Drinking Again

[EliDavis]

I began drinking when i was only 12. It is off and on as a teenager, and now at an older age i seem not to be able to control my drinking. Now I am hooked on alcohol. I am constantly craving it and I don't seem to be happy unless I'm drinking. Friends do know I drink occasionally, but nobody knows that I drink everyday. I have become dependent on alcohol, and I'm not really sure how to get over that dependency.

[Guest ASchwartz]

Hi Ely,

Well, you have taken the first and, many would say, the most important step of all: You have admitted to yourself that you have a drinking problem.

Now, what to do?

I have a couple of suggestions and I think you will hear from others, as well:

1. You can go into a Detox program and continuing after treatment. This means being admitted to a hospital for a few days where you will be helped to give up alcohol. That means that the hospital will use medications to ease your way as your body withdraws from alcohol. Afterwards, you will attend a day program where there are group meetings to help you understand addiction and learn how to remain alcohol free.

2. You can attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). I know that some people are anti AA and I respect their opinions. My experiences via patients I worked with for many years was that AA worked very well for them.

3. There are other programs that are non AA that you could do a search for on the Internet and get involved with.

4. There are now new classes of medications that block the craving for alcohol and, thus, help people get free of the addiction. I have seen great results with people. You could either see a Psychiatrist or your Medical Doctor (Primary care physician), discuss it there and, if agreed, go on to one of the medications.

What suggestions do others have?

Allan

[John Rutledge]

deleted ....

Edited October 28, 2009 by John Rutledge

[iowalight]

I went through detox and was off alcohol for a period of time but thought one drink wouldn't hurt. WRONG!! Never fool yourself. Once you stop drinking for awhile, one drink is all it takes to be back in the pits again!

[Mark]

We did an article pointing people to the alternatives to alcoholics anonymous that are out there. The link is below

Top 7 Best Alcoholics Anonymous Alternatives List

Hope that helps.

Mark

[RV9Garage]

You might check out the book The Cure for Alcoholism by Roy Eskapa.

It details a treatment protocol that involves taking Naltrexone, which blocks the reinforcement your brain receives from drinking. It has had good success (nearly 80%) in Finland and at a Florida clinic, compared to the abysmal rates shown by AA and most other treatments.

It has solid science behind it (70+ studies), including one of the largest ever done on alcoholism.

It's biggest upsides are that it doesn't require detox or complete abstinence and that it eliminates craving. It's also cheap: It can be supervised by your family doctor - no intensive counseling necessary unless you have concurrent mental health issues.