I would have gladly and gratefully tried Chantrix, Topomax, Campral, Naltrexone, or any of the other drugs I see mentioned in these, um, "debates" -- had any of them been offered to me. By anyone. By any doctor. By any therapist. By any psychiatrist. By any counselor. My point is, and continues to be, that none of them were.
I can't be the only one who has had this experience.
I suffered from alcoholism, sought treatment from anyone and everyone, including several and varied members of the "medical community", and was told with unanimity, "AA". Not Topomax, not Campral, not Naltrexone, but AA.
And again, as I mentioned in my original post, as my disease progressed, I lost my job, and with it my health insurance. At that point, I would have had a hard time getting a prescription for penicillin. A prescription for a state-of-the-art experimental gluconate inhibitor was out of the question.
I honestly don't know where we're finding all of these bottomed-out, desperate alcoholics and addicts whose Kaiser or Blue Shield premiums are all paid up.