Would a psychiatrist prescribe an addict/alcoholic ADD/ADHD meds?
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Join Date: Nov 2011
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Would a psychiatrist prescribe an addict/alcoholic ADD/ADHD meds?
While my addict (brother) is about three weeks sober, to our knowledge, and has been going to AA & NA meetings regularly (to our knowledge), things are starting to get dodgy again already - not only did he skip his meeting tonight, he said he was going to a psychologist, but went to a psychiatrist (biggest difference, one can prescribe him drugs). Today he told my mom, who is starting to come out of denial but feels powerless, that he was prescribed Concerta. I googled it - Concerta is considered dangerous in relation to recovering addicts as far as their recovery. My brother said he told the doctor everything, that he was an addict, about his recent DUI, etc., and the doc said that non-addictive meds wouldn't work for his ADD/ADHD after extensive testing, and then the doc prescribed Concerta since there is an adder all shortage... It sounds like BS to me. Would a psychiatrist knowingly prescribe a very recent recovering addict Concerta?
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 212
Absolutely! Psychiatrists are in the business of promoting drugs. They don't care about your story - per se. They study these drugs and decide, based on what they deem your personality disorder is - which drug they believe will likely help you. They are the opposite of AA - which helps you deal with your situation and learn to change your thought patterns.
Concerta affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. He could have discovered in testing that your brother's problem is that he is impulsive, which leads to the drinking and may have believed this might control that.
While these drugs aren't as addictive as some, it's hard to say how much they will rewire him in another way and lead him to another major addiction (instead of alcohol). Getting him off one thing and getting him onto another? Yikes. I understand your worry. Good luck with this
Concerta affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. He could have discovered in testing that your brother's problem is that he is impulsive, which leads to the drinking and may have believed this might control that.
While these drugs aren't as addictive as some, it's hard to say how much they will rewire him in another way and lead him to another major addiction (instead of alcohol). Getting him off one thing and getting him onto another? Yikes. I understand your worry. Good luck with this
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