Sex Addiction?

So, I belong to a pretty strict religion that classifies porn and masturbation as serious offenses.

I became sexually active at age 17. I'm now 50. I was picked up by a cougar in her early 30s, and we spent the next 3 months going for it pretty much every day as we were both up for sex all the time. Anyway, she was pretty demanding in bed, and she transmitted the attitude to me that if I wanted to have a girlfriend, I needed to be prepared to rock her world. So, I developed the attitude of sex is to make her happy and masturbation is to make me happy.

I'm married and I get it on with my wife a couple of times a week. It's a performance in which I show her that I can rock her world. But, when I'm in the mood, as I said, I'd rather just spend a couple of minutes looking at some nudie pics and beating off, a practice I engaged in pretty much every morning.

But now, my religious leader has classified me as a sex addict and I have to go to a 12-step programme. I hate it, but I go every week. I'm also taking naltrexone 50 mg p.o. daily. It's cut my acting out from every day to once every other week. But, that's considered not good enough. I need to go 90 days abstinent to lift my suspension.

I don't consider myself a sex addict because I never really considered masturbating once a day to be interfering with my life. But... here I am. How can I go 90 days without?

Masturbating once a day sex addiction? Not according to most people (and therapists). I think this is an issue between you and your religious leaders, who seem to have a very different definition of sex addiction from the rest of our culture.

I looked up Naltrexone. I don't see how that would be prescribed by a doctor for sex addiction. But I'm not a doctor.

I don't want to advise lying but it is clear there is a differing opinion between you and your religious leaders.

I wish you luck.

I'm sure you can google Mayo Clinic Internet Sex Addiction Treated With Naltrexone and find a number of case studies indicating that naltrexone can be helpful.

Maybe my dosage isn't high enough? Though really, part of the problem is that I left my pills at home over Thanksgiving weekend and by Saturday night I was looking at pics and beat off on Sunday.

I suppose I could take a bag of a few pills home with me for those weekends that I don't have easy access to the pills as I don't go to work.

As for how I got the pills, I went to one of the many naltrexone-for-alcohol websites and put in responses as though I were a binge drinker. The prescription showed up a week later.

Komizadaku wrote:As for how I got the pills, I went to one of the many naltrexone-for-alcohol websites and put in responses as though I were a binge drinker. The prescription showed up a week later.

Yeah well I'll just pretend I didn't see that. Just be sure to let your regular doctor know you're on that when you go in for illness/checkups/etc.

Otter wrote:I looked up Naltrexone. I don't see how that would be prescribed by a doctor for sex addiction. But I'm not a doctor.

I think I found on Wikipedia or somewhere where there's been some studies showing it did seem to reduce urges in sexual offenders. And the wiki page has in its references a paper on the possibility of using it for a wide range of addicting behaviors.

I understand porn is sinful for some religions and sects- for me, it's sinful, doesn't keep me from looking at it, but it's sin, that's how I was raised- I think 'sex addict' is a bit harsh, though... more often than not, sex addicts that post here talk about doing things like going to massage parlors and prostitutes. When you got a wife at home, yeah, that's being an addict- but you do what you got to do to stay in good graces in your religious community. Clearly that's the most important thing for you and I can hardly fault you for that. Still think 'addict' is a bit harsh. It's not as if you sound as if you let this get in the way of life and your relationship.

I don't have a regular doctor or health insurance. The only insurance I have is dental. So, there's no PCP to inform about the prescription.

The pills are, at least somewhat, effective. As of today, I haven't looked at porn or masturbated for 11 days. I have the pills at work, and I take them as soon as I arrive. They have a warning on them that the pills may cause drowsiness and that one should not operate a vehicle or heavy machinery after taking one, otherwise I would keep the pills at home and have one just before leaving for work.

As I said, I don't consider myself a sex addict, but I've been assigned to go to a 12-step program. The other people there are talking about how they have to register with the police because they are convicted sex offenders or talk about how their marriage was ruined or how they've managed to kick their alcoholism and heroin addiction but not their sex addiction... yet...

Well, I just don't feel that I have a lot in common with these people. Still, 11 days "sober" (or whatever word one uses) isn't enough. I need to hit 90+ days. Ideally, I should just never feel the urge to look at porn or masturbate ever again.

How do actual sex addicts/porn addicts kick the habit? You would think that whatever method(s) they use would be uber effective for me.