Selincro.....way to go ? Scaredicro, moi ?!!! YES😞

Thank you RHGB , for reply in the Forum, I am a Newbie... I have never actually posted in one (a forum), prior to this ! Well... I think I managed 1 hour, today... from taking tablet to taking wine. I think it should be more time, but I have a serious problem with alcohol.  I just hope that the tab helps me stop, at one bottle. I cannot  really believe that I just admitted that.  I was horrified, years ago, to realise that I drank 1 bottle vino, daily.  Now... I am trying to 'cut down' to that. Bad situ.

What is your progress, with Selincro?

Most of the people posting here, either have a serious problem with alcohol or have had a problem.

I don't take Selincro, I take Campral. It is drug you take once you have stopped drinking, that helps you stay off drinking. I take it because my body needs a rest from any sort of drinking.

But there are plenty on here who take Selincro or naltrexone (very similar drug) and have great success with it. It is the same for most of them, the tablet makes them feel a bit ill or light headed for the first few days and sleeping is hard.

I'm sure some of those that take it, will post in this thread later on.

I was the same Angel,used to be horrified I drank a bottle a day then it got as bad as 3 bottles

Are you taking Selincro, now ?  Any success ? I have done very high levels... why ?  Thank you for replying.  Nicole, whatever your levels are, please know, other people like you, are trying to be better...me...I know now, probably 'later rather than sooner', that I need to try the medication route using Selincro.  Please share your journey with me.  I can't believe that.

I have been using naltrexone which has the same effect as selincro.I have only been using it for 2 weeks and first of all it seemed to work straight off but that was just what they call the honeymoon period.But it had definetly cut my drinking down and I usually don't drink more than a bottle but I know it is a slow process and I just have to stick with it

I have not felt right. Strange dream type stuff.  I have not gone to shop for second bottle and I don't think that I need to though.  I hope it is working.

Yes, that sounds like a nice, early confirmation that it's having an effect. Tomorrow you may drink more, but you'll likely see an overall drop from here. Some days up maybe, some days down, but overall down. 

I did not go to shop for more wine. Result !

Hi Vickylou,

I am not sure that I can identify with your problem. I think you have great control, if you can have a couple of glasses weekly. Make that your norm and you will be fantastic.  I have a couple of glasses in 5 mins.  The anxious phases are my norm. The tablets are my last hope of stopping this madness.

 

Thank you ADEfree.  I have stopped, for now. Not going for more.  Good.

VERY good! I like it!

I I did not go to the shop for more wine.  Result !

Hi ADEfree.  I did not answer about my 'drinking style', because I did not want to admit to it. I just drink the wine as fast as I can.  Not good. Bottle gone in 3 large glasses in very short time. Not good. I stopped today, after the second glass. I am hopeful, now.

Finished that bottle. Did not go to the shop later, for another. Pleased about that.  Felt weird. Not sure about today. May try to go a day Alcohol

 Free. Very hard to manage that. What if you take the tablet...but then don't drink?

You are not meant to take the tablet if you're not going to drink, it defeats the purpose.

Please remember to reduce your alcohol consumption slowly, just because your craving for alcohol is reduced, your body needs to taper lightly, not come to a complete stop.

Thanks RHGB. I am just worried about the side effects as well as the alcohol. You are good to remind me about the gradual reduction plan. I will take the tablet and count 2 hours ....4pm, then decide on alcohol amount as well as I can. Too soon to try a dry day. Got to keep it real. I only kid myself about control !

Hi ADEfree, this is a really good idea about drinking mindfully. I remember when my drinking was at its worst I would be sitting at the table working on the computer, bottle of wine on the go and have no idea how much I'd drunk, even get a second bottle without thinking about it and then suddenly realise when I stood up that I was staggering. Amazingly the work I did was fine! Having got all of that under control over the past couple of years, I can see how I could easily go back there. So, thanks

I'd echo what RHGB said. No point taking the tablet when you're not drinking 

Its dangerous to stop drinking immediately, you need to reduce your alcohol intake gradually and not abruptly to avoid withdrawals

Yes, it's a bit early in the game for AF days. When I asked about your drinking style, it was more a question about when you drink. For instance, there are those that have a "daily" routine with a particular start time (like 5pm), as opposed to "binge" drinkers that may go dry for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in between drinking sessions. Then there's the "maintenance" drinker that drinks a bit throughout the day to "keep the edge off" and avoid the shakes. They might have a few when they get up, a few for lunch, then do most of their drinking when they get off work. Your particular drinking "style" can have an impact on how you should start with TSM.

Yes, it's amazing how "automatic" it can be. Good job on keeping that one on a tight leash!

Hello ADEfree.  I have a daily routine...most days I start around lunchtime.  I don't usually get hangovers. I drink two bottles of wine.  Today I started a bit later. Had tab 1and half hour before wine. Stopped before end of bottle. Did not go for second bottle. This is only my 3rd day with tablets, Selincro. My Doc prescribed them. Campral has not worked for me. My intention is to cut down slowly, then see what level I can get down to.My level is dangerous but I can't stop. I hate my addiction. I am ashamed and hide it. Secret drinking, hiding bottles etc. Sad way of life. Stuck in it. I am only fooling myself. I don't get withdrawal symptoms when I stop suddenly...apart from craving more to drink. I can't stay off it, when I stop.

I must find out more about "mindful" drinking. I drink as fast as I can. No mind involved. I will find that habit hard to break. I drink alone.

I must find out more about "mindful" drinking. I drink as fast as I can. No mind involved. I will find that habit hard to break. I drink alone.

Ok, that's the info that I was looking for. Since you're so early on, just stick with your regular starting time and drink the type of alcohol that you usually drink. That's what your brain is used to and you want to take advantage of the fact that it will be expecting wine at a certain time of day. Well, you will give it the wine, but it won't get the endorphin rush it has come to expect. Just keep that up for now. If you want to use mindfulness, then see how long you can make a glass of wine last, see how long you can go between glasses. Notice how much you drink per hour and see if there are any times when you start drinking fast (like when you go for a smoke, when you talk on the phone, etc). Don't hold the glass in your hand. Those are a few things you can start with, but otherwise keep it all the same as it was before. It's only that you don't have to drink as much as you did before, unless you really crave every glass, every time.

Yes mindful drinking is a good and new habit to learn on this method.

I can offer free support for this method.  I've been through it myself and am an advocate for it.  One of the ways I do this is via skype.

And one of the most avantangous and impactful things I do is skype with someone after they have taken the pill and waited two hours.  We will chat more about the method, and how you get to where you want to be, but during this time you will be drinking the first drink as we chat.  I will ask you to explain how it feels, what is missing etc.

By the time we have finished our skype, you have just had your first practical experience of drinking 'mindfully'.    You can then take this forward to the next drinking session on Selincro knowing what you have to do.

If you feel you would like to do this Alonangel, then PM me and we will sort out a time when you and I will be free and when you think you will have taken the tablet 2 hours before.

 

I am afraid about the lack of the endorphin rush.  I think that is what I crave most. That's why I drink so fast. Bottle of wine gone in 10 minutes. Today I did not finish the first bottle. I was slower to take the second glass. Weird. 3 glasses is a bottle in my drinking world. I have the remainder (3rd glass) for tomorrow. I don't know whether to buy another bottle. I buy them one at a time. If I have two bottles in house at same time, the speed drinking is shocking.

Thank you for kind offer of help re mindful drinking. I couldn't do that because I prefer to drink alone every day. It is like my medicine. I don't feel ready to talk out how I feel as I am drinking. I need to work it out as it will change because of the tablets. What do you do at that time when you become aware of the missing feeling?

Even though Selincro is blocking the endorphin rush, you still feel the rush from alcohol when it floods over your GABA receptors. Selincro doesn't alter that at all, it only blocks the opioid receptors and that's why you don't get the endorphin rush. The GABA receptors tell the brain to slow down, like using the brake pedal on a car. Alcohol also blocks the Glutamate receptors in your brain. Those receptors are like the gas pedal in a car, so drinking steps on your brain's brake pedal and eases up on the gas pedal, which is why drinking helps you relax (at least initially). 

Thanks for great info., ADEfree. I am going to investigate my GABA  receptors.  I think it is the opioids receptors and the endorphin rush that will be hard to live without. I don't know how...it is very early days, but I have failed with other methods. I must try hard with this 'new' way of dealing with it. I didn't eat my chocolate today...weird. Wine left and a bar of chocolate. I don't know where this will take me !

On the afternoon your 2nd Alcohol Free day in a row (when you get to that point, don't rush it), you can arrange an endorphin releasing activity (yoga, pilates, some other exercise, a spicey meal, sex, perhaps a really nice massage with the right scents and music, watching a really hilarious comedy). At that time the Selincro should be out of your system and your opioid receptors will be very sensitive. That's how you can "teach" your brain a healthy activity to replace the drinking. 

Some talk about the "jolt" they get when they drink, but I never got that myself. To me, drinking on Naltrexone doesn't seem that different from before, exept that I don't want as much of it. It still gives me the "warm and fuzzy" feeling, it's still relaxing. But I'm growing more and more uninterested in it.