Alcoholism recovery medications and the quest for the Holy Grail

Medication to help a person maintain abstinence is an entirely different concept than medication to cure alcohol addiction. The former exists, the latter has been a pipe dream of the Holy Grail sort for generations. (Read the entire article or share the YouTube video.)

The progress continues on encouraging new medications that help a person in early sobriety hang onto that sobriety. Disulfiram, or antabuse, was first patented almost 100 years ago. It works by consequence: If you drink while you're on antabuse, you get violently ill. Even if you don't drink on antabuse, it still gives you a dull, all-day headache. It blocks metabolism of alcohol at an early stage, resulting in a build up of acetaldehyde, which is even more toxic than the alcohol. Many doctors don't or won't prescribe this old treatment because it is a medicine that can make you sick. First Do No Harm is a doctor's sworn oath.

It was originally patented to treat stomach parasites. It's effect when mixed with alcohol was discovered decades later when European soldiers were taking it to fight of jungle illnesses in Malaysia and it seriously messed up the drinking of those who were so inclined.

Better abstinence treatments are naltrexone and acamprosate. There are newer treatments, including the pain reliever gabapentin. This isn't intended to be an all-inclusive report. Naltrexone, or Revia, works on the brain's reward mechanism. Acamprosate, or Campral, does as well. The exact mechanism isn't understood completely, however both drugs emerged in the last three decades as being effective at reducing cravings and increasing the number of people who remain abstinent, when combined with counseling.

And that's why there isn't and won't be a recovery pill, only an abstinence-enhancing pill: Because there is not a pill for counseling. A previous episode of The Sobriety :60+ explained the differences between abstinence, sobriety and recovery.

Presently, about nine percent of alcoholics are on any type of abstinence pill. The quest for the Holy Grail pill that will stop alcohol dependence and let someone drink risk-free isn't possible. First off, it doesn't address why the person is drinking alcohol in the first place. Second, there is no such thing as drinking a toxin and known carcinogen without risk: Even moderate use shortens life expectancy and increases risk of 60 other diseases beyond the disease of alcoholism. And a physician is called to First Do No Harm.
Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

SATURDAY REWIND: Meds boost outcomes, but no silver bullet for alcoholism

Recent news about the effective use of anti-seizure drug Gabapentin in the treatment of the symptoms of alcoholism and the growing list of approvals for the new drug Selincro (see article) draw attention to science's search for the elusive cure for the disease of alcoholism.  This article from the alcohol research news archive looks at two pharmaceutical solutions for early recovery woes, but notes there is no pill today to cure alcoholism. Period.


New research released by the Society for the Study of Addiction produced positive news about two prescription drugs used to help prevent lapse in alcoholics in treatment trying to stay sober. The drugs, acamprosate (marketing name: Campral) and naltrexone (ReVia) were found to help those struggling in different phases of recovery. Acamprosate helped manage emotional triggers in people who had already stopped drinking, naltrexone helped manage cravings in heavy drinkers who are trying to stop drinking or recently quit.

The study findings are encouraging but the medications still fall short of being a silver bullet. There is no alcoholism pill.

The slight increase in abstinence in the 2012 treatment study shows progress is being made as science looks for that alcoholism pill. Emphasis in treating alcoholism and alcohol use disorders instead remains focused on therapies such as group or one-on-one counseling and 12-step meetings or their alternatives.

The course of recovery, even for those taking the medications, centers more on talk and less on pills because while drugs like acamprosate and naltrexone help change brain chemistry, they don’t change minds. Once you take away the alcohol, sometimes with the successful use of prescribed medicine, the minds still need work. Alcoholics who slip in recovery and non-alcoholics drink for essentially the same reason: It relieves social/physical/emotional tension. With alcoholics however, their bodies are programmed differently genetically and respond to drinking with more drinking. So counseling or a 12-step meeting helps those abstinent keep from taking the first drink. Recovery has very little to do with stopping the drinking and those successful in recovery admit they’re success is based on learning or relearning how to manage life’s tensions.

Generics of both pills can be found at most pharmacies when doctor and patient agree that medication can help maintain abstinence as part of, not instead of, a sobriety plan. The generics are not currently on the lists of deeply discounted prescriptions at the three largest retail pharmacies.
-- from examiner.com (see full article)
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Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.