I'm glad you found this site and tsm and take a moment to reflect on all your worst times and [quote]feel[b] enthused to start something that 'll put an end to the madness . Above all be patient , the NAL will sort it all out for you .

thanks for the quick replys,i will be in touch and i wll check with my libary for a copy of the book.
perk
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Wow Perk, you raise a lot of issues that can best be answered by reading the book. Excerpts from the book are included on this site, under Board Index and then under "Questions about the Sinclair Method." You need to read it as it explains things better than we can.

For starters, The Sinclair Method, by definition, means you are still drinking. You take naltrexone one hour before you drink, the pleasure receptors in your brain are blocked, you no longer receive the "reward" from drinking while on naltrexone, and if you keep drinking and taking nal before you drink, your desire to drink slowly goes away over time -- at minimum, three to four months and probably months longer than that depending upon how much and how long you've been boozing.

There have been many studies about naltrexone. Early on, some people interpreted the results of the clinical trials to conclude that naltrexone might be of some use to people who are seeking to abstain from alcohol. As a result, some doctors are currently (incorrectly) prescribing naltrexone for non-drinkers seeking to abstain. However, the major point of THE BOOK and TSM is that naltrexone doesn't really work this way, it's not an anti-craving drug. Instead, it works to eliminate your addiction but only if you take the pill one hour before drinking and you repeatedly (and always) take the naltrexone one hour before you drink. As I said, it takes several months of drinking while on naltrexone before your addiction will be weakened and then cured. The process of unlearning your addiction is called "extinction."

So, everybody on this board is using naltrexone while they drink, which is the definition of the "Sinclair Method." The issue you raise of whether people who are currently abstaining should try TSM is highly controversial. Most people would argue that if you are sober now, don't go back to drinking. There is no guarantee TSM works, although its success rate is quite high -- at least 80% from the clinical trials and higher than that if you use it right. Only you can choose what is best for you, but you should know that everyone here is still drinking while on naltrexone and we are sharing our experiences based upon this protocol.

If you do end up drinking again, either by choice or simply because you can't control it, BY ALL MEANS GET ON NALTREXONE and take one 50 mg pill one hour before you drink. And to answer one of your questions, the blockage of pleasure receptors is not permanent and goes away within hours, one to two days at the longest. The problem you are facing is that naltrexone taken every day will reduce the pleasure of the healthy things you do (e.g. exercise, sex). As others have stated above, you should be at least 24 hours off of nal when doing the healthy things because you don't want to extinguish those behaviors. An advantage for people like me who are using TSM and exercise a lot is that I only take naltrexone on drinking days. As a result, there are several days a week I can engage in healthy activities without consequence.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Nick

Elfern said:

We went to a bar that at lunchtime is quite cosy and and an old lady
has a few things on the stove and seems to manage the bar too all in one room.
But it's a real drinkers drinking hole and folk just sip away the afternoon and get well lit up . The old lady does too and somewhere around evening she keeps dipping her head to the table and dozing off . She wakes up and can never remember if you've payed or not . We're not always too sure either . Point being we're all on a trip there and don't want to get off and drag off home , my friend was astounded to see it all and had the feeling everyone was in weird harmony and going down to hell in a basket . Well it's the same in many a bar accross town and accross the planet .

This really draws a vivid picture, one I'm sure many of us can relate to. My watering hole on Thursday night has the same faces there every week. When I arrive sober, I'm not comfortable around many of them. Until after the buzz kicks in and we all share "the weird harmony and going down to hell in a basket." Our only common denominator, booze, slowly takes over, making us the all the best of friends "on a trip" as Elfern says so well.

Nick,
thanks a million for the reply. i wouldn't consider my self sober, rather just haven't drank for awhile. i will defintialy get the book and read...
couple thoughts come to mind,
1. this method will help when business calls for drink, i know you don't have to drink, but when it's a small group and everyone else is, they notice the non-drinker, not good for business, i use to say i was on meds, didn't always work. this gives me a back up.

2. i know i have to read the book but is what i am hearing that you should take Nalx 1 hour before drinking everyday untill it doesn't become pleasureable ? what happens if you don't want to drink? can you start and stop like that or is better to stick to a "training schedule" ?

3. what does the bottom of your message mean, the stuff about # of days and ?

thanks
perk

1. this method will help when business calls for drink, i know you don't have to drink, but when it's a small group and everyone else is, they notice the non-drinker, not good for business, i use to say i was on meds, didn't always work. this gives me a back up.

2. i know i have to read the book but is what i am hearing that you should take Nalx 1 hour before drinking everyday untill it doesn't become pleasureable ? what happens if you don't want to drink? can you start and stop like that or is better to stick to a "training schedule" ?

3. what does the bottom of your message mean, the stuff about # of days and ?

If you are taking naltrexone with abstinence, I can't tell you anything. My experience, and everyone else's here, is based upon taking naltrexone while we continue to drink (The Sinclair Method or "TSM"). As I said, only you can decide which course of action is best for you. All of my observations relate to taking naltrexone one hour before drinking.

1. Don't expect an immediate miracle with naltrexone if you try it using TSM. If you go out and booze while doing business, nothing will be really any different for you as far as how much you drink until you've been taking it for several months, at least three or four and probably more, depending upon your habit.

2. If you are going to use naltrexone while drinking using TSM, you just take the pill one hour before you drink EVERY TIME before you drink. "Pleasure" has nothing to do with it. You will still get a buzz -- although it may be noticeably different for you -- when you drink on naltrexone. The cure takes months and your dependence on alcohol will be gradually reduced over time. It's not like you'll pop a naltrexone, take a drink, say, "this sucks" and never drink again. It doesn't work that way. It's gradual -- many months to notice a real difference. If you don't want to drink any more you don't drink. That means you are cured and you can decide for yourself if you want to drink, as opposed to your addiction controlling your behavior. You will be able to take or leave booze once you have been cured. Some people decide alcohol
has caused them enough pain and don't drink when cured; others drink within safe limits but always taking naltrexone before they drink, for the rest of their lives. You will become re-addicted in short order if you resume drinking without taking naltrexone. So if you continue drinking you have to take nal beforehand, permanently.

Our signature lines are designed to track our progress. The first number, "Pre-Sinclair" is the number of drinks (units) we had in an average week before starting TSM. Then each week the first number shows how many drinks we had that week. Most people include a second number that estimates their craving level that is ranked between one and ten, with ten being the strongest craving level and 1 being weakest. I haven't included that number in my signature line.

Hope this helps.

Nick

perk, I would like to add a comment to this thread. While it takes many months for most people to enjoy a true cure from their addiction, the experience while drinking changes for the better (for most of us) immediately. We are more in control of our speech and behavior, act less erratically, no longer suffer blackouts, etc. In other words, even though we're still drinking at unsafe levels, our behavior is much less 'drunken' than before. That's a real plus for naltrexone!