Alcohol Use Disorder, Naltrexone and TSM

The life of a much loved mother and vibrant woman from our school community was cut short recently. She was intoxicated and while resisting help to get into an ambulance, fell and hit her head and went into a coma.  She died two days later. The shock followed by the tittering of gossip (yes, normal) was followed by personal introspection (normal). Perhaps you are you asking yourself, "could this have been me?" I’m sure I’m not the only person who has been told that this beautiful person had a problem with alcohol.  There was no malice but it does shine a light on how our society processes that information. Out of respect for our friend, it's vitally important to dispel some common myths here. "Why couldn't they just stop?"  No one sets out to or wants to become alcohol dependent. If it was as easy as "just stopping" then there would be no alcoholics. "They must have been unhappy!"  No, it's purely an addiction.  The brain o...

I'm still not officially at pharmacological extinction because I'm drinking socially but I'm not experiencing any cravings on a day to day basis.  My past trigger point (late afternoon/early evening starting to prepare dinner) comes and goes without a thought now.  I don't miss it.  I don't want it.  I'm not missing out on anything and am enjoying the clear head and productivity. My graph at 15 weeks shows that I consumed 8 glasses of wine this week.  This was over 2 nights at friends houses. I find that if I am out at a bar or restaurant, I'm less likely to drink that amount and of late it would be 2 drinks maximum.  Also, I've noticed that my friends don't offer water to their guests but keep topping up the wine.  I was guilty of that too before starting TSM.  Now when people come over to our house, I am topping up water glasses for everyone.   Of course, I can get my own water at someone's house and need to remind myself to do tha...

In thinking about my own pre-TSM self, I didn't want to give up alcohol but instead I wanted to control it. My "primative" lizard brain does NOT want to give up alcohol so therefore seeking help is risky because it goes hand in hand with abstaining. In the depths of AUD when the lizard is having a lovely time sucking on those scrumptious endorphins that it doesn't have to work hard to get, abstaining would be untenable. Scenario: Brain considers, "I can get endorphins by running for 30 minutes or I can get them even faster and with less effort by drinking alcohol..." Not only is my brain supremely "lazy", but it's also an efficient energy conserver! In hindsight, we know now that TSM puts the Alcohol Use Disorder sufferer back in control but before that, it's a daunting topic with a bleak prospect. I can understand why people are in denial because the only solution known to them will bring them no joy but a great deal of suffering. Who ...

I wouldn't be physically where I am today if I hadn't found TSM .  Instead of sitting at my computer typing this, I'd most likely still be in bed recovering from a massive hangover and feigning food poisoning or a sinus infection.     Where I am mentally is another part of the story.  TSM is helping me to rediscover myself by allowing my brain to think more clearly than I have in years as the alcohol induced depression and anxiety is lifting.  I'm finding myself smiling, less prone to dark thoughts, more able to enjoy the moment and finding peace where previously I found isolation. My journey has so far been easier than I had anticipated.  Before I took my first dose of Naltrexone, I thought it would be impossible to decrease my drinking level.  I certainly had great hope that it would work but believed it would only come with great sacrifice and pain.  It hasn't at all.  Instead it has brought relief, given me power and restored my ...

My first full dose (50mg Naltrexone) was taken yesterday at around 4.15pm and as I wasn't sure how it would affect me, I lay down and read for the hour.  No side effects, not even a crampy tummy. Stretching the 1/2 dose (25mg) over the course of 6 days worked well for me.  Generally, it is recommended to have a 1/2 dose for the first two days but I felt that extra time was needed in my case.   At 6pm I made a drink (scotch/soda) and was in no hurry to finish it and it lasted me an hour. I had a momentary fancy to have another one but made a soda with sugar free cordial instead.  As I approach the end of my first week, I am delighted that I have dropped from around 50 standard drinks per week to 8. I need to add here that I am responding very early to the Sinclair Method but this is not always the case so please be aware that for most people it does take longer.   Sometime in the next couple of weeks I am going to introduce other interests so I can star...

Of all the resources I found , I think that the following information from HAMS.cc sums up best how Naltrexone works with the Sinclair Method... "Naltrexone has been shown to be highly effective in helping people to moderate their drinking or to quit when it is used according to the Sinclair method also known as  pharmaceutical extinction . In pharmacological extinction (also known as the Sinclair Method)  one always takes a dose of naltrexone (50 mg) an hour before drinking alcohol . One never takes naltrexone unless one intends to drink. Pharmacological extinction works because alcohol addiction is an example of operant conditioning. When you drink alcohol, endorphins are released and reinforce the drinking behavior. Drinking is learned behavior. More precisely, drinking is an example of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is normally a good thing because it helps us to learn new behaviors needed for survival. However, in the case of alcohol addiction it has led us ...