I didn't know where to put this so for now it can go here.

I've been AF (alcohol free = zero alcohol) for well over 19 months now, prior to that I did over 27 months of TSM which included 21 months past cure point where I drank within government guidelines and often didn't drink any alcohol for weeks at a time.

I have however had some problem with chocolate binges and I have heard TSM can be used with eating problems because endorphins are released when foods such as chocolate are consumed. I have tried Naltrexone a couple of times with junk food/chocolate but not regularly enough in my opinion (if we work on the same principle of de and re addicition as TSM).

So this week I decided to have another go, in lieu of finding any Naltrexone I decided to order Selincro from a real UK online pharmacy. The Selincro arrived very quickly (next day delivery), and yesterday I felt in danger of a chocolate binge (basically if I eat the stuff I rarely stop!)......so I took 1 x 18mg Selincro.

All I can say is that I was floored by the effects. I'd forgotten that I'd taken it because a friend came around - which is another thing I'm doing to try and combat the binge eating. I suddenly felt as if my head and shoulders had been stuck in a vice, and spun around a few times. Nausea, disorientation, and I also appeared a bit drunk and giggly at times. I was definitely detached. I looked at the clock and sure enough it was approximately 1 hour since I took the tablet.

If this is what Selincro feels like then I'd rather not drink and not eat chocolate. I even felt it this morning, and a quick check and I can see it's half-life (time for drug in the body to drop to 50% dose) is over 10 hours.

I was actually really scared at one point.

There are however a couple of important things I'd like to point out, these are;

I have not used alcohol or any other mind altering drug for years, I won't use benzos and avoid anything that could be habit forming or make me feel not 'me'. Caffiene is the only drug I take via coffee and chocolate and I control that most of the time (apart from during chocolate binges).

I have also undergone a lot of self-awareness work and training, including body-felt sense stuff, and I am a good level athlete used to being in touch with my different muscle groups and body as a whole.

So I am probably highly sensitive to any change, in fact I would say I definitely am. I also do not have all the negatives of alcohol in my life, so I am not used to feeling 'off'. I'm am always AF, so there's nothing to get better!

I was still floored by it and I didn't drink alcohol and I didn't binge. I've even walked through a place selling lots of junk food and not even been interested because I feel so sick. I have done my athletic training, was fine during, performed well, but afterwards felt terrible.

I cannot wait until Selincro is out of my body and I am so, so glad I have gotten through TSM with alcohol so I don't have to use Selincro.

I do not want to put anyone off using Selincro if they have an alcohol issue, but I did want to throw my one-off experience into the mix. I don't think it's fair not to.

Hi UK Blonde - I take Selincro and that was my reaction to the drug the first time I took it. I felt like I wanted to lie down and die. I felt horrific (you can see my description at the beginning of my weekly progress thread). However, after a week of taking it I no longer have any real side affects from it.

On the appetite side, I have noticed a real drop in my ability to eat in the evening after taking Selincro. Having always cleared my plate in the past, I rarely can these days. After a few mouthfuls of my meal I feel full up and disinterested in eating any more. Unfortunately, I haven't lost any weight, because I seem to make up for it during the day.

However, this is an interesting subject for me. I have been taking Selincro for nearly four months now and because of the cost of it am considering changing to Naltrexone. I wonder what everyone's opinion is of that? Would it work in the same way if I just start taking 50 mg of Naltrexone instead of Selincro. Does anyone know what the difference is between the two drugs?

Thanks Snap,

Yes I felt pretty much the same as you did, absolutely rotten.

I was quite distressed by the effects, now wondering if I should buy some Naltrexone instead.

UK, it's kind of funny, because I was just reading some article about a new hypothesis that people only have a limited amount of self-control. If they "give up" one thing, they often take on another or increase another previous habit. Smokers become overeaters, overeaters become smokers, drinkers become sugarholics, etc... I'm not too sure about the whole idea, but I would say that I'm still struggling with certain addictions (albeit much more minor than my previous one).

Still, I don't see the value of Selincro when it comes to food issues (e.g. binge eating). I guess the only advantage is that it has a longer half life, but that doesn't seem to be very useful with binge eating (correct me if I'm wrong). It just seems like you would just have to muster up the willpower to take a good ol' Naltrexone pill and then have a planned binge one hour later. Do that again and again for awhile, and the urge to binge should be gone. Selincro seems to be more for the reduction-of-craving use of Naltrexone versus the extinction.

I'm with you on the dislike of a drugged feeling that ANY drug gives you (esp. a not good feeling like Nal does for me). Caffeine makes me sharper, so I don't really consider that a drugged feeling.

Two things:

Snap, I think Naltrexone works just great, tried Selincro but had horrific side effects consisting of bad dreams. It was also considerably more expensive.

As Far as the substitute addiction, I started inhaling chocolate, taking a whole bag of Hershey's miniatures to work every time I went !! I quit doing that about six weeks ago, now I just inhale an occasional lump of chocolate, but only from time to time.

Things turned around well (after TSM success) regarding self-control in general, and I'm not finding it difficult to avoid the daily chocolate, once I got away from it.

Barry's idea of fasting every day from 8 PM until noon the next day sounded awful, but I gave it a try and it works well

There is still some time to fill (formerly with EtOH), but that's getting better over time. Replacing Alcohol with exercise etc is a good new addiction of sorts

I have taken half a tablet twice in the last 10 days,and felt mild side effects, but not as bad as the first full one. I have also reported the side effects to the UKs yellow card scheme, which is place where information on side effects of medicines are collated.

Took half didn't feel many side effects, and had about 1/3 of another pill, so probably 3/4s of a full one. I am feeling the side effects, and have just stopped trying to eat a load of chocolate. I got most of the way through a for me smallish (but still big for most people) quantity of it, then just felt woozy, spacey and as if it doesn't taste of anything. I now want to go to bed. I don't know if it's the side effect of Selincro, or Selincro doing it's stuff.

Spacey feeling and tingly hands is the Selincro!

I took a full Selincro Friday.

The problem with using it with eating binges is that it's really difficult to take it on a full stomach. It's sort of a chicken and egg thing, if I've already 'started' then I've not blocked the endorphins from the initial bites of the junk food. I also like to be hungry before I have my binge, I sort of time it and leave a gap between meals around to get that hunger. By this I don't mean I starve myself, I just hang around pre-empting it.

Anyway I took the pill just as I started on the chocolate, so no hour wait but I was munching all night so might have blocked later stuff.

Selincro is still making me slurry and feel wierd. For me it's a bit like being drunk, or at least how I remember it!

The tingling on the back of my wrists and hands is also strange. The effects last for the best part of 24 hours, during which time I feel depressed.

It's enough to put me off the whole thing, perhaps that's a good thing!

UK blonde you are so brave tackling this addiction now too. I hope the Selincro works for you. I have often thought that the food addictions are way more tough than alcohol because you CANNOT just choose to go without food you have to manage it. Hugs to you,

New life

I have continued taking Selincro when I eat what I call binge-type foods. I use it when I eat out which is once a week because although I choose fairly healthily a meal with bread, sauces, flavours and chocolate anywhere near can be a trigger for me.

It has made the food taste bland, so I can see this wouldn't be for everyone BUT as with my alcohol problem, I was suffering with a serious problem and losing my taste for food is worth fixing that and worth saving my health for. I hate the feeling I get when I'm overeating, I feel sick, and balloon up. I'm also using my partners presence to stop me and that is also working, plus he's happy that he gets to see me more. He hadn't been aware of how much of the food behaviours I'd been hiding from him.

Selincro seems to be working in a 'it's not going to give me the hit or taste intensity that I want so it's not worth it' way, and to be honest Selincro makes me feel so sh*t I'd rather not take it which means I'd rather not binge.

Aversion therapy?

Still booze free and hoping I can crack this eating thing before Selincro does my head in.

Still makes me feel woozy, slurry, miss my words and gives me a dulled pallette.

UKB - I am sorry for what you are going through but so proud of you for continuing to battle it even with the ghastly SE's of Selincro ....I have no experience with what you are going through or ideas on how to help you - I wish there was something I could offer - all I have are words to say that I am here if you want to vent/talk or bounce ideas off of - there used to be a product called Sweetenders that made anything sweet taste awful but they stopped making it years ago - I checked this morning and it isn't even on Google anymore.

I wish you all the best with this - I think it must be soul destroying to be able to sort the AL problem only to have your life taken over by this ....

Hugs, Maggie xx