Can a tiny little pill called Naltrexone
really be the cure for alcoholism? Well, there's a whole
group of people out there who are die-hard believers
and they'll tell you that it absolutely has worked.
and of course, there's a lot of people out there
who completely disagree. This method is
is called the Sinclair Method In this video, I'm going to tell you what it is, how it works
what it is, how it works, and
at the end of the video, I'll weigh in on exactly what I
what I think about this method. For those of you who are new to this channel.
I'm Amber Hollingsworth. And this channel is all about
helping you understand how to outsmart
addiction. So that you can live the life that you
want to live. So if that sounds like something you're interested in,
subscribe to this channel, I'll make sure you're always 5
steps ahead of addiction.
Okay, let's start with what the Sinclair
Method is. Basically, it's a
program to help people stop
drinking by giving them a medication
called, Naltrexone. Now, if you take
this medicine in pill form, they call it Naltrexone. Or
you can get this medication in a once a month injection
and they call that Vivitrol. But it's essentially
the same medication. One's just pills,
, the other a once a month injection
The interesting thing about Naltrexone is that it was
initially used to treat Opiate Addiction.
In fact, it's still used to treat Opiate addiction.
I have a whole video on that. Feel free to check that one out if
that's something that you're interested in as well.
Basically, what Naltrexone does
is it blocks opioid receptor sites. Now in the case of
Opiate addiction, it will block someone from
being able to feel the effects of opiates,
which are pain pills, or heroin. The reason it can be used for
people in the treatment of alcoholism is that alcohol
actually impacts 5 out of 7
neurotransmitters involved in addiction.
One of those neurotransmitters happens to be endorphins.
Those endorphins are part of what makes drinking
feel so great. So essentially, when
you take Naltrexone, it blocks these endorphins
which reduces the awesomeness of alcohol.
The best way I know how to explain it is, think about
a couple of years ago when everyone was
taking Chantix to stop smoking
They would take this medicine and it wasn't that they couldn't
smoke at all, they could continue to smoke, but most people
people felt like it just wasn't nearly as fun anymore.
They didn't get as much pleasure out of it and a lot of
people were able to reduce their smoking
until they were eventually able to quit.
That's pretty much the same concept that's at work here.
Most often the feedback that I get about taking Naltrexone for alcohol
Is it just makes drinking a little less fun.
Which most definitely reduces some of the positive reinforcement of
of drinking alcohol.
But you have to remember it's only impacting one
of those five neurotransmitters that are involved in addiction to alcohol.
Naturally, like with anything else,
There are pros and cons to this approach. I think it's
pretty obvious what the pros would be. A lot of
people are either
scared to stop drinking cold
turkey or really don't want to stop drinking altogether.
Many people just want to reduce the amount
they drink. So you can see why someone might
want to try the Sinclair Method if you want to cut back or
if you're scared to just stop completely cold turkey.
There are a lot of people out there who swear by this.
There's one really good YouTube video that you can watch
where the woman talks about how the Sinclair Method cured her
of alcoholism. But the problem is I don't really think
that the whole story is on that video, because
if you're truly doing the Sinclair method it's
not just you take the medicine and you stop drinking.
It's also supposed to be supported by
therapy and other support groups and a whole complete recovery
program. So, it sounds a little
better on the surface than it is. We all wish there was a
magic pill that could just end the problem for good.
So, while I'm not against the Sinclair method
I think it's a useful tool. I think it is
a BIG mistake to think that this pill
Is the cure for alcoholism. It's definitely something
that can be used to support your recovery
It is for sure not the whole answer. You have
to remember there are four other neurotransmitters still
at play. Dopamine, Gaba, Glutamate,
Seratonin. Those are some pretty
powerful brain chemicals that are also being involved.
That is not being addressed by this chemical.
We haven't gotten
into the psychological stuff.
Most people believe that there are probably some
underlying reasons why someone is drinking in
the first place.
That's a really complicated topic. I won't get into all of that here.
I do have other videos on my channel that will explain that.
I'll put a link right up here at the top if you would like to learn more.
Essentially, if you don't
deal with the underlying reasons whether those are
biological, psychological, circumstantial
that are triggering the alcohol problem, to begin with.
chances are that you're going to get off alcohol and stay
off long-term, not so much.
In my own professional opinion, there is one major
con to the Sinclair Method. To be honest with you
I think the effectiveness of the Sinclair method is probably
highly correlated to how severe
of an alcohol use disorder you really have. If you truly have a moderate
alcohol use disorder, my guess is that you're going to
find the Sinclair Method to be more helpful. But if you
have a SEVERE alcohol use disorder then you might
find that this isn't your whole answer. If you're not sure
whether you or your loved one has a moderate
or severe alcohol use disorder,
then make sure you check out my video where I explain to you
how to diagnose alcoholism and at the end
of that video, it actually tells you how to rate the severity
of the problem. I'll also put
the link in the description below so that you can download the checklist
of the official criteria for alcoholism.
That might help you weigh out whether or not
this might be a good option for you or your loved one.
There's still one big con that I need to go over
with you. Almost anyone that has a drinking problem, really
wants there to be a simple solution.
I want there to be a simple solution, too.
Unfortunately, it's my experience that
there is no simple easy solution to alcoholism.
It's just more complicated than that.
The danger comes in when you tell people
this can help you, this can make you stop
drinking, this can make you stop wanting to drink.
This can make you slowly be able to back down.
In many cases, people will spend many more months
and many more years trying to make this method
work, because hey, we would prefer for this
method to work. I think we could all agree, this would be the easier
way to go. Unfortunately,
in some circumstances, it's just not the case.
So if you're thinking about trying this, it's really important to remember
that the Sinclair method is really just one
piece of the puzzle. If you'll put the other
pieces of the puzzle in place, chances
chances that you can beat alcoholism are actually
really strong. Just so you have
one more resource to help you along your journey. If you or your
loved one is in the early stages of recovery
I've also put a link in the description below for you to get
access to our 30-day Jumpstart
Recovery program. This is actually the same jumpstart
program that the clients that we see in our office get.
It's completely free and it's online and if you're interested
in that, you can find that in the description below.
Lastly, for those of you who are really and truly committed
to beating alcoholism, once and for all!
I've created a playlist specifically for you. Helping you understand
all the ins and outs of the psychology of
alcoholism so you'll definitely have all the tools
you need for success! If you utilize all these resources
I'm giving you, you'll be well on your way to recovery!