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Extinction Works

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    Extinction Works

    Okay.

    I had a lot of misgivings about posting this. I have been trying for a couple of weeks to decide whether or not to post and if so, how to do it . It is probably going to end up rated NC-17 and is going to open me up to a lot of disdain and disapproval. But I really do believe it is important or I would never write it.

    I plan on posting this in a couple of forums, using the same identity. I think it is something that someone might need to read. But I didn't want to post it. Still don't. Because even tho we use user-names and it would be difficult to actually learn who we are, some of us are protective of our online personas. We want people to think that we are better than we really are. I want you to believe that I am a perfect person...well, except that I am a drunk. If not for alcohol, I might be mistaken for the Second Coming. I certainly don't want you to see the dark side.

    There is a dark, perhaps darker, side. And it is this darker side that has proven to me that extinction works. I don't know what exactly it means, or whether or not it applies exactly and equally to my alcoholism, but I have been convinced that extinction as outlined in the Sinclair Method is real and available to me. And because extinction exists, I have hope for tomorrow. Some of you have no idea how huge hope is.

    So:

    I am not in a sexual relationship. Haven't been in one for a couple of years. For at least the last two years, all of my sex has been in the privacy of my own company. BUT, for that two years my sex life has been regular and frequent. At least once a week, often more, I would be so engaged.

    My episodes almost always included streaming internet porn. It's everywhere and immediate, and I availed myself frequently. I love internet porn. There are a couple of sites where I would spend hours at a time. And every weekend I would find time to get online. And there were a couple of ?triggers?, times that a short window of time would open up and it was automatic that I would indulge. Pretty much every time these windows opened, I responded.

    There were also about an equal number of times that there was no audio/visual accompaniment. Usually during a morning shower. The urge would present itself, and I would act on it.

    And so it was, and so it has been.

    A couple of weeks ago I was surfing the web, researching naltrexone. Again. Have been lurking on this site for a long time, belong to a couple of forums that feature The Sinclair Method, but I still try to read as much about this method, and other treatments for alcoholism, as is available. I don't read all of the articles but do read the brief summaries.

    NALTREXONE AND INTERNET PORN ADDICTION. Or something like that was the search result.

    I really just skipped on past it because I was looking for drinking connections. But my mind started processing what I had read. And I was amazed.

    Extinction works.

    The extinction happened so gradually that I wasn't aware of it, but happen it did. I had discontinued an endorphin-driven activity and hadn't even noticed. It was simply no longer a part of my life.

    Mid-November 2011 I was prescribed naltrexone and abstinence (from alcohol), and for the most part I followed that protocol for the next four months. Really tried to control my alcohol consumption as I took my Nal every day. I did not, however, try to control everything. Whenever the mood hit, I engaged in self-pleasure. Whenever.

    It was only after reading the search summary that I realized it had been a month or so since I had last indulged. Hmmmm. And I thought about the last time. I can remember that it was the usual time of indulgence and that the result was sort of like having mopped a floor....yeah, it needed doing but it wasn't much fun.

    And I could remember a week or so later thinking that it was again time for an episode...but it held no appeal for me. So I did not engage.

    And had not thought about it since. At all.

    You have no idea what a difference it was, and what a big deal it is.

    Another addiction wasn't curbed...wasn't in decline...it was gone.

    And it's not that I couldn't participate. I have contact with people that cause physical reaction, create desire, but it subsides and I move on. There is no physical deficiency, but there is no psychological/physiological compulsion.

    There is no way for me to convince you how big this is or what a difference it makes. Or how important this is to my ?hope? level. But it is what it is.

    I believe that I am taking a drug that can and will remove physiological/subconscious compulsion, and that it is compulsion that keeps me addicted. If I can keep this battle in the realm of physical and mental I can beat it.

    I accept that I have made a mess of this post, but I assure you that it is true and heartfelt.

    Extinction exists. I am going to prove it. Again.
    "If I don't go crazy, honey, I'm going to lose my mind." Son House

    #2
    Extinction Works

    BJohn

    I also agree that Naltrexone helps with other compulsive behaviours bedsides drinking and your post is valid.
    I too have noticed changes to the same effect. Pre TSM I was a slight sugar/candy addict, I could not keep anything sweet in the house, because I would eat it until all gone...even if it made me feel sick.
    I have been taking Nal for almost a full year and I currently have a huge bag of hershey kisses that have been in the cupboard for two months and I have only had three!

    Yep. Extinction works.

    Thanks for posting
    K
    Nov 1 2006 avg 100 - 120 drinks/week
    April 29 2011 TSM avg 70 - 80/wk
    wks* 1- 6: 256/1AF (avg 42.6/wk)
    wks* 7-12: 229/3AF (avg 38.1/wk)
    wks 13-18: 192/5AF (avg 32.0/wk)
    wks 19-24: 176/1AF (avg 29.3/wk)
    wks 25-30: 154/10AF (avg 25.6/wk)
    wks 31-36: 30/37AF (avg 5/wk )

    I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.
    http://www.thesinclairmethod.net/community/

    Comment


      #3
      Extinction Works

      has naltrexone worked at all with smoking does anyone know

      Comment


        #4
        Extinction Works

        I actually think they were studying this in Finland as a nasal spray or something for people with binge eating disorders too.

        Comment


          #5
          Extinction Works

          It is thought Naltrexone could have applications with other addictions including gambling, sex , self harming and food. All of these addictions as far as I understand it involve endorphin release and uptake, which is what gives you a high. Of course this in itself can put people off TSM, simply because ok they do want to quit drinking BUT they don't want to lose the 'hit' from other behaviours.

          Used sensibly I think it could be a great way to help a whole bunch of people. Not too sure re smoking tobacco, does smoking trigger the release of endorphins?
          I used the Sinclair Method to beat my alcoholic drinking.

          Drank within safe limits for almost 2 years

          AF date 22/07/13

          Comment


            #6
            Extinction Works

            Hi just reading this for the first time.Question what is TSM?

            Comment


              #7
              Extinction Works

              Google The Sinclair Method. A lot of the naltrexone posts in this forum are about TSM.
              "If I don't go crazy, honey, I'm going to lose my mind." Son House

              Comment


                #8
                Extinction Works

                Extinction works

                Hi,
                I have been researching the Sinclair Method of taking naltrexone for pharmacological extinction.. I think it is based on sound science and I really want to try it ...
                My question is this: I am also physically dependent on a moderate daily dose of lorazepam, a benzo. Does anyone know if I can achieve extinction while still on the benzos?
                Any advice is appreciated...
                Kona

                Comment


                  #9
                  Extinction Works

                  I don't remember seeing anyone post anything about it. You might want to research the TSM forum, I am sure someone has mentioned it before.
                  Sinclair Method (50mg naltrexone one hour before drinking)

                  Pre TSM 80-90 Units Per Week, No Alc Free Days

                  After control: 3-6 units per month, 25+ alcohol free days!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Extinction Works

                    I think there is something on the Sinclair forum re benzos, and I think the jury is out on it.
                    I used the Sinclair Method to beat my alcoholic drinking.

                    Drank within safe limits for almost 2 years

                    AF date 22/07/13

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Extinction Works

                      spacebebe01;1299185 wrote: has naltrexone worked at all with smoking does anyone know
                      Not according to the book.

                      It seems there are different mechanisms in the brain for enjoying alcohol and smoking. A strange fact is my wife, who hadn`t smoked for 12 years started smoking exactly the same time she started nal. I thought this had something to do with endorphins; i.e. as she couldn`t get high from alcohol anymore she had to find something else to get high from.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Extinction Works

                        IMO naltrexone and smoking are not related. I smoked for a long time. I quit in 2003 and never smoked again. I started TSM in August, and I didn't start smoking again.

                        I am not sure how you mean about getting high from alcohol. Do you mean drunk? If so, you can get just as drunk on naltrexone as not. What's missing is the "warm" feeling. Drinking on naltrexone feels much different. It just doesn't feel as good, but I can still get drunk.
                        Sinclair Method (50mg naltrexone one hour before drinking)

                        Pre TSM 80-90 Units Per Week, No Alc Free Days

                        After control: 3-6 units per month, 25+ alcohol free days!

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Extinction Works

                          What I mean is; it seems there are different centers in the brain which get endorphins from smoking and from alcohol. In my wife`s case, it seems to me that as the brain no longer got endorphins from alcohol, it wanted to get them from smoking. In the book it`s stated that naltrexone doesn`t work agains smoking.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Extinction Works

                            As I understand the process, naltrexone blocks endorphins in all centers of the brain. The process isn't selective, as it's related to the shape of the receptor and the shape of the drug molecule. Otherwise, some of the thrills one loses while the drug is active in the system would still have an allure, as many impact different areas of the brain.
                            Sinclair Method (50mg naltrexone one hour before drinking)

                            Pre TSM 80-90 Units Per Week, No Alc Free Days

                            After control: 3-6 units per month, 25+ alcohol free days!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Extinction Works

                              I quit smoking last July so can't speak to that. Don't know what else it might have affected in my case, but I haven't had any chocolate in a couple of months. Used to eat quite a bit. Was never really too important to me tho so can't say for sure that this is another example of extinction, but it does feel that way.
                              "If I don't go crazy, honey, I'm going to lose my mind." Son House

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