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Doctors field new addiction specialty

Old 07-11-2011, 06:50 PM
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Doctors field new addiction specialty

They are training a new specialty for Docs specifically to treat addiction disorders and they have a remarkable tenet that I don't think will cover everybody. And reading the article in depth it seems to go against all Psychiatrists, and groups like AA, when in fact it does not. Don't get me wrong. Some people do have psych problems separate from their addiction and it's results. But I agree with them, in my case anyway, that some or many alcoholics and addicts are not suffering from a mental illness just because they got addicted. Those that are afflicted with mental illness/'s can be treated for those separately from the addiction treatment. What I did find interesting is their having doctors specializing in addiction that are focusing on the body not the mind per se except as a physical treatment. I will follow them to see what they end up doing but a lot makes sense to me.

Here is a tiny excerpt from the article in Today's Times and a link to the whole thing. There is a lot more in the article.

Excerpt:

"Increasingly, the medical establishment is putting its weight behind the physical diagnosis. In the latest evidence, 10 medical institutions have just introduced the first accredited residency programs in addiction medicine, where doctors who have completed medical school and a primary residency will be able to spend a year studying the relationship between addiction and brain chemistry.

“This is a first step toward bringing recognition, respectability and rigor to addiction medicine,” said David Withers, who oversees the new residency program at the Marworth Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Treatment Center in Waverly, Pa."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/he...ddictions.html

For those not interested no sweat but it is an interesting schema to me. In fact I think it is HUGE!
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Old 07-11-2011, 08:31 PM
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I couldn't access your link Itchy but anything that may help alcoholics/addicts I'm all for

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Old 07-11-2011, 08:34 PM
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The physician who headed up the rehab I went to was an addictionologist so I know that they are out there.
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Old 07-11-2011, 08:41 PM
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I think it shows a step in the right direction because I tend to agree with the experts regarding the scientific evidence showing alcoholism is a neurological disorder/disease.
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Old 07-11-2011, 09:46 PM
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Sorry about that try this one and see if it works. Dee let me know if that one worked.

Rethinking Addiction’s Roots, and Its Treatment

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/he....html?emc=eta1

It is a must read.
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Old 07-11-2011, 09:52 PM
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It works - but I'll have to read it later now, lol.


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Old 07-12-2011, 06:28 AM
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My parents sent me this article, also under the auspices of it being a must read. I'm the only one in my family with this "problem," as far as I know, so I can understand the comfort my parents may get from thinking that their son is a poor disease victim. It must be somewhat comforting to think that I have a disease instead of just being a stupid dumb ***.

Marty Mann wrote in "Women Suffer Too":

That was the point at which my doctor gave me the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" to read. The first chapters were a revelation to me. I wasn't the only person in the world who felt and behaved like this! I wasn't mad or vicious—I was a sick person. I was suffering from an actual disease that had a name and symptoms like diabetes or cancer or TB—and a disease was respectable, not a moral stigma!
I don't quite have the same reaction that Marty Mann had, however. A great burden was not lifted when I learned of this, as people in recovery often say. I don't appreciate being told, as in the article, that "[addiction] treatment must be continuing in order to avoid relapse," and I certainly don't like how it influences the general public. If this new development leads to the development of actual medical treatment for addiction, that would be good, but I have a feeling that it will just bring more of the same.
"You have a disease... a chronic relapsing brain disease... you will relapse... nobody can quit..."
Very powerful stuff to be foisting upon addicted people who already feel hopeless. I grow increasingly weary of the comparisons to diabetes, epilepsy, and other chronic diseases. I actually prefer to think that I was a stupid dumb ***, since at least I can live down stupidity. Not so with a "chronic, relapsing brain disease" that needs lifelong "treatment" (whatever that means).

Note: Marty Mann Quote is from 2nd Edition stories of Alcoholics Anonymous (copyright is invalid in the USA).
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Old 07-12-2011, 06:49 AM
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It's a curable disease, AVRT I'd say the prognosis is excellent, unless you go as far as developing Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, right??

I see it as a neurological disorder... and that's what scientific evidence is starting to lean towards, from what I've read anyway. The Human Genome project and the dude, think his last name is Blum, have uncovered genes and genetic situations that point in the direction of a neurological disorder...

Now, of course, the only hesitation I would have involves nature-nurture debate. The brain is the least understand organ, because of its complexity. Did environmental factors cause the abnomalities to unfold after drinking or heavy drinking? If so, you could argue it's more a moral issue, right? Or lack of public education, maybe?

But, if we're born with less dopamine receptors (overabundance of the A1 allele in alcoholics), passed down from our parents... if we do have an instantaneous experience when we first consume alcohol... the euphoric high... that pulls us toward it... and begins to create addiction and dependence immediately (there is evidence for this)... then that to me seems like a brain disorder.

Abstinence (by any means necessary) intercepts the disease and begins to allow for recovery, on a physical level. The moral/spiritual benefit comes after that.

I just don't think I'd rather be a dumb**** in this case. I'd rather be dealing with a brain that I can work with and "rewire" and forge new grooves and connections... it's maleable.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:10 AM
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least *understood*

where is the edit button?? lol.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:13 AM
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A physiological model certainly does provide a framework for understanding why I kept on drinking in spite of the consequences, and that does bring some level of comfort, at least at first, though not much in the long run. The problem with this "chronic, relapsing brain disease" nonsense, as they usually present it, is that they are trying to force a diagnosis on me which, in their opinion, I am too stupid to overcome on my own once made aware of it. Plus, unlike the uninitiated, I know perfectly well what "treatment" really means, and it has absolutely nothing to do with medicine.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:16 AM
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Personally the diabetes comparison was one of the things that got through to me early on. Lifestyle choices profoundly affect the severity of that disease... just as they do with alcoholism/addiction. You could say that someone who gets Type II diabetes as a result of overeating for years and putting on weight "caused" their own disease too... but there are factors beneath the surface... anxiety (for me), abuse, genetics, environment, self-medication, the impact that using physically has on your brain and/or body, etc. I understand the resistance to making people feel even more hopeless... but I think it also makes people see that abstinence and working a program are NECESSARY to stay well. Just my two cents. But I'm still early in sobriety.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by AVRT View Post
A physiological model certainly does provide a framework for understanding why I kept on drinking in spite of the consequences, and that does bring some level of comfort, at least at first, though not much in the long run. The problem with this "chronic, relapsing brain disease" nonsense, as they usually present it, is that they are trying to force a diagnosis on me which, in their opinion, I am too stupid to overcome once made aware of it. Plus, unlike the uninitiated, I know perfectly well what "treatment" really means, and it has absolutely nothing to do with medicine.
Gotcha.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:22 AM
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People in recovery love this disease idea because it absolves them of guilt and shame, but they are deeply mistaken if they believe that the rest of society extends them this courtesy. Others may accept it as a disease on the surface, but don't believe for one second that their true feelings towards alcoholics and addicts are changed by it. If you don't believe me, just hop on over to the Friends and Family forum for some reading from the other side.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:26 AM
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Originally Posted by AVRT View Post
People in recovery love this disease idea because it absolves them of guilt and shame, but they are deeply mistaken if they believe that the rest of society extends them this courtesy. Others may accept it as a disease on the surface, but don't believe for one second that their true feelings towards alcoholics and addicts are changed.
It's a shame about the stigma...

I guess if there's a scientific or physiological explanation then it makes me feel good... that there's something physical to pinpoint. Has little to do with societal acceptance really. I guess I'm such a nonconformist anyway, it doesn't bother me what others think... just an annoyance I can't blast my latest findings all over Facebook...

I guess I feel there's such a strong mind-body connection... that we can literally change the structure of our brains if we know how to... that gives me great hope. And that we can change them by changing our behavior, through any number of techniques... that's amazing.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:28 AM
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When I wanted to stop I stopped worrying about what I thought about my alcoholism and asked what will work. Addressing the physiological aspect of alcoholism works in my opinion. Almost 2yrs sober, happy and healthy.
My hope is that the physiological, psychological and social method becomes available to all who needs it.
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Old 07-12-2011, 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by AVRT
"I'm an alcoholic" is not my last name
LOL. I'm with you, AVRT on this one! It'll be a cold day in hell before I identify and define myself as who I am with a diagnosis of any kind... psychological or physiological.

I called myself an "alcoholic" in your poll last week. I'm not afraid of categorization or labels as a means to an end (and that end is a normal, satisfying healthy life... as I define it for myself... free from addictions that take away quality of life).

However, I'd rather die than live out the rest of my life going to meetings and appealing to a power outside myself to secure my very existence.
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Old 07-12-2011, 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted by AVRT View Post
People in recovery love this disease idea because it absolves them of guilt and shame.
I haven't really heard that, at least from people who subscribe to the disease model... If I do hear that sort of sentiment it usually from those who project it on to others....

I went to a treatment center where the 12 step program was the centerpiece, and I am grateful for that... They also incorporated CBT, which I didn't find helpful, personally, but many have and I am now glad to know of it. Additionally it had a fellowship for physicians who wanted to become certified in addiction medicine.... research and insight into the physiologic/biochemical basis of addiction, as alluded to in this article, was important....

Most there seemed to accept this disease model.... However, believe me when I tell you that at no time did I feel that anyone was being absolved for their sins.
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Old 07-12-2011, 08:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Mark75 View Post
I went to a treatment center where the 12 step program was the centerpiece, and I am grateful for that... They also incorporated CBT, which I didn't find helpful, personally, but many have and I am now glad to know of it. Additionally it had a fellowship for physicians who wanted to become certified in addiction medicine.... research and insight into the physiologic/biochemical basis of addiction, as alluded to in this article, was important....

Most there seemed to accept this disease model.... However, believe me when I tell you that at no time did I feel that anyone was being absolved for their sins.
I didn't get much out of CBT either, at least with regard to addiction. Perhaps I was too dependent already, or my temperament is not suited to it, I don't really know why. It does seem that some people like CBT, though, so I can't entirely dismiss it.

If they can research addiction with the aim of actually finding proper medical treatment, that would be good. Perhaps some day people will be able to take a pill and "forget" that they are addicted. If you read their writings, you can see that this was actually the dream of Bill W, Marty Mann, and others back in the day. :-)

As you say, though, at present, the disease model does not absolve you of your sins in the long run... you are still SOL.
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Old 07-12-2011, 08:44 AM
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But I didn't see or hear anything about this research enabling people to forget that they were addicted or alcoholic, did you?
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Old 07-12-2011, 08:45 AM
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Powerless does not equal helpless...


OK I am out of here...
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