Early days with Selincro..is this normal

Thanks RHGB

I have been very careful about leaving the suggested time lapse even though sometimes it is a bit of a push.

That's the point, it is meant to take the buzz out of it, so that you're not thinking of having a session. But you can't take it when not drinking because it will give you a really dull life.

There is another drug, that I can't remember the name of, which they give you after having a detox, that you take for several months to stave off cravings until your body/mind is free of the feeling.

If it took the buzz away from drinking for you, Paper Fairy, then it WAS working for you.  That is precisely what it is supposed to do.

If you saw it through to the conclusion and remained completely compliant during the treatment - eg no skipping the tablet occasionally, and drank mindfully - then you would most likely be free of your compulsion to continue drinking to dangerous levels.

This is EXACTLY how the medication should work.

Look at your options and decide what is best by you - stop drinking completely if you can but run the risk of not being able to succeed at this (my aunt fell down the stairs from one of her 'binges' and died!) or have the possibility that, at the end of the treatment, you can chose to drink sensibly and controlled.

Please do not stop/start the tablets though.  Each time you take these tablets it strengthens the pathways in the brain as your brain attempts to compensate and get the buzz.  If you then drink without the medication, you will have so many more pathways feeding the endorphins to your brain's receptots and you will get an increase in the reward ('high').

 

I think that the forum could do with a sticky that you and Paul put together, with the do's and dont's on taking this drug. As more people seem to be taking it, but are not given clear advice on how to take it and how it works.

I'm not a great fan of stickies because they bung up forums, but in this case, at least temporarily it may help people, especially those that don't register and don't ask questions.

Not a bad idea at all

Not sure who to contact to arrange that though..... this forum seems to nicely run itself without much input from any officials moderators.

After the mad rush of christmas is over, I might try contact the admins of the website and try chat to them about it.

 

See if you can get a spell check as well..........LOL

And an 'edit' button would be AWESOME! :-)

Hi Paper Fairy

I think my buzz was from being intoxicated, which I still get but without kicking the A**e out of it.

Since I have been taking the pills I have noticed how little alcohol I need to get that feeling, but before I would simply drink through it, eventually getting completely sozzled and making myself feel physiclly ill, usually for the next day or two.

What I am enjoying now is the fact that I can go have a few drinks with the wife, and not be craving for the "just one more before we go" syndrome.

For instance on Friday we stopped off at the pub on the way home, my wife needed to go out later in the evening.

When we had about 15mins left in the pub before we really needed to leave so as not to make her later I was fairly calm whereas before I would have been rushing up to the bar for one last large glass of Wine which I would gulp down as I felt I would be missing out, I would then go home to the wine in the fridge,this Friday I didnt even raid the fridge when I got home......

I enjoy pubs, I dont have a regular as such nor do I have a group of drinking buddies down the pub, I like to pop into a pub soak up the atmosphere have a few beers/wines and leave, and before the pills it was the leaving bit I couldn't do.

I would give the pills another go, maybe knowing what you know now from this forum things might make more sense....I does for me.

Good Luck

 

Hi Joanna,

I have put pinned discussions on a few groups with useful resources and have plans to do the same for other groups so happy to arrange this with users' input.

Regards,

Alan

 

Wow, thanks for the quick reply, Alan - very useful to know.

I shall have a chat with one of the other 'experts' on this method, Paul, and between us, we shall see if we can put something together.

 

I think the best idea, Joanna, is that you ask for an approved link to C3 Europe (maybe to a page specifically written to link to from here). The moderators are good. I can't do it to my site for obvious reasons, but yours is a not-for-profit site so I can't see why they would object.

The person to send a private message to is Emis Moderator if you want to start a dialogue.

Seems like I did good. Hopefully you and Paul will put something decent together, and if that helps people, I'm happy.

Yes, you certainly have done good.  Thank YOU!

We are communicating and hope to work something out.

 

Thanks for your valuable input on this forum, and Paul. I'm getting conflicting responses though. I don't see the point in drinking if you don't get the buzz. Some do some don't. Shall I give it another try? I'm drinking at the mo but mostly I'm sober(5 months earlier this year). I live on my own now so if I get the urge to drink there's nothing to stop me 

That IS the point, though, PF!  You are understanding it correctly.

When alcohol loses it's 'buzz' appeal, your brain will eventually stop craving it simply because it IS a pointless thing to do.  You will think 'why bother'?  Alcohol will no longer satisfy that craving and so, in time, the brain stops craving it.

When your brain isn't driving you crazy with cravings, you will find that you have he ability to make a decision to drink for the things that 'normal' drinkers drink for (if you wish, of course!) - the taste, the relaxation of a couple of drinks.....  the only thing missing is that buzz that makes you continue mindlessly throwing alcohol down your neck.

Only you can make the decision to try again, but what I would say is that you cannot do half-measures with this treatment.  You cannot begin it, and then decide you want the buzz again so don't take the tablet.  If you do that, it will not work for you.

You will need to be 100% committed to ensuring you take the pill a couple of hours before every single drinking session - no excuses, no reasons.  You simply MUST take the tablet every time and wait before drinking.

If you can do that, then your brain will change in time and your way of thinking towards alcohol will change. 

If you are not ready to commit to this method 100%, then it is not for you.  This is not for a few months, or a year.  Even when you are no longer drinking dangerously, if you chose to have a drink occasionally, you must always take the pill first, and wait, otherwise you will end up re-learning the behaviour.

There is no shame in using medication if it is right for you.  We don't blame those with diabetes or other illnesses that require a form of medication.

 

I think the issue here is, that PF will miss the social element and the buzz that comes with drink. It is very difficult to come to terms with the fact, that that is going to end for you.

I know you will say, you can still go out, but the fun element is taken away. It is a hard life changing decision to say goodbye to alcohol and all the nice things that go with it. We all want to lose the nasty side, whilst retaining the good side. To be told that you can't go back to that is very hard to take.

I partially agree, RHGB, yes.

The fun element is removed, if indeed there is still a fun element involved anymore anyway.  For me, nothing about drinking was fun anymore, that's for sure.  It was utter hell!  It was a case of having to drink, end of story. That 'buzz' wasn't even a buzz for me anymore - it was simply that drink made me feel 'normal' again. I wanted to be rid of everything to do with drinking.

It is quite difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it themselves but over time that fun element is actually replaced by a new attitude towards drink.  It might seem impossible for someone in the depths of AUD to imagine now, but over time it does happen.

For me, it was the realisation that I could (if I wanted) still enjoy the taste, and relaxing, of a glass of two of wine with a meal whilst I was out, but without the buzz compelling me to go crazy with the amount I drink.  Once someone starts to feel better and start regaining some control in their lives again, the importance of the buzz disappears and is replaced by general healthy thoughts.

I think the main thing is that, like any treatment, this medication is not for everyone, for lots of differing reasons.  But before someone begins on a course of help, whether that be this or AA or whatever, they need to be sure they are wanting to be entirely committed to it.

 

Hi Joanna

I agree, for most of us the Buzz, if that is what it truely was, has long gone to be replaced by serious problems and concerns that we need to address.

I dont believe that anyone on this forum is happy with their drinking habits otherwise they would not be here, it is down to degrees of unhappiness and or concern, I was very unhappy and very concerned, and have chosen to do something about it, only time will tell if I am able to.

I personally dont believe you have to hit rock bottom before you do something about your drinking, I could never consider total abstinance but with Selincro there is a chance of gaining control.

It will be a real test for many of us over Christmas, and more so for me as I have a cruise booked very early in the new year(leaving home on the 2nd of Jan) included in the cruise is a complimentary drinks package...............

 

I feel sure you will be just fine!

If you find the C3 Europe website, then look in the menu under Joanna's TSM Journey, you will find an entry title 'Christmas Peril?'

I started TSM in October so my first Christmas was a big concern for me too.  In this article, I checked my drinking against my brother's drinking levels (he is not someone with AUD).

You may well find that seeing how it went for me, will put your mind at some rest :-)

 

My problem is that I am one of the minority. I still enjoy the odd drink and the buzz. I was never a lonely depressed alcoholic, I was a happy social one. I never blacked out, fell down or made a fool of myself.

I held down a good job, when I had had enough to drink, my homing device kicked in, I either went home or to the hotel room, depending on whether it was social or away on business.

Mine was having a stroke (through unchecked hypertension and alcohol consumption) and being detoxed whilst in hospital for the stroke. I can't drink, because my liver won't tolerate it, but I can actually keep it to quite low levels when I have a relapse. It is kind of an awkward position, if I could wind the clock back about five years, I'd probably be alright.

Hi Joanna

I read your report, yes it does give me more confidence, even though the units drank did rise, but it would appear that they came back down afterwards.

In one way I fear the next 2 months but in another I am looking forward to the challenge...........

I also read your report on side effects with Selincro.....that was brave of you, although I did have insomnia and nausea it was much tamer that some of the symptons I had over indulging.....

Thanks for your support.

Hi RHGB

I am sorry to hear about your stroke, my hypertension was discovered some time ago and I am on pills for that. I too have liver problems, not too serious at present but serious enough for the doctor not to put me on Statins.....that is why I held out for the Selincro. No extra stress on the liver.

I have not gone through my GP for the fear of him saying No, so I have bought the pills from a reputable UK outlet on the internet, only time will tell if it will be succesful......

I too have a very sophisticated homing instinct, sometime I wonder how I do it.

I hope you continue to manage your drinking in a manner you feel, at least, comfortable with, even if it is not ideal for you.

Good Luck.

Hi sil, I can sooo relate to what you say. I used to wake up in the morning, asking my partner what we had for dinner. And did I like it? It was the same dinner I stood in the kitchen for 2 hours to prepare..., bruises all over my body and no idea of ever falling etc. Nobody in my social environment (apart from my partner who drank almost as much, but with less impact) had the slightest idea that I had a problem, I was "functioning" just fine.

The idea of "NEVER" being able to drink again was just too much of a wall to climb. Reduction is still an uphill struggle, but at least one can take it one step at the time!

I only started Selincro a few days ago, and I am so far very happy with the results. Thanks to you and other posts on here. I had the pills at home for over a week before you lot convinced me to go through with it

Hang in there over the holidays, Control is for life, not just for Christmas 

Jxx

"I had the pills at home for over a week before you lot convinced me to go through with it"

Well, at least some good is coming from the forum. It's a shame that people seem to get more advice and guidance here, from lay people, than the so called 'industry' itself provides.

Hi RHGB, to be honest, I did have good professional support throughout. I saw a nurse and a doctor at our local drug and alcohol services (on-track), and both were helpful and supportive. But none of them have ever taken the medcine themselves and sometimes, studies and statistics just aren't enough. I found it particularly helpful to see "users" and "professionals" interact. To think of, or to experience these issues for myself and then discuss them with the people from On-Track would have taken weeks. 

Am so pleased you had some good support, but this is where I get SO very frustrated.....

This medication was formally approved on the NHS 1 year ago now.  The marketing authorisation was actually granted in February 2013.

I don't know what you do for a living, but if you really cared about your job (and in their case, helping people) wouldn't you want to keep up to date with the latest news in the world of addiction in general.

I can never understand how something as major as Selincro can be approved, especially as it creates such a major shift change in harm reduction rather than abstinence, and these professionals know absolutely nothing about it???

It was all over the news - the BBC, the newspapers, the internet.... I even went to London to film a news report for the Canadian CBC news channel.  There were articles in GP's magazines, and memos in every Local Health Authority about it.....

Which rock were these people living under last November that they never saw a single, solitary thing about something that is their JOB??  Where have they been since?  How many people could have benefited from this medication in the last year but didn't even get the decency of a discussion about it?

It is their JOB to keep up to date with the latest changes in addiction news.  It shouldn't be our responsibility to tell them about it.

In my mind, this borders on malpractice. It is like a new cancer drug being approved over a year ago.  How disgusted would you be if your loved one had died because the professionals didn't keep up to date?  And make no mistake, many people would have died during this last year as a result of alcohol-related accidents alone, let alone medical complications, that may have been helped by this medication.

Sorry, rant over!!!

 

To be fair, I should add that there will be some professionals who are aware and prescribing, but I find so many that either know nothing, or like in your case, are aware but haven't prescribed.  How can they expect to learn if they haven't prescribed it to anyone in the first 12 months?

 

I agree with you 100% Joanna. It is scandalous that the most effective treatment in the world for treating alcohol addiction is being ignored by so many health professionals INCLUDING addiction specialists and liver consultants.

So, if I'm understanding you right, On-track, weren't exactly fast-track, a bit like Addaction.

Do these people not understand, If someone makes the decision to confront themselves and address the problem, why is there always the long delay.

It still makes me smile, in a macrabe way, that I got detoxed in hospital last year, without even asking, because I was out for the count with my stroke, but I would probably have died through liver failure if they hadn't of done something. And that would have probably meant a lot of paperwork for someone, followed by a coroner's inquest. Much easier if I left the hospital alive.

Feel free to rant! We all need a valve in life:-)

I mainly agree with your frustration. As far as I know, there have been similar drugs (naltrexone) available.? In my personal case, I was aware of my problem with excessive alcohol abuse, I researched on the net, then asked my GP for Selincro. He was supportive, but told me that he could not prescribe it anymore. He referred me to On-Track..where, after a few weeks of asessments, interviews and appointments, they were happy to prescribe me the medicationa I asked for.

I do understand that this kind of patience is not a possibility for someone on the edge of sanity, but, unfortunately, this is how the NHS works.