People just are not understanding TSM what so ever
It is not about creating a non-alcoholic out of an alcoholic. It is another method of quitting that goes against the traditional 12-step, detox and absintence models and people just cant keep an open mind enough to accept that it could work.
It is the most scientifically proven method to date, it was started in the 1980s and a hell of alot more research put into it than one doctors "opinion" from 1934.
I am also a member of AA, but i am the type of alcoholic that no matter how bad a spree gets, i always get the desire to go back no matter what.
How TSM works is by blocking the endorphin rush in the brain that an alcoholic experiences, by binding to the receptors that ethanol alcohol does, thereby blocking the alcohol from binding. The result of this is that when the person "slips", as long as they have taken naltrexone they gain no pleasure from drinking alcohol. The effect of alcohol is present, but not the euphoric rush and addictive endorphin rush that an alcoholic experiences.
The result of this is that after a number of slips (which are a learned behaviour of buying or drinking alcohol in certain situations or under certain moods), the act of drinking the alcohol no longer gives the effect desired... so all that is left is the cognitive behaviour of buying and drinking the stuff... Eventually, the person LEARNS (or re-learns) that there is absolutely no point in drinking alcohol, because there is nothing in it any more - thereby leading them to complete abstinence without the craving for the euphoria or endorphins. Eliminating the mental obsession they talk about in AA.
The reason being that as long as the person stays on the medication, they can slip hundreds of times and get absolutely no great effect or loss of control, so eventually the wiring of the brain under the trigger situations will say "theres no point in drinking alcohol" rather than trying to fight it or have to phone someone to talk about it...
The obsession becomes removed, the person becomes abstinent, all without having to fight that urge to take the drink - they can take the drink if they want, but they get nothing from it... it just ends up being a waste of money...
I am in close contact with AA, harm reduction and community addictions, all are different methods of recovery - so is the sinclair method using naltrexone... its just because its the complete opposite of the standard methods of recovery that people cant wrap their minds around it at all