Strictly Sinclair Week 4

[SpringerRider]

Though most of us have migrated over to a new forum, thesinclairmethod.com • Index page I will keep this thread motif going for a while. Today starts week 4 for myself a some others.

I am doing better than I would have expected at this point. Since starting Nal, I have only drank to passing-out one time. That is so different from the norm that I feel like I am lkiving on another planet.

I seemed to have gotten benefits early on. I went from the proverbial pick cloud to a slight increade in drinking and then leveling off. I drink on average, 4 to 5 drinks/evening. I have left have full beers in the table and have gone to bed. IOWs, I drink like a non-addict.

If you are not drinking and are reading this, The Sinclair Method is intended for those who are currently drinking and find they have lost control over their drinking. Those who have done well with an abstinence based method - like AA - should continue what they are doing if it is working for them.

[startingover]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

Hi SR, I am glad you are keeping this thread going. I am not drinking any more and its working for me, but I know there are many like yourself, that find that impossible. So anyone that has ideas and experiences of "another way to beat this" is very welcome here. For me, I want to learn as much as I can about alcoholism and addiction so that I am informed if someone ever asks for my advice.

[A Work in Progress]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

Ditto what Starts said. I'll say again (and I wish she'd jump in and say it, herself!), I am betting that this kind of approach to alcohol abuse/dependence is something RJ herself would be very interested in, and supportive of. I wish y'all would stick around, become part of this community, and let us know how it's going, for you.

[Guest]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

SpringerRider;540725 wrote: Though most of us have migrated over to a new forum, thesinclairmethod.com • Index page I will keep this thread motif going for a while. Today starts week 4 for myself a some others.

I am doing better than I would have expected at this point. Since starting Nal, I have only drank to passing-out one time. That is so different from the norm that I feel like I am lkiving on another planet.

I seemed to have gotten benefits early on. I went from the proverbial pick cloud to a slight increade in drinking and then leveling off. I drink on average, 4 to 5 drinks/evening. I have left have full beers in the table and have gone to bed. IOWs, I drink like a non-addict.

If you are not drinking and are reading this, The Sinclair Method is intended for those who are currently drinking and find they have lost control over their drinking. Those who have done well with an abstinence based method - like AA - should continue what they are doing if it is working for them.

Hi, why was the new site started? I have been out of touch, but I do not understand why we were not staying here, just a question....

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

oceanaocean;541202 wrote: Hi, why was the new site started? I have been out of touch, but I do not understand why we were not staying here, just a question....

It is not a case of, "I am taking my ball and going home." As I had said in another post, I belive the other site was brought about for two or three distinct reasons, though I can only speak for myself.

The Sinclair Method is unique in that it calls for the compsumption of alcohol as part of its treatment. This is so counter intuitive that it can be offensive to certain members, especially those heavily entranched in AA. For those lamenting, "don't drink even if your ass falls off, and if it falls off, bring it to a meeting but don't drink", entertaining a treatment program that requires drinking demands mental gymnastics in beyond the pale.

But I think several of us will bounce around between both. Remember, we (or at least I) are drifting into uncharted territory. You may find me coming back here in a couple of months, screaming, ?Go back. Don?t go that way. Save yourself. They?re all dead!? But then again, it could end up as, ?come on in ? the water's fine?. I for one can?t say for sure what the outcome will be. I am a spectator as much as anyone else. I just have a little more invested in the race.

So I hope this is enough obfuscations for you all.

[A Work in Progress]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

SR, just to clarify: this is not an AA site or an AF site... far from it... we have lots of people working on moderate, or controlled consumption of alcohol here, some of them using medication to help with that, some not. The MWO program was originally designed to help people to be able to consume alcohol moderately OR to totally quit. You won't find a lot of people here who are "heavily entrenched in AA"!

[JohnR]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

I agree. I have not seen or experienced any hostility from any members of MWO. Sometimes I am up late at night chatting with AF (not necessarily AA) folks and no one has judged me in any way for my choice of the Sinclair Method. MWO is an extremely open community of people who all share a common thread and who choose various ways to deal with it. Different methods work for different people and I seriously doubt that MWO would shut us out and kick us off just because we have chosen a method that has provided amazing results for some of us. I for one have learned so much in such a short amount of time and the knowledge I have gained has allowed me to change my life.

MWO is an open, non-judgmental supportive community and I hope the friends that I have met in this forum will stick around.

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

Re-read my answer. I did not say that MWO was AA or judgemental though I have gotten a few judgemental replies and one scathing PM that thought I was the anti-christ. I am a big boy and can easily marginalize the extremes.

Look, I can only speak for myself. My belief is that The Sinclair method is unique enough that it could benefit from a site dedicated to its uniqueness. Also, Dr. Eskapa visits at the new site.

That does not preclude us from hanging out here does it? Or is there a site quota that one can participate in?

BTW - ya'll welcome over at that other place.

[A Work in Progress]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

SR I am sorry you have had negative responses from some. And, of course there is no quota! John and I were just responding to what you were saying about how the "Sinclair Method" would be a problem for "hard core AA" types. We are not that way, here. From your earlier message, I thought perhaps you had gotten the wrong idea about how this site works.

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

startingover;540783 wrote: Hi SR, ... but I know there are many like yourself, that find that impossible.

Actually, I think this is a matter of choice. My trek through sobriety started March 4th, 1982. Since then, I had obtained stretches of sobriety from two to 12 years. Of its entirety, I have probably been alcohol free for more then 20 years. Only once did I feel compelled to drink which was after a six month white knuckle run. But every other time, it was a volitional choice.

If anything, I would say my enemy is ego. I have never liked having to entertain clients (something I do very often), and sit there and watch them drink, on my expense account, no less, while I am drinking Sprite. Even though I knew the advantage of my customer becoming lubricated while I maintain my total wits.

Sidebar ? I have gone into a club on more than one occasion and have pre-tipped the waitress, telling her, "no matter what I order, bring me nothing but Iced Tea". The next morning I would be awarded bragging rights of ?drinking them all under the table? while they were signing contracts.

An addiction is like a pebble is your shoe. You find a way to make it comfortable to walk and someway isolate it, but it is always there. It never goes away. At best, it hides in the hollow of your sole. But one misstep and you find yourself, tripping, stumbling and slipping.

Few talk about it and some attack the mention of it, but Bill Wilson had a few slips with alcohol in his later years. Unless extinguished, it never goes away.

Sadly, addictions are not given even merit. Tell someone you quit smoking 17 years ago and you are a hero. Say that you are alcoholic and have not drank for 15 years, and you will be regarded differently. What is the difference? At lunch some people may ask your permission to drink. A new employee may be warned that you are ?an alcoholic? so "watch what you say". If you had ever sought medical treatment for alcoholism, in my state, you would need a special dispensation from the court (often denied) for a concealed carried weapons permit (CCW). No one asked about my smoking habits. I am not wallowing in self-pity that I am being maligned for my alcohol addictioin. I have outrgrown that some years ago. But if you let someone know you are alcoholic, even in recovery, it will subtlely become an adjective to describe you.

I contend that it is the addiction that is the enemy and not the substance, be it nicotine, moraphine or alcohol. That is the arena where I have waged my war.

I will be honest, this last few years have scared me in that I was drinking in a way that I had not before. I moved to hard liquor. I could have returned to AA and gotten off that. But then I discovered the Sinclair Method as if it was waiting for me. It is the addiction that I am seeking to remove. At this point, I believe extinction of additions are possible. I believe that a person can be restored to a non-addicted drinker. Future drinking is not what is important. What is important is that I don?t ever want to feel compelled to drink again.

In a few months, I may decide that I don't want to drink anymore. The trand seems to be leading that way. But what will be different is that if I choose to, I won't be re-lighting the addiction fires. As long as I take Naltrexone, they will remain extinguished.

[nancy]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

Just want to point out, what these people are doing with the Sinclair Method is somewhat similar to how topamax is used. Roberta had a drinking problem and found a drug that allowed her to still drink but not to excess. It's the cornerstone of this program. But of course the the program also includes hypno and supplements, and support on this site. Regardless of those few scathing PMs, her website to me shows openness to all kinds of medications that come along, including baclofen and naltrexone.

It's true you won't find many entrenched in AA here though there will be a few who are entrenched in abstinence as the only solution, mainly because they think moderation always fails or fails for most and it's dangerous for them to start thinking that it might be possible. It's a problem that comes up on the threads for those trying to moderate a lot (visitors coming in and saying it won't work).

I am still glad you are here!

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

A Work in Progress;541627 wrote: SR I am sorry you have had negative responses from some. And, of course there is no quota! John and I were just responding to what you were saying about how the "Sinclair Method" would be a problem for "hard core AA" types. We are not that way, here. From your earlier message, I thought perhaps you had gotten the wrong idea about how this site works.

Hey, I am all for kicking it around. Keeps me honest. And you do ask intelligent questions. This forum thing is pretty new to me. I have never belonged to one before except for an occasion question on a programming site. So forgive me is I make contradictory implications. I have to keep in mind that everything I said here, stays here. Sometimes I think and feel one way one day but differently the next. This is an evolving process and I reserve the right to update my opinion.

Tis a strange thing, these forums... but I think I am havin fun.

[JohnR]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

What I loved most when I discovered MWO was that it was NOT an AA site but rather a community dedicated and open to all treatment options. That is how I learned about various methods that I previously had not known existed. I was so intrigued, I read and absorbed as much knowledge as I could and was left with a relief that I had alternatives to AA. I decided I would try Sinclair first and if that did not work, I would try another drug therapy or something else. My point is that I had options and without options, I would be nowhere near where I am today. A month without a hangover is one of my proudest personal accomplisments and I have MWO to thank for that.

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

Don't get me wrong. AA has a wonderful 12 step program and has helped gazillions of people get and stay sober. Their program is also an excellent basis for self-discovery and self-acceptance. Having said that, AA has its downside for some in that they are not open to the possiblilty of other modalities of recoverry.

But since they operate as a spiritual program that is easy to understand. I mean, why would God dilly-dally with another sobriety method wench he has set up one. That is the problem with anyone who claims to have the validation of God. You elbow all other learning to the side.

Your mileage may differ!

[lenaleed]

Strictly Sinclair Week 4

Hey all -- We Sinclair types are still here w/ our MWO friends -- It's been made quite clear we're still welcome. Having started this thread, I felt responsible for others who were getting the negative pm's and such but let's put that all in the past and get back to work, shall we?

We've got a lot of work to do at the new site with far more info than would be practical to post on this site so please visit us often. Drop in and say "Hey" as so many of you have.

For anyone who has not yet read this article, it's a must-read.

Naltrexone: can a pill cure alcoholism? - Times Online