Cravings extinguished once and for all
Until recently, Sam Goding, a 49-year-old from Darwin Australia, considered himself a “happy drunk”. Consuming alcohol never got him into trouble, and people around him drank daily. But, like other untreated disorders, Sam’s condition began to worsen as the amount he drank increased.
As his consumption ramped up, Sam began experiencing serious health issues. “I woke on the kitchen floor in a pool of dried blood, unable to tell how long I’d been there.” With severe anemia, he was rushed to hospital.
He spent weeks recovering in hospital, and then on the advice of experts, enrolled in a rehab program, but was simply unable to overcome his cravings. “I spent five months there and wanted a drink more and more as time went on. The day they released me I was drinking again.”
“I battled my way through the next two years, white knuckling it as much as I could bare. I attended meeting after meeting, counselling, GPs, test after test. However, nothing known to me could ease the cravings that were simply impossible to resist.”
While watching a documentary, Sam eventually stumbled upon information about The Sinclair Method, a medical treatment option centring on the use of naltrexone to inhibit cravings and allow for reduced consumption. He researched the method and sought the help and support of friends.
With naltrexone, one of several medications available to treat alcohol use disorder, Sam found success. “I was filled with confidence that I was on the right track. I would only purchase what I planned to drink, no more, and made a point of selecting drinks I would not normally consume. I would leave the drink in another room, and wander in occasionally to take a sip. And I always, always, took 50mg of naltrexone one hour before I had a drink.”
He experienced some bumps on the road in the first months of his treatment, finding that he still overconsumed vodka if he was not vigilant. But something changed at the three-month mark, and the desire to drink simply vanished.
“I can genuinely tell you, I have had no cravings or desire, whatsoever to have a drink for 60 days. I am so sure that the craving has gone that I can officially declare myself ‘medically extinct’ from the craving, the obsession to drink alcohol.”
Sam has a plan to renew medication use in the case of relapse, which he describes as his safety net. And now that he is free from cravings, Sam is actively sharing his success and encouraging others by becoming a coach himself.
He is so grateful to the C Three Foundation, Claudia Christian, Roy Eskapa and Dr. John Sinclair for their work and to the three close friends who, without judgment, offered him support.