Hey,
new member here. I'm an alcoholic, and my wife is recovering through AA, been sober 16 years. So I have a few observations as to what I have been through to get here today.
Drank heavy since I was 15. 40'ish now. Year ago, quit on my own (as a "heavy drinker") and was miserable and sober 6 months before starting back up, and hit it harder than ever and then it became clear to me the shape I was in. Never drank in the morning. Never drank at work. Never beat my wife, kicked the dog, molested the kids, or got a DWI. Never miss work because of drinking. But when I drank, I drank 'em all. Hangovers 6 days a week, drank heavily 6 days a week. 7 if I could get away with it. Never, EVER would have just 1 or 2. I would have them all. Until they ran out or until I passed out. Rarely did a beer last in my fridge over 24 hours.
Heard about Naltrexone, bought Escapa's book, and it made sense to me. So I called my neurologist's office (who I have seen 1 time recently about intermittent migraines) and asked if he would work with me, and the nurse there said no, I should go to my GP. The nurse at the GP says yes they medically treat a few alcoholics so I was heartened to hear that. However, the Dr. was just gonna write me a script for an aversion therapy drug, it was not Antabuse but something else. I brought up the fact that I had read a book and was thinking about Naltrexone. He told me he had no experience with it and would feel uncomfortable prescribing it, and was unsure if he was even licensed to do so. He asked if I knew of other doctors I could be referred to and I told him that few were probably aware of the treatment. I pressed on a bit and he got his drug book and then spoke to the pharmacy and got the package insert. I was just kind of quiet and let him decide what to do. He prescribed me 15 days worth, 25 mg first day and 50mg each day after that. The insert and the Doc both says I need to be abstinent to use the drug.
I have a follow up appointment in less than 3 weeks and if I try, I can take the 16 doses each time I drink between now and then and not run out...will get a liver function test at that appt.
So I'm torn...it is obvious he is not on to The Sinclair Method (TSM) so doesn't know that I'm gonna be drinking when on this stuff. I could go to my next appointment and lie and say it is working great on the cravings and ask him to please prescribe a 30 or 90 day supply on that lie...or I could print off the Wiki article on the method to have him read...I offered him the book and he said he had about 7 others ahead of it... but he did say there were some good books out there.
What is interesting about me, is that I heard about Naltrexone and read the book and was ready to go and then it was like all the wind left my sails when I heard about Baclofen and "it's book". But from where I'm at now, with this GP, I think I am more likely to be able to keep being prescribed a 50mg daily dose of Naltrexone, than I am to get an off-label or high dose of Baclofen.
My wife, a successful sober "graduate" of AA, is totally unsupportive of this method and refuses to hear much about it. I'm gathering that there are two sides of the issue, very polarized. You are either AA or you will try a more medical approach. And those two sides don't seem to play well together.
Anyway, I'm part of the way through a six pack and a little light headed or woozy with a tinge of a headach and I'll probably call it a night. Compared to any other night, I'd say it is working already... but I realize I'm probably having unpleasant side effects but either way I'm not all that interested in killing this six pack and getting into the warm six pack in the garage...any other night I would have all 12 cold and most of the way gone by now and gone by midnight. Guess I normally drink 8-12 a night and have been known to kill 16 or 18 on a longer weekend binge..but it hurts bad the next day when I do. I dunno, I'm gonna do the program and see what happens.
:new:
stay tuned.
Joe
new member here. I'm an alcoholic, and my wife is recovering through AA, been sober 16 years. So I have a few observations as to what I have been through to get here today.
Drank heavy since I was 15. 40'ish now. Year ago, quit on my own (as a "heavy drinker") and was miserable and sober 6 months before starting back up, and hit it harder than ever and then it became clear to me the shape I was in. Never drank in the morning. Never drank at work. Never beat my wife, kicked the dog, molested the kids, or got a DWI. Never miss work because of drinking. But when I drank, I drank 'em all. Hangovers 6 days a week, drank heavily 6 days a week. 7 if I could get away with it. Never, EVER would have just 1 or 2. I would have them all. Until they ran out or until I passed out. Rarely did a beer last in my fridge over 24 hours.
Heard about Naltrexone, bought Escapa's book, and it made sense to me. So I called my neurologist's office (who I have seen 1 time recently about intermittent migraines) and asked if he would work with me, and the nurse there said no, I should go to my GP. The nurse at the GP says yes they medically treat a few alcoholics so I was heartened to hear that. However, the Dr. was just gonna write me a script for an aversion therapy drug, it was not Antabuse but something else. I brought up the fact that I had read a book and was thinking about Naltrexone. He told me he had no experience with it and would feel uncomfortable prescribing it, and was unsure if he was even licensed to do so. He asked if I knew of other doctors I could be referred to and I told him that few were probably aware of the treatment. I pressed on a bit and he got his drug book and then spoke to the pharmacy and got the package insert. I was just kind of quiet and let him decide what to do. He prescribed me 15 days worth, 25 mg first day and 50mg each day after that. The insert and the Doc both says I need to be abstinent to use the drug.
I have a follow up appointment in less than 3 weeks and if I try, I can take the 16 doses each time I drink between now and then and not run out...will get a liver function test at that appt.
So I'm torn...it is obvious he is not on to The Sinclair Method (TSM) so doesn't know that I'm gonna be drinking when on this stuff. I could go to my next appointment and lie and say it is working great on the cravings and ask him to please prescribe a 30 or 90 day supply on that lie...or I could print off the Wiki article on the method to have him read...I offered him the book and he said he had about 7 others ahead of it... but he did say there were some good books out there.
What is interesting about me, is that I heard about Naltrexone and read the book and was ready to go and then it was like all the wind left my sails when I heard about Baclofen and "it's book". But from where I'm at now, with this GP, I think I am more likely to be able to keep being prescribed a 50mg daily dose of Naltrexone, than I am to get an off-label or high dose of Baclofen.
My wife, a successful sober "graduate" of AA, is totally unsupportive of this method and refuses to hear much about it. I'm gathering that there are two sides of the issue, very polarized. You are either AA or you will try a more medical approach. And those two sides don't seem to play well together.
Anyway, I'm part of the way through a six pack and a little light headed or woozy with a tinge of a headach and I'll probably call it a night. Compared to any other night, I'd say it is working already... but I realize I'm probably having unpleasant side effects but either way I'm not all that interested in killing this six pack and getting into the warm six pack in the garage...any other night I would have all 12 cold and most of the way gone by now and gone by midnight. Guess I normally drink 8-12 a night and have been known to kill 16 or 18 on a longer weekend binge..but it hurts bad the next day when I do. I dunno, I'm gonna do the program and see what happens.
:new:
stay tuned.
Joe
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