I apologize that this is my first post, and I am sort of jumping right into a great many things here, but I am beginning to grow desperate, and I would like to seek everyone's advice on something, seeing as many of the users of this forum have likely had similar issues to mine.

I am 26 years old, and I have been struggling with an addiction to alcohol for approximately 5 years now, although I had also been a habitual user of cannabis beginning shortly before that. I have been in and out of different treatment programs, most of them outpatient, one of them residential. I was unable to achieve total abstinence until March of 2014 (July 19th will be my 16 months' sobriety day, hurrah).

Now, for the scary part. My cravings, since a mere three months after achieving sobriety, have been all but uncontrollable. I say "all but" uncontrollable since, obviously, I have been able to control these cravings to whatever degree required not to follow through. Nonetheless, I cannot stop thinking about it, and more often than not, I will even have cravings so bad that I will actually get a headache from them. No matter what time of day or night, I simply can't stop thinking about it.

At first, people said, "don't worry, the cravings start to fade after 90 days." Then, "oh, the first six months are the hardest." And you guessed it; "things will finally start to calm down after the first year." This, too, shall pass; don't worry, they usually only last 15 minutes and then they go away; play out the tape; don't be trapped by euphoric recall; you're so much better off now that you're sober; try to pray and ask your higher power for help; yes, this is all excellent advice, but no such advice puts even the most miniscule damper on my roaring cravings.

Traditional practical and medical wisdom would dictate that I try to remain sober, and I understand that. As hard as it is to deal with now, I can't imagine it being any easier to deal with if I became an active drinker and/or smoker again. That being said, I cannot get the cravings out of my head; they are growing louder and more prominent every day, and have been for countless months, no matter what I do. Seeing a therapist, going to meetings, reaching out to friends, and all of the physical activities and daily routine of a typical college-aged male are yet unable to shake this.

Yes, I have also tried prayer and meditation, and I am constantly trying to channel my higher power; I hold onto the belief that things will be okay, and that I will overcome this, but as I said, the cravings simply will not go away. Even when they do, it's never for longer than an hour before they're back again, and even stronger than before.

I want to try to drink with Naltrexone, so that perhaps my brain may finally dissociate the feeling of euphoria with alcohol, and I might finally stop craving this so. Then again, if I don't, I worry that, although I will try to stay sober for as long as possible, I will eventually snap (i.e. relapse), whether or not Naltrexone is accessible if and when that happens.

TL;DR. I'm 16 months sober, but my cravings are getting worse and worse. Should I try Naltrexone and the Sinclair Method?

Welcome. I can feel your pain by reading your post. I am really new to TSM and hope that some of the more experienced people will chime in. I just wanted to encourage you. Everyone recc. getting the book and I know I need to get that. I was luck to find a doctor that was knew about TSM and was happy to help me. My short periods of sobriety were the most miserable times of my life. I hated everything and everyone. I hope that you can find some an answer. Do you have a good doctor that can help you out?

Welcome, OsborneCox, so sorry for what you are going through. Look at how strong you have been not to rink with cravings like that!!

I think everyone here would tell you to stay sober if you can.

That said, I cannot see how it would hurt to find a dr, get some nal, and be prepared to start TSM if you do relapse.

I have been taking nal for more than four months. I still have cravings, though. But others have had more success and faster. Hopefully they will chime in.

Keep posting, we really do care.

Hugs to you from Newlife

Get some nal and try it. Your receptors are freaking out. The nal will go straight to the receptors and calm them. Don't force yourself to drink if the cravings are gone after taking it. It should give you some relief.

First step: Get the book and read it in its entirety. You should go directly to the source to have the maximum amount of knowledge before making any type of decision.

Well done on 16 months, that's amazing!

My advice would be if you can stay sober, stay sober. If you relapse then do use Nal/TSM but don't use that as an excuse to drink.

The 16 months sober speaks worlds about your self discipline and your desire to live a better life. Personally the times that I have tried abstinence were for the most part the flip side of the same coin. Instead of looking for places to get a drink, I would look to avoid places where I expected or use to drink. I would be distracted by the cravings and the rest so much, that it took so much from my everyday. I went from definining myself as an alcoholic to defining myself as someone "trying" not to drink. I understand your pain. I could never tell someone who has made it as far as you and hasn't picked up a drink, to start, even with Nal. The only thing I could suggest was try taking the medicine to see how you feel. Try taking it and working through the mental process of realizing you will get nothing from taking a drink.