Guys,

I think Naltrexone is a very viable option and I was so pumped about it, but it was causing severe depression for me and suicidal thoughts so I quit taking it. I was a few months in and wasn't seeing much progress, but I am sold on the Sinclair Method as being useful for some people. I do wonder if it's not the best for hard-core alcoholics/bender drinkers like myself though. I often worried it wasn't effective when I drank for several days straight, but now I'll won't be able to find out.

My next option is baclafen. If you haven't heard of it Google it and Dr Olivier Ameisen. One more tool in the addicts tool-belt. I was lucky enough to find a psychiatrist who is willing to take a risk with me and prescribe it.

I know there are many options out there for us and I do appreciate the open mindedness of this forum. I think I actually found out about baclafen in the alternative treatments thread here. From what I have read and researched I would tell any drinker to first try nal (via Sinclair Method) and then if that doesn't work go to baclofen. If that still doesn't work keep searching, there are a lot of treatment options.

Also, a word of advice which I'm sure many have given, take multivitamins and a b complex (at the least) daily. My evidence is anecdotal, but after being a hard drinker for 30 years I am in very good health; at least based on the numerous blood tests my psychiatrist just ordered for me (a stipulation prior to giving me a RX for baclofen). And I know this only helps and doesn't prevent health issues; all of this drinking is definitely catching up to me.

Best of luck to everyone and if you guys want I will post my results of baclofen here.

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Konger, thanks for sharing your story. I am sorry that you had to go off the nal, but I hope that baclafen is the answer for you. Please do start a progress page and report your experience. There will be someone else in the same shoes who will benefit from it at some point.

Best of luck!

Thanks so much for posting your experience and your thoughts about it. I've really been interested in this aspect myself, both the question of depression, or anhedonia at least, on nal, and the emotional effect in heavy drinkers of erasing a strong primary emotional reinforcement without systematically replacing it with something else.

My H has been on nal for 15 days now. The first 6 he was taking it at bedtime and was abstinent as the doctor prescribed. He already had 6 months of a low dose anti-depressant, which had some effect even while he was drinking very heavily.

The psychiatrist doubled the Celexa to 40 mg/day and also gave him Gabapentin for anxiety at the same time she prescribed the nal.

His first drinking, 7 days into the bedtime nal, was a complete solitary binge. (In my Behavior Geek post under Concerned Spouse, I went into detail. Maybe it was a massive extinction burst ). On day 8 we stopped the bedtime nal and went to TSM.

He's had a couple of days of 3 us units, and one AF. He was in a surprisingly good mood on the AF day and cheerfully announced he plans an AF day today.

We are in the midst of some plans for a future boat dock, which he's happy about, and I'm sure that helps, but interestingly, when we discussed this same thing a month ago, while he was drinking heavily, his attitude was, "Nothing ever goes right, this will never happen"

It's barely a couple of weeks in on the Gabapentin and higher anti-depressant, and a couple of days on official TSM, but so far I would say this combo is working very very well for him alongside the nal and some enjoyable life changes.

Since alcohol itself precipitates depression, it seems logical that for heavy drinkers, assuming and effectively treating depression alongside using TSM could be really important.

Again, thanks for your post Konger and I hope you feel better soon. It is so awful to be in such pain that you feel you can't take living any longer. Glad you have a psychiatrist and another option which may well be the right thing for you.

Good reminder on the nutrition too, especially b vitamins.

Good luck konger I hope the best for you and maybe you can come back to TSM through another route. I think you will find that in fact TSM does indeed work well for binge drinkers and hard core alcoholics. In fact those are the one's that may benefit the most as opposed to for example heavy social drinkers that may not yet be vested into a full blown alcoholic life style.

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Bed time Naltrexone? It really bothers me, no actually angers me, when Doctors don't know what the F they are talking about. Did he/she even read the scientific journals and countless years of testing that show that taking Naltrexone by any other method then TSM is actually detrimental for the patient?

Get a new doctor or read the science, information, publications, clinical trials and books on how to do TSM properly and go on your own.

There is a reason why there is a 20% failure rate for TSM and ignorant doctors are one of them.

Konger - I am sorry that you are stopping the Nal - and also that you are starting Bac - I know we are all different but bac scares the living daylights out of me - I have seen people that were on bac - one of them was a very mild mannered sweet person - and Bac changed that person into a very angry person. Please be careful with it and also ensure that you NEVER run out - that can be really dangerous.

I too have had depression on the nal - but find that if I have at least a few AF days then it does go away - it is when I take it constantly that I get really down - and like Jaba, I too have been depressed most of my life - I was on Celexa and decided for various reasons to wean off of it - and have been off it now for a couple of years so the depression brought on by the Nal has been most unwelcome ! Maybe you could go on an AD and then try the nal again? Just a thought anyway.

Whatever you decide I wish you all the best with it - what we have been handed in life is not fun but at least we are all looking for and hopefully finding a way to deal with it - good luck!

Hugs, Maggie

Baclofen did for me what Nal has done for you, wierd and suicidal thoughts.

The other problem of course is that alcohol is a depressant. I always think that removing it can only help.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm sure nal would have worked for me but the suicidal thoughts were scary. So far the bac has been very tolerable for me (after one week, ha). But this thread proves what I like about this forum; here people realize what works for one person may not work for another, so keep trying and keep an open mind. There are a lot of options, never quit trying to find yours.

UKblonde, thanks for the heads up, I'll watch for it.

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