Strictly Sinclair Followers

[SpringerRider]

LenaLeed started the Strictly Sinclair series to provide a place for Sinclarians to post their progress using the Sinclair Method. We were advancing it every week but that proved to be cumbersome in that people were hopping on the Sinclair train at different stations.

We hope and encourage everyone to check into this thread when they want to report on their progress. We don't care where you are in your journey. You are welcome to log in here and tell us about it.:welcome:

[bloggy]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

I am bumping this up, because SR thinks that the weekly threads on the Sinclair Method are confusing, ie Week 1, week 2 etc, as new folk might think they should be on the thread depending on which week they are on, rather than the week we are on (see it IS confusing!) so this thread is where anything to do with the Sinclair method should be posted to keep things in order? Rather than lots of different threads? (I hope I am right SR?!!)

[aurora borialis]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Hi All, I can see how the weekly threads could be confusing to some depending on how thet interpret that. I am checking in. I was 4 months Sinclair on Feb 6th. I have had one evening since of 3 glasses of red wine and 2 beer. Of course I took my Nal one hour before any of this. That was the one evening of what I would consider over a moderate amount of alcohol. It was still less than I used to consume regularly in an evening before starting the sinclair method. Doing well. Good luck to all!.

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Well,
If we can use this therad to track progress and Lena's thread, to explain the method, maybe we can get this ti a managable number.

I am into week 5. In a few minutes, I will go to my MD for a refill.

In the last week, I have drank 1.75 liters of Gin and ~6 beers. Not exactly tea-totalling.

I had a three week hneywmoon where my consumption had nosed dived but I was also travelling a good deal and that always reduces my drinking. Though I have not returned to my pre-Nal levels, I am a little dissapointed that I am drinking as much as I am.

The Sinclair is a parachute jump and I am in free fall. I am taking it on faith that my chute will open in tow or three months from now. Actually, it isn't faith but trust in the studies that I have read.

Ya'll have a happy valentine's day.

[beatle]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Springer, I'm just wondering-- maybe you could try a little bit to reduce your consumption... what I mean is, just keep going along with the Sinclair method, but make a small effort to cut back, because it should be easier to do so when you are on Naltrexone, anyway.

The reason I mention this is that I had received a 30-day supply of Naltrexone after I ended up in the ER, and when I used it, I still drank (this was before I heard of the Sinclair method), but I was really trying to reduce my consumption and I found it easier to do so, by just trying, than without the Naltrexone.

My point is not to be judgemental in any way, only that you may find that what was impossible without Naltrexone (to control your drinking) may be possible with Naltrexone, even though you are not attempting to stop drinking altogether. Am I making sense here?

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

beatle;548620 wrote:
Am I making sense here?

Of course not.

Yes I agree with all that you said. In Eskapa's book it says that you should take Naltrexone and wait one hour and then drink as you normally would. That is the phase that I had to roll around. The un-learning seems to require that you allow the desire to diminish on its own time but there does have to be limits here.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me. I went to the MD and had my prescription renewed. This put me into my 5th week plus a couple of days.

The wife and I went for a ride on the bike and I stopped at a liquor store on the way home and bought a half gallon of tequila. We got home around 6:30 PM. I thought I wouldn't mind having a few shot of tequila so I took my 50 mg of Naltrexone.

My girls came home and we decided to watch the Dark Knight. Though I was losing the desire to drink, I felt compelled drink to since I had already took the Naltrexone. And therein lies the paradox. Naltrexone works by taking Naltrexone and drinking. No drinking - no extinction. It was now well over an hour and drinking was legal.

I went into the kitchen and poured myself a double-shot(standard for me) of tequila. I came back into the family room and watched the movie. After an hour, I took my first sip and it didn't taste good. Now I used to experience that phenomena when I was on a terrible hang-over but that was not the case. The tequila just seemed to have lost its attraction. I did manage to finish the glass and being the good addict I am, I returned to the kitchen and got a refill.

The movie ended with the joker dangling in space (I can relate) and my wife said she was going to bed. I told her to wait and I picked up the glass with the intention of downing it. I put it to my lips but just couldn?t do it. I went into the kitchen and tried to pour it back into the bottle but with that little plastic thing they put in the spout, it is as easy as putting toothpaste back in the tube. I resigned to pouring down the sink drain.

I went to bed, made love to the wife, slept like a baby and woke up feeling great. All morning I have been thinking about the ?change? I had underwent the night before. This is atypical behavior for me unless:[list type=decimal][*]I am in one of those remorseful states and want to rid the house of alcohol forever and ever. (haven't done that for decades)I am painfully hungover where the smell of alcohol makes me want to puke. Even then, I can usually get past this after a drink or two.[/list type=decimal]Neither was in effect.

If you had been reading Eskapa?s book, you would see this is Julia?s testimony on page 140, where she takes Naltrexone, opens a bottle of Vodka and goes into the playroom to drink and clean. After a few hours, she discovered she cleaned the room but never opened the bottle. That was a turning point in her therapy where she first started witnessing Naltrexone was working for her.

Maybe I am there.

[Q_]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

beatle;548620 wrote: Springer, I'm just wondering-- maybe you could try a little bit to reduce your consumption... what I mean is, just keep going along with the Sinclair method, but make a small effort to cut back, because it should be easier to do so when you are on Naltrexone, anyway.

You are looking at Naltrexone, as it is used in The Sinclair Method, wrong. THE POINT of the Sinclair Method is to unlearn the desire to drink. To do this, you take Naltrexone one hour before you think you will start drinking and then just drink as you normally would. This doesn't mean you try to drink yourself silly, but you let your desire just take you were it normally would. This is the Golden Rule: Naltrexone+Drinking=Cure.

Over time (~3-4mons), the desire to drink will decrease naturally through Extinction.

It is hard to rationalize The Sinclair Method when looking at it from an abstinence standpoint.

[Hundi]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Naltrexone dosage & liver consequences....

Hello peers. I have been around for a few years now but have not posted all that often but have absorbed a lot about the Sinclair method and am intrinqued. Total abstinance is not a realistic goal for me, I just want to regain control again.

I have Naltrexone at home and a Dr's check up tomorrow and would like to speak to him succinctly about trying the Sinclair method. I am unable to get the book in a timely manner and am having computer problems logging onto the official site, but have read a bit on the forum site.

My specific questions are as to the dosage; and effects on the liver.

I understand you take 25mg for the first 2 days (mornings? with food?)

Then 50mg daily thereafter - or only on a drinking day - 1hr before drinks?

Also - if enzymes in the liver are up - is it unwise to start on the Sinclair method. Will the naltrexone stress the liver more?

Also what supplements are any of you using this method taking?

This may have already been posted by some you, apologies for the repetition, but I was unable to define the above for myself. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Hundi

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Hundi;549464 wrote:
My specific questions are as to the dosage; and effects on the liver.

I understand you take 25mg for the first 2 days (mornings? with food?)

Then 50mg daily thereafter - or only on a drinking day - 1hr before drinks?

Also - if enzymes in the liver are up - is it unwise to start on the Sinclair method. Will the naltrexone stress the liver more?

Also what supplements are any of you using this method taking?

This may have already been posted by some you, apologies for the repetition, but I was unable to define the above for myself. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Hundi

Hi Mate,
If you have a close relationship with yor doctor, you might want to try to explain the Sinclair Method to him. Otherwise, let him believe you are using it to not drink.

A liver function test never hurts. Naltrexone is broken down in the liver just as so many other drugs including aspirin. The threashhold for damge is in the 300 mg level. My MD was not concerned in that he said it would stress the liver much less than alcohol.

As far as dosage, I took the 25 mg an hour before drinking also. Felt weird the first day and did not have a chance to take the second 25mg for three more days due to work demands. I take Omega 3 fish oil but it is unrelated.

I'm into 5 weeks and this has been a turning point in my life. I still drink but every week, the difference is noticable. The change is gradual and non-linear but it is there. I can truly sense that I am changing somewhere deep inside. It is one of those things where you look back over a week and realize that that week was different from any other and yet you don't know what you did to make it happen.

Just remember the golden rule...
NAL + DRINKING = CURE

You some like a good candidate. The link below has a lot of additional info. You are welcome there.

The Sinclair Method

[Hundi]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Hi SpringerRider

Thanks for the reply - I managed to get a bit more info after I posted. I went and bloods done with my dr this morning, but he thought the Sinclair method was right up my Ally, given my drinking tends to be trigger and surroundings based - conditioned I guess - plus being married to an A grade football coach who doesn't mind a drink or 6 and all the social ocassions that go with it, makes abstinence a true white knuckle experience (yes mate is female - the name Hundi is a long story and belies my oestrogen levels). Anyway, I just can't metabolise alcohol the way I used to before I had our son, so the Sinclair method sounds the go to me (particularly as someone with a degree in psychology as well - us helpers are difficult patients). Dr is also going to do some hypnotherapy with me. He has known me since I was a kid and has travelled through my degrees at Uni and life successes so is very open to anything I suggest and research for myself - not bad for a country doc.

Thanks again and here goes! I hope I attain your success!

Hundi

Very impresssive 'Your Story" on the Sinclair forum BTW.

[aurora borialis]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

It is important not to let your conscious knowledge get in the way when you decide to follow the Sinclair method. I have been down that road. I have tons of education and a history with AA. When I started the Sinclair method after I read the book by Dr. Eskapa, I decided to stop thinking about it and just unwaveringly take my 50 mg dose of Naltrexone one hour before anytime I had any alcohol. Good decision for me which has resulted in wonderful results. It is the one avenue in my life where I don't let my brain do any ridiculous chattering. I am aware enough of the human brain to know it will play games with me so I just don't go there with the Sinclair method. I will allow myself to question only after I have followed it strightly and exactly for a long time. And I do not know when that is at this point. I say to myself hey! put your nose to the grindstone and make and keep a commitment to myself. That is all. Cheers and good luck.

[kimmy123]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Hi Hundi,
Through Googling I found that the upper level of liver function tests is three times the upper range value. So if the AST upper range value for your lab is 40, then 120 is the highest lab result you should have to take Nal. My Dr. gave me Vivitrol (injected Nal) when my ASt was 72, ALT 162 and GGT 170, which is higher than recommended. After a month, they went down to 58, 137 and 139. My shrink thought they weren't going low enough so refused to give me any more Nal. I asked my regular Dr. and she gave me oral Nal and my lfts are still going down, so the Nal isn't makinging my liver worse. She is letting me try this for 2 months and then see where to go from there - yippee! I do try to drink less because of my liver, and Nal and Campral help me do so. I am still drinking every day, however, and would like for this not to be the case.

[Hundi]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Thanks good people

Overthinking is a massive hinderance isn't it. All these years of study and training and work are being turned bum up. Still, better now then later. My doc is very supportive and willing to learn from my research so am blessed in that regard - so is he inturn, maybe i iought to charge! He is bulk billing me so it costs me nothing to see him so a certain symbiosis has occurred I guess.

Wish I could get this hormone thing sorted - had tests - all 'normal' but that is when I hit walls

Anyway - thank you for your input. Warms the soul.

Hundi

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Hundi;551909 wrote: Thanks good people
My doc is very supportive and willing to learn from my research so am blessed in that regard - so is he inturn, maybe i iought to charge! He is bulk billing me so it costs me nothing to see him so a certain symbiosis has occurred I guess.
Hundi

Good deal...

We have discovered that the analysis, as entertaining as it is, is not necessary. Nal works with a part of your brain that doesn't care what you think. Actually that is its core premise and magic.

Enjoy. You have a good doc.

[Hundi]

Strictly Sinclair Followers

Wow, Nal, like a boyfriend who cares not (never had one of those but sounds appropriate). 6 year old son kinda counts as to not caring what my brain thinks unless it conflicts with sports, W!! or chocolate, vegetables (the food triangle narrows).

Sounds good, this subconscious conditioning

Just got my blood results - all is well in plalete land and liver is in a hurry to be good - so all is well. Doc says my generally good lifestyle is to be blessed.

Hundi (scared ok bikes)