Hi everyone. I am new to this site and am still finding my way around.I am amazed at the amount of info here.Thanks to LoOp from MWO for directing me in this direction. I have a few queries.I started on Naltraxone 2 days ago after a visit to my Dr. He has prescribed one 50 mg tab a day and 2 Valium tabs at 5.00pm. My drinking starts at about 4pm or 5.00pm with a bottle sometimes 2 of white wine. I have read everywhere on this site to take the Nal 1 to 2 hrs prior to drinking My Dr advised me to take it in the mornings but didn't really mind provided I took it ONCE a day. This is where I am confused. Everyone says if you are going to drink then its a Must be taken 1 hr prior to drinking. Can anyone help me? Is the 1 hr prior for those people who have been on Nal a long time and have their al under control OR is it because the drug works better and is at its most potent 1 to 2 hrs before drinking. I really would appreciate some advice and thank you all for posting so much info.

Hey boozer and welcome to TSM.com!

I read what you said about your doctor and although it's great that he's on board with TSM I'm afraid it sounds like he knows little to nothing about it.

You take naltrexone 1 hour before you drink always. If you are not going to drink, do not take your naltrexone.

As you said there is a ton of info on here so keep reading! You've probably got a good few days worth of reading to do and I'm sure any questions you have will be answered. As to your question about how long it might take, well that's the million dollar question. Nobody knows, we're all different. You'll gather that much from reading some of our weekly progress threads.

Our best advice would be to try to stay optimistic and post often we're all here to support each other, but dig in and be prepared for the long haul.

Glad to have you here! -E

Thanks PoOl. When I visited my Dr, He never mentioned the Sinclair Method as such, although his plan does seem similar.He is a Drug and Alcohol Addiction Specialist. His advice to me was to continue drinking when the urge strikes and to continue taking Nal everyday for the next 14 days. I manage 3 al free days a week and have been advised to take nal on these days as well. ........mmmmmmmmmmm! it is confusing, but I will question him at my next visit.

PoOl, I really am confused now! I have searched at least one dozen sites on "How and When to use Naltroxone". I checked the pamphlet that comes with the drug and rang our Pharmacist. I couldn't find one chemist or website saying anything about taking Nal just before drinking. Everyone advised (as directed on my prescription) to take the pill once daily. I can only assume the Sin Method doesn't agree with the drug manufacturers recommendations.!

boozer,

Naltrexone was invented in the 1970's. The package insert provided with the drug is incorrect and because of that doctors have been prescribing it improperly for 30 years. I know that you have already checked out some of the information in this thread that I gave you the link to before: http://www.mywayout.org/community/f9/cure-alcoholism-sinclair-method-38475.html but you need to go back and go through it again. I'd highly recommend you read the book The Cure For Alcoholism by Dr. Roy Eskapa which explains the method in great detail. It also explains why the drug has been used improperly for the last 30 years.

Your doctor is wrong. The information you are reading on the internet is wrong. The drug manufacturer's recommendations are wrong, and worse, they knew that they were wrong when they wrote them 30 years ago. This is all explained in the links that I gave to you in that thread and in even greater detail in the book.

hi Bo, glad you found our site welcome. Ask a lot of questions, there are a lot of people here that will help with all your questions. Keep posting we want to hear from you.


corkit

Hi boozer and welcome. This board actually was incubated over at MyWayOut. A few of us learned of TSM over there by wading through posts about naltrexone. We grew in numbers and annoyed the hell out of some on MWO but many there were supportive even if they weren't doing TSM. Still there seemed to be so much to share among ourselves that we decided to start our own board and here we are. Some of us still post there, although not as regularly as before. Lo0p, Happy4Once, SpringerRider and others (including me) try to drop in over there to post or bump the old Sinclair threads. But I'm afraid naltrexone still has the inaccurate moniker of anti-craving drug for too many on that board.

The package insert for naltrexone, which is the source of prescribing info for physicians, was written by DuPont after they got the patent on the drug. Here's a link to a post I wrote a while ago with the long version of Dr. Sinclair's attempt to have input into the package insert and why his efforts were rejected.

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=537

The rehab industry is invested in the status quo and will not be quick to accept that a drug can be effective without expensive (i.e. profitable) counseling. So for now, naltrexone is "stuck" with its package insert with instructions describing an ineffective use for the drug. What a shame.

For those of us on this board getting a prescription from their m.d., few are forthcoming with their doctor. Most have chosen to say whatever it takes to get the prescription. You pay your doctor for a service, but your health care choices remain your own. That said, if you choose to do TSM, here it is in a nutshell:

Take nal at least one hour before you drink. More than an hour is okay, but five or six is pushing it. A half-hour before drinking will do occasionally, but that's pushing it, too. If the very rare occasion arises that you forget to take it before you start drinking, take it immediately and resolve never to do that again. Always carry a dose with you, just in case. You are fully covered for about 12 hours after you take it.

NEVER take naltrexone on days you do not plan to drink. This will make sense more and more as you learn.

There are chapters of Eskapa's book on this board, as well as a set of FAQ's he wrote. I wrote a post called something like Sinclair Method in a Nutshell. There are also helpful posts for the SO or spouse. You can find these on the board index. I strongly recommend Eskapa's book; it is our "manual" and will answer many of your questions. One caveat: It seems to take longer for most of us than the book suggests. But it does work!

Please keep sharing your experience here.

PoOl, I obviously have a lot of research to do yet.........Just new and a lot to learn.Thanks for your advice.If the drug doesn't work in its present form and recommended daily dosage, why do lots of people still buy it? I cant imagine a pharmaceutical company driven by profits producing a drug that didn't work and presumably didn't sell. Why on earth would we as consumers buy it and doctors recommend it? Our local chemist has a large turnover of this drug and regular repeats. thanks again

Hi boozer,

Welcome to our community!

As you've been prescribed Valium, I'd like to draw your attention to the following thread:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=439

All the best.

V.

How many milligrams are the tabs? 2, 5, or 10? In my experience, I had to reduce my total Valium usage to 2.5mg/day for TSM to work effectively. I'm back up to 5mg/day and I rarely drink these days thanks to the cure.

Nowadays, there seems to be a paradoxical effect at higher levels of Benzo (Valium) usage. I noticed on days where I take 10 or more milligrams (post-cure), my anxiety level will rise after the initial tranquility of the first 6 hours. The metabolites of Valium have a half life of 200 or so hours, so it stays in your body for a long long time. Also, if you get hooked on them it can take around a year to get off of them, so be careful. I say this as someone who used to take 40mg Valium per day and was an alcoholic at the same time. Now, I'm cured and 5mg Valium does the trick, at least it does for me. It took a long time to get here.

Ask lots of questions when you think of them. There are plenty of folks here to help at a full range of experience levels.

Oh... Welcome! I guess I should have started with that.

Bob