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I'm a problem drinker, but I'm doing something about it.

Posted , 10 users are following.

SueEllen
SueEllen

I've been looking at my drinking habits for a few months now and last week, I decided that enough was enough.  Today I have started with selcincro having read through very many discussion threads and doing my own research.  I am determined that this will make the difference to my drinking which has been creeping up since I got together with my partner (who is a big drinker; but that's a totally separate story).  My average consumption is 40/50 units per week and whilst is frequently down to 25/30 ..... it's also on a few occasions hit 70+ ....... not good for my health, finances, work - and disasterous for my relationship.  I am hoping that it works for me and that my partner (and actually, a couple of my friends) will follow suit with actually pro-actively doing something about cutting down - without actually having to abstain for life via rehab.  Wish me luck!

1 like, 20 replies

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  • nicole36330
    nicole36330 SueEllen

    Posted

    I have been referred to signpost by my go and am currently self medicating Baclofen.My query is they prob won't support me in taking Baclofen and might offer me selentrico.But you have to take it a few hours before drinking,does that work if you drink all day?
    • SueEllen
      SueEllen nicole36330

      Posted

      Hello Nicole,

      I'm no expert in these matters (although a few of the contributors - above - seem to be professionals in this area), but I wouldn't have thought that self medicating is a good idea in any situation.  I personally think that we (i.e. problem drinkers) all need the support of the professionals (if we'd been able to cut down / quit drinking by ourselves we wouldn't be on here after all) and I would urge you to do that.  

      All I can say is that the week I've been taking Selincro - side effects apart - has been a success thus far.  That said, I've been highly motivated to cut down and I think that I'll need to record my progress for some months before I declare this exercise a resounding success!

      Good luck with the good fight Nicole! 

    • PaulJTurner1964
      PaulJTurner1964 nicole36330

      Posted

      Our experience is that, for some people, Nalmefene (Selincro) takes two hours to be fully absorbed by the body - the guidelines say 90 minutes to 2 hours - so we advise all of our clients to allow two hours. It has an active period of 8-11 hours (best to regard it as 8 to be on the safe side.)

      You need to drink within the period that the dug is active. Allowing drinks to slip through when you are unprotected can result in less effective results as you are stimulating those opiod receptors again, the very reason for the alcohol problem in the first place.

      The recommended daily dose is one 18mg pill. We cannot, therefore, advise anybody to a second pill after the effect of the first has worn off. However, I can say that, during the clinical trials, no adverse effects were suffered by people who took a lot more than one pill in a day.

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