JoeRaisin wrote:

> Tim Bruening wrote:
> >
> > jimbo wrote:
> >
> >> On Feb 2, 7:38 pm, Tim Bruening <tsbru...@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:
> >>> What medications, if any, do you take to reduce your cravings for
> >>> alcohol?
> >> I've never taken a medication to reduce craving nor have I ever heard
> >> of one that works. Her best best would be to consult a physician.
> >> Jimbo
> >
> > How then do you resist the urge to drink?
> >
>
> I couldn't - at least not for very long. That was until I began working
> a program in AA.
>
> AA taught me to draw strength from my higher power in order to avoid
> that first drink. By staying sober for more than a few days to a few
> weeks at a time I continued working the steps and developed a new
> perspective on myself - a perspective that meant I could look at myself
> in the mirror without loathing. Once I became comfortable with who I
> was, avoiding the first drink became a lot less difficult.
>
> I will offer to you a perspective you may not have considered. If your
> friend's wife is an alcoholic she is not drinking for the same reasons
> as you or most other social drinkers. Most people drink because they
> like the way it makes them feel, alcoholics drink because they don't
> like the way they feel when they are not drinking.
>
> Slogans won't change that, nor will medications.
>
> If AA isn't her cup of tea, she could try Rational Recovery which
> utilizes "Addictive Voice Recognition Technique" in order to stave off
> cravings. The only caveat with RR is to try and avoid the anger that
> the program is darned near built upon. While reading the small book I
> get the impression that RR sobriety is more a case of staying sober 'at'
> AA rather than being sober to better one's life.
>
> In the end, however, it boils down to whether or not she 'wants' to quit
> drinking. If not, nothing you (or even your friend) can do to get her
> to stop.

After nearly losing her husband last week, I believe that she now wants to
quit. The problem is that she gets a strong craving for alcohol after a few
days. Often, her stepdad shows up and takes her to a bar to drink double
vodkas. I was hoping to find drugs to reduce that craving so that her will
power would be enough to resist the reduced craving.