The End Of My Addiction

Book excerpt: Dr Olivier Ameisen was a brilliant cardiologist and running his own successful practice when he developed a profound addiction to alcohol. Fearing for his life, he immersed himself in AA, rehab and therapy. Nothing worked. So he did the only thing he could; he took his treatment into his own hands. Searching for a cure for his deadly disease, he happened upon baclofen, a muscle relaxant that had been used safely for years as a treatment for various types of muscle spasticity, but had more recently shown promising results in studies with laboratory animals addicted to a wide variety of substances. Dr Ameisen prescribed himself the drug and experimented with increasingly higher doses until he finally reached a level high enough to leave him free of any craving for alcohol. That was more than six years ago. Baclofen, as prescribed under a doctor's care, could possibly help many addicts. But as long as the medical and research establishments ignore a cure for one of the most deadly diseases in the world, we won't be able to understand baclofen's full potential. This book is a plea for research that can rescue millions from the scourge of addiction.