Alcohol Use Disorder, Naltrexone and TSM

I'm too delighted with the downward slope on my one week drink graph not to share it!   I've dropped from 49 drinks to 8. Aside from the internal health benefits, I'm feeling happier and sleeping better too. Thank goodness for the Sinclair Method and Naltrexone.

Reading around the C Three Foundation forum " Options Save Lives " has made me realise that I am not actually an "early responder" but I am in the honeymoon phase.  From what I can understand, in the early stages the Naltrexone has the upper hand but after a couple of weeks, the brain will fight back wanting its fix and that's when I may see an increase in the cravings.  I'm going to ride with it.   Until then, I'll continue as I have been and won't force an alcohol free day because there's really no point until I experience the "fight for the fix". Then I'll know what I'm in for!  Here is information from C3 regarding the Honeymoon phase...   "It's like the term 'Quick Responders' or 'Early Responders'. This is something that we at C3 are working on clarifying for people. We have seen people on this forum notice an immediate reduction and call themselves a quick/early responder, without realising tha...

This must see documentary, One Little Pill, is another important resource to utilize to gain an understanding of the way alcoholism is cured via pharmacological extinction (the Sinclair Method) and with dignity.   "The extraordinary new documentary One Little Pill is Claudia Christian's moving international crusade to confront the realities of alcoholism with a new treatment that actually works, and is a stunning expose of the current social forces that delay or even obstruct all new advances in medicine. In this intimate visual portrait, Claudia (Christian) courageously reveals her own past struggles with alcohol in order to help others in far worse situations find a new path to living with a disease that affects us all. This beautifully produced documentary takes us from a housewife in Chicago, a research institute in Helsinki Finland, and even the rural villages of India as we are immersed in her (Claudia Christian's) war against a crippling disease and a system t...

I started reading, Dr Roy Eskapa's "The Cure For Alcoholism" last night.  It's beautifully written science with a touch of humour. To understand the history behind the Sinclair Method, the hurdles, the breakthroughs is empowering.  I realized with great concern that i f it wasn't for a fortunate chain of events, we wouldn't today be reaping the benefits of TSM.   I am even more determined to make this work for me. I am immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by the late Dr David Sinclair, Dr Roy Eskapa, Ms Claudia Christian and everyone involved in the arduous process of bringing TSM to the notice of the medical profession.

My second full dose of Naltrexone was taken at around 4.30pm.  No side effects.  The easing in on 1/2 doses really does work! Poured a drink at 5.45pm. Sat at the table by myself while my family were watching tv. Did mindful drinking. Sip. Glass down on table. Sip. Taking my time and thinking about the lack of effect. I'm loving mindful drinking. At one point, I needed to go to another part of the house to do something and didn't think twice about leaving my drink behind. Also, I have to suspect that when I previously guzzled the first drink, I was in fact quenching my thirst. Now, I make sure I have a big glass of water beforehand. Tip: Quench the thirst before mindful drinking. Gotta say... the TSM (Sinclair Method) is magic! I still feel the tiddly feeling but the urge for more has gone. I'm even wondering if I actually like the taste of scotch and soda. ...it's not that exciting.

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...

Took my last 1/2 Revia tablet at around 4.30pm this afternoon. Really didn't get around to pouring a scotch/soda until closer to 6.15pm and sipped on that through dinner. No urge to have another and it will be interesting to see what happens when I start the full 50mg doses.  The side effects are now non-existent. I started my drink chart tonight but since I started on Monday night with 2 glasses of wine, since then it's been one drink each night. I've estimated that my pre-TSM intake was around 6 standard drinks per night on average (almost a bottle of wine) with quite a few more drinks when socializing so I've rounded it up to 50 units (Australian). Going from 50 units down to 8 is a pretty dramatic decrease. Discernable side effects have disappeared so the full 50mg dosage starts tomorrow.