Alcoholism Treatment Options

Are you aware of medication options available for alcoholism treatment? If you don’t know, besides counseling and detox certain FDA-approved drugs are used to manage addiction and dependence on Alcohol.

In total, there are 4 options available to treat alcoholism – Detox, Medication, Counseling, and behavior modification. Noticing the signs early and taking the treatment can help you to prevent complications.

Learning more about treatment helps you choose which treatment is suitable for alcoholism. Visit a Mental Health Clinic to find out more or log on to www.doralhw.org.

Alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol in which a person is aware of the dependence and excessive consumption of alcohol and the problems that come with it but is not able to quit. Alcoholism is not only bad for your health but also affects other aspects of your life like relationships, work, etc.

According to statistics, it is estimated that 1.4% of people worldwide are alcoholics. And worldwide 3 million deaths happen every year because of the harmful use of alcohol. And 90% of alcoholism-related incidents are seen in males getting into accidents with serious injuries or even deaths.

That’s why it is important to quit your addiction on time with the help of treatment before it gets too late.

You can do it when you start noticing symptoms of alcoholism in you, which include:

You cannot control your drinking once you begin to drink.
You are not able to quit or reduce your consumption of alcohol even knowing it causes physical, social, and relationship problems.
Your performance at your work in the office, college, or school starts dropping.
You start making excuses for neglecting responsibilities so that you can go drinking
You don’t believe that you started drinking too much alcohol.
Risky behavior such as driving insanely fast, doing unprotected sex, etc. under the influence of alcohol.
Lost interest in your hobbies.
You can develop a tolerance to alcohol, so the same amount loses its effect and to get the same effect you start increasing your consumption of alcohol.
You can experience symptoms like nausea, sweating, and shaking when you don’t drink or drink to avoid these symptoms.

Noticing these symptoms, you should ask for help from your friends and family to get the support you need while taking the treatment to quit alcoholism.

Treatment options

There are 4 options available to treat alcoholism include:

Detox
Medication
Counseling
Behavior modification

Detox:

This is the initial step that is taken for treating alcoholism. In this step, you have to quit alcohol for the first few days under the supervision of professional medical care. This is going to be extremely hard for you as your body goes through a change that gives you physical symptoms which can feel life-threatening. That’s why they keep you under medical care so that when you experience these symptoms, they can give you emergency treatment to ease your symptoms. The symptoms that you will experience in the detoxification stage:

Excessive Sweating
Irritation
Nausea or vomiting
Sleeping problems
Rapid heartbeat
Delusions or hallucinations
Agitation
Restlessness
Confusion

The main purpose of the detoxification treatment is to start building a tolerance to alcohol and flush the alcohol out of the system. After detoxification, you can start another treatment of therapy or medication.

Medication:

After detox, the doctor gives you some medicine to help you with your symptoms while keeping an eye on you. Those medicines are:

Naltrexone: This drug is mostly used in treating alcoholism by reducing the feel-good effects of alcohol on the brain. Without those effects, you feel less inclined to drink alcohol.
Acamprosate: This drug is used to fight your alcohol cravings by restoring the balance of certain chemicals in your brain.
Disulfiram: This drug is used least to treat alcohol abuse disorder (AUD) as it causes some side effects which are not even associated with AUD. This drug makes you sick when you drink alcohol causing flushing, nausea, and headaches.
Vivitrol is another drug that is given once a month by injection.

This medication after detox is given in two ways:

Inpatient: This option suits you if you’ve been misusing alcohol heavily. It is an on-site treatment with a duration of 30, 60, and 90 days (about 3 months) according to how early you develop your withdrawal. You have to stay full-time in the rehab clinic, hospital, or detox center. Medical professionals provide you with around-the-clock care and prepare your schedule after rehab. This can include how you can overcome your triggers, the importance of a sobriety maintenance program, or what you should do if you experience a relapse.
Outpatient: This option is given to you if you develop your withdrawal earlier in the detox stage. Then, you only have to visit your doctor to take treatment during the day. This option is considered safe when your symptoms are mild or moderate, not severe.
Counseling: After alcohol rehabilitation, you visit a therapist to learn skills or techniques that help you to keep sober for the long term. With the help of psychologists, social workers, and alcohol counselors can help you learn

How to change behavior that makes you drink alcohol
How to deal with your stress and other triggers by using coping techniques
How you can build a good support system
Help to set a goal and how to reach them

The duration of your counseling session depends on how quickly you learn those strategies. Some people need a short, focused session. While others need longer one-on-one therapy to deal with issues like anxiety and depression. Alcohol also affects the people close to you, so in those cases, couples or family therapy can help too. This will also allow you to learn more about yourself, as well as how you can keep fit both inside and out.

Behavior modification:

Behavior modification can allow you to learn to control your urges around alcohol. You can learn these coping skills from a therapist or psychiatrist before leaving the treatment center or returning to your home. By the time you return home you need support from your family and friends to make sure you can adopt all the skills and techniques you need to avoid drinking alcohol.

Alcoholism is very harmful. Not only do you develop serious mental and physical issues, but it affects other important aspects of your life like relationships, work, family, etc. That’s why you should start your treatment as early as possible. In case you’re not able to do so ask for help from a friend or family member. Once you start your treatment it might be hard to continue as your body develops the habit of alcohol. But once you get through it you will become a different person.

Want any help? Doral Health and Wellness has the best Doctors and Psychiatrists that specialize in Behavioral health make accurate diagnoses, and craft tailored treatment programs. The medical, and rehabilitation care provided by our Mental health Clinic is unparalleled. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.

In order to schedule a consultation with the best Mental health Clinic in East New York, please call 1-347-384-5690 or visit www.doralhw.org.