Reduce or Stop Drinking with Medication by Linda Burlison

Reduce or Stop Drinking with Medication by Linda Burlison

If you are considering taking medication to treat alcoholism, but are wondering where to begin, start with this book, Reduce or Stop Drinking with Medication: The How-To Guide. You'll learn everything you need to know to obtain treatment with medication including finding a doctor and obtaining medication. Volume 3 in the Rethinking Drinking Book Series, you'll find information on determining goals, tracking results, developing a medication strategy, combining medications, determining what type of alcoholism you may have, how to obtain medication, and many other considerations.

Linda Burlison began researching medications for alcoholism for a friend who was fighting a battle with alcoholism. I started to come across hundreds of studies in the world's top medical and scientific journals showing their effectiveness. However, when we asked doctors about them, they had never heard of them. I realized there was a major disconnect between the medical research and what doctors were prescribing, says Burlison. Because North American pharmaceutical companies are not marketing them, and 12-step programs like AA don't talk about them, even though research proves these drugs are very effective, nobody knows about them. It's a tragedy with massive proportions. I know people who have lost daughters, wives, husbands, friends to this disease, and never knew medication was a real treatment option, says Burlison. In the United States it is estimated that 18 million Americans suffer from alcoholism, and the World Health Organization has called it the number one killer. Most of the medications, like acamprosate, naltrexone, baclofen, topiramate, gabapentin and several others are generic, and three of those can only be prescribed off-label for alcoholism. These factors mean no pharmaceutical rep will even mention them to a doctor. 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous look down on the use of medication. AA is an 80-year old religion-based program which strictly follows a structure developed in the thirties. They will not talk about medical options at meetings. And 12-Step programs only support complete abstinence - whereas some of these medications help drinkers reduce and manage their drinking, and don't require complete abstinence. There is an enormous gap in our system. There are thousands of top scientists working in this area right now, but there is a gap between their research findings and what the public knows about evidence-based medical care for alcoholics. This book bridges the gap. It provides a picture of the medications that exist, points you to the research behind them as well as additional resources, and gives you what you need to have an informed conversation with your doctor, says Burlison.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780997107654
ISBN 10	0997107650
Title	Reduce or Stop Drinking with Medication
Author	Linda Burlison
Series	Rethinking Drinking
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Addiction Publishing
Year published	2016-06-14
Number of pages	124
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.