The Medication Trap in Early Recovery

There are two kinds of medications: mood altering and non-mood altering. It’s the mood altering variety (everything from antihistamines to tranquilizers) that present the greatest risk and that can set you up for a slip.

The very first dose, like flipping a switch, can transform a positive attitude into a negative one. It can also bring on mood swings and anger, as well as a compulsion to drink or use more drugs.

There are two kinds of people: alcoholics/addicts and non-alcoholic/addicts. Alcoholics/addicts can get hooked on an empty capsule if they’re convinced it will make them feel better. It’s not just their vivid imaginations; their expectation triggers the brain to produce the substances that create a high.

It’s almost the identical sleight of hand that the brain pulls off when it produces the exhilaration experienced when you see your baby born or ride a roller coaster or drive too fast in your car.

So, since any medication can feed addictive behaviour, alcoholics/addicts must consider anything that they swallow, inhale or take at needle-point, hazardous to their sobriety. Of course, most dangerous of all are the drugs on which they were accustomed to getting high.

What’s your drug of choice?   Is it wine or beer? Is it Ice or prescription medication? They will all pull you down into the gutter and keep you there until you make a choice. “Do I want to keep living like this?”

Treat the decision to take any medication seriously and any use as a mini-slip. Report the use to those involved in your recovery: your doctor, counsellor and/or sponsor in AA or NA.

If you follow these precautions, you are less likely to innocently open the door to a relapse. Your doctor may think there is no need to make a big deal out of taking an aspirin, but long experience demonstrates that sobriety is strengthened by the realisation that dependency on any medication is risky.

Fortunately, you need medication less and less as you progress in recovery. The reason is chemical. Ordinarily, the brain prescribes and promptly administers its own chemicals (endorphins and enkephalins) to combat pain as needed.

Alcohol and drugs impair these natural defences by instructing the brain to stop making its internal painkillers because the body is already overdosing on them from an external source. When you sober up, pain of various kinds may initially be a problem because it takes a couple of weeks for the still fuzzy brain to get the message that it needs to kick in with painkiller production again.

But once it does, you will find that a single aspirin relieves pain more effectively than a strong painkiller used to do.

We know people who have been attending AA meetings for decades and start to “forget” the trap of medications. I also know people who have “busted” after taking, what they thought was an innocent pill, given to them by someone who did not know the seriousness of their addiction.

The same goes for people with long term sobriety who pick up a drink because it was offered to them after many years of sobriety. Why? Because they forgot what it was like, what happened and what they are like today. Alcoholism is cunning, baffling and very powerful and it is a silent killer. It is a brain chemistry disease coupled with a physical allergy to mood-altering drugs.

We recommend amino acids to help balance brain chemistry and a good liver tonic to help repair liver damage. Specific amino acids are essential for the liver to breakdown toxins and drugs and also for efficient metabolism in the liver.

L-Glutamine - This amino acid is required for phase two detoxification in the liver and is required in increased amounts by those who consume excessive alcohol. It is able to reduce the craving for alcohol.

L-Glutamine supplementation is helpful for intestinal disorders such as peptic ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut is the term used to describe an inflamed condition of the lining of the bowel, which makes the bowel too permeable, so that toxins and incompletely digested food particles can be absorbed from the bowels directly into the liver. This increases the workload of the liver and may cause many health problems.

L-Glutamine is essential for the white cells to fight viruses such as hepatitis B and C. Glutamine is converted in the body into glutamic acid, which, along with the amino acids cysteine and glycine, is converted into the powerful liver protector glutathione. Glutathione is essential for liver phase two conjugation reactions used during detoxification of drugs and toxic chemicals.

Glutamine is in my Ultimate Gut Health Powder.

LivaTone Plus supports liver repair and regeneration. It’s a natural liver tonic containing the liver herbs St Mary’s Thistle, Globe Artichoke and Dandelion, combined with the amino acid Taurine, and Lecithin.

The liver is the main fat burning organ in the body and regulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism. A healthy liver will take fat in the form of cholesterol and pump it via the bile into the intestines where it will be carried away in the bowel actions provided the diet is high in fibre.

Tyrosine Mood Food - Tyrosine is a natural amino acid - one of the building blocks of protein.  It is required for the manufacture of the brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) dopamine and noradrenaline.  These neurotransmitters are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy, stable mood.

Magnesium – the great relaxant. Magnesium plays an essential role in maintaining and promoting efficient muscle function and nerve transmission. Magnesium is a vital mineral for hundreds of cellular enzymes involved in the body's energy production and metabolism. It is required by the nervous system to regulate the function of nerves and muscles. Magnesium may also assist in the reduction of stress, nervous tension, anxiety and sleeplessness.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.