If you or someone you know is being told that they cannot take medications and be sober, please read  this article and pass iton to  others.

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Medications and Recovery

Alcoholics Anonymous and its co-founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith from the beginning held and sought earnestly to maintain good relations with the medical community, including psychiatry.

 "The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous" itself contains a famous introduction called "The Doctor's Opinion" by William D. Silkworth, a psychiatrist. The official AA position has consistently been one of humility and cooperation rather than grandiosity and exclusivity in regard to various ways of helping the alcoholic. 

It is well known that individual physicians vary greatly in their understanding of alcoholism and addiction and that those who lack such an understanding may be less than helpful with their alcoholic and addicted patients. However, there are many physicians and psychiatrists who do possess an excellent grasp of the principles of addiction treatment and who are therefore highly skilled in their treatment of their alcoholic and addicted patients. 

The individual experiences of AA members at meetings reflect this broad array of professional abilities and range from highly favorable to highly unfavorable. In this and in other instances newcomers should keep in mind that opinions of others are just that: opinions. AA does not claim to have, and individual members are not competent to give -unless they have acquired special training- professional advice regarding mental health disorders other than alcoholism - including advice on the question of appropriate usage of medications for depression, manic-depression(bipolar disorder) and anxiety disorders.

Occasionally individual AA members will express the erroneous opinion that "you can't be sober as long as you are taking any mind-altering medications."  Newcomers may even be advised by some people to discontinue medications without discussing this with their physician. Such advice, should it be encountered, should be regarded as simply the private and personal opinion of the person tendering it.

There is nothing in the official AA literature that prohibits the alcoholic from taking appropriately prescribed and required psychiatric medications.

Attitudes toward psychiatry and psychiatric medications, while always an individual matter, tend to vary somewhat in relation to specific groups. Up to 50% of alcoholics suffer from an associated "co-morbid" or "dual diagnosis" condition such as depression or severe anxiety.

Newcomers in treatment for such conditions will generally feel more at home in meetings whose members respect the stated limitations of AA in regard to their diagnosis and treatment.

Great article. I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon it.

I am an alcoholic/addict and I also have Bipolar Disease with Major Depression and PTSD. I also am challenged with chronic pain due to 5 herniated discs in my lower back and neck. I take about ten medications at the moment. I take my meds religiously and always as prescribed. I don't even think about abusing any of them including the pain meds. I learned early on in my recovery that I could take medication responsibly. The meds that I take are a tool for me to have a relatively normal life. I never talk about my meds at group level but I do discuss them with my sponsor and close friends. I've been sober for over 10 years and I doubt if I would stay sober for long if I didn't have medications. Some are sicker than others but we can recover, too.

Thank YOU REALM for this article!  I suppose it was always here, but somehow I missed 'it'...today I needed to read it.

I recently had someone online call to question my recovery and it hurt. They insinuated that I am not clean. They did so due to GOSSIP... I am a cancer patient. I will not/won't go into my meds, it is no one's business but my own. I AM CLEAN....I hate even having to call to question myself because some lerp with whatever motive wanted to harm me, it pisses me off.

If I want someone to 'inventory me' I will certainly ask   and if I do ask, it will be someone in the medical field, or someone dear who's recovery I truly trust!

After I my son passed, it was suggested I go on anti-depressant's. I chose not to do so. My personal choice. I believe alot of us in the program have outside issues, many can be resolved following the program, however, the big book states, it is okay to seek outside help. I've chosen to do that, on many occasions, and it has only enhanced my way of life. For that, I am thankful.

NEVER will I tell anyone they are unclean or call their sobriety into question, I've grown beyond that.

Having said that, I realize this is a safe place to say what is on my heart, to laugh, to cry, to vent, within reason, and to help the newcomer. That is the sites primary purpose. This is why I choose to call the "Realm" my home away from f2f

Lord, help me today to NOT inventory others, for what they do, is none of my business, that is between them and You.

Thanks for letting me share and vent.

Don't second guess yourself and start looking for a new sponsor. Sponsor's are not doctors.  This irritates me to no end I tell ya!! 

There is a great pamphlet on sponsorship called "Questions and Answers on Sponsorship" If you are in NA, they have a similar pamphlet as well.  Both fellowships also have pamphlets about medications where it says that those in the fellowship should have no opinion.

I agree with Kathy -- this is a topic that will get me riled every time!

The very first sponsor I had told me that I should not be taking my prescribed anti-depressants.  I told her that when she got an MD after her name and became my personal physician, she would have the right to tell me what medications to take or not.  I promptly got a new sponsor.

The fact that I take anti-depressants is between me and my doctor -- it is not something I generally speak openly about in meetings, simply because of the "controversial" nature of the discussion; however, my sponsor knows, and it is simply not an issue for us. 

Anyone whose sponsor advises against taking these types of medicaitons should find a new sponsor as soon as possible -- although there are many medical professionals in AA, AA is not in the business of practicing medicine.

Good luck to you, Shannarino!

Hey,

Thanks for sharing the article. I do feel that a comprehensive rehab programs help addicts to come out clean and sober. However, it requires time, courage, and commitment. Cheers!

this is a very good informative thread, and i'm glad i stopped to read it tonight... it's funny how that happens sometimes... i was just getting ready to log off and go to sleep, and my eye glanced across this and i stopped... i agree with practically everything i've read, especially what carrie said... the day we start telling other members whether they are sober or not, is the day when our ego's are getting close to a relapse.

 I opened this link and it was an unclaimed domain. Actually, a "Publishers Clearing House" pop-up came up on my computer with the link.  Is there a more current link to this article? I'm very interested!

The original link was posted in 2008, occasionally  broken links will  occur over time. Thank you  for bringing this to  our attention. We have  placed a new link , hope it is imformative.