NEWSWEEK's cover article on new "vaccines" for alcoholism/addiction

[Jeff070204]

This week's Newsweek magazine's cover feature is titled, "The Hunt for an Addiction Vaccine". I read the article, and felt compelled to chime in with a comment on their website. Here is a version of what I posted:

I've noticed that articles like this come out once a year or so. My reaction to them is always something like, "Well, it's sure a nice idea, but...lotsa luck." This article has an interesting twist in that the central idea of much of it seems to be, "People will FINALLY come to view alcoholism/addiction as a 'disease' as soon as we invent a pill for it." Um, OK. Again, I'll believe it when I see it.

I had my last drink of alcohol in July of 2004. In the 18 months preceding that, I had been actively seeking treatment for my alcoholism. I knew that AA involved praying, God, smoking, talking at length about oneself, and people I wasn't sure I wanted to be around. It also seemed to me that if alcoholism was indeed a disease, then I'd be better off seeking help from the medical community.

While I was still able (meaning, before I lost my job and my health insurance due to my drinking), I went to pretty much every variety of health-care person that was accessible to me. They all said essentially one thing: "Stop drinking, go to AA." Never was there any mention from any of these people about Campral or Naltrexone, dopamine receptors or GABA, "delayed discounting", not even Antabuse.

A little baffled, I shrugged and began to attend AA meetings. Their effect on me and my emotional state with respect to my drinking ranged from none at all, to a marked increase in the depth and degree of my despair.

After months of attending AA meetings, stopping drinking entirely still didn't seem and had never seemed a reasonable or realistic option. Finally, I agreed to enter a "treatment center", it being obvious to me at the time that AA wasn't "working", and that I needed "treatment", not AA.

I then discovered what a "treatment center" really was -- a place where they throw you in with a dozen or so other nitwits and shove AA down your throat. After surviving 30 days at what I came to refer to as "jail lite", I left, and six weeks later I was drinking again, with increased fervor and urgency.

At that point, with my job and health insurance long gone, the question of whether I could find "medical treatment" for my "disease" was rendered academic. The only treatment for my alcoholism, I felt, was more alcohol, and I nearly died.

After a period of some months, I found myself in another "jail lite" facility. Again, AA was force-fed. Nowhere was there any mention of anything else described in the article. I spent the first few months of my "recovery" waiting to die.

I can't explain how it came to pass that I'm sitting here typing this today. My best guess is that I'm simply lucky. I do attend four to five AA meetings a week, and as much as I would love to profess that "the Program" is the reason I'm sober, it would be a half-truth at best. Again, I can't explain why, but at some point I simply decided that I had had it with the whole business -- that enough was simply enough.

[nandm]

I found the article interesting as well as your reply.

What I get from your response is that although you don't feel AA has helped you to stay sober you continue to go to several meetings a week. This confuses me. Why continue to do something you feel does not work? Have you worked the steps? Have you gotten a sponsor? Have you read and studied the first 164 pages of the Big Book? It takes more than going to meetings for AA to work. Meetings are a great place to start but that is all they are, they are not intended to be a means to an end.

I do hope you find a solution that works for you. AA is not for everybody, some people do not want to do the work that it takes to stay sober utilizing the program of AA. Some do not feel that the program is for them. There are many other recovery programs out there. There is a listing of many of them in the stickys at the top of the alcoholism thread.

[Chino]

I posted that article in the Family and Friends forum a few days ago; I thought it was educational. From an addicts perspective though, especially one in recovery, I can see where it might be different.

Originally Posted by Jeff070204

I can't explain how it came to pass that I'm sitting here typing this today. My best guess is that I'm simply lucky. I do attend four to five AA meetings a week, and as much as I would love to profess that "the Program" is the reason I'm sober, it would be a half-truth at best. Again, I can't explain why, but at some point I simply decided that I had had it with the whole business -- that enough was simply enough.

When my AD was in an outpatient rehab program a few months ago, I asked one of the counselors how come more people don't utilize the meds available, why more doctors don't prescribe them.

The first and most obvious reason is that everyone has to find their own way to sobriety. As far as doctors go, some are ignorant to new treatments and some think pain is the only way.

What I learned from a neurologist is that every brain is different. When you add in co-occurring brain disorders and/or brain trauma, some people will never find their way to sobriety without extra help from the medical community.

A friend of mine just buried her former AH. He had mental illness along with severe brain trauma from a motorcycle accident years ago. He finally committed suicide. Had some of the newer treatments been available back then he might still be alive.

She learned of the some of the treatments available through me because of my AD, but it was the week before he killed himself.

[Jeff070204]

Again, I only speak from my own experience.

My experience has been and continues to be that there is no such thing as my being alcoholic without my going to AA. They are two sides of the same coin. For a long time, I tried to do as you indirectly suggested -- I didn't go to AA because I believed it didn't work. But no matter how much I tried to stick to that, and to seek out these "alternative treatments" and "other recovery programs" that you and the Newsweek article and innumerable others talk about, I kept winding up right back in an AA meeting.

I've had three sponsors. Whether or not I've "worked the steps" depends entirely upon whom you ask, however I believe the same can be said for anyone at all in AA. I've read and studied the first 164 pages of the book (although I think the Doctor's Opinion and the testimonials in back are more useful and substantive), along with the book "The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions", and to a lesser extent the books "As Bill Sees It" and "Living Sober".

Yet in light of all of that, I still feel the way I feel about AA and alcoholism "treatment" in general, such as expressed in my original post. To coin a phrase, "I dunno."

[nandm]

Jeff, thank you for your honesty. I really respect that. I don't know exactly why AA keeps me sober but it does. I do know that for it to work for me I have to apply the steps to every problem or difficulty in my life. How I do that is interchange what ever problem I am faced with and the word alcohol in the step. I have found that by doing this I am not only able to stay sober but I am able to keep serenity when I apply this. As anyone I am not perfect and do wind up with bad days because I forget or am to lazy, or can't seem to get motivated to apply the steps to a problem or situation. Again thanks for your honesty and for the article

[SpringRose]

It's not as crazy as it sounds. The most effective method for beating the most addictive substance (nicotine) is Chantrix, which works in a similar way to Campral. I think working with body and brain chemistry is going to be more successful than the "spiritual disease" angle has proven to be.

[nandm]

Originally Posted by SpringRose

. I think working with body and brain chemistry is going to be more successful than the "spiritual disease" angle has proven to be.

I would agree if my experience were that spirituality had nothing to do with my alcoholism. But as I have found it to be a disease of the mind, body and spirit; I doubt any medication that doesn't address all three is not going to be more successful for me.

[SpringRose]

Originally Posted by nandm

I would agree if my experience were that spirituality had nothing to do with my alcoholism.

Does spirituality have anything to do with nicotine addiction or eating disorders? With the meds, they are discovering certain medications designed for one addictive behavior often work for another. Topomax (used to control cravings for alcohol) is proving effective in treating eating disorders. Chantrix (designed to end nicotine addiction) is also showing promise for controlling drinking.

It seems medicine is on to something. Yahooooo!

[nandm]

Originally Posted by SpringRose

Does spirituality have anything to do with nicotine addiction or eating disorders? With the meds, they are discovering certain medications designed for one addictive behavior often work for another. Topomax (used to control cravings for alcohol) is proving effective in treating eating disorders. Chantrix (designed to end nicotine addiction) is also showing promise for controlling drinking.

It seems medicine is on to something. Yahooooo!

I respect your right to your opinion. And ask that your respect my right to my opinion. My experience happens to be that spirituality has a lot to do with my disease of alcoholism. Yes, spirituality had something to do with my nicotine addiction as I quit smoking after 20 years at the same time I quit drinking all using the spiritual program of AA. I realize that you may not be able to understand or agree with that. I also realize that you are probably not an alcoholic as you drink moderately and for a true alcoholic that is playing with fire. I choose to utilize what works for me and that happens to be a spiritual path to sobriety. You do not have to agree with me.

Having been a nurse for the past 20 years and paramedic for 12 years; I have seen both the good and bad of medication therapy. Pills are not necessarily the cure all to beat all cure alls. Sometimes they do more harm than good. All medications have side effects. It would be wonderful if there were a miracle cure for addiction and alcoholism but so far none has proven to be that.

There are several points we do not see eye to eye on and probably never will. Good luck with your life.

[nandm]

Originally Posted by SpringRose

Does spirituality have anything to do with nicotine addiction or eating disorders? With the meds, they are discovering certain medications designed for one addictive behavior often work for another. Topomax (used to control cravings for alcohol) is proving effective in treating eating disorders. Chantrix (designed to end nicotine addiction) is also showing promise for controlling drinking.

It seems medicine is on to something. Yahooooo!

One huge side effect of Topamax-----weight gain. So we could have a bunch of sober obese people who die of heart attacks and strokes rather than alcoholism.....doesn't sound like much progress to me.....

There are no negative side effects to a spiritual solution to alcoholism......

[mike_mass]

Well, when they come out with a vaccine for the seven deadly sins, count me in.

[SpringRose]

Originally Posted by nandm

[color="Navy"][size="3"][font="Verdana"]I respect your right to your opinion. And ask that your respect my right to my opinion. My experience happens to be that spirituality has a lot to do with my disease of alcoholism.

That's fine, but it's your personal testimony and, in my mind, every bit as reliable as any kind of "saved again" testimony. It's the Amway approach. What it is not is anything based on verifiable data. I'm going to put more trust in the activity in the medical community (hell, I'm doing backflips that they are finally moving beyond the whole 12-step thing) than on your personal testimony. That doesn't mean I do not respect your opinion. It also doesn't mean that I can't argue it and remain respectful.

[SpringRose]

Originally Posted by nandm

One huge side effect of Topamax-----weight gain.

Where did you get that? One of the most common (if not *the* most common) side effects is weight loss. What is your source?

So we could have a bunch of sober obese people who die of heart attacks and strokes rather than alcoholism...

Yes. Bill and Bob both died of tobacco, so there's that.

...doesn't sound like much progress to me.....

There are no negative side effects to a spiritual solution to alcoholism...

If it was effective at all, you might have a point. As it is, AA is every bit effective as nothing at all. 5% recover in AA; the rate of "spontaneous remission" is also 5% - that doesn't sound like progress to me. You can proclaim your success to Monday and back - and GOOD FOR YOU, but statistically, AA is no solution - it's an utter failure. Do you care about the 95% that do not recover in AA? If so, why are you arguing against possible solutions for those people?

[nandm]

Originally Posted by SpringRose

Where did you get that? One of the most common (if not *the* most common) side effects is weight loss. What is your source?

Personal experience with the medication!

Yes. Bill and Bob both died of tobacco, so there's that.

Your point???

If it was effective at all, you might have a point. As it is, AA is every bit effective as nothing at all. 5% recover in AA; the rate of "spontaneous remission" is also 5% - that doesn't sound like progress to me. You can proclaim your success to Monday and back - and GOOD FOR YOU, but statistically, AA is no solution - it's an utter failure. Do you care about the 95% that do not recover in AA? If so, why are you arguing against possible solutions for those people?

It is easy to throw imaginary statistics around. It is impossible to obtain an accurate count from a group that is ANONYMOUS. Think about it!

I don't have the time nor the energy to play your game. I will not continue to argue with you. You have your OPINION and I have my EXPERIENCE. Wonder which is more valid?