Since many of you are now either using, or considering using, naltrexone or nalmefene (Selincro) as per The Sinclair Method, I recently wrote the following short 'hints and tips' article that provide a guide to working with the medication, therefore helping to ensure the method is as smooth as possible for you.
http://optionssavelives.freeforums.net/thread/369/sinclair-method-hints-tips
A second link is also included at the end of the article, specifically for those in the UK. Hopefully, this will help you navigate requesting a consultation and assessment from the NHS, to see if this medication might be suitable for you.
Many thanks, as always, to Paul Turner for fact-checking this article with me, and also to our moderator for pre-approving the link!
Joanna
C3 Europe
Great post Joanne. I am going to refer this article and link to some people I have in mind. Very interesting and relevant for many people. Thanks. Robin
I'll second that! Very useful indeed.
"1-to-many" for those that have had "one too many"!
Well done, Joanna and C3E, with thanks to Paul and the Patient mods!
So according to this article...both pills work 10 to 12 hours.
So if I would have to resort to this treatment...I think my suggestion of taking upon wakening would avoid me from skipping the pill.
cause if I wake at 8am...drink at 10....till 10pm..it would cover the 10-12 hours...and it appears it would be the only way I would be assured to take the pill EVERY DAY.
I hope I never binge again...but if I ever did....I would have to use this method..which is why I am interested.
Hi Joanna. Just going through email and came across this post that is very useful for me as seeing doctor Wednesday. I think I've previously explained that I have been taking naltrexone, which was prescribed to me whilst in rehab over a year ago. Stopped taking them after a few months as they weren't working for me,but since joining this site, I've started taking the remaining ones I had left correctly now. And it has definately worked for me. However I only have 2 left so I have to ask my new NHS doctor for a new prescription. The above link I will print out but if there is anything else could you send it to me please. Obviously I don't want to go loaded with pages of stuff as she won't have the time to read it!
Thank you for all the help and advice you(and Paul) have given me in the last few months 😀
Actually Joanna, I've just read that link, which is very useful for me, but not for my GP ! Could you send me a suitable simple link to show my doctor please x
Me again..ha ha !!! I've just found a link you sent to someone 6 days ago, who was also going to her gp for it. So it's ok as I can print that out.
p.s. Not drinking at the mo and don't intend to until the weekend. Going to go to the gym around tea time so stop any cravings x
I think you basically have it correct, Misssy. You would likely still feel the relaxing/warm and fuzzy feeling from the alcohol, but the Naltrexone would stop your brain from "remembering" that drinking results in the endorphin release that it's going for. The relaxing feeling is caused by the action of alcohol on the GABA and Glutamate receptors, I understand you know something of that already. I think your "Plan B" is a good one, for you want to ensure that if you have a sip, that you've got protection from the endorphins solidly in place. If you drink beyond the 12 hours, you would need to take another dose and wait an hour before drinking any more.
I've been away for the past 4 days and didn't have much of an internet access.
There are printable resources to hand to your doctor on both the C Three Europe and C Three Foundation Website (for either you or anyone else who might be reading).
If you ever needed the method, then you could reach out to me and I would work with you to help.
I could show you literally 100's of messages, posts and emails, from people in your situation who have always found it difficult to stop once they begin. That is a binge, after all.
But what each of these would tell you, is that once you give just a little bit of confidence in HOW the method should be worked, then the need to drink disappears after a few hours.
It has been clinically proven to work this particular way for almost 80% of those who tried it. Instead of trying to 'fit' taking the pill around when you think you would take it based on fear of skipping the pill, you would need a little trust that getting started on a solid foundation as above would mean that you can lose that fear of skipping the pill very quickly.
Hi Joanna,
I'm really at a loss with what to do. I was perscibed Silencro by our local alchol support centre nearly 2 years ago. I live on an island near the UK where alcohol help is primative and no one seems that knowlegable. I had no idea what to expect from the drug but seem to recall being told to take a full tablet daily. I lasted 2 days. I get the worst side affects, it's like living in a nightmare. I totally trip, hear things that arent there, see things that arent there, the insomnia as well makes it really awful, I can't function, I can't work out what's real, I get all the cramp and feel incredibly anxious and confused. I couldnt possibly drive! I've tried many times to start taking it, to the extent over the years that I've got through nearly all the pills I was given to start with (which were quite a lot!) I've even tried half dose but it's so bad I reget taking it and have considered inducing vomit to get rid of the horrendous feeling I get. I have 3 children and a hotel I run and own and a husband and dog. I'm 40 next year and drink an awful lot. My question is that I'm keen to do the Sinclair Method but not sure which pills to have with it. Is Nalmefeme different because as I understand you only take it before drinking? Does that mean the side effects are not so bad because what I've been trying to do is get used to the Silencro but serviously, I have to admit defeat. Facing day 3 of living in a nightmare unable to sleep or look after myself is just too bad for me to be able to cope with. I would love to talk to someone about the differances in medications but I don't trust anyone on the island where I live to actually have a clue what they're talking about! Any tips would be so gratefully received beauce this had really been worrying me for years!
Very kindest regards xx
Hi Alexandra,
Your experiences with Selincro are no uncommon. The side effects can be bad, but reduce and then disappear once you are on about the 6-8th tablet. Then, the long term benefits far outweight that short term gain.
If you really can't get through the side effects then I would suggest that you go back to the prescriber, explain the sitiation and ask for a medication called naltrexone instead.
There are 2 medications that can be used for The Sinclair Method - nalmefene (Selincro) and naltrexone. They both do the same thing in blocking the endorphins that are released when you drink 1 or 2 hours later.
In the UK, naltrexone is approved for treating alcohol use disorder, but usually only to help with cravings when someone has already stopped drinking. But if you have a conversation with the prescriber and point out that naltrexone and Selincro are pretty much the same medications (both are called opioid antagonist medications) then you may be able to swap - the advantage being that naltrexone seems to be so well tolerated by the vast majority of people and does not appear to involved the same intensity of side effects.
The alcohol support people will wish to do some blood tests firsts no doubt, as naltrexone should not be taken by those with liver issues.
Let me know how you get on, and if you need anything else, please feel free to PM me.
Joanna.
Unfortunately for me, Camprel and Naltrexone never worked for me, I would drink wright through it. I'm not saying that these medications don't work, I'm saying they didn't work for me. It was imprtant for me however, to identify the reasons that I drank alcohol in the first place and there we're several. To determine this " began seeing a Psychologist which helped me significantly. Realizing the reasoning behind my alcohol abuse and attending meetings regularly was my answer to my addiction to alcohol. Good lick to you JoannaC3Europe.
Keep it in mind for the future, dreamweaver. The abstinence approach works well for about 10% of people with Alcohol Use Disorder, the remainder will relapse at least once within 4 years of starting abstinence, so you might see that it can be good to have a "Plan B" to deploy should you run into problems. If you're one of those that manage ok with abstinence, just keep doing that and you'll be fine. If not, then it's good to be aware of the available options.
There's a way of taking Naltrexone while drinking (an hour before your first drink) that, over a period of months, erases the urge to drink. It basically uses the drink against itself. This differs from the traditional manner of using Naltrexone, wherein you take it every day while abstinent. Just this one change of taking the pill only on drinking days and not on dry days makes a huge difference. The traditional method doesn't seem to work any better than placebo over the long run. Taking it an hour before drinking, only on drinking days suddenly ups the success rate to around 80%.
Again, if you're having success with straight abstinence and therapy/meetings, etc, all is well and you should keep that up. I just wanted you to understand that there's a different way of using Naltrexone that can be very effective indeed, should the need arise.
Hey Joanna.
So, I literally cannot find anything about this specifically, so im struggling here. Here it is: when i have a drink (currently on the the impant as of 3 days ago) my pee is so dark in color. It's like a pink/dark orange or a dark yellow even if I only have a couple sips. All I can find online is that dark urine could mean that the liver is in danger, so im worried I may have to go in to get it taken out. Yesterday I didnt have this problem when I drank alcohol, so why is my urine suddenly so dark? My urges and buzz/reward from alcohol has diminished already for sure. But im 20, and im about to be 21, and I would like to still drink a little bit just not as much. I literally can't find anything regarding my problem, so it's pretty worrysome. Let me know if you have any idea whats happening.
Thanks.
My best suggestion would be to have a quick chat with the prescriber who put the implant in for you. They may have heard of it often and so put your mind at rest.
I am not medically trained so can't give you any advice on this.
However, I would expect that you had liver function tests etc prior to having the implant (yes?) and if there was a problem, I would not expect them to have given you the implant.
Hi Joanne
I live in Bournemouth, BH8.
Louise
Hello Louise,
I believe the Bournemouth area is covered by the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group and their list of approved medications is called the Dorset Formulary.
When I look up nalmefene (Selincro) here is what your local NHS has put in place for guidance on who is to prescribe the medication:
It is very important that both the services who will be providing the psychosocial support and the GP who will be prescribing communicate closely to ensure that the drug is used in accordance with its licence and the NICE guidance (TA 325). A patient should not continue to receive the drug if they drop out of the support structure. Whilst the drug is categorised as “amber” all prescribing including the initial supply will be the responsibility of the GP and the shared care is in place as the prescribing and support will be coming from different providers who need to communicate closely. Providers of psychosocial support are listed in the shared care guidance and accompanying flow diagram. Patients should be encouraged to self-refer to these services following their initial discussion with their GP. GPs should not initiate prescriptions until they have received communications from the support service.
I have a link to the actual instructions of the above mentioned 'shared care' agreement, so you can read it properly. I can't post links on here so have sent that to you in a PM.
Joanna.
Very helpful content, Joanna. Thank you. I am determined to get on on of these drugs, not so that I can continue to drink, but because to reduce the cravings and to very likely dramatically reduce the propensity to binge can only be good fr my physical and mental health.
Which, in yoir opinion, is the more effective and which has the "best" side-effect profile? I suffer from depression and anxiety (as I think you know), which was part of the reason for turning to excessive alcohol consumption, and I don't want another drug to inrease these symptoms.
(Of course, I know something else could always be prescribed to help with same.)
I've also been reading about Acomprosate (Campral). Would I be right in thinking that it doesn't figure in The Sinclair Method? Also, its side-efect profile seems to be potentially quite serious?
As I've already said in another discussion topic that I started, I ont be touching Antabuse with a barge pole. I don't want to risk death by (even accidental) exposure to small amounts of alcohol when I want to get better.