Hi.

I just spent last weekend in the hospital with tubes in my veins, heart monitors on my chest, etc.

Not because I drank too much, but because I drank too little. Trying to stop is a bitch.

Anyway, I have for the first time been prescribed naltrexone, and am eager to learn about this Sinclair Method. Before I elaborate, I have a lot of reading to do in this forum, but rest assured, once I catch up I'll be a real nuisance!

I should add that I'm scared about the method because it permits, dare I say encourages, continued drinking.

Glad you found us Genuine. Yes TSM can be scary but so is continuing to drink Please get the book by Dr. Eskapa "Cure for Alcoholism" and you'll understand more about what you're going to walk into with this process, knowledge can expel fears.

Keep posting, ask questions and know we're here for you

corkit

I hear you about the apparent paradox! It's not even that it encourages continued drinking, it REQUIRES it.

It's a leap of faith in the sense that you have to believe in the science. As corkit says, the book lays it out pretty clearly.

Welcome.

For most of us, drinking on naltrexone is substantially different than drinking without it. Typically, you have far more control and clarity drinking on naltrexone. Hangovers and blackouts are reduced. The book lays it out but I should warn you that most of us are seeing major results later than the 3-4 month time frame in the book. But it does work for the majority who try it. Take half a pill the first time to minimize side effects, which are a nuisance (nausea, sleep disturbance) but go away quickly. Take it on a full stomach to reduce nausea.

Good luck.

Nick

Thanks folks. I've read the Wikipedia article on the Sinclair Method and the chapters of The Cure for Alcoholism that are free online. Probably worth my time (and money) to pick up a real copy rather than another handle.

I actually find that I get kind of a high off naltrexone. No nausea, no sleep disturbance, but actually a touch of euphoria. Such that it makes me not care to drink. That's an annoying part of this Method—even when I don't want to drink, I feel like I have to, just to cure myself. But maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Only a few days into this, the neat thing is that I notice myself forgetting about the drink. Here I am, going through my usual routine, and I forget about the drink! There it is, poured and waiting, but I neglect it. In the past, I would literally orbit around the drink—every action involved a pass by the drink. Now, I find myself getting engrossed in what I'm doing, rather than focusing on my next swig. I've never before found myself thinking "oh ****, the ice is melting!" Pretty amazing so far. I hope it keeps up.

Plain Vanillia, you're in Oregon too? Portland area?

For many people, taking naltrexone alone initially has an anti-craving effect. The drug was initially marketed as an anti-craving drug to be used with abstinence. However, the studies have shown that this effect is almost always fleeting. In order to be cured you actually have to drink while on the drug to unlearn your addiction. There is only one rule with TSM: take the pill an hour before you drink, every time you drink. If you don't drink, don't take the drug. If you take the drug, drink as you usually do. However, if you only want to have a couple, then stop. The goal is to drink through cravings. Something happens that makes you want to drink, you pop the pill, wait an hour and drink as you always have. That's it. The drug will block the positive reinforcement alcohol used to give you and after months, your cravings will be extinguished.

i experience the euphoria the first couple of times as well, but no longer (for better or worse!).

I like this idea of tracking one's intake in one's signature. How do you people measure? I kinda just pour an unknown quantity into a glass.

I go through about a handle every three days. According to the Internet, 1.75 liters = 59.174539727 ounces. So I'm basically 20 a day?

Wow it's scary to put it like that. I've never quantified it like that before. No wonder I ended up in the ER.

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of paper journals so I think putting it into a sig will be helpful. Got nothing more important to do …

I measured out 5 oz in a measuring cup, poured it into my favorite wine glass, and used a Sharpie to mark the level. From then on I just counted glasses consumed. On the occasions when I would drink beer, I'd count number of 12 oz bottles. (I started in the middle of a blistering heat wave so I drank more beer at the beginning than I usually did, just because it was so bloody hot.)

To be scientific one would account for % alcohol etc. but since my modus operandi was not to drink to effect but rather to just finish any bottle started, this simple accounting seemed good enough for me.

My wife used to chuckle at me carefully pouring to my mark to ensure that I got EVERY MOLECULE of wine, but not one drop more, per glass. I'm somewhat process-oriented in real life and am used to seeing charts with variability and trends etc. so I found it comforting to keep a chart. It's part of my nightly go-to-bed ritual to enter my daily drinks. I'll stop after a year because frankly I'm entering zero more days than not and I don't really want to think that much about alcohol any more.