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I'm so glad N101CS set up this forum, as some of the more commonly reported experiences relating to The Sinclair Method can be very discouraging and off-putting if a person is not anticipating them. Most of us have begun this program with an eye to reducing, or eliminating, the use of alcohol. We've become addicted and out of control, and are hoping that this method, at long last, will enable us to take back our lives. Most of us have tried abstaining - perhaps dozens of times - with no long term success. We have been in and out of rehabs, counseling, and 12-Step programs. We've tried Topa, antabuse, campral, hypnosis, herb and mineral supplements - all of it to no avail. Many of us have felt defeated, and hopeless. . .until now.
Somehow we heard about The Sinclair Method, and read Dr. Eskapa's book. A ray of light dawned: this pharmacological extinction process actually makes sense! We go to our doctor and get a script for Naltrexone (or order it online). We discover this forum, and begin the Method. We dutifully swallow 50 mgs. of naltrexone an hour before we intend to drink, and start a drinking diary to track our daily consumption. Within a few days, we can feel the effects - our drinking has decreased.
However, we may feel shaky and fatiqued after taking the Naltrexone. Some of us feel sort of loopy, and/or shaky and sweaty. Nausea plagues a few of us, and vivid dreams and night sweats are experienced by others. Most people consider these side effects worthwhile, if using this drug will free free us from our dependence on alcohol.
But then, we enter into week two, or three (or six, or eight) and - YIKES!! Can it be? Our drinking levels are as high as, or higher than, they were before we started taking naltrexone. How can this be? This may go on for several weeks, and we become discouraged. After all, nothing else we ever tried worked permanently, why should this be any different? And there are those darn side effects. We begin to wonder, "Is it worth it, after all?" We come on this Message Board and see that others who have been on the program as long as we have are reporting dramatic cuts in their drinking levels. Others who have been on The Sinclair Method for several months, and to whom we look for encouragement, are reporting episodes of problem drinking, or that their drinking level has hit a plateau, and they can't seem to get past it. Someone we buddied up with suddenly disappears without a trace. We suspect the worse - they've dropped out and are hitting the bottle heavily again. Our worst fear begins to dominate our thinking: am I going to be among the ones for whom this Method doesn't work? We see this thought reflected in the posts of others.
As this is being written, the Sinclair Method Message Board is less than 2-1/2 months old. Dr. Eskapa reports that the cure for alcoholism, using this method, is a 4-6 month long process - and there is even more addiction extinction that takes place during the following year+. Yet when we don't experience a near immediate release from craving and heavy drinking, we start to focus on the 'worst case scenario.' (I think that's the way our alkie brains tend to operate, yes?)
This is not a process that is always steady, or predictable. Much depends on our personal history, how long we have been addicted, how much alcohol we consume, what kind, and in what manner. Binge drinker? A 24/7 sipper? Get tipsy and fall into bed every evening? That will affect how the Method works. Your biological response to the Naltrexone will also affect how, and how fast, the Method works. Your personal drinking 'triggers' may take awhile to become extinguished. Your craving may go down, but your drinking habits still have you drinking more than you desire. Naltrexone + drinking = cure WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY STILL WORK FOR YOU IF YOU GIVE THE PROCESS THE TIME REQUIRED.
If you're still experiencing unpleasant side effects, be encouraged to know that nearly everyone reports a dramatic decrease, or end, to these side effects within the first several weeks. Most of us experience a spike in drinking a week or two into working TSM. This can last for several weeks. We've essentially given ourselves 'permission' to drink for the first time in a long time, so this shouldn't be surprising. Sometimes drinking levels decrease as expected, but then strong stress triggers that we hadn't yet dealt with while practicing the Method come into our lives - and our drinking suddenly goes temporarily out of control again. Perhaps we experience real progress for a few weeks, and have no problem drinking half as much as before. . .but that level stays the same for a month or more, and we know we're still not at a safe or moderate level of drinking, and wonder "Is this as good as it's going to get?"
I've closely watched the posts on this Message Board, and have come to the conclusion that it is rare when drinking levels consistently decline on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. For most of us, this is more like a roller coaster ride. We have times when drinking declines, and then there are dramatic spikes. Peaks and valleys are the norm, and not the exception. Often there seems to be little or no progress for 2 months or more, and then there's a sudden decrease in the desire to drink. The good news is, if we stay the course, and faithfully continue taking the naltrexone every time we plan to drink, there is about a 90% chance of this method succeeding. (This is taking into account the average 80% success rate observed via Dr. Sinclair's clinical trials, and the fact that approximately 10% of those who did not succeed failed to continue to take naltrexone while drinking.) Lab experiments using The Sinclair Method on rats are 100% effective - but then, the rats weren't given free choice in the matter!
So read this forum over when you're feeling doubtful and discouraged, and be encouraged. There's every reason in the world to believe that, if you stick with it, The Sinclair Method WILL free you from your addiction to alcohol!
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