Definitely tell the doctor at Web Doctors about other medications you are taking or are thinking about taking.
Follow up appointments are $49. For my second the doctor prescribed 2 months.
Also check out this book. (You can find it on Library Genesis)
Like you my intention is to use TSM to quit drinking altogether.
He was a professor so you might just find his research papers on that but there are other authors that write about it. https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate-Addiction/dp/1937856135/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sinclair+method&qid=1610273285&sr=8-1
Oh my God. You must buy, read and highlight this book. You will never think of your husband's addictions in the same way. The Cure for Alcoholism: The Medically Proven Way to Eliminate Alcohol Addiction https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1937856135/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_PVM3TDFGDPNVE1PF8DTR
Read the reviews. If you want to know why this is important for you to read, let's chat.
I've read the research and the book http://www.amazon.com/The-Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate/dp/1937856135 and I'm sold on it. I started a month ago taking Naltrexone and keeping a diary, and the charts and research documents are pretty convincing in that book. I decided to give it a try, per their instructions, and so far my results have been exactly like the charts suggested they would be. A little more drinking at first, and then tapering off slowly, slowly, and slowly and still not craving much at all. In fact, I've had weird thoughts like "I need to not drink that because that is my last drink of the night", and so then I forget about it and go to sleep. Anyhow, I'm just at the beginning, and I'm going to follow the method of drinking to not drink... After reading the lab rat research and the stories, and the forums, I think it has a good chance for me.
Terrific post, hopefully will inspire many to act.
You can pick up a copy of the book for $10.19. Totally worth it.
Therapy/rehab works for some, but for most it seems to be a revolving door that ends up in a series of relapses. The traditional detox/rehab/abstinence route has about a 10% success rate 5 years out and is generally quite expensive.
Here's a link to the book on Amazon:
Here's a website that has the content of the book, you can read it online:
https://www.the-sinclair-method.com/the-sinclair-method-guide/
PhD and author Roy Eskapa, in his book "The Cure for Alcoholism," discusses "Selective Extinction" and talks about how on "drinking-free days, the opioid system .. will be more sensitive to reinforcement from endorphin release because of a phenomenon known as receptor upregulation, which causes receptor supersensitivity." p. 121.
On p. 120 he outlines a list of healthy activities such as "sex or some vigorous exercise such as hiking, sailing, jogging, tennis, yoga, or aerobics" and states "selective extinction means that on these days you do not take naltrexone or drink but instead do things that you normally find rewarding."
I didn't see any studies cited in this section of the book, but the book includes an introduction by Claudia Christian, a huge proponent of the Sinclair Method offering excellent support through her non-profit foundation called C3, and a foreword by the late David Sinclair, PhD, who invented the Sinclair Method in Finland.
And here's a study that discusses the concept of upregulation of the opioid receptors in general. http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/323/2/701
By the way to all the TSM folks out there, "The Cure for Alcoholism" by Roy Eskapa, PhD, is an excellent resource since it does a deep dive into the Sinclair Method. Here's a link on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate-Addiction/dp/1937856135
Team Alcure.
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> And have you personally really been through alcoholism?
Yes. I drank for over 30 years and tried a number of times to quit. It just kept getting worse. I got up to over 340 drinks per month and mainly spent my time holding down the sofa till it was time to drink again.
I started TSM in January of 2016 and 6 months later I started having back to back dry weeks. My drinking levels gradually dropped until then, but when I got down to a couple of drinks per day, there was not much left to keep the addiction glued together and it crumbled. The bottles of beer and wine at the store just didn't speak to me anymore.
I still drink about a 12 drinks per month/month and a half. I used to drink alone at home and rarely do that anymore. When I do drink, it's 1 or 2, sometimes 3 in an evening. Not a 12 pack or more like I used to drink every single night.
Here's another book for you:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/60fs7gmvbyzs1kk/Cure%20for%20Alcoholism.pdf?dl=0
If you prefer the kindle format, it's also available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate-Addiction/dp/1937856135
In addition to One Little Pill the documentary -- The Cure for Alcoholism by Dr. Roy Eskapa is an incredible read.
https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Alcoholism-Medically-Eliminate-Addiction/dp/1937856135
You can read it free here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/60fs7gmvbyzs1kk/Cure%20for%20Alcoholism.pdf?dl=0
There are several things in your text that point towards BPD. Unstable relationships, lack of the sense of self (you can see it in how she mirrors her boyfriends) and splitting are some hallmark symptoms of BPD. It seems she has a quite a lot of other signs too.
What comes to alcohol addiction and dependence, it's difficult to convince an alcoholic that they have a problem. They often consider themselves not having a problem with rather creative rationalizations and create rules ("I'm not drinking everyday", "I don't drink hard stuff" or even "There's someone else buying alcohol at a Monday morning at the store so it's fine" etc). The rules are constantly re-created when breached. It can indeed be double-difficult to convince a pwBPD that they need help for their alcohol abuse. Sometimes alcoholics are aware themselves they have a problem but living a life without it does not feel realistic since they unconsciously experience life without alcohol as a threat for their survival, even when they are rationally aware that drinking is causing them only harm. This is actually due the fact that drinking releases abnormal amounts of a neurotransmitter called endorphine that is normally only released under behaviours that promote survival such as eating or having sex... which is why many drinkers would rather go underfed and drunk rather stomach full and sober if given the choice.
Personally I resolved my alcoholism with Sinclair method and I've been around 3 years sober since finishing it. It basically eliminates cravings by reversing the process of addiction by using a medication that blocks endorphine receptors combined with the addictive behaviour (drinking) = which over time undoes the neural wiring which is responsible for alcohol cravings, therefore progressively lessening cravings until a person does not desire alcohol anymore. Drinking is not only allowed but actually necessary for it to work. Roy Eskapa's book Cure for Alcoholism is a handy source on this topic if you are interested. AA can also be a solution for some but the remission rate is rather low for it.
The alcoholic really needs to accept first that they have a problem before they can accept help and sometimes it takes that they need to hit their own rock bottom to realize it. I hope she realizes it sooner rather than later.
If you do not have the right gene expression for Naltrexone to work instantly (or almost instantly), you can use the "Sinclair Method."
With the Sinclair Method, the patient takes Naltrexone about an hour before they drink alcohol, and only then. The medication blocks the positive reinforcement effects of ethanol and hopefully allows the person to stop drinking or drink less.
Here are links to 2012 and 2008 versions of a book on the Sinclair Method. The book is titled “The Cure for Alcoholism.” 2012 edition 2008 version
Other sources say that Naltrexone is very effective if you have a certain “G” gene expression and is equal to placebo if you have the “A” gene expression. More info here: http://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs1799971
Another post on reddit says the Sinclair Method has an 80% success rate within 4-12 months.
You can search for "Sinclair Method" here: /r/Alcoholism_Medication/
Have you read at all about the medications baclofen and naltrexone? I read a book <em>The Cure for Alcoholism</em> when I was trying to help a friend deal with alcholism and was struck by this method of treatment. It treats addiction as a disease, but not an inherited one - it's specifically targeting the "learned behavior" aspects of addiction (as others have mentioned). Radiolab just did an episode about this.
One person who uses baclofen complained that while he lost the desire for drinking, he was left with no idea of how to fill in that void, which I think speaks to what /u/BIG_TITY_HONKERS said.