dox

I am an alcoholic; grateful to be sober for 7 years, 11 months with the help of AA and my Higher Power. I am also grateful that I have yet to encounter anyone that had such contempt, prior to investigation, for their fellow alcoholic. For, you see, I am also bipolar; been taking lithium for 33 years.

I have heard of fellow dual-diagnosed alcoholics being subjected to these erroneous opinions by people who should know better. When I first came to AA, I struggled with denial. Perhaps, I thought, I am just self-medicating my manic depression. The most useful thing that I heard, in the beginning, was "THE ONLY REQUIREMENT FOR MEMBERSHIP IS A DESIRE TO STOP DRINKING."

It is not a requirement to go against medical advice by stopping any medications. I know, from my experience, that if I stop taking lithium I get high . . . so high that I might not come down. If someone in AA is advising you to stop taking your medication, you might ask them about their experience with psychiatric medication. Maybe what they are saying was right for them. Or maybe they are expressing opinions about something they have no experience of and, therfore, do not understand at all.

nandm

I have been sober through the program of AA for over 11 years now. Unfortunately I have run into the subgroup of AAers who are anti-medication. To them "a drug is a drug is a drug." I even listened to them for a bit and went off my medication and nearly wound up in a psych ward. I know people who have committed suicide because they listened to these ill informed people. I also know one person who is bipolar who at the time was stable on her meds but listened to these people, stopped taking all her meds, wound up in a mental ward, has tried for over 5 years now to get stable again even trying shock treatments without success. She went from being a working productive member of society to a person who barely functions, lives with her parents and is on disability. So needless to say these ill informed people anger me because they cause real harm to real people.

The bottom line is AA treats my alcoholism and my mental health team is there to treat my mental health illness'. I can not treat my mental illness with AA anymore than I could treat my alcoholism with a psychiatrist or a magic pill. When the topic of medications comes up in an AA meeting I speak up simply because I know I have to share my experience, strength, and hope which includes sharing the fact that I take follow the advice of my doctor when it comes to treating my mental illness rather than a group of alcoholics. I think my doctor is much more qualified to treat my disease.

Sorry for the rant but this is a very raw subject for me and one I have to carefully choose my words on when I speak about it in a meeting so I don't go off on someone who makes the stupid statement that mental health medications should be stopped if someone is truly working the program of AA.