I went into a treatment centre on the 13th August and came out 24th.

I started Naltexone, 25mg for 4 days then 50mg. I followed a libruim detox in the centre.

I feel like I am having to relearn everything, very strange feelings. Safer in the centre but I can go back on a daily basis for the next 4 weeks while im still off work.

I was given a leaflet about Naltrexone, but nobody has said anything about living while taking it. I have been on antabuse and know about those risks.

Would appreciate any help.

Sarah

Sarah, check out the "Frequently Asked Questions" section that Q has put together, found here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3041. Cruise around the other sections as well.

In a nutshell, for the Naltrexone to be effective, you must take it at least an hour before you drink---without exception. And, try to get your hands on Dr. Roy Eskapa's book, "The Cure for Alcoholism". I found it on Kindle, using my iPad.

If you are NOT drinking, then there is no need to take the Naltrexone. It only works it's magic in combination with alcohol, if you are drinking, or if you ever start drinking again.

Most of the activity here is in the Weekly Progress forum....check all these out.

Cheers.

Hi Sarah and welcome back!

I saw that you wrote in another post that your doctor said that TSM is American. This is not quite right, Dr. Sinclair is indeed American but most of the TSM research and work is done in Norway. I would strongly recommend that you download and read Dr. Eskapa's book The Cure for Alcoholism. This book describes in great detail how The Sinclair Method works, why we should do it as opposed to abstinence and references all the scientific studies done.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cure-Alcoholi ... alcoholism

All abstinence based treatments have a 5 to 15 % success rate, that's horribly low! The Sinclair Method has a scientifically proven 78% success rate! That's fantastically high.

The Sinclair Method involves the use of an opiate antagonist called Naltrexone in conjunction with normal drinking habits, in order to decrease craving and quantity of alcohol consumed, over time. It relies upon a mechanism called Pharmacological Extinction, which works by blocking the positive reinforcement effects of alcohol-triggered endorphins in the brain. Basically, when we drink, your brain produces endorphins, these endorphins 'teach' us that drinking (or any endorphin producing activity like sport, sex or holding a baby) is a good thing to do and should be repeated, the endorphins reinforce the activity. But of course in the case of abusive drinking it is not wise to repeat the activity so we don't want to reinforce it, we want to extinguish it.

You take 50 mg of Naltrexone 1 hour before you drink, always! The Naltrexone will block the release of endorphins when you drink, making it a less enjoyable experience, therefore 'teaching' the brain that it is not an activity that should be repeated. Over time, you drink less and less often, and cravings for alcohol decrease.

However, taking Naltrexone when you don't drink is not useful as you are blocking endorphins from other pleasurable activities. The taking of Nal needs to be aimed at the activity one wants to control, for some it's sex or over eating or gambling, for us here on this forum it's alcohol.

Read the book, it's an easy read, Dr. E does a great job of explaining the mechanism in layman's terms, we don't need to be biochemists to understand the theory. IT would be great if your councilor/doctor could read it too, that way she is on board with you.

Having said all that, the fact that you are currently abstinent is beneficial. I think it will help you if you decide to try TSM. But whatever you decide to do,

Do NOT drink alcohol without taking 50 mg of Naltrexone 1 hour before you drink, this is the Golden Rule!

If you drink without Nal you will go through Alcohol Deprivation Effect (ADE) and will binge on alcohol like a woman who was in the dessert without water for 48 hours. Never, ever drink without taking Nal!

Good luck and let us know how you get on and what you decide to do.

Curi