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'My Way Out' Alcohol Recovery Program, Featured Recently in The Wall Street Journal, Highlights New Treatments for Addiction

Thu, 15 Sep 2005, 12:01:00 EDT

Edited by Carly Zander

Results are promising for a new, multi-faceted approach in treating problem drinkers.

ANCHORAGE, AK - September 15 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month and there may be cause for alcoholics to celebrate, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. New approaches to treatment, which include medications that curb craving, appear to finally offer a glimmer of hope to the estimated 17.5 million Americans who suffer with alcohol addiction. An innovative therapy described in a book by Capalo Press is doing just that.

"My Way Out" by Roberta Jewell incorporates the medication topiramate, which is core to the program. In her book she describes her 20-year battle with the bottle and the multi-modality program she developed that has now captured the attention of the medical, legal and recovery community. It has been embraced by individuals worldwide, many of whom have quietly adopted the therapy, usually under their doctor's care. Medical director and collaborator, Dr. Linda Garcia, M.D., says topiramate (or Topamax) is part of the successful treatment also incorporating self-administered hypnotherapy, anti-craving supplements and a moderate exercise program.

Individuals like Reba Wittenborn of Portland, Ore., a problem drinker who overcame her alcohol addiction using the program, was initially unable to find a physician to help her, but landed on the website, downloaded the book, and found relief almost instantly. She was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as having enjoyed an immediate release from her longtime craving on the day she first initiated the therapy.

Garcia, an internist who administers the program to dozens of patients in her home state of Alaska, isn't surprised.

"That's consistent with what I observe in my practice, although it may take some patients a little longer," she says. "Everyone is different, and frankly that's one of the advantages of this therapeutic approach. It is highly customizable and we can modify it for each patient."

Garcia was quoted in the June 13, 2005 issue of Newsweek Magazine in an article entitled "New Hope for Addicts" and says she receives inquiries from healthcare providers across the globe interested in providing the multi-faceted approach to their own patients. She has closely followed the work of Dr. Bankole Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., whose groundbreaking topiramate study was published in a 2003 issue of the Lancet medical journal. His research demonstrated the medication's ability to promote abstinence or reduce binge drinking. The protocol provides the pharmacological foundation for the My Way Out program but Garcia says the other elements are just as essential in ensuring success.

"If you follow best practices, just as we do for our patients with diabetes or hypertension, and treat the whole person comprehensively, I think you really have the greatest chance of success," she says. "I believe it's also one of the reasons individuals benefit from this positive change in their relationship with alcohol so quickly and dramatically, and why these lifestyle changes can be lasting ones."

Jewell and Garcia appeared on a series of national morning radio interviews in August and Jewell will be featured on Marsha Noble's JASNU show on WSSD-FM Chicago to talk about the My Way Out program. It will air live at 11 a.m. Central time Saturday, Sept. 17.

For more information about the My Way Out program, visit www.mywayout.org. To learn more about Dr. Linda Garcia, M.D., or to review the company's online Media Center, visit www.capalo.com.

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