Naltrexone Works!

[Cinders]

Naltrexone Works!

UK,

Aaaah, the ups and downs of a forum.

However, as you can see, you do have those who are very supportive. I am.

I know your history here. I know how you keep comin' back!! You are a trooper.

I started Naltrexone this week past. I am now seven days sober after an incredible binge. I cringe when I think about it.

I can only take low dose Baclofen due to my doctor's orders. She doesn't say things lightly. It won't do me much good to quit drinking if I harm myself anyway.

Like you, I will continue on low dose Baclofen, use Naltrexone and forge ahead.

Please keep posting, ignore any sniping, accept that Naltrexone hasn't and won't work for others but that says nothing about you.

At the end of the day, I figure Baclofen and Naltrexone may just give me the edge I need to help me stay sober. The rest is up to me.

I am glad you posted this and I saw this thread first off. You made my day and give me hope, too.

Love,
Cindi

[Doggygirl]

Naltrexone Works!

UK, I am so happy that you are feeling better mood wise and that Nal seems to be helping you!

Cindi, I am so happy for you 7 days AF.

I hope this works for both of you!

DG

[Guest]

Naltrexone Works!

Mario

Yes in the past I would most certainly have removed the bottles, however with Nal it is recommended(and essential) that you do do some drinking on it - otherwise you do not get the full benefit of the treatment.

Oversimplification of nal is that is stops you getting any buzz from alcohol, so over time you lose the association of the feel of drinking alcohol so simply are not attracted to it. You do need to do some drinking on it to acheive this though.

Glad you are doing so well Cindi! Very good to hear.

[mario]

Naltrexone Works!

O, thanks for that Uk, still tying to learn some more about meds.

Way to go cindi hope it goes well for you :-)

[panadol]

Naltrexone Works!

loop

go kiss the mirror sweetie

[Bruunhilde]

Naltrexone Works!

Lo0p;1113604 wrote:
Breathing a small sigh of relief here. Though, given your history and what I remember of you (not understanding simple things because of not doing any due diligence/research at all) I tend to doubt that you've done enough for what it takes to "stick it out" with TSM.
Lo0p, you're saying TSM has a honeymoon phase and lots of little ups and downs (the graphs) along the way down to extinction, correct? I read some helpful stuff here - I think you're on this website too. thesinclairmethod.com • View topic - trying TSM


Lo0p;1113604 wrote:
On a side note, apparently the man was found with a nuclear winter supply of Pepsi and Coke. Fuckin' hypocrite!

And a huge stash of current PORN. All this religious zeal and he's got a huge stash of porn, yet women need to cover themselves lest they be the bearers of temptation for men of Allah? WTF? I heard this on the news, I'm assuming it's correct, but it so crazy to me that it sounds almost like a conspiracy planted by the US or UN to help make out that the Taliban is insane and not just evil.

[sylvia1]

Naltrexone Works!

Ive been on nal for over a year now and credit it with saving my life. Yes I still drink but without the crazyness of active alcoholism. Last Friday night my sister and a friend called over and proceeded to get drunk. I drank with them but couldnt have kept up with them if I tried. They bored me sensless after they had 6 or 7 drinks and I got my husband to bring one of them home at midnight and I force fed my sister a pint of water and put her to bed. I had 4 drinks over the course of the night and was perfectly sober. Compare this with pre nal and I would have been drinking since I got home from work and would be the first one out of my mind. Actually my teenage daughter was enjoying the two of them talking nonsense and could see me getting irate with them(my friend was trying to get the dog to drink wine)and suggested to me that I have a drink myself and to lighten up a bit. I had to smile to myself when I thought that pre nal she would have been picking me up off the floor drunk and certainly not suggesting I have a drink.

[Guest]

Naltrexone Works!

Thanks Sylvia, I appreciate your input very much.

At the moment I have noticed I am now actually wanting to drink more frequently. Now I'm not usually a daily drinking, I am also very aware that in the past if I broke an AF period the desire to drink did come up more often. I'd prefer not to drink for many personal, as well as practical reasons but also know drinking on Nal is going to let it do it's stuff. I drank again last night however once again I stopped at a fraction of my usual consumption. This time 7 units, which could see a lot to some people but to me that would usually be just the starter, going on for a main course of at least another 10 units before dessert of 5. Very rare I had less than 20-25 in an evening, and single digit drinking might happen once a year - but then there would be some very important reason for me to fight to keep it that low(like every off-licence in the country being closed)!

So onto week 5 and whatever that holds. Oh and I just found my brand of Naltrexone comes with a load of little medical alert cards, four in each box. They are beginning to be distributed about my person, in my bum bag when out cycling etc. As a cyclist I'm afraid this activity probably incites biggest chance of requiring immediate morphine, ie being hit by motor vehicles so it's probably pretty important I have a card with me!

[Cinders]

Naltrexone Works!

UK,

It is so good to see you doing well.

I know what you mean about 7 units. lol. Just a teaser for some of us. sigh

Sylvia,

Thank you for posting. You give me hope.

On my way into week two and pretty darned happy. I feel physically great!! Better than in ages. The low dose Baclofen is helping to keep me calm, as necessity for me, and I believe the Nal is helping me at night!!

I am on the fence about actually drinking. I know TSM requires it but in my case, it would mean sneaking it into the house (hubby pours out anything alcoholic I have) and hiding.

I am tired of lying and hiding. One good thing about being sober is no more lying!!

Keep us up-to-date, UK. Your posts will help others and myself.

Love,
Cindi

[sylvia1]

Naltrexone Works!

Dont worry about the change in your drinking habits. The very same thing happened to me. I was always a weekend binger but when I started nal and tsm it became daily for a period. There will be periods of consumption going up but for me I had a lot of benifits other than a lowering of units for eg, I never again blacked out or wanted an eyeopener from once I went on nal. Do you find the drinking experience different on nal. Are you somehow more aware and less drunk on the same amount?

The most important thing is to stick with it and never ever again drink without nal. I would be hesitant to call what I have now a cure but I certainly have 80% more control than I did without nal.

[Guest]

Naltrexone Works!

Sylvia

Yes I've not had a blackout for over 4 weeks now, there have been one or two occasions where I did go through my phone and email sent box - looking just in case though!

The worst that has happened has been me going to bed as if I were just very tired. Once again quite unusual since blackouts would be almost every time I drank in the past.

Not sure what you can do Cinders. I find the dodgy behaviours have diminished as the effects of my drinking do the same. I've also read something that would suggest success is greater if you continue to drink in the way you used to, that way you extinguish the associating much more efficiently. Sneaking around isn't really something I'd tell anyone to do though, and trying to explain to your husband you need to drink would cause him a lot of concern as well as mistrust. I'm sure something will become apparent soon.

[KatieSmiles]

Naltrexone Works!

Sylvia, thanks for posting! Gives us Nalites hope!

Let's keep fighting the good fight
xo
K

[Noelle]

Naltrexone Works!

Cinders;1115605 wrote: I am on the fence about actually drinking. I know TSM requires it but in my case, it would mean sneaking it into the house (hubby pours out anything alcoholic I have) and hiding.

I am tired of lying and hiding. One good thing about being sober is no more lying!!

You don't *have* to keep drinking. Or follow TSM. Just sayin'.

[beatle]

Naltrexone Works!

This is a very interesting thread. In many ways.

I don't think I have much to add except for 3 observations:

One thing that hits me is that a lot of what UKB describes in her possible "honeymoon" period are exactly the same as I (and many others) experienced with baclofen in the beginning phases. My drinking reduced dramatically and effortlessly at low doses. After a while, it increased again, but never to the levels pre-bac.

Another observation: baclofen seems to do the same thing you all are talking about with Nal -- it reduces the buzz you get from alcohol. For me, this is definitely true with baclofen, and there are many others who have reported this. I know the two work on different receptors in the brain, but perhaps the end result is similar and attained in similar (perhaps parallel) ways. i.e. the connection between alcohol and the reward is weakened to the point where the brain no longer craves it. ... ?

My third observation is that there has been a lot of nastiness -- pure and simple nastiness -- on the boards in recent months (it has abated recently, but nonetheless), and I think this makes people (perhaps overly) sensitive to what might be construed as an attack on a person. Because, there have, in fact, been many of those.

But I don't think Lo0p, in his post to UKB, meant to personally attack her. I mean I know he didn't.

(See quote below)

If you take out just the sentence that starts "Though, given your history..." you will see that Lo0p's advice was extremely well-meaning -- EXTREMELY -- and while he also applied his knowledge and worries specifically to UKB and all he knew about her, having taken the time to follow her closely and care enough to try to warn her and give her sound background for his warning and his strong encouragement, his advice would be important to anyone starting out on Nal. And he did urge UKB to continue her posting, and all in all, he really put himself out on a limb there, and all with the obvious intention of helping, not hurting.

(Unfortunate about that one sentence -- which wasn't unfounded imo, but perhaps not an appropriate way in which to start a post that was full of giving.)

I know, some of you will say this is water under the bridge (but hopefully I won't be told to shut up and go away because it didn't happen in the past few hours)... but I'm not mentioning it just because I think Lo0p's real intentions have been unfairly interpreted, I'm bringing it up because his post was full of good (well-meaning and well-grounded) advice.

I hope newbies will be able to read it and understand how important and invaluable the advice in Lo0p's post is.

Lo0p;1113604 wrote: Breathing a small sigh of relief here. Though, given your history and what I remember of you (not understanding simple things because of not doing any due diligence/research at all) I tend to doubt that you've done enough for what it takes to "stick it out" with TSM.

It can take an inordinate amount of faith to follow it through from beginning to end, especially because it can seem like it isn't working at all for the longest time. Take a look at these graphs of member units/experiences I charted from the summer and fall of '09:


These people only stuck with TSM because they had a thorough understanding of how it worked. At week 15, they still could not "feel" it working. In fact you often can't "feel" it working at all. The deconstruction of the maladapted network of neurons and synapses occurs in the subconscious, without your even being aware of it. That's a looooong time to keep on drinking and taking a pill that feels like it isn't doing bollocks for you (yay me :H)!
br />You haven't even started tracking your intake?!? That's VERY important! I assure you, you'll be playing mind games galore with yourself in the weeks to come, especially if you don't have something solid to refer back on like an accurate account of if and how much your drinking has been reduced.

Oh no. Don't you dare! This thread is important! It's very important! It may only be hearsay but even I believe that the "honeymoon period" is an important predictor of success with TSM. It'd be a great place for you to chronicle your journey, and believe me, IT IS A JOURNEY! It's fraught with doubt about the process, self doubt, second guessing, disbelief and a hundred reasons to just give it up at every turn.

Educate yourself. Knowledge will be your ally in this battle. Have you read the book? Have you ordered the book? If not, do it. If so, great! But it's not nearly enough!

You should join up with the other naltrexone newbies and keep each other on the same page about your experiences! How's that for an idea that's the fuckin' bollocks? (Holy shit I'm on a roll!)

Damn right she had better keep posting! It might be the only thing that gets her through the rough spots! Support from people like you and me, and hopefully some mutual support from the other newbies!

[scot98]

Naltrexone Works!

That's good news UKblonde, I really hope NAL works for you in the longer term. I read recently that TSM works better for females than men but I can't remember where I read this, possibly on here?
I took NAL for nearly a year religously following TSM, the first 2 months were fantastic, reduced consumption in a big way, less desire and to be honest I couldn't believe the effect it had on me, drinking and my outlook in general.
Sadly my drinking increased almost back to previous units but without blackouts, drunken phone calls etc which were the norm before NAL. It did stop my life from crumbling though, even if the consumption was still high and I managed to function at work and still do, given that I don't take NAL daily or strictly following TSM.
Like you I have had to stop BAC as I couldn't carry on with the side effects, notably tiredness.

Best of luck to you, I really hope Naltrexone carries on working for you