How I overcame alcoholism | Claudia Christian |

[RodeoJoe]

I found this yesterday. I know many on you on this site have alcohol problems, and I wondered if you were aware of this. I'd be really interested to hear if anyone has been traeted for alcohol like this

youtube.com/watch?v=6EghiY_...(Not working as expected?)

[RHGB]

Plenty of people have successfully used it. Called TSM, The Sinclair Method. Using medication approved by the NHS/NICE, nalmefene/naltrexone. It reverses the effects that alcohol has changed in the brain and also decreases the buzz from alcohol, so that you get to a point where you become ambivalent to it.

Unfortunately your GP is unlikely to have heard of it or will want to prescribe it. You will probably have to go to an ARC, where you will get the same message. However, much as they hate it, by law you are entitled to have it prescribed, unless their in house/visiting doctor will not prescribe it on medical grounds. You have a right to demand to have an appointment with the doctor. Of course most people don't know this and never get this far, it is a crying shame, because it really does work (about 80% success rate) and would save an awful lot of people.

If anyone is interested, C3 Foundation Europe is run by a very nice lady called Joanna, who is just about one of the most helpful people I have met. She actually knows Claudia Christian personally and works alongside C3 USA. She can be found here,

facebook.com/cthreeeurope/

patient.info/forums/discuss...

Pinned post at the top is Joanna and it has some info on the medication.

c3foundationeurope.org/

If anyone does ending up going down this route and contacts Joanna, just mention that RHGB sent you, she knows me well.

If anyone needs advice on dealing with ARCs, both Joanna and I can help, Joanna with the legal side and me from personal experience of going to tow of them.

[RodeoJoe in reply to RHGB]

Why is there such resistance to prescribe this?

[RHGB in reply to RodeoJoe]

First of, if you are in the US, there is less resistance, because so much is paid on insurance, so patients are clients with a budget to spend. There it is more a lack of knowledge.

In the UK, most doctors have a narrow field of view, there is a way of dealing with certain health issues and that is the way that they follow. This might partly come from that they are totally covered if they never stray from the script.

Secondly, in the UK, alcohol abuse is seen as a lifestyle choice of the lazy and feckless. It is not seen as a disease to be treated. If you are a heroin addict, help will be lavished upon you. it also helps that drug abuse is usually funded by street crime and alcohol is not and it contributes to the economy through Duty & taxes, so it is a silent problem.

Then, alcohol abuse comes under the mental health budget and the part for helping with alcohol abuse is given over to ARCs and GPs don't see a penny, so there is no financial incentive. Couple that with the fact, that if a GP prescribes you, he then becomes responsible for you. Whereas if he palms it off to the ARCs, they then are responsible for you and counselling. And the ARCs operate with people who quite frankly have no experience and understanding of alcohol abuse and what it does to the mind and body. They also seem to operate to a standard script that they will not deviate from.

[RodeoJoe in reply to RHGB]

Seems like madness. Imagine the savings that could be made to the NHS and social welfare if addicts could be treated with a simple pill. Sounds like the whole process of treating alcoholics needs a re-think.

[RHGB in reply to RodeoJoe]

The whole system is mad. TSM uses two main medications, nalmefene and naltrexone, which are very similar.

Nalt is approved in the States and both nalt & nalm are approved in the UK. Nalm is still patented, you need to take the pill two hours before drinking, it also has some side effects initially. Nalt only needs to be taken one hour before drinking and has virtually no side effects.

However, whilst nalm is listed for use whilst drinking, nalt is listed to help with abstention, not whilst drinking. This is ridiculous, when nalt is the better product. I know of an ex-NHS mental health nurse who used to deal with alcohol abuse, who set up his own private clinic. He now recommends that all his clients use nalt.

However, because of the way nalt is categorised in the NHS, doctors are unwilling to prescribe it. It needs to be recategorised, but the only way that will be done, if is a pharmaceutical company pays an awful lot of money for the research and reclassification. No company is going to do that for a drug that has lost its patent and they cannot recoup any costs, because there will be so many cheap generic brands. NHS/NICE, can't see their way to moving its classification.

That is the crazy world of medicine. No company will deal with it, because there is no money in it and the NHS/NICE will not deal with it because they believe it is not down to them.

[toma123 in reply to RHGB]

It has always seemed crazy to me that the amount of help and support for heroin addicts in the UK is so much more than help for people who are addicted to legal drugs like alcohol yet alcohol ends up killing many more people and costing the NHS more.

[RHGB in reply to toma123]

As I said, as it was communicated to me at an ARC, heroin is funded by street crime, it costs money and resources, police, courts, probation, prison etc.

Alcohol does not cause street crime, it is self funded, and taxes and Duty are paid, so it contributes to the economy. It is a silent, self funding problem, so no intervention or help is required.

Sad, but true.

[toma123 in reply to RHGB]

Yes very sad.

[Geffy22]

What a really interesting conversation!

Ref pharma and patents, the question would be whether a patent could be obtained for the specified use of the medicine and if so only the patent holder could sell it for that use....