It may be that you would have welcomed the idea from Rob, but since he realized he did get on some folks' nerves he didn't want to exacerbate any feelings that he might be trying to 'run' the board with his ideas, etc. That wasn't his goal - he just thought, from an objective POV, that a separate forum like this one would be very helpful to those experiencing various side effects, wondering if their experiences were normal, etc. I agreed. However, the proposal I made for this thread wasn't entirely RR's idea. . .it was the germ of his idea, that I elaborated on. I just felt guilty taking all the credit.

G4M: Okay, well it was a good idea no matter what the source and to the extent Robert played a part in it, he has my thanks.

LaBear, I have fairly often had several days Alc free in a row . I don't believe it's like starting over again with NAL and side effects . I just think the side effects diminish with time . Ihad very heavy tiredness i think for about a month . However if you take AF's in a row you may find your alcohol intake hits a spike , this is the famous ADE " Abstinence deprivation effect . See how it goes it's worth the initial agravation .

Gee thanks for the advise. I am a strange drinker I guess. I will go four or five days without and then drink too much/binge over a weekend and then maybe taper for a few days because of the hangover affect. In other words sometimes after a binge I will drink moderately for a day or two in a row and then stop. I am having a hard time with the idea of drinking when I really don't want to. Today I just didn't want to drink and am not. I will probably buy something tomorrow so that I can continue the method Maybe I am overthinking all of this.

La bear, It doesn't matter how often you drink. I don't drink everyday either. You just take the Naltrexone one hour before you drink anytime.. You don't take it if you don't drink. That is all. It still works that way and it is in the book by Dr Eskapa about the Sinclair method.

Potato, thanks so much for your reply. I have read many of your posts and you are one of the reasons I got the Rx for the Nal. You have inspired me to try this method along with a few others. Thanks again!

My pleasure. If there is anything at all I can answer for you I would be happy to do it. I definitely want anyone who worries that if they aren't drinking in a regular pattern to be aware that the method will help regardless. The whole thing is to stick to the rule of talking the pill one hour before imbibing. It won't feel like anything is happening for quite a while and then, for me anyways, it does. Hang in there and love yourself for your attempts to change something that brings you grief.

So down in the dumps because of the amount of Vodka I have had in the last two days. I think it was a mistake to switch from wine which I normally drink. Hope I can get out of this funk and follow this program. I really don't feel like drinking at all right now. Lots of other things going on in my life also at this time that are very stressful and that is playing into the problem also. This place is my lifeline right now. Everyone is so supportive. It is quite amazing to me.
Have always had to go it alone! What a nice change. Thanks to one and all for your kind responses.

Hi all and welcome Labear
just thought it would be a good time to pop in. I am on week 13 now. My path has been a little different to N101CS to whom I am grateful for the summary above. I have been a problem drinker for about 15yrs - strong psychological dependence. I have always worked in and around neuroscience and 6-7 yrs ago I could not see why naltrexone would not work. I tried at that time to find out about it and to find some ongoing clinical trials in UK (IOP to start off with). I also consulted a fairly clued up alcohol psychiatrist who told me that results were disappointing - and recommended 'talking therapy'. I then tried topamax 2 years ago and once above 100mg was zombified (although it did have an affect). I could not hack the cognitive and nausea effects of TPX so discontinued it. The alcohol problem continued and eventually - I revisited My Way Out and came accross the new Sinclair Method threads. The penny really dropped when I listened to Dr Sinclair himself - Im sure the link is on here somewhere - and he explained the CRUCIAL message of drinking while on Naltrexone. Of course the UK Psychiatrist was not going to tell me that and I had not thought of looking up the original work at the time. This recording is unbelieveably powerful. If you have not yet heard it - find it and listen to it carefully. I listened to it at least twice to get the full value from it.

So, how have I progressed? No side affects from naltrexone at all. My drinking escalated to a bottle and a half of wine/six days per week for two reasons for the first 10 weeks - 1) I gave myself permission to drink and 2) I was finally finishing up a thesis after 10 very painful years (its now 'done' at last). Unfortunately with the increased drinking I put up extra weight - which was a bummer for my business trip to a beautiful European city last week - walking round it nearly killed me! However, suddenly, in the middle of this trip, the naltrexone effect kicked in. Firstly the craving following a few drinks dropped - I could stop after a few drinks at dinner and not drink ALL the wine in the minibar. Then, 2 nights running I almost could not finish wine with dinner and NO wine from minibar. And then, on way home was not thinking about wine on way to airport, had one glass of wine at airport, had no wine on plane and none when I got home EVEN though there was plenty there to have. I think week 13 is the beginning for me. I expect things to rollercoaster from here - up and down, but I can honestly say there is a real change now. My thinking/compulsions/cravings have altered dramatically. I am looking forward to 'real' things rather than drinking.

I hope this encourages everybody.

Keep on going on

Camelia

Hi Camila, please do continue to post your thoughts, feelings and progress. I found your post very helpful as I am sure all who read it will! I will try to find that link you have mentioned. Please stay with us!