# Alcoholism Treatments: Success Rates (longish)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholism-treatments-success-rates-longish/240440>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 16, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholism-treatments-success-rates-longish/240440 "2004-04-16T23:40:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholism-treatments-success-rates-longish/240440/21 "2004-04-18T15:17:41Z")

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> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#):
>
> Most hard-core alcoholics manage to drink on antabuse too. QtM, MD

Addition is powerful. My cousing was on more-or-less continuous oxygen in his later years. Yet he would put his oxygen away while he lit up a cigarette for another smoke.

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**Author:** ![zoltar7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b38774/32.png) [@zoltar7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoltar7)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholism-treatments-success-rates-longish/240440/22 "2004-04-18T17:40:29Z")

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Your relative may also want to look into harm reduction oriented treatments as an alternative to abstinence. One issue with the disease model and the recovery culture is that people are taught that quitting drinking is the only option. Choosing to drink again, for whatever reason, is a relapse, a failure.

Peele discusses [harm reduction](http://www.peele.net/lib/harm.html), and there are several books on treatments that focus on reduced drinking outcomes rather than abstinence:

_Over the Influence : The Harm Reduction Guide for Managing Drugs and Alcohol_, Patt Denning, Jeannie Little, Adina Glickman  
_Alternatives to Abstinence: A New Look at Alcoholism and the Choices in Treatment_, Heather Ogilvie, A. Thomas Horvath  
_Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: The New Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Problems_, Andrew Tatarsky (Editor)  
_Harm Reduction: Pragmatic Strategies for Managing High-Risk Behaviors_, G. Alan Marlatt (Editor)

There is also [Moderation Management](http://www.moderation.org/), which has an interesting reading list and support meetings in several states, although the organization was somewhat tarnished four years ago when one of the group’s founders was involved in a fatality accident and later plead guilty to vehicular homicide.

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**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholism-treatments-success-rates-longish/240440/23 "2004-04-18T19:12:56Z")

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Antabuse just makes you really really sick. If you’re a real alcoholic, that doesn’t stop you. Besides, there are always excuses NOT to take the antabuse.

AA worked for me - kinda. I’m an atheïst. Just leave all the ‘higher power’ crap where it is. It’s good to learn the tricks and tips from other drunks.

For alcohol ‘cravings’ there’s **Campral**. Helps to get rid of the “I need a drink” feeling.

Finally, there’s antidepressiva. That did it for me.

btw: Someone once said: “You have to have seen the lowest, darkest pit, in order to quit drinking”. I guess he was right.

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