This, too, depends. Does drinking feel the same? If so, my guess (only a guess) would be that the dose of naltrexone isn't high enough. Everybody should at least notice when the opioid effect is blocked.

If drinking feels different but the level of drinking doesn't decrease, that's when I'd start wondering about the person being trained to a reward other than euphoria.

Wishing you the best if you go on the air today! You can do it.

I can't wait to hear how it went!

We're still on for tonight.

http://gagordernetwork.com/

http://ashleybottoms.wix.com/bottomsupafd

The show begins at 7:00 EST, although I won't be on until 8:00.

I'll post a link to the podcast afterwards.

It wasn't bad, but it could have been better.

I didn't get out as much information as I wanted because I had to spend a surprising amount of time clearing up some basic misconceptions. Aside from the usual AA-based "you must abstain" stuff, the host was under the impression that there was some sort of central TSM base where I had to apply to become a patient. This persisted a long time, with questions about how I "contacted them" and how long it took for me to "be accepted" for TSM and such. It took longer than I would have thought to get through that.

Today, in the best tradition of esprit d'escalier, I realized that I should have made an analogy to the Atkins diet -- yeah, it's named after somebody, but that doesn't mean you have to go be the client of somebody working for Atkins. Most people have heard of the Atkins diet, so that probably would have worked better than trying to explain it the long way around.

It was good to realize that that misconception exists. What with one thing and another, I can see how somebody would get that idea. I'll probably work up a blog post on that.


EDIT:

Whoops, I forgot to include the link to the podcast.

http://www.hulkshare.com/appetitefordiscussion/bottoms-up-afd-07-09-2014

Brilliant job, Melissa! The hosts were obnoxious, but you were very articulate and did very well handling the misconceptions and succinctly describing the method. It's too bad that they weren't interested in a more substantive discussion. I'm sure you helped a lot of people who had never heard about naltrexone or how to effectively use it.

I have to say that it was super annoying how hung up on the Claudia Christian thing the main host was. I had no idea she was our spokesperson! Wait, I still have no idea who she is.

LOL, yeah, that's kinda my reaction. She's an actress, but I've never seen any of her work. Maybe I should, since she speaks for us.

I basically wanted to communicate the gist of how it works and how someone could get more information. I hope I succeeded at that. If one radio personality's grudge against one actress helps get the word out, I'll take what I can get.

Applause! I thought you did a great job considering. Especially proud of you for offering to take emails from anyone who was curious or needed help. Hope you are giving yourself credit for such a loving gesture. Imho, it was a very awesome thing to attempt and accomplish. Wtg.....

Many of us speak from our own experience of needing a long treatment period before we saw results. I didn't perceive any difference drinking on naltrexone for a very long time, even when I increased my dose, although I did notice myself drinking less and less often. Today I'm kind of puzzled as to why I ever found drinking so pleasurable. Sometimes it really takes time.

I agree that the one-size-fits-all approach is not helpful. Absent a validated genetic screening protocol, though, I think it makes sense to urge people to try (and not quickly abandon) a treatment that is known to be successful in at least some patients.

I was a huge fan of Babylon 5 in college (it hasn't aged well, but it was the best televised SF of its time), and it was her endorsement that led me to finally pay attention to this Sinclair thing I'd heard a couple of things about. So she's increasing awareness at least a little. I could imagine a better spokesperson, of course; her reputation has never quite been stellar.

e: And Melissa, I'm listening to you right now and I have to say that you're an incredible advocate--you're so poised, knowledgeable, and articulate. I imagine there's always something more that can be said, but I don't think anyone could have done it better.