Katie Lain, 39, from San Francisco, California, has revealed how a 75p pill helped her overcome a decade of daily blackout drinking. After years of struggling with alcohol addiction, she discovered the Sinclair method, which uses the medication naltrexone to reduce cravings. Now eight years sober, she runs her own alcohol recovery coaching company, Thrive.
From Social Drinking to Daily Blackouts
Katie's problems with alcohol began when she turned 21 in 2008, after she started associating with heavy drinkers. She quickly developed a taste for hard liquor, particularly vodka, and found she could not control her consumption. By the time she realized she had a problem, she was drinking daily, often starting on her lunch break while working from home. What began as making fancy cocktails soon spiraled into drinking straight vodka until she blacked out seven nights a week.
She would drink to get drunk, polishing off two bottles of wine or six to eight strong IPA beers in an evening. Despite functioning in her job, she acknowledged that her drinking was out of control. She recalled a terrifying incident where she was pulled over while driving drunk but avoided a DUI because the officer did not ask if she had been drinking.
Failed Attempts at Sobriety
Katie tried numerous methods to quit over a 10-year period, including Alcoholics Anonymous, holistic retreats, medication, keto diets, juice cleanses, and even ayahuasca retreats. None worked long-term. She once achieved six months of sobriety but admitted she wanted to drink every day. Even after being diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolism—blood clots in the lungs—caused by a genetic condition and being advised not to drink, she relapsed just four days later.
The Sinclair Method and Naltrexone
In July 2017, Katie saw a TEDxTalk by actress Claudia Christian, who explained how she beat alcoholism using the Sinclair method and naltrexone. Katie decided to try it. The method involves taking naltrexone one hour before drinking. The pill, which costs about 75p ($1) per dose, blocks the endorphins that flood the brain when alcohol is consumed, reducing the pleasure associated with drinking.
Katie continued to drink while on the medication, but over time her cravings dulled. She said: 'Drinking was not getting the same reward with the medication on board. In my case I drank over and over again with the treatment for a year and as I continued to drink and use the medication I just fell out of love with alcohol.' She found herself unable to finish a second glass of wine and eventually went days and weeks without drinking.
Last Drink and Life After Sobriety
Katie's last drink was in September 2018, just over a year after starting the method. She went out to dinner and left two-thirds of a glass of wine unfinished. After that, she simply stopped wanting to drink. She said: 'I went on a trip after that and thought I don't want to drink on this trip, I just want to be clear headed. After that trip, it was three weeks, then a month, then two, three and four months after simply not drinking because I didn't want to.'
Now eight years sober, Katie is amazed by the method and began coaching others in 2018. In 2021, she founded Thrive, a company that uses the Sinclair programme to help others achieve sobriety. She describes her life now as 'freedom' and appreciates simple joys like family, a cup of tea, and delicious meals—things she once numbed with alcohol.
Katie said: 'To be able to reconnect to my true self apart from someone who was addicted to alcohol for 10 years. I appreciate the simple joys - family, a cup of tea, delicious meals, all the things I ignored and numbed out with alcohol everyday.'
