I finally managed to speak to the doctor in charge of the Alcoholism department of a university hospital in my country (not USA), he is interested in TSM and asked me to send him some information before meeting me and considering me as a guinea pig at the hospital. He had never heard of it before.

I really don't want to mess this up and I want to get my presentation of TSM right so I could really do with your help!!

I was thinking of sending

1. A brief scientific introduction - But which one???

2. A link to " A Cure for Alcoholism"

3. A link to this site.

4. A link to the list of trials - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10

There is one thing I am reluctant about and that is the word "cure" people just don't take me seriously when I use that word...

What do you think? All thoughts and suggestions welcome!

Thanks in advance.

Curi

Sounds like you're on great track, and I bet Nick will throw in on this too. Bless you for your efforts on this.

You know, I'm not crazy about the "cure" word either, but I think it's accurate for a lot of people on this program. If I were to retitle the book for gaining professional advocacy, though, I think I would go somewhere along the lines of "Eliminating alcohol consumption related problems in individuals by normalizing alcohol pleasure response with Naltrexone". Hmm, not much of a ring. But personally, I don't like the word "alcoholism" and not crazy about "cure"...but I don't know much about making books catch people's eyes either!

I would start by showing articles from the most credible papers, the New York and London Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 484285.ece

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... one&st=cse

Then I would cite the studies. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10

And this is a good explanation of TSM:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11

And so is this:

http://www.thesinclairmethod.com/downlo ... sm-Ch1.pdf

I would be happy to add my personal success story by telephone. If you want, I can give you my phone number.

I would say people regain control of their drinking as opposed to "cure" -- "cure" is a non-starter for most people who have never heard of TSM.

Great job and good luck! Keep us updated!

Cheers Cat and Nick!

I really want to make a good first impression. My introductory mail and info package will be addressing doctors and psychiatrists specialising in alcoholism and addictology, so I really need something scientific, what I've found so far is more aimed at the general public, yet I seem to remember reading more scholarly articles on here somewhere, but I can't seem to find them... I'll keep looking.

Having said that, they do know and use Naltrexone already, so I guess TSM isn't that complicated to explain once I'm talking to people who already know what an opioid receptor antagonist is, right?

I need a good concise description that will grab their interest without it sounding like a sales pitch... I don't want to go to them telling them about this amazing "cure for alcoholism", but rather, I want to approach them with the information and studies, the facts, and ask them if they think it's plausible, if they think that it might work, this way, I will be stroking their egos ;0). I suspect the tone of Eskapa's book and the salesspeak he uses is what has made the medical and addictions professionals somewhat sceptical, but I could be wrong...

Nick, I'll certainly mention that you are available to testify, thanks a million!

Curi

http://www.contral.com/english.html

=) Helsinki

I think this is wonderful. I would hesitate to use the word cure as well especially given my experiences when I reduced my dosage to 25mgs my craving levels started to creep up. As far as Im concerned I have control of my alcoholism as long as I take my meds pretty much the same as any other disease. I cant wait to hear how you get on and good for you for sticking your neck out. Im not sure I would have the courage

When trying to persuade someone with a presentation, I always start out with some 'big picture' numbers:

For your country (if it's UK I can elp) find out:

# of alcoholics or heavy drinkers
annual cost to the healthcare system of treating alcoholism

Long term succes of AA = 5 to 8%
Long term success of TSM = 78%.

Extrapolate thee figures to show the impact TSM can have over a 10 year period on alcoholism in your country...:

Hi Helsinki, Mario and Andy,

Thank you for your posts and your encouragement and links!!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I sent my mail and links and I'm waiting for a reply....

I sent the following links with a short explanation about the utilisation of Naltrexone with TSM, (they already know what an opiate antagonist is, far better than I do.) If any of you feel that I should have sent something else please feel free to tell me.

Nick, I gave your username and said that you were available if they wanted to talk to you, thank you once again!!

Curi

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... one&st=cse

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 484285.ece

http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-W ... 1933771550 (Book)

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6 (excerpt of book)

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10 (list of research on Naltrexone)

index.php (this forum's home page)

http://www.contral.com/english.html (Clinic in Helsinki)

A few clinical studies:

http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/1/2.full

http://journals.lww.com/psychopharmacol ... ior.6.aspx

http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=7449

http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.c...481-9/abstract

After sending several emails and phoning a few times I finally got an answer today from the head of the Alcoholism department of my local university hospital.

"We do not prescribe Naltrexone according to the Sinclair protocol"

full stop

I wrote back and literally pleaded with him to read up about it, we'll see if he answers.

By coincidence I also spoke to my own doctor about Naltrexone today. I asked him why every doctor on the planet is not prescribing it. His answer was that, to his mind, an alcoholic is someone who would likely not take the Naltrexone on a continual basis, he would invariably want to catch a bigger buzz or would encounter something emotionally difficulty that would make him want to "forget". According to him, TSM is working for me (remains to be seen) and for people on this site either because we are not true alcoholics i.e. not having neat vodka as an eyeopener or because we do not have other mental health problems that would interfere with the method. He said that although thinking is changing as per treatment of alcoholism, i.e. moderation management etc... the psychological factors are too important to just prescribe Naltrexone and leave it at that...

What are your thoughts on this?


Edit:

Ha! it seems that grovelling works!! He just replied to my plea and said that the method looks interesting at first glance and that he would look into it further and answer me in a few weeks

There isn't a single member on this board -- or dare I say alcoholic period -- who does not have substantial mental health issues. I think it's safe to say that mental health issues drive every alcoholic to drink too much in the first place. But the notion that alcoholism is irrevocably intertwined with mental health issues is FALSE. I am still a neurotic. But now I'm a neurotic WHO DOESN'T DRINK 20 DRINKS IN ONE NIGHT thanks to TSM. These so-called professionals make me want to scream. It's mind-boggling to me how little they know about the realities of alcoholism.