Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

[lenaleed]

Hi all -- Thanks for the continued support and interest in the Sinclair Method. We Sinclair types decided a single, permanent thread would be the easiest way to stay organized on MWO. So off we go.

WIP, I'll post back atcha when I have a sec.

Lena

[lenaleed]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

As Oney would say, feck!!

I should have looked and caught up before I started a new thread. Great minds think alike. And so much for being "organized."

Sorry guys. Where do we go from here?

[LookingToGrow]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Lena...LOL!! Since you start this thread, you can delete it :h

[lenaleed]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Wippy -- You can deny it 'til the cows come home but there is a great deal of solid science(including MORE than one placebo-controlled, double-blind study) showing naltrexone is effective for reducing alcohol consumption to safe levels.

Has the use of Topamax been subjected to this much scrutiny on this site? How about Topamax combined with hypno cd's & supps? Umm, Baclofen??

IMO it doesn't matter very much because so many have found what works for them here on these boards. If you truly want us to share and be a part of this community, please go easy on us.

I've been looking definitions of "cure", an issue that seems to touch a nerve with you. If we accept the definition of cure as restoration to a healthy state, then the Sinclair Method satisfies that definition: After a few months on naltrexone, our brains will have weakened the neural pathways related to the drinking/reward process to the extent that we are restored to our pre-addicted state. We then are free (yes, free!!) to choose whether to include alcohol in our lives. Of course, as with most any disease, alcohol addiction can recur if we are exposed to the cause. We take naltrexone, as a prophylactic measure if we drink alcohol, in order to avoid contracting the disease again. Sinclair found, through self-reporting, liver function tests and other means, remission of problem drinking after three years at a level far superior to other alcohol treatment modalities.

Debating the science ad infinitum is at some point counter-productive. We are not encouraging the abstinent to drink; in fact, the Sinclair method is contra-indicated for those who can be abstinent. We simply are recounting our own experience with a method in which we have invested our futures after educating ourselves and considering the alternatives. The search for solutions to alcohol addiction has been in the dark ages for too long. Might I suggest you be a little more gentle with the challenges on the basis of science and focus more on the side of optimism? That way, we'll be more comfortable with frank disclosure of the ups and downs of our journey. If this method doesn't work for some of us, please stand ready to carry on in the non-judgmental spirit of R Jewell's site and help the fallen find a viable way out.

If the word "cure" bothers you all that much, we will refrain from using it on this site. We who are following the Sinclair Method are not obsessed with that term; our goal is to have alcohol stop controlling us. Debate about "cure" is a red herring in that it distracts from the value of the path we have chosen as a way to loosen the grip of alcohol on our lives.

My friend SpringerRider is fired up and ready to go debating the Sinclair Method. He also joins me in hoping that we will do justice to our role as the role models in behalf of a method that promises a Way Out. It's a sobering responsibility (OMG inadvertent humor alert) but we hope to feel safe here as we recount our collective experience.

Please help us feel that you want to cheer us on rather than prove us wrong. Deal? Deal!

Lena

[startingover]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Lena, I am glad you are back. I look forward to hearing your experiences as you continue with your journey using the Sinclair Method.

[A Work in Progress]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Lena, I absolutely am cheering you on! I have been trying to make that clear!

Please remember.... you suggested that I read the article, and I am sure that you are not surprised that, after reading it, I commented about it, both as to what I think are the strong points, and also what I think are the weak points.

And, you know, too, that I'm certainly not the only one who finds use of the term "cure" to be really inappropriate concerning this (or, at this point, any other) method of treatment for alcohol dependence! And, again, YES there is more than one published naltrexone study; but there is not more than one published study about this particular method (requiring drinking while taking naltrexone) that Dr. Eskapa thinks is so revolutionary that it merits the Nobel Prize...

I'm a scientist, a psychologist, and I have both a personal and professional interest in the science of addiction and potential treatments for addiction. I am waiting with interest and a sincerely hopeful and positive attitude, to hear about whether or not the Sinclair Method will truly result in people's brains being "restored to a pre-addicted state" ... or at least that it will prove, over the long haul, to be an effective treatment method. I wish each and every one of you well... those who know me will tell you that I am very straightforward, and I mean what I say... I am not watching you folks, hoping you will fail.

[lenaleed]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

StartingOver - You get the prize for best avatar ever, you squirrel. My sense of humor (a gift from God) is my salvation and that little guy is a hoot.

So like SO's little avatar, keep a close eye WIP; bring your binoculars; We will feel the good will and are ready for the scrutiny; we are good to go so cheer us on.

[lenaleed]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Someone just asked about naltrexone side effects, which got me thinking. At first blush, one drawback of the Sinclair method is taking naltrexone before we drink, forever. Fact is, that's no big deal at all.

First, after the first day or two, there is such an absence of side effects that I find I need an external reminder that I've taken it (e.g. hashmark on the calendar).

Second, we don't take it every day; just on the days we know we will drink, although we always carry a dose, just in case.

Third, naltrexone is not a buzz kill; we still get pleasurable effects (and impairment) from alcohol.

Fourth, there are inaccurate reports floating around about liver damage. This has been shown in dosages of 300 mg + --- six times our single dose.

As one member put it, taking naltrexone is easy, easy, easy.

Lena

[aurora borialis]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Totally agree Lena. I find it very easy to comply with the Natrexone one hour before drinking rule. It is automatic to me now. If someone asks me if I want to go for a drink suddenly and I feel like it. I take my Nal and then order an iced tea for the 1st hour. No one ever has questioned me. I always just say something like, " I just had the urge for one of those first". I find this a breeze. There are many other things I find much more difficult. Like quitting smoking!!! 3rd day no smoke. Good luck Sinclair people.

[Karl1981]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

hmmm, just read up on naltrexone. interesting.

so let me get this right u take it before you drink and what happenes? im confoosed..

karl

[SpringerRider]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Karl1981;546557 wrote: hmmm, just read up on naltrexone. interesting.

so let me get this right u take it before you drink and what happenes? im confoosed..

karl

There are a lot of links in these threads and others on the Sinclair Method. Seek and you shall find.
One place for some info is the sinclair method.com

[bloggy]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Hi Karl

Basically nothing 'happens'. After the first few days, when you might feel a bit nauseous, or otherwise not quite normal, you just take a naltrexone pill, about an hour before you start drinking.

I am going to explain this in the most simple way I know how, it may not be 100% what happens, but you will get the general idea.

Usually when you drink, endorphins are released which you feel good. Your brain registers this fact- albeit subconsciously, and tells you to repeat this action that caused the release of endorphins because ultimately your subconscious will do whatever it can to make you feel good. When you consciously try to stop that behavoir or action, it is nigh on impossible, as your subconscious is doing whatever it can to make sure you continue, and therefore release more endorphins. This pattern becomes stronger and stronger the more times it is enforced.

When you take naltrexone 1 hour before drinking, this will effectively block the endorphins when you drink. So although you drink, and will show all the usual behavoirs of a person drinking alcohol, the actual 'reward' will not be there. Therefore bit by bit, the temptation to drink becomes less and less, and when we do drink the desire to carry on until we drop is not really there either, until all desire has left completely, and you do not think about alcohol or crave it anymore than a 'normal' person.

This process usually takes about 4 to 6 months. However, you must continue to take Naltrexone before having a drink basically for the rest of your life, or very quickly the endorphins will kick in again, and you will become re-addicted.

[BecomingMeAtLast]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

I want to jump in and thank you all for this continuing with this. I'm still following you and reading with much enthusiasm!

Be

[lenaleed]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

Sinclair Method in a nutshell

Hi -- I posted this over at thesinclairmethod.com; Index page

It's not a comprehensive explanation but it will give you a general idea of whether you might be interested. Although it's quite simple one you get going, it is vitally important to learn all you can because it is so different from other methods. Here goes:

Some of you may wonder just what life is like using the Sinclair Method. We strongly advise you to read the book, The Cure for Alcoholism: Drink Your Way Sober Without Willpower, Abstinence or Discomfort, by Roy Eskapa, PhD. The book is packed with far more information than we can impart on this site. Here is a summary of what we do, from a lay person who is using the Sinclair Method:

We use Dr. Eskapa's book as our manual. We take the medication naltrexone in a manner that will weaken the neural pathways in our brain that have been built and strengthened by years of drinking alcohol. This process is called pharmacological extinction.

We take 25 mg naltrexone for the first two days, then 50 mg. We take naltrexone one hour before we begin to drink. If we do not expect to drink on a given day, we do not take naltrexone. But we always carry naltrexone with us on non-drinking days, just in case. Dosage is based on the amount necessary for a blockade of all the opioid receptors in the brain. They all must be blocked for pharmacological extinction to take place.

Many of us notice a reduced desire to drink during the first few days. This is fleeting and NOT the Sinclair Method at work. The method works gradually, without our feeling it, over several weeks' or months' time. We know the method is working as we gradually lose interest in alcohol. We do NOT expect any meaningful effect to take place in a few days.

The Sinclair Method does not include meetings, self-help groups or counseling. If we were being treated by a mental health professional before we began the Sinclair Method, Eskapa says of course we should continue. I find it helps to view alcohol addiction as a separate and distinct issue from mental health problems, with each requiring different approaches. Many of us became addicted simply from long-term, regular alcohol consumption and find we regain control over lives as we regain control over our drinking. Many of us who suffer from depression will find our depression symptoms resolve after about three months into the Sinclair Method.

We drink as we normally do and track our drinking units and the level of our craving. Each week we review our tracking and will notice our drinking and craving trending down after a few weeks. After three to six months, we will have lost our preoccupation with drinking. We will have become de-addicted.

At that point, we will choose whether we wish to be abstinent or continue as the moderate drinkers we have become. We follow what Eskapa calls the Golden Rule: We will continue to use naltrexone one hour before we drink for the rest of our lives. Even if we are abstinent, we will carry a dose of naltrexone, just in case.

The fact that we are de-addicted does not mean we are immune from alcohol addiction permanently. Should we start drinking without naltrexone, we probably will become addicted again in a matter of weeks. But there is very little of chance of that, because, as one of us put it, "Taking naltrexone is easy, easy, easy," due to the absence of side effects after, at most, the first few doses. While other treatment modalities have a poor long-term prognosis, Sinclair Method followers continue to see a long-term reduction in craving and in consumption, to a mean of nine drinks per week after three years.

Eskapa advises working with a physician; naltrexone is a prescription medication. Not all of us have followed this advice (due to privacy issues or an uncooperative m.d.) and some have chosen to order naltrexone from an on-line pharmacy such as River Pharmacy. Eskapa's book contains a chapter for medical professionals. Many of us have provided our physicians with a copy of the book, as very few are familiar with the method.

The Sinclair Method is not for those attempting to use naltrexone as an anticraving med; the drug is not very effective when used that way. Besides, success on the Sinclair Method depends on indulging our cravings by drinking, so any anti-craving measure would be counter-productive. The Sinclair Method is not for those who presently are abstinent; if you are able to maintain abstinence, it does not make sense to start drinking, which is required for the Sinclair Method. It is not for those hoping to attain immediate moderation; the process takes 3-6 months.

I hope this helps. Members her doing Sinclair are doing the bulk of our information-sharing over at thesinclairmethod.com; Index page but as you can see we still "hang out" here as well.

Thanks Karl for your interest and BecomingMe or your continued support. Lena

[JohnR]

Strictly Sinclair: Naltrexone Done Right

One month Sinclair anniversary today. Life couldn't be better.