Part 3 of 3 of Dr. Bud Holcomb’s Series on Alcoholism
Two medications area used to help alcohol use disorder. The first is Naltrexone. This blocks Opioid receptors and so reduces the pleasure people get when they drink. This is intended to cut back the amount people drink. Instead of ‘two have been good, so three must be better’. Pretty soon a thousands not enough. It comes in an affordable generic pill. It;s also available in a very expensive once a month shot called Vivitrol. In my experience, this medication is not that effective because for people with alcohol use disorder, alcohol is just too addicting.
The other mediation that is used for alcoholism is Disulfiram. This is a medication that has been FDA since 1951 and I believe is very helpful and greatly underutilized. This is a medication that doesn’t do anything when you take it, unless you drink alcohol. Then it interrupts the breakdown of alcohol so it gets stuck k in the acetaldehyde or ‘paint thinner’ stage. Paint thinner is disgusting and makes people pretty sick. It’s been shown that this medication helps reduce impulses to drink because people know it just not an option. It is highly effective right away and people can stop it about a week in advance if they want to be able to drink on a special occasion. This medication is dirt cheap and can even be obtained without a prescription on the global market.
To summarize: 1. Alcohol is very addictive and is a severe health problem worldwide.
8-10 drink equivalents per week is considered an acceptable health risk for women and 12-14 drink equivalents per week is not too unhealthy for men.
We need social support and community to stop drinking, which is why Alcoholics Anonymous has been so wildly successful. AA meetings come in all sorts of flavors, so don’t make excuses. ‘One meeting will change your drinking forever’
Benzodiazepines like Lorazepam and Clonazepam are very helpful to treat dangerous alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Finally, please consider taking Disulfiram as a sure fire way to immediately get sober.
I have seen hundreds of people get sober over my career. I have never seen anyone regret no longer being alcoholic.
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