TSM newbie

[cozmo smalls]

Hi I am new to this forum and recently visited my doctor to request nalmofene. I have been struggling with alcohol most of my adult life, I am now 41. I managed a year sober a few years back but it slowly crept back up to a harmful level. My personal, current pattern is something like 1 day on and 2 days off. Roughly a bottle and a half of wine on a session. I prefer to drink alone as I am conscious of making an idiot of myself. If i do go out I tend to drink more. Comparibly its not crazy levels of booze but enough to make me depressed and inconsistent. I read about the Sinclair method and have decided to give it a go. The doctor wouldn't prescribe nalmofene as she thought it was too soon to know about side effects. She has prescribed me naltrexone however and I am waiting for the next likley drinking occassion. Probably in the next couple of days or so. It sounds a very simple method and I know there is a book.

My question is should I buy the book? As far as I understand I just need to keep the same drinking pattern whilst ensuring that I take the Naltrexone one hour in advance and keep plugging away for the next few months. Is there really anything else i need to know? Did people continue with the naltrexone when 'cured'?

Best

cozmo

[thomas m]

TSM newbie

IMO you don't really need to read the book. I bought it when I started and already knew 90% of what was in it. Stick to the golden rule is all you really need to know. You'll always have to take Naltrexone before drinking for the foreseeable future as you'll get re addicted in no time. The science behind it and anything else you need to know can be found with a quick online search.

[Jazi's Mum]

TSM newbie

Yes, you don't necessarily have to read the specific book. But I heartily recommend you check out the TSM board. There is lots of good reading there which will fill in any gaps you may have, as well as many personal experiences - how the cure can creep up on you, how to NOT drink past the drug, length of progress for different drinking types, and like that. It's a great board, without all the drama we see here, albeit it's not as busy.

JMum

[YouKayBee]

TSM newbie

Hi Cosmo

I didn't read the book at the start but I was curious and the main thing I got from it was how quickly readdiction could occur if you drink without naltrexone. Interesting what your Dr said because Nalfeme is supposed to be forumulated in such a way as to cause less side effects than Naltrexone but I'm pleased you've got an official source.

One thing that's different to the book is that in real life TSM can take 6-12 months to cure point, not the quoted 3 months which I understand as being under clinical conditions which none of us area.

I'm hoping you see success.

[cozmo smalls]

TSM newbie

Thanks very much, I have tried joining the tsm board but the anti bot question is too obscure for a British person...


Boob-tube, popular sixties to eighties, stranded ocean tour, screen name of the goofy guy?

I am thinking by deduction they mean the love boat but i have never seen it. Also the anti spam letters are very hard to read.

[cozmo smalls]

TSM newbie

I worked it out.

So into my first evening with naltroxene 50mg. Quite strange, not unpleasant so far. A glass of whiskey is lasting my about 5 times as long as normal. I guess this is the honeymoon period. I dont feel drunk, something missing. Feel a bit 'woozy' is the only way i can describe it. Wouldnt want to be sat in an important meeting thats for sure. Might have another drink. Might not. Thats quite weird in itself.

[YouKayBee]

TSM newbie

cozmo smalls;1619133 wrote: I worked it out.

So into my first evening with naltroxene 50mg. Quite strange, not unpleasant so far. A glass of whiskey is lasting my about 5 times as long as normal. I guess this is the honeymoon period. I dont feel drunk, something missing. Feel a bit 'woozy' is the only way i can describe it. Wouldnt want to be sat in an important meeting thats for sure. Might have another drink. Might not. Thats quite weird in itself.

I am glad.

Re the woozyness, how do you usually feel when drinking ie pre-TSM?

[cozmo smalls]

TSM newbie

I usually feel that booze elation that I am searching for. Stupefication I guess, which quickly turns to feeling a bit like cr#p.

I managed to sleep OK but after stopping drinking - at less than a small glass of whiskey - I felt pretty strange, felt like a panic attack was coming on but it didnt. When i woke up I also felt a bit strange and now I am at work feel a bit spaced out and slightly nauseous.

The thought of drinking ever again at this point makes me feel sick. I guess when the naltrexone wears off that will change. Think i will go for 25mg next time.

I am a twice a week binger - roughly 30 units a week - so I am hoping, and feeling quite confident, that this isn't going to take too long.

[YouKayBee]

TSM newbie

cozmo smalls;1619475 wrote: I usually feel that booze elation that I am searching for. Stupefication I guess, which quickly turns to feeling a bit like cr#p.

I managed to sleep OK but after stopping drinking - at less than a small glass of whiskey - I felt pretty strange, felt like a panic attack was coming on but it didnt. When i woke up I also felt a bit strange and now I am at work feel a bit spaced out and slightly nauseous.

The thought of drinking ever again at this point makes me feel sick. I guess when the naltrexone wears off that will change. Think i will go for 25mg next time.

I am a twice a week binger - roughly 30 units a week - so I am hoping, and feeling quite confident, that this isn't going to take too long.

I've not seen a correlation between amount drunk/frequency and time taken to reach cure point BUT binge drinkers are supposed to be more suited to TSM, they see more success.

Yes I would feel a buzz but found Nal made me sleepy more than anything. A few years ago a 'normal' drinker told me that when he had a glass of wine he just felt relaxed and a bit sleepy. My logic then says perhaps naltrexone in removing the 'buzz' makes you feel how a normal drinker feels ie that sleepiness isn't anything you shouldn't be feeling after all alcohol is a sedative drug.

The nausea usually passes after a few goes, by all means reduce by half but you might see an improvement on your second dose another option is to take 25mg then 50mg again on a couple of none drinking days to get used to it.

[cozmo smalls]

TSM newbie

thanks

Thanks very much for your feedback, its much appreciated. It makes a difference when someone is replying to you rather than just reading other peoples general feedback.

As I say I do feel confident that I fall in that optimum range where TSM could work. If it cuts a bottle and a half of wine twice a week to one bottle twice a week I will see that as success. Ultimately I would like to quit, well to stop thinking about booze at least. Its just a monkey on the back.

:thanks:

[thomas m]

TSM newbie

Forgot to add about thesinclairmethod site. What I found handy was that you can go through the cured list and then search those members names. They usually have a progress thread that you can then read to give you a few ideas on how their journey went. There's all sorts. Daily drinkers.. Binge drinkers.. Beer..Wine.. Spirits etc etc.

[thomas m]

TSM newbie

cozmo smalls;1619496 wrote: If it cuts a bottle and a half of wine twice a week to one bottle twice a week I will see that as success. Ultimately I would like to quit, well to stop thinking about booze at least. Its just a monkey on the back.

:thanks:

My units cut from 50-100UK to an average of 40 in a matter of months. I just couldn't get through that 3-4 beers and if I did it was never more than 5-6 and that was over about 6 hours. So I was basically never drunk. There was absolutely no buzz. I always found alcohol the greatest pain killer, even better than opiates so it doesn't surprise me it worked so well when its the opiate receptors its supposedly working on.

My goal was to quit altogether but looking back I'd be quite happy to get those results again next time out.

[usf1970]

TSM newbie

Naltrexone

I tried nal for three days; nauseous all three days - two days at 50 mg., and the last day on 25. I was DEFINITELY too nauseous to even think about drinking. Does the nausea subside after awhile? I may try again next week and start out at 25 mg. I'm on my fourth day AF and am currently 'fighting' the cravings w/candy - LOTS of sugar. That's not good for the liver either.
Quick question.......what does TSM stand for and where can I find that board. BTW, I'm in Savannah, GA and we were all sent home today and no work tomorrow b/c we are expecting an ice storm and that NEVER.HAPPENS in sunny Savannah!!! Let me know about the nausea please.

[usf1970]

TSM newbie

"Monkey on my back"

Yep, I agree there....alcohol is a 'monkey on my back'. And I'm like you, I think about it a lot and try to keep my drinking a 'secret'. Therefore, I drink alone.....alas. Not good.

[Jazi's Mum]

TSM newbie

Hi usf1970. The nausea sometimes goes away after a few days, but there are a few who had it all the time and had to stop taking naltrexone. That said, these were very few in number. Most people feel a bit woozie the first day but nothing much after that.

TSM stands for The Sinclair Method. thesinclairmethod.com • Index page It is not an open forum so you have to register.

It's not as busy as here, but you can do lots of reading there that will give you encouragement.

Good luck!
JMum