Welcome to the Forum Bearcat!!
Here in the newcomers section debating recovery methods is discouraged as heated debates can be just that and can be a bit off putting for newcomers to dive right in and introduce themselves, however there are loads of different areas within the Forum to discuss such methods - AA, secular methods etc, if you go back out to the main index page it'll list all the different sections, and many are very active.
When it comes to medical advice there is indeed a rule against it, the reason being is addiction is a very complex thing, there is no way on an online Forum anyone could properly diagnose a person accurately and so referring to a Dr is the only safe way forward, especially when addiction can be a life and death thing at it's worst.
Great to have you onboard though, you'll find loads of support here on SR to help with your journey!!
