Using medication to stay sober

[Maximilian]

I am wondering what people think about using medications to help stay sober. I remember when i was coming off of drugs, I was given some medications that were supposed to help prevent "urges" but I don't think it ever really worked much. I also know there are drugs that make people who drink alcohol get sick, and so they take a pill in the morning and this prevents them from drinking or else they get very sick. There are people who think it's a good idea to combat addiction with anti depressants and anti anxiety drugs. I think it might be easier to come off drugs and alcohol this way, perhaps, but I also wonder if it's a good step to replace one addiction for another. I was prescribed to Xanax and that was very addictive and made me feel kind of high all the time actually, so it seemed kind of strange to use such strong medication when I was trying to be sober.

Do you think medication should be used if you want to remain sober? Or do you feel like it's trading one chemical dependency for another?

[DannyB II]

I am wondering what people think about using medications to help stay sober. I remember when i was coming off of drugs, I was given some medications that were supposed to help prevent "urges" but I don't think it ever really worked much. I also know there are drugs that make people who drink alcohol get sick, and so they take a pill in the morning and this prevents them from drinking or else they get very sick. There are people who think it's a good idea to combat addiction with anti depressants and anti anxiety drugs. I think it might be easier to come off drugs and alcohol this way, perhaps, but I also wonder if it's a good step to replace one addiction for another. I was prescribed to Xanax and that was very addictive and made me feel kind of high all the time actually, so it seemed kind of strange to use such strong medication when I was trying to be sober.

Do you think medication should be used if you want to remain sober? Or do you feel like it's trading one chemical dependency for another?

I think your body/mind will have an affinity for another high after you have removed your drug, I believe that is scientific natural sense. Now I am not sure what they gave me while I was kicking dope and cheap wine but whatever it was it worked while I was in detox. Once out I had the normal shakes, attitude adjustments, depression, urges and so forth. I was not given anymore drugs nor asked for them.
I was through and wanted no more of the life I was living.
I am not a Doctor so medically I can say professionally which way would be good but if their is a way not to, don't take anymore drugs.

[none-ya]

HE gets xanax from a doctor. I get bupkis.
Damn, the god that I don't believe in, hates me. All i want is heath insurance in northen Calafornia. Sweet afghan dreams.

[psy]

Do you think medication should be used if you want to remain sober? Or do you feel like it's trading one chemical dependency for another?

Well. From a practical standpoint, what does it matter if its trading one dependency for another as long as the substitute is benign or at least not as harmful?  Plus.  Some people have chemical imbalances in their brain (or have damaged their brain) and need drugs to function in normal society (bipolar, schizo, etc).  Whether you believe that addiction is a symptom of disease, or a disease in itself, it makes sense to treat it with whatever works, or makes it easier.

A woman I know in CA who attends AA and substitutes pot for alcohol.  She's perfectly functional now and runs her own sucessful business.  When she was drinking her life was a mess.  It works for her and i've heard may similar stories from others. For purely withdrawal purpose, Anabuse can work wonders.

Also, some drugs such as Ibogaine are only used once, not continuously.  Read up on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibogaine

[psy]

Ya know. I was just thinking, Max.  Don't you think you're substituting one addiction for another when you go to meetings?  I mean you're dependent on them, right?
Check out this quotation.

Note that both William H. White, in Slaying The Dragon, page 77, and Bill Pitmann, in AA: The Way It Began, page 171, attribute that dipsomania quote to William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience, (page 263), not to Carl Jung. For good reason — footnote 1 on page 263 of Varieties says:
'"The only radical remedy I know for dipsomania is religiomania," is a saying I have heard quoted from some medical man.'

[Maximilian]

Ya know. I was just thinking, Max.  Don't you think you're substituting one addiction for another when you go to meetings?  I mean you're dependent on them, right?
Check out this quotation.

Note that both William H. White, in Slaying The Dragon, page 77, and Bill Pitmann, in AA: The Way It Began, page 171, attribute that dipsomania quote to William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience, (page 263), not to Carl Jung. For good reason — footnote 1 on page 263 of Varieties says:
'"The only radical remedy I know for dipsomania is religiomania," is a saying I have heard quoted from some medical man.'

I know what you're saying, but I, personally at least, don't think going to meetings or finding God through religion is anywhere near as unhealthy or as dangerous as a serious alcohol or drug addiction. If people use pot to quit drugs that are hurting them, I'm all for it. Whatever works for people I support, even if it's not AA. If somebody had a solution that worked for everybody, they would be a billionaire. unfortunately addiction isn't that easy to cure, it's more like a lifetime condition where you treat the symptoms, that's how I see it at least.

[DannyB II]

For some of us addicts Max, you are absolutely right about treating the symptoms. I never really expect anyone to truly understand addiction unless you have been through it. Mr. Jung heard all about Sigmund Freud's addiction to Cocaine but he still acknowledged his naivety.

[reformed12stepper]

I think it depends on the person. it is one of those really individual things. I didnt want to go the drug route because it did feel like replacing one drug with another. But I took antidepressants for a little bit as i was at the time clinically depressed. As this lifted i cut down and am now totally chemically free  :seg: (unless coffee and the occasional drink count)
Many people with addiction problems have a number of issues to deal with some of which are mental health related so for them i can see how psych drugs are a good idea. I have heard of this pill but my understanding is that it is for pretty hardcore alcoholics. I met a bloke in rehab that it worked wonders for and another lady from AA who said it was hellish. I have also heard very mixed reviews about methodone treatment for heroin users. I met another person who went through a rehab that was pretty down on chemicals and only used vitamins and they say this helped. I guess either way i wouldn't try any chemical solution without medical advice.