Never heard of medication for alcoholism? You're not alone. Eighty-eight thousand Americans will die this year from alcoholism. Most will do so without ever knowing of the FDA-approved medications that might have saved their lives.'A Prescription for Alcoholics - Medications for Alcoholism' by author Linda Burlison, is the first book ever published about FDA-approved medications to treat alcoholism.The book takes a first sober look at anti-alcoholism drugs, the research behind them, and why nobody seems to know about them.Most people (including physicians and alcoholics) are unaware of the FDA-approved medications to fight alcoholism, despite the fact that the US government calls them the 'standard of care for the treatment of alcoholism.'Instead of medical treatment, the vast majority of doctors send treatment-seeking alcoholics to Alcoholics Anonymous-based 12-step programs which result in a dismal failure rate estimated at 90 percent.The 550-page book is an extensive look at drugs like naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen, topiramate, gabapentin, nalmefene and others.Dr. Nora Volkow, the Director of the US National Institute on Drugs, and Dr. George Koob, Director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse are spearheading a new understanding of alcoholism as a complex brain disease, and the medication that can treat it.Drs. Volkow and Koob are just two of thousands of researchers whose clinical research into medication for alcoholism forms the body of evidence the book cites.Written in plain English, the book highlights hundreds of studies conducted over many decades into medication that can reduce cravings, help manage alcohol consumption and help troubled drinkers abstain from drinking completely.The book provides answers to important questions about safety, liver toxicity, side effects, dosage and more.Most importantly it provides easy-to-read information which can be brought to a doctor's office to help a patient and their physician make an informed decision about treatment choices together.
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.
