Cures for Alcoholism: Is There a Cure for Alcoholism?

You may be able to detox at home and still attend outpatient therapy or support group meetings. The brain compensates for the depressive effects of alcohol by increasing its activity. When people who are dependent on alcohol drink, they feel normal. These are only some of the alternative treatments for alcoholism. Some alternative treatments can also be combined with medications for alcoholism. For example, many inpatient rehab programs can prescribe medications like Naltrexone, Antabuse, and Topamax.

What essentially happens is that the body will start to crave alcohol because it gets rewarded with pleasurable feelings each time someone consumes it. Many years ago, those who struggled with alcohol addiction or dependency https://ecosoberhouse.com/ were considered to be people with weak morals who were missing the strong characteristics needed to overcome their struggles. Unlike cocaine or heroin, alcohol is widely available and accepted in many cultures.

Find Out if You’re Misusing Alcohol

However, if a person is willing to get the treatment they need at an alcohol rehabilitation center, they have a much greater chance of becoming sober than they would if they attempt the process alone. A person’s age, genetic predisposition to addiction, health status, and drinking history all have a role to play regarding the severity of the brain damage caused by alcohol. So does the amount of time that has passed since they drank alcohol. Effects of alcoholism can have a long-term impact on a person’s health, relationships, and overall quality of life. The common name brands for topiramate include Topamax, Trokendi and Qudexy.

• For example, functional alcoholics can maintain relationships and perform well at work.
• We learn to connect with people, push our egos aside, and to ask for help if we need it.
• About 80 percent of all people with long-term alcoholism develop this condition due to the way their body becomes starved of thiamine from poor nutrition.
• It can help someone handle withdrawal symptoms and emotional challenges.

These medicines are designed to help manage a chronic disease, just as someone might take drugs to keep their asthma or diabetes in check. Alcohol use disorder (AUD), commonly referred to as alcoholism or alcohol addiction, does not follow the same course for everyone. Although it can be a life-long recovery journey for some, we now know people can successfully recover with varying levels of support and treatment.

Medical Professionals

If you begin to experience serious withdrawal symptoms, drink enough to make the symptoms subside. The purpose of tapering off alcohol is to avoid major withdrawal symptoms so you can achieve sobriety safely. The time it takes to taper will depend on how long you’ve been drinking, how much you’ve been drinking and a variety of personal factors. If you’ve been unable to quit on your own, you should consider attending an alcohol rehab center. It teaches you healthy ways to cope with stress and techniques for overcoming the underlying causes of alcohol addiction. It’s important to note that medications for alcoholism don’t work well when taken without a prescription or additional treatment like counseling.

Depending on how bad the person’s dependency on alcohol is, these symptoms can range in severity. A detoxification usually requires a small stay in a hospital or rehabilitation center, although alcoholics who are considered low-risk may be considered for an outpatient detoxification. Certain safe-substitute drugs, such as benzodiazepine, can only be administered in a hospital. A detoxification is considered only part of the treatment, as it only deals with the physical dependency on alcohol. Some medications can help patients quit drinking, treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms (as mentioned above), and prevent relapse.

Advice For Friends and Family Members

Some are surprised to learn that there are medications on the market approved to treat alcohol dependence. The newer types of these medications work by offsetting changes in the brain caused by AUD. Although there isn’t a cure for alcohol https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/can-alcoholism-be-cured/ addiction, there are many non-pharmacological and psychosocial resources to help people reduce the severity of their addiction, recover, and sustain remission of symptoms. Recovery can take a long time, so you may need ongoing treatment.

Some common side effects include dry mouth, acne, fatigue, headaches, and stomach discomfort. Most side effects subside after a few days or weeks of Antabuse use. However, if side effects do not go away or get worse, it’s important to contact a medical professional.

Your health care provider or counselor can suggest a support group. Watching a friend or family member’s life be destroyed by alcoholism is deeply distressing and frustrating. Usually, someone needs to enter a rehabilitation program to get help with an alcohol addiction. If you want to help, you first need to determine if the person is actually an alcoholic. It is believed that the main reason the Sinclair Method has not caught on in the U.S. is two-fold.

• Topiramate is essential if an individual has symptoms of delirium tremens, which can be fatal.
• Self-help groups usually consist of a small group of recovering alcoholics and a professional therapist.
• We do not receive any compensation or commission for referrals to other treatment facilities.
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs provide peer support for people quitting or cutting back on their drinking.

Naltrexone is available in the form of an oral tablet or injection. Vivitrol is an injected form of the drug that your doctor can give you once a month. This may be more reliable and convenient than oral pills, especially if you think you may forget or be unwilling to take a pill every day. Individuals are advised to talk to their doctors about the best form of primary treatment. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and what may work for one person may not be a good fit for someone else. Simply understanding the different options can be an important first step.

There are many treatment modalities for alcohol abuse disorder (AUD). Treating alcohol addiction can require therapy, medications, and even medically-supervised detox programs. There are a handful of medications that have been approved by the FDA for alcoholism treatment.