5 ms·

For those who have a problem with alcohol from being a bit of a drunk to an addict, there's a pill for that: Naltrexone, taken one hour before drinking, blocks

For those who have a problem with alcohol from being a bit of a drunk to an addict, there's a pill for that: Naltrexone, taken one hour before drinking, blocks positive reinforcement for drinking alcohol. This treatment is called the "Sinclair method." Studies show Naltrexone and the Sinclair method prevents excessive consumption and over time can extinguish addiction. Over the course of a year alcoholics can basically totally lose interest in alcohol. It's not a fringe treatment. It has been the standard of care in Finland for decades. Here is a global listing of physicians familiar with the treatment: https://cthreefoundation.org/find-a-physician https://cthreefoundation.org/find-a-physician These board certified physicians prescribe it in many states in the US via telemedicine consultations: https://www.mdproactive.com/what-we-treat/alcohol-use-disorder https://www.mdproactive.com/what-we-treat/alcohol-use-disord... (I'm suggesting this online practice because I understand it may be hard to find a physician familiar with this treatment in some areas in the United States.) I went from being a bit of a drunk even by American standards to having no interest in alcohol after a couple pills. The first time I took it, I knew it could have saved by grandfather's life. It's really heartbreaking that so few people know about this treatment. Anyone who likes alcohol would be amazed how useless it is without the opioid response (that Naltrexone blocks). You can find papers about this on Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C14&q=sinclair+method+alcohol&btnG=&oq=sinclair+method+alc https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C14&q=sin... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naltrexone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naltrexone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53JObexh0w0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53JObexh0w0 https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate-Addiction/dp/1937856135/ https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate-A... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdeh0LP6kuSQ9GsorQpVnUw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdeh0LP6kuSQ9GsorQpVnUw

twblalock 8y ago
What an incredibly dangerous suggestion that people seek out a prescription for this kind of drug online at mdproactive or anywhere else. You also did not mention that a number of studies have shown this drug to be only modestly effective at treating alcohol abuse, and that there are better treatments. It can also cause liver damage. It's not a magic pill.
- tippecanoe 8y ago
  Maybe those physicians, who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States, know better than you do. You are contending, without evidence, that these physicians are dangerous. That is a serious claim. If you are concerned that these physicians are endangering the public, you should take it up with their respective state medical boards straightaway.
  - twblalock 8y ago
    > Maybe those physicians, who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States, know better than you do. There is nowhere near a consensus among professional physicians that this drug is as good as you claim it to be. Meanwhile I can find plenty of physicians like Dr. Oz who are snake oil salesmen, so I reject your fallacious appeal to authority. EDIT: I see that you have now edited your comment to say "(An appeal to authority is the purpose of medical licensing.)". You should not edit your comments in an attempt to make people who responded to you look bad, or look like they missed something that was actually not there. Now you keep adding even more! If you want to respond, then respond. I quoted the entire text of your original comment at the top of mine.
    - freerobby 8y ago
      The Sinclair method faces a lot of institutional incentive-related difficulties (generic drug, permanent treatment). It also has some aspects that are counterintuitive at first glance (e.g. it requires drinking alcohol, which creates skepticism when proposed by an alcoholic) but which are scientifically grounded. To anyone facing the problem of alcoholism: please do take the time to research it, read the studies, and form your own opinion. It’s really worth the time, and it’s not something you’re likely to hear about through traditional sources (yet) for the aforementioned reasons.
      - eecc 8y ago
        Considering my experience with Varenicline and how it effectively worked in abandoning nicotine, I tend to agree that a deconditioning drug taken while consuming is a very effective therapeutic path.
lieden 8y ago
I agree that Naltrexone can help curb alcohol use in the case of heavy/problem drinkers, but alcoholism/addiction is entirely different than "developing a taste". For anyone who is struggling with addiction, or thinks they may have a problem - please treat this like any other disease and consult a medical professional. I'd also suggest, if possible, speaking with another addict in recovery to learn about what they have found successful. There are 12 step support groups (AA and NA being the two most well known) worldwide. There are many available treatments and it's really difficult to know what will be best for any one person (and what works for an individual at any given point in time may change). (Also, if you have been actively using alcohol or benzodiazepines, please consider talking to medical professional before abruptly stopping - there are serious risks during withdrawal and it can be deadly). If anyone need help finding more information, don't hesitate to message me.
- throwaway9980 8y ago
  Absolutely appalling to see this comment being downvoted. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    > appalling to see this comment being downvoted I didn’t downvote. But AA has a mixed track record with respect to effectiveness [1]. It’s also been likened to a cult [2]. This might explain some downvoted. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ [2] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irr...
    - placer 8y ago
      > https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ That article shows that people who regularly go to AA meetings are more likely to be sober (e.g. 67% people who went to one or more meeting a week were sober 16 years later). Because of the universal nature of AA, it is hard to randomize for it (if you just randomly tell an alcoholic to go to AA, they have already been told that by others, so that's not a very good randomization; the control is contaminated); that said, there are studies where people randomly selected to go to AA are more likely to be sober. A 2014 meta study shows that greater AA attendance results in greater sobriety, which can not be attributed to self-selection (in other words, we have finally scientifically demonstrated that the people doing well are being helped by AA): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4285560/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4285560/ Now, that Gabrielle Glaser article you link to which claims AA is a cult uses some very dubious figures for AA's success. They come from Lance Dodes; since Dodes could not find any studies that AA has a 5% success rate, he instead multiplied multiple numbers from unrelated studies to synthesize the 5% figure. His numbers have been questioned by a number of treatment experts, including Thomas Beresford, John Kelly, Gene Beresin, and Jeffrey D. Roth (who called Dodes's figures a "pseudostatistical polemic").
towaway 8y ago
Came to the comments to look for this post. I completed TSM myself not so long ago. It has been nothing short of life changing. Seemed too good to be true, but really doesn't seem like there's a catch. There's a subreddit here too which is becoming more and more active. https://reddit.com/r/alcoholism_medication https://reddit.com/r/alcoholism_medication

twblalock 8y ago

What an incredibly dangerous suggestion that people seek out a prescription for this kind of drug online at mdproactive or anywhere else. You also did not mention that a number of studies have shown this drug to be only modestly effective at treating alcohol abuse, and that there are better treatments. It can also cause liver damage. It's not a magic pill.

tippecanoe 8y ago
Maybe those physicians, who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States, know better than you do. You are contending, without evidence, that these physicians are dangerous. That is a serious claim. If you are concerned that these physicians are endangering the public, you should take it up with their respective state medical boards straightaway.
- twblalock 8y ago
  > Maybe those physicians, who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States, know better than you do. There is nowhere near a consensus among professional physicians that this drug is as good as you claim it to be. Meanwhile I can find plenty of physicians like Dr. Oz who are snake oil salesmen, so I reject your fallacious appeal to authority. EDIT: I see that you have now edited your comment to say "(An appeal to authority is the purpose of medical licensing.)". You should not edit your comments in an attempt to make people who responded to you look bad, or look like they missed something that was actually not there. Now you keep adding even more! If you want to respond, then respond. I quoted the entire text of your original comment at the top of mine.
  - freerobby 8y ago
    The Sinclair method faces a lot of institutional incentive-related difficulties (generic drug, permanent treatment). It also has some aspects that are counterintuitive at first glance (e.g. it requires drinking alcohol, which creates skepticism when proposed by an alcoholic) but which are scientifically grounded. To anyone facing the problem of alcoholism: please do take the time to research it, read the studies, and form your own opinion. It’s really worth the time, and it’s not something you’re likely to hear about through traditional sources (yet) for the aforementioned reasons.
    - eecc 8y ago
      Considering my experience with Varenicline and how it effectively worked in abandoning nicotine, I tend to agree that a deconditioning drug taken while consuming is a very effective therapeutic path.

lieden 8y ago

I agree that Naltrexone can help curb alcohol use in the case of heavy/problem drinkers, but alcoholism/addiction is entirely different than "developing a taste". For anyone who is struggling with addiction, or thinks they may have a problem - please treat this like any other disease and consult a medical professional. I'd also suggest, if possible, speaking with another addict in recovery to learn about what they have found successful. There are 12 step support groups (AA and NA being the two most well known) worldwide. There are many available treatments and it's really difficult to know what will be best for any one person (and what works for an individual at any given point in time may change). (Also, if you have been actively using alcohol or benzodiazepines, please consider talking to medical professional before abruptly stopping - there are serious risks during withdrawal and it can be deadly). If anyone need help finding more information, don't hesitate to message me.

throwaway9980 8y ago
Absolutely appalling to see this comment being downvoted. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  > appalling to see this comment being downvoted I didn’t downvote. But AA has a mixed track record with respect to effectiveness [1]. It’s also been likened to a cult [2]. This might explain some downvoted. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ [2] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irr...
  - placer 8y ago
    > https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ That article shows that people who regularly go to AA meetings are more likely to be sober (e.g. 67% people who went to one or more meeting a week were sober 16 years later). Because of the universal nature of AA, it is hard to randomize for it (if you just randomly tell an alcoholic to go to AA, they have already been told that by others, so that's not a very good randomization; the control is contaminated); that said, there are studies where people randomly selected to go to AA are more likely to be sober. A 2014 meta study shows that greater AA attendance results in greater sobriety, which can not be attributed to self-selection (in other words, we have finally scientifically demonstrated that the people doing well are being helped by AA): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4285560/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4285560/ Now, that Gabrielle Glaser article you link to which claims AA is a cult uses some very dubious figures for AA's success. They come from Lance Dodes; since Dodes could not find any studies that AA has a 5% success rate, he instead multiplied multiple numbers from unrelated studies to synthesize the 5% figure. His numbers have been questioned by a number of treatment experts, including Thomas Beresford, John Kelly, Gene Beresin, and Jeffrey D. Roth (who called Dodes's figures a "pseudostatistical polemic").

towaway 8y ago

Came to the comments to look for this post. I completed TSM myself not so long ago. It has been nothing short of life changing. Seemed too good to be true, but really doesn't seem like there's a catch. There's a subreddit here too which is becoming more and more active. https://reddit.com/r/alcoholism_medication https://reddit.com/r/alcoholism_medication