deliverance

Has anyone or their loved one had success or victory over alcoholism by taking medication prescribed by a doctor? I guess I'm asking if anyone during active alcoholism started medication which then gradually took away their urge to drink?

justanothrdrunk

I have many friends who have used various anti-craving medications and the like as an adjunct to a treatment/recovery program and had sucess.

I don't know of anyone who has used medication alone (without involvement in a recovery program such as AA or the 12-steps) who has had any sucess.

Ago

No

meds for depression or anxiety in conjunction with a 12 step program but not meds for "alcoholism"

So far the medical profession haven't really come up with a more effective solution for alcoholism then "recovery" of which far and away the most successful one is AA

I speak not as an "authority" but certainly one with 16 years experience.

What I've seen happen with meds like Xanax and Valium to treat alcoholism could be a Stephen King Book, and those that have gone on Anabuse, I have heard 100's of story of people drinking on that which gets pretty ugly.

Please bear in mind this is just my experience, not Gospel, maybe I just personally haven't seen the "success stories" precisely because they were "success stories" but ...I haven't seen any out of the thousands and thousands of alcoholics I have come in contact with over the years.

But be informed I don't have justanotherdrunk's experience either but I am wholly in agreement with his statements.

sslusser

I smoked Camel non-filters for 24 years. My aunt had tried Chantix to quit smoking and it worked for her for a bit. She started smoking again. She was not committed to being a non-smoker. She did it because her doctor told she had to.

I was determined to be a non-smoker and so I tried the medication as well. I had tried many, many times to quit and the addiction of the nicotine would always get me. My desire was always there and so was my will power but the addiction was strong. With Chantix I was able to get past the addiction part to the point where I could rely on my determination and will power.

That was a year and a half ago. I still have the craving now and again but I know that I am only one cigarette away from being a smoker again. I do not want to be a smoker. I think back on it and think that I really chose an awful time to quit!

My point is that the medications can help you get past parts of "cleaning up" but you will still need your resolve and determination to carry you through to the end.

deliverance

This medication (3 different ones) that my husband is taking is for depression/anxiety and adult-adhd. He told me this morning that he is starting to feel more in control in general - although I don't really see it. He says he feels like he is able to "hold his liquor more". (disease talk I know) Just wondering if there is anyone who had been using the alcohol to self-medicate and then regular medication was able to gradually take away the cravings.

I know you should not be using alcohol and antidepressants at the same time. It scares me for him sometimes that he may not wake up.

sslusser

The studies I have read usually end up warning that drinking and anti-depressants make the depression worse.

Ago

this is just me, but I was able to quit smoking with will power, that's not my experience with drinking.

with my alcoholism I needed more then resolve, determination, and will power, I needed "help", one of the very definitions of alcoholism state that "will power is of no use whatsoever" it's what defines the alcoholic from the "hard drinker"

Freedom1990

Drinking while on antidepressants is like throwing gasoline on the campfire.

hello-kitty

Speaking from personal experience, I 100% concur with what Freedom says. It made me even more crazy then I already was. The doctors say don't drink when using antidepressants, but they don't put enough emphasis on what can happen when you do. It's a really really bad idea. Antidepressants should not be an option when someone is drinking. It makes everything worse.

FormerDoormat

There are no magic bullets in the form of pills to cure alcoholism, just as there are no magic bullets to cure obesity.

No amount of anti-craving medications, no amount of AA meetings, no amount of therapy, no amount of desire on his part or efforts to control on my part cured Richard's alcoholism. Eventually he drank himself to death.

My cure for my partner's alcoholism was to end the relationship. Grasping at straws and searching for magic bullets just prolonged my misery. Having the courage to face the truth and seeing Richard as he really was--not who I wanted him to be--was my salvation.

queenteree

I totally agree w/FD. I really don't think anything will help my AH stay sober, he's been to rehabs, been to outpatient, been to AA. It kept him sober for a little bit, only to relapse after a certain point. Several months ago, our dr. put him on Topomax, a new breakthrough to beat cravings and can be started during active drinking. I know he took those pills and that's actually when the real downward spiral started happening. I'm not blaming the pills at all, I'm blaming the disease. As any recovering A will tell you, you gotta want sobriety above anything else, and more than you want the drink. And an A is always one drink away from being a drunk.

sslusser

What do you use now? I am just saying you have to want to do it. You have to want the help. That has to come from within. Help or pills or smacks with 2x4 will all fail without that.

Ago

I agree with that, without the willingness....nada

I "use", attend, and work, the program of Alcoholics Anonymous