Transcript Medication KindlinG

It doesn’t take a lot of sense to
stay sober….it just takes all
you’ve got!
Dr John Mooney
1910 -1983
I would like to thank the staff of CAPTASA for
allowing me the opportunity to present this
information. I continue to believe that
CAPTASA represents the finest gathering of
committed addiction professional in existence
today.
( Sandy P. – you know Burns can’t help it !!)
Robert W. Mooney, MD
I would like to thank District 32 of the Florida AA
community for the willingness to request
information on a subject that will become more
important as newcomers become old-timers, then
become really old-timers.
I am employed at Vista Taos Renewal Center in
Taos, New Mexico as Medical Director and
Addiction Psychiatrist. They have supported my
attendance at this presentation but have declined
to present any information considered to be
marketing materials. I will have contact
information available for anyone having
questions about information presented today.
The information presented is considered by
Alcoholics Anonymous to be an outside issue.
AA encourages cooperation with medical and
psychiatric professionals when needed.
However, the number of medications that have
the potential to threaten recovery has increased
dramatically over the past several decades. This
presentation is meant to be informative only.
Please see your personal physician about any
questions which may be raised concerning your
medical condition.
Thank You
Bill Wilson 1895 - 1971
“Morphine, codeine, chloral
hydrate, Luminal, Seconal,
Nebutal, amytal, these and
kindred drugs have killed many
alcoholics. And I once nearly
killed myself with chloral
hydrate. Nor is my own
observation and experience
unique, for many an old-time
AA can speak with force and
fervor on the subject of “goof
balls”.
Language of the Heart 1945
“Some of us, perfectly sober for months or years, contract
the habit of using sedatives to cure insomnia or slight
nervous irritability. I have the impression that some of us
get away with it, year after year, just as we did when we
first began to drink alcohol. Yet experience shows, all too
often, than even the “controlled” pill taker may get out of
control. The same crazy rationalizations that once
characterized his drinking begin to blight his existence.
He thinks that if pills can cure insomnia so may they cure
his worry.”
Language of the Heart 1945
“Our friends the doctors are seldom directly to
blame for the dire results we so often
experience. It is much too easy for alcoholics to
buy these dangerous drugs, and once
possessed of them the drinker is often likely to
use them without any judgment whatever.”
Grapevine 1945
“More often than not it is imperative that a
man’s brain be cleared before he is approached,
as he has then a better chance of understanding
and accepting what we have to offer.”
William Silkworth, MD
Alcoholics Anonymous
“…Try to remember that though God has
wrought miracles among us, we should never
belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist. Their
services are often indispensable in treating a
newcomer and in following his case
afterward.”
The Family Afterward
Alcoholics Anonymous
Traditional Psychiatric Approach
Excessive drinking is a deviant pattern of behavior
which is secondary to an underlying emotional or
mental disorder…..
Traditional Psychiatric Approach
……if the underlying emotional or mental disorder is
properly diagnosed and treated, then the deviant
behavior pattern of drinking will resolve and normal
drinking behavior will ensue.
Traditional Psychiatric Approach
Excessive drinking is a deviant pattern of behavior
which is secondary to an underlying emotional or
mental disorder…..
……if the underlying emotional or mental disorder is
properly diagnosed and treated, then the deviant
behavior pattern of drinking will resolve and normal
drinking behavior will ensue.
“ The idea that somehow, someday he will
control and enjoy his drinking is the great
obsession of every abnormal drinker.”
Alcoholics Anonymous Chap 3 Page
30
An almost allergic like response in roughly 1 out
of 10 individuals to chemicals which change brain
activity and reward systems. This response can be
immediate, such as cravings. Or, it can be more
gradual where thinking and perceptions become
altered such that motivation for sobriety
decreases and they return to previous patterns of
behavior linked to drug of choice.
Because this type of response does not occur in
the other 90 per cent of the population, they will
not be at risk for addictive complications, they
usually won’t take what they are given anyway!
The previous 10 per cent is the focus of this
presentation. What constitutes a hazardous substance
for them?
Hazardous Drugs are those substances which in
our experience have contributed to relapse. Our 50
years of experience have shown this to include
most if not all CNS active substances.
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Recreational/Street Drugs
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Prescription/Pharmaceutical Drugs
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Over The Counter/Dietary Supplements
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Dental Procedures: Nitrous Oxide, local anesthetic
with epinephrine, Rx
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Diagnostic Procedures: Versed, propofol, Fentanyl
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Surgery: Adverse brain effects last for about 3
months following general anesthesia.
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Pregnancy: OB’s like their patients calm.
“In addicts, doses of drugs that are too
low to produce any conscious recognition
that they received drugs are still capable
of inducing changes in the brain and
influencing behavior…”
Mark S. Gold, MD
Dept of Psychiatry
University of Florida
Willingway Tranquilizer Rule
There are two types of tranquilizers: habit-forming
and non habit-forming. The habit-forming ones are the
old ones and the non habit-forming ones are the new
ones. When the new ones become old, they become
habit-forming and are replaced by new non habitforming ones.
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Antabuse
Methadone
Buprenorphine (Suboxone/Subutex)
Naltrexone (Revia/Vivitrol)
Acamprasate (Campral)
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Prozac
Effexor
Paxil
Cymbalta
Zoloft
Trazodone
Depakote
Neurontin
Klonopin
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Xanax
Ultram
Soma
Adderal
Concerta
Lithium
Seroquel
Abilify
Geodon
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Zofran
Topamax
Baclofen
Ambien
Lunesta
Wellbutrin
Lamictal
Provigil
Marijuana
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Increase Meds
Change Meds
Add Meds
Once you have committed to a chemical
solution, it is almost impossible to revert
to a spiritual solution.
Alcoholics and more recently drug addicts have
been resistant to “cures” since earliest recordings
of history. The Bible records cases of alcoholism
but no “cure”. Early medical attempts included:
Typhoid treatment, VD cures, ice baths, insane
asylums, lobotomy and electro-convulsive
therapy. Then something occurred in 1941 which
has changed everything……
Prior to 1941 alcoholism relied primarily on psychiatrists
and mental institutions for treatment which was
mostly ineffective.
There is rush to develop strategies and
pharmaceutical agents to treat alcohol/drug
addiction at the expense of 12 step programs. The
expectation of changes in delivery of healthcare will
increase the pressure from pharmaceutical and
insurance companies as a result of the billions of
dollars which are at stake. The belief that 12 Step
recovery is ineffective will push healthcare providers
to encourage alternative approaches, which may in
fact increase risks of failure in continued sobriety.
“ADial is developing compounds that affect the reward center of the
brain, thereby decreasing the craving for alcohol and reducing alcohol
consumption. Our medications appear to be effective based on a
combination of an ability to leverage propriety targeted genetic efforts
with synergistic treatment mechanisms –targeting multiple neurological
pathways in the brain, thereby enhancing efficacy while reducing side
effects. In addition, our compounds can be given to patients currently
drinking, no abstinence prior to treatment required. This significant
improvement not only increases access to treatment; it increases the
likelihood of success, which can now be measured as a reduction in
alcohol consumption and control over one’s drinking.
Adial Pharmaceuticals
Bankole Johnson, MD
“There are risks in leading the patient to believe
that a pill or injection can save them from an
illness where that patient mistakenly has
believed that problems can be cured by taking
something.”
“It doesn”t take a lot of sense to stay
sober – It just takes all you’ve
got !!!
Dr. John Mooney
Founder – Willingway Hospital
I would like to thank my parents, Dot and
Dr. John Mooney who believed in what
they saw and gave me an opportunity to
be part of an amazing experience that
one day may no longer exist.
I hope we never forget.
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Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets,
Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of
Mental Illness in America by Robert Whitaker
Mad in America by Robert Whitaker
A Voice from the Wilderness by Andrew D.
Bennett (Article in March/April issue of
Addiction Professional)
“You can read, study and learn
everything about alcoholism but
if you can’t laugh…you’re
screwed!”
Vista Taos
Renewal Center