"a shill site for nal producers" -- that's pretty funny. It's a non-patented, cheap drug used by a small handful of people. It's almost charitable that anyone even makes it. Still, I hear the despair in your voice and am not sure what to say.

There is a very good book by Stanton Peele about fixing addiction problems. His point is that you need to take charge of your own issues, and not rely on something like a pill, or a program, or other peoples advice.

If you go to his website, there is a good written description of what he's talking about, that can be read in about 20 minutes. Www.peele.net

There's no BS there, he's a smart guy that spent a lifetime working with addictions, and he has a good handle on what works. His points are excellent, and not something you're likely to hear from most therapists.

The part to read is called "Stantons 40 year addiction scorecard"

goatbeard, when you were here before, I don't remember your response to the argument that you're one of the supposed 20% for which Naltrexone has no effect. If, after so long with zero results, why do you keep using it? Just curious.

Hi Mag, Hi Mel

You know I can't say that I feel that much differently compared to pre TSM treatment. Every day around 4 pm the cravings kick in, then when I get home from work the drinking starts. I can say that sometimes after about 3 beers I find the taste disgusting, but you know what? I think that might have something to do with the beer I was drinking. Seriously. Where I live there are hundreds if not thousands of different beer types. I like to mix them up a bit, partly out of my interest in the tastes of different brews, but primarily out of the shame of buying beer every day at the same place, encountering the same person etc. etc. etc.

Another thing is that I've taken an SSRI for the past 2 years... Maybe the two don't mix? I dunno...

Mel you might very well be right in that the opioid connection isn't the dominant player in my own addiction.

Maybe the auxilliary help from seeing a shrink will help me. I understand that is the method used in Finland: Nal plus psychotherapy. My shrink seems to think that detox is the way to go, but (a) I'm not convinced and (b) I've probably convinced myself that I'm not convinced so that I can continue drinking.

Sigh....

Alcohol....

Bloody Hell....

Hi Guapo, Hi Barry

Thanks for the info Guapo, I will check that out. After reading the cure, I was convinced it would work with only pharmacotherapy. That's the impression that I got from reading The Cure.... But I do think that some self discipline is also required. The problem with me is that I just drink. That's all I do. I never really had a hobby or any other interest to fill in the times that would otherwise lead to consumption. So I get drunk instead. It's stupid I know and I am rational enough to see that it is stupid, but I do it anyway. I guess for that reason I had hoped that the TSM would work for me. Barry, I have so often read that sometimes it takes a given individual upwards to 2 years before extinction occurs. My doctor is supportive and agreed to continue the regimen, especially since there aren't really any health risks involved other than continued drinking.

On a side note. I saw that some other people were reporting a loss of appetite. I CAN CONCUR. Holy cow, I go to a restaurant now and eat half of the plate and just push the rest around with my fork. It just doesn't look appetizing AT ALL.

Anyway, thanks for the support all. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.

G'night!

"That's all I do." That seems odd to me. Don't you have people you live with, relationships, a job / career? I don't know if I mentioned this last time, but you'd be a good candidate for manosphere writings (pro-male self-improvement) such as Rational Male by Rollo Tomassi and websites like rationalmale.wordpress.com, returnofkings.com, artofmanliness.com, etc... Sitting around drinking all the time is simply wasting your life and there's SO MUCH any man can do to occupy their time for the next 200 years without drinking.

We were asking about your experience of drinking after taking a naltrexone. Does it feel different than drinking NOT on naltrexone? If it doesn't, TSM will not work.

If you are drinking for a reward that is not mediated by the opioid system, such as GABA, then Campral or high-dose baclofen are probably better options. There is also a serotonin receptor antagonist (odansetron) that may work better for you.

I think that Eskapa's claim that TSM works for 90% of compliant people is unsupported, and even if it's true, it doesn't sound like it's working for you. That doesn't mean you're out of options! I suggest getting a copy of Olivier Ameison's book The End of My Addiction and sharing it with your doctor. Ameison was a physician and "hopeless" alcoholic who discovered the use of high-dose baclofen to treat alcoholism. You might be the type (i.e. have the physiology) to benefit more from that.

I hope you find something that works, Goat, and I hope you'll continue to keep us posted. I know what you're going through. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it further.

I don't know that this is true for everybody. I wish I had kept a diary of my experiences, but I remember that I didn't feel particularly different at first. I noticed dim signs that my desire to drink was going down, but I was knocking back what I did drink with my usual gusto.

Of course, I ultimately decided I needed to up my dosage, and that was when I got the real results--maybe I was getting enough reinforcement at first that it was business as usual as far as my conscious mind was concerned.

If you drink fast enough, you won't really notice any difference with naltrexone because you drink through it.

For me, when I slowed the drinking down and paused, that's when I found I wasn't enjoying it, but with drinking fast, that was all out the window and right back to my normal high intake.

I suppose even now, if I drink fast enough, it wouldn't make much difference, but I just don't, so it works very well.