'Special Issuance,' may take several YEARS to accomplish. During this time, there is almost always NO salary, the costs associated with it are NOT reimbursed
It is, quite literally, the FAA's way, "or the highway." In effect, the pilot is beholden to his/her assigned medical providers (about whom she has no choice) and treatment philosophy.
this becomes the pilot's only mode of maintaining sobriety, and the only method about which she can be forthcoming; other modes of maintaining sobriety will elicit suspicion, and delay issuance of the below:
Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS) Related Documents: FAA Special Issuance Allowing ONLY Alcohol Breathalyzer and/or Blood Testing for Alcohol and/or Liver Function
prompting addiction experts to make a push for using medications to help people quit or cut down on excessive drinking.
As a result, experts say, the most effective treatments are highly individualized.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved three prescription drugs to treat alcohol problems. But they are seldom used, largely because 12-step programs have dominated the treatment field, NIAAA experts say.
neurobiologist
George Koob,
director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which is leading the effort to bring new, evidence-based treatments to more people.
“We not only use it, we encourage it. If there’s something that can improve your chances of recovery, all the better,” says
Joseph Lee,
medical director for youth at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, which uses naltrexone and acamprosate.
newer behavioral treatments try to empower patients instead, and focus on developing skills to stay sober.
“Over the last 25 to 30 years, much of the neurocircuitry of addiction has been identified,” opening up new targets for interventions, says
David Goldman,
chief of the NIAAA’s neurogenetics lab
A Prescription to End Drinking
Data on Medicine for Alcohol Disorders Pushes Doctors Beyond 12-Step Programs -- **Also see Melinda Beck's radio interview on same page**