What treatment is available?
Today’s sophisticated programs combine the use of counseling and medication to halt the spiral of alcohol addiction and enable many people to rebuild their lives.
A wide variety of medications are used over the course of treatment for alcoholism, but keep in mind that there is no single medication that works in every case with every individual. That’s where the role of a facility’s skilled medical staff takes the lead, determining the appropriate medication(s) – and the appropriate dosages – for each individual situation.
For example, medications known as benzodiazepines – Valium and Librium are perhaps the two best-known examples – are often used during the initial stages of treatment to help an individual safely withdraw (detox) from alcohol. Since these medications themselves may be highly addictive, they are usually not used beyond the first few days.
That’s when other medications come into play. One medication used to help people stay sober is naltrexone, which – when combined with advances in counseling and other programs – can reduce the craving for alcohol and help prevent a person from returning, or relapsing, to heavy drinking. Another medication discourages drinking by making the person feel sick if he or she drinks alcohol.
Quite often the addict is in denial and will resist any efforts to provide essential treatment. In those cases, the assistance of an interventionist is often indicated.
The key is that, for a growing number of people, treatment for alcoholism does work. This is what the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has to say about the subject:
“Some people stop drinking and remain sober. Others have long periods of sobriety with bouts of relapse. And still others cannot stop drinking for any length of time. With treatment, one thing is clear, however: the longer a person abstains from alcohol, the more likely he or she will be able to stay sober.”
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