I?ve been doing a lot of soul searching over the past week or so. As a result, I?ve decided that the time has come for me to mostly withdraw from the Meds Forum.
My stripey countenance will still grace the General Forum (mostly the daily Army Thread) and occasionally the Newbie and Help Needed sections.
If it wasn?t for this place (especially the ?baclofen pioneers? such as Zenstyle & Bill. P), I don?t think it is an understatement to say that I would have been dead today. I am extremely grateful (to put it mildly). I also hope that I?ve been of help to others along the way.
At some stage, we all have to decide what is most important to us and where we feel we can add value. As strongly as I feel about MWO, maybe it isn?t my role to try and protect this place against people who would exploit us. If people choose to be exploited or taken in by charlatans, so be it. I just hope people don?t get hurt too badly in the process.
On a more positive note, I think the meds threads offer a good balance in terms of the different approaches toward baclofen (slow / fast / supervision / self-medication etc.) to give people sufficient information to allow them to decide what is best for their particular situation. There are also enough cheerleaders to offer support to those starting out on this journey.
I think improvement is needed in the sense that most folks who opt to take the baclofen route do not make use of the full spectrum of tools available to us alkies. These include resources such as the Tool Box Thread (in Monthly Abstinence), the invaluable contribution psychotherapy can make once we?ve achieved sobriety as well as other techniques / processes to allow us to remain sober and learn to live again. Despite claims to the contrary, I still believe baclofen is only a tool. It is not a panacea for alcoholism.
In future, my baclofen-related efforts will be directed at the creation of greater awareness of this treatment within South Africa. I?m very happy to have gotten an appointment with the head of psychiatric research (which includes addiction) at a prominent local university. That?s a start. I?ll see where the journey takes me.
In conclusion: just a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thank you to everyone who have helped me to get as far as I have on the road to full recovery. I could not have done it on my own.
________________________________________
* Thread title with apologies to Douglas Adams
My stripey countenance will still grace the General Forum (mostly the daily Army Thread) and occasionally the Newbie and Help Needed sections.
If it wasn?t for this place (especially the ?baclofen pioneers? such as Zenstyle & Bill. P), I don?t think it is an understatement to say that I would have been dead today. I am extremely grateful (to put it mildly). I also hope that I?ve been of help to others along the way.
At some stage, we all have to decide what is most important to us and where we feel we can add value. As strongly as I feel about MWO, maybe it isn?t my role to try and protect this place against people who would exploit us. If people choose to be exploited or taken in by charlatans, so be it. I just hope people don?t get hurt too badly in the process.
On a more positive note, I think the meds threads offer a good balance in terms of the different approaches toward baclofen (slow / fast / supervision / self-medication etc.) to give people sufficient information to allow them to decide what is best for their particular situation. There are also enough cheerleaders to offer support to those starting out on this journey.
I think improvement is needed in the sense that most folks who opt to take the baclofen route do not make use of the full spectrum of tools available to us alkies. These include resources such as the Tool Box Thread (in Monthly Abstinence), the invaluable contribution psychotherapy can make once we?ve achieved sobriety as well as other techniques / processes to allow us to remain sober and learn to live again. Despite claims to the contrary, I still believe baclofen is only a tool. It is not a panacea for alcoholism.
In future, my baclofen-related efforts will be directed at the creation of greater awareness of this treatment within South Africa. I?m very happy to have gotten an appointment with the head of psychiatric research (which includes addiction) at a prominent local university. That?s a start. I?ll see where the journey takes me.
In conclusion: just a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thank you to everyone who have helped me to get as far as I have on the road to full recovery. I could not have done it on my own.
________________________________________
* Thread title with apologies to Douglas Adams
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