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A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

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Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#21

Post by shisisms »

The madness of assuming that by treating the symptoms you remove the cause. Isn’t one of the most dangerous aspects of our current industrial medical complex the risk that by avoiding the underlying causes the anxiety manifests elsewhere, thereby not actually solving anything. Small bandaid. It’s where mindfulness and accelerated capitalism became such a potent and dangerous game.

One of the upshots of the current trends in psilocybin treatment is that it at least places an equal emphasis on a therapeutic environment.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#22

Post by refurb »

hn_user82179 wrote: post #10
MissionInfl wrote: post #2

As I comment on many HN posts, I cannot exaggerate the impact that alcoholism medication has had on my life. It is only tangentially related here, as this comment is not about disulfiram but rather naltrexone, a drug with similar goals but a very different mechanism of action This is all to say, if you or a loved one is struggling with alcoholism, I highly recommend looking into The Sinclair Method. Check out /r/alco…

I'm currently on a naltrexone/wellbutrin combo. I started it to try to finally end an infinite binge/purge cycle I find myself stuck in (an eating disorder). I also have depression/insomnia and had been self-medicating with alcohol (really, I just drank to relax -> drank to fall asleep -> didn't fall asleep -> drank more). I wouldn't say it was a lot compared to what you think of when you think of an alcoholic but it…

Probably good to have an alert bracelet, but if you were undergoing emergency surgery, the anesthetist would monitor close enough to know something is off and respond appropriately.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#23

Post by magicconch »

Another alternative drug is emoxypine [1], sold under the brand name Mexidol. It also possesses anti-anxiety effects. Rather than make the user feel terrible when they drink (as in the case of disulfiram), it has effects more similar to naltrexone: reducing the effects of alcohol so the user does not experience the feelings they usually would. I think this is a lot more humane than disulfiram.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoxypine

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#24

Post by braingenious »

Oh thank goodness that there’s a CURE for alcoholism! This must be new, because the last time I heard an outlandish claim like that was from some complete moron pastor trying to pitch somebody on taking Antabuse after having read a sales pamphlet that said something to that effect.

I’ve seen people take obscure research benzos that led to weeks long blackouts, belladonna alkaloids that led to assaulting firefighters, bath salts that led to arson charges… and I’d suggest any one of those over the absolute abject misery that I’ve seen disulfiram cause.

Anybody that calls a drug that’s essentially a form of torture a “cure” for something as complex as alcoholism is at the very best dangerously stupid, at the very worst a liar with a conscious fetish for abusing strangers, and on average somewhere in between. No matter what, they aren’t real scientists by any stretch of the imagination.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#25

Post by teirce »

Quequau wrote: post #7

Given the extremely strong negative reaction to alcohol that patients who are taking Disulfiram experience and given that this is apparently the sole effect that alcohol abuse cessation treatment using it relies on, it is my belief that the treatment is unconscionable and inhumane. I quit drinking after more than 25 years of problematic drinking using naltrexone (The Sinclair Method) and, given my experience with alc…

One anecdote to another: Naltrexone isn't all that different from what you're describing Disulfiram as here - it's an opiod blocker so when you drink you get the poison and not the happy chemicals. That doesn't help with addiction, it's subjecting yourself to negative effects / conditioning for drinking.

Naltrexone doesn't work for me. It is not very effective for some people.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#26

Post by alex_suzuki »

tom899 wrote: post #14

I am an alcoholic myself, sober for five months now after a long-term therapy. I am sceptical about taking meds for this desease. The change of life and coping with stress is the best way to avoid getting in relapse of use. The therapists said meds might be a help, but are not the solution. Its a trap for the dependant who might think now hes cured and does not find himself changing his life and solving problems whic…

I have multiple family members that are struggling or have recovered/have been sober for an extended amount of time.

In Central Europe and other places drinking is incredibly ingrained into social mechanics, making it very hard to quit or stay sober.

Personally I still like to drink on occasion, but seeing the amount of damage alcholics do to themselves and the people around them has really opened my eyes.

Even worse, some people see recovered alcoholics as „weak“ (because they „can’t handle their drinks“)… nothing could be farther from the truth.

Even though I’m a libertarian at heart, I really wish the government would restrict alcohol sales so you don’t have to face shelves full of booze when you shop for groceries.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#27

Post by jrapdx3 »

Disulfiram is a very familiar and very old line drug. It doesn't (directly) stop people from drinking alcohol, but just makes it very unpleasant. Disulfiram interferes with the breakdown of the normal metabolic products of alcohol, which cause nausea, headache, flushing, sweating and other autonomic symptoms. With large amounts of alcohol the interaction can be dangerous, rarely even fatal.

But the article is reporting a different effect altogether. Disulfiram indirectly inhibits glutamate signaling, which produces a putative "antianxiety" effect in an animal model of anxiety. It makes sense in that glutamate is the primary activating neurotransmitter in the brain.

After all existing antianxiety agents like benzodiazepine drugs work by binding to GABA receptors. GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. The logic is increase inhibitory effect == reduce activating effect. BTW it's not coincidence that alcohol also binds to GABA receptors, the reason people reach for a drink when they're feeling nervous.

But the problem remains that taking disulfiram for anxiety means using NO alcohol at all. Maybe a few people are OK with this but I bet most will be unwilling to give up having a drink now and again. So it creates a problem since people will forget and with both on board it can be a big headache, in more ways than one.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#29

Post by trompetenaccoun »

jrapdx3 wrote: post #27

Disulfiram is a very familiar and very old line drug. It doesn't (directly) stop people from drinking alcohol, but just makes it very unpleasant. Disulfiram interferes with the breakdown of the normal metabolic products of alcohol, which cause nausea, headache, flushing, sweating and other autonomic symptoms. With large amounts of alcohol the interaction can be dangerous, rarely even fatal. But the article is reporti…

Being unable to tolerate drinking alcohol is the norm, not the other way around. There are a lot of people around the world who have an alcohol intolerance or "allergy", interestingly the exact same effect you experience when taking this drug. Trust me, from personal experience you're not going to forget. There's a reason they treat addicts with this.

Re: A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety medication

#30

Post by fitba72 »

Need to point out that the disease theory of addiction is hotly debated in the US. Not so much in developed countries where socialized medicine is available, where the theory is widely discounted. Those interested should take a look at the work of Stanton Peele.
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