New Medications Pamphlet

[Tim]

AA published a new 'Medications and Other Drugs' pamphlet this year, revised from first edition, published in 1984. It appears to me to be a straightforward, well-written guide to medications that includes member stories about their own experience with the use of medications in sobriety. I plan to give a copy of the pamphlet to my daughter, who is a physician.

Have any of you read the new pamphlet? What are your thoughts about it? I base my personal use of medications some of the the bulletted suggestions on the first page (see below). I ask, too, 'Is this drug really necessary, or is there an alternative, non-medication solution to my problem?' How do you approach the use of medically prescribed drugs in sobriety?

"No AA member should 'play doctor': all medical advice and treatment should come from a qualified physician"

"Active participation in the AA program of recovery is a major safeguard against alcoholic relapse"

" Be completely honest with your doctor and yourself about the way you take your medicine. Let your doctor know if you skip doses or take more medicine than prescribed."

" Explain to your doctor that you no longer drink alcohol and you are trying a new way of life in recovery"

"Let your doctor know at once if you have a desire to take more medicine or if you have side effects that make you feel worse."

" If you feel that your doctor does not understand your problems, consider making an appointment with a physician who has experience in the treatment of alcoholism."

[Dallas]

Thanks for the update. I'm not sure if I've read this one or not. The things that you mentioned -- I must have picked those up somewhere, in a meeting, or literature, etc., because I've been known to suggest the same things.

I believe a lot of people suffer needlessly -- when medications could be a valuable resource that they could benefit from. And, of course -- there are those that don't need them, that take them simply for the side effects of how good they feel. My view is: if you're hurting and your life is suffering and something out there can help you, by all means, check it out and find out if it's right for you. My motivation for sobriety is: A. It feels good (now that I've done the work). And, B. It continually improves the quality of my life. If it didn't do those things -- I'd probably be drinking.

Thanks for sharing the info. I'll see if I can get a version of the pamphlet and post it here on the site. It might already be here, and maybe that's where I read it.