Re:Pre-disposed to alcohol and drug addiction

[Guest guest]

Mark,

Show where any medical books say that someone with CMT is medically predisposed

to alcoholism and drug abuse. I just don't believe it. By the way, I seem to

have to repeatedly prove myself so just to let you know I studied and got A's in

college level Anatomy and Physiology as well as Biomechanics, Kinetics and

Neurology, among other medical courses that are required for Occupational

Therapists. I never got less than an 'A' in any of those courses. I think that

people stereotype PHYSICALLY disabled people enough. We don't need to do it to

ourselves;  especially when there is no medical evidence.

Sincerely,

Dawn Turmenne

[Guest guest]

I doubt there is anything specifically saying CMT people are

predisposed to alcoholism. The thinking is that in living with the

pain and frustration of a disability can cause people to self medicate

with drugs (legally or otherwise) or alcohol.

Bud Abbott (Abbott & Costello) suffered from epilepsy and is said to

have turned to alcohol for pain management and become an alcoholic.

[Guest guest]

Dawn,

It was myself who initially made the remark which was that I wondered about

people with CMT being pre-disposed to alcohol in reponse to a thread that hadn't

anything to do with education or mental agility and I'm sorry that you seem to

take it as an attack on either yourself or on disabled people in general. I,

myself, am educated to post graduate level and have CMT and have never

entertained any ideas that disabled people are any less intelligent than anyone

else.

To try and explain where the thought came from was that a poster had mentioned

that he could walk better after having had a drink; I found the same thing, it

was a standing joke in my family that to get me to walk any distance give me a

drink first. As time has gone on and it becomes more difficult to get from A to

B on my feet it would be so easy to use booze as a crutch. I live in a country

that has large pockets of people with CMT. Its also a country with a reputation

for alcohol dependence so its not entirely surprising that a stray thought might

lean in that direction.

Since my original post I've been unable to find any empirical evidence of

genetic predisposition to alcohol abuse for any group of people as social

factors have too great an influence and there has been some interest in the

subject. My apologies if thats what my post appeared to suggest.

Regards,

Fiona