Alcoholics Recovery » Medication http://www.abcrecovery.org Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:03:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Medication For Alcoholism and Recovery Treatment http://www.abcrecovery.org/2010/03/medication-for-alcoholism-and-recovery-treatment/ http://www.abcrecovery.org/2010/03/medication-for-alcoholism-and-recovery-treatment/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:05:35 +0000 admin http://www.abcrecovery.org/?p=12 Alcoholism is a serious illness that affects numerous people in the United States daily. From the age of 21 the nation allows people to start consuming this drug legally. The people soon develop dependence for the alcohol and need it. Keep your chin up, because there is a lot of treatment and even medication for alcoholism. With the combination of these two tools you will be on the road to recovery from alcohol in no time.

There are two different types of medication for alcoholism. The first medication is a tranquilizer that is used to help calm the alcoholic which helps the withdrawals. Some examples are Valium and Librium. These are the two most commonly used types of these medications. The other type of medication is helped to keep the person sober preventing the addiction from occurring again. Naltrexone is a recently approved drug that is now used for this purpose. This lessens the desire to drink and in turn keeps the person away from needing alcoholic beverages. There is also an older form of medication that is used to keep a person away from consuming alcohol. This medication is disulfiram. Disulfiram will make a person have an unpleasant reaction when they consume alcohol. Vomiting and nausea are common affects of this drug.

Taking the medications will not keep a person from alcoholism alone. Counseling and seeking help from support groups will help you beat alcoholism. Self help books are available to purchase, and contacting a local pastor for help can also help. Trying to get away from the addiction on your own doesn’t usually work either. Tell your friends that you are trying to break the habit and you need their help. Ask them to keep you away from alcoholic beverages whenever they are around you. Don’t go out to the bar as a hang out place. Temptation is too strong there and you will most likely give in. Stay at places that are alcohol free to help you resist the urge to drink.

When you are trying to quit drinking you should first set up your priorities and goals. Write them down and look at them everyday. If you stumble, don’t worry, because you can always get back up and start again. Get support in the right areas. You might have to change your friends temporarily to reach your goals. Find friends that will support you in your decision and want to help you better your life. Start out your journey to soberness by one day at a time. Begin with one day a week that has no alcoholic beverages allowed. Soon this day will become easy and you can move onto two days. Soon you’ll be at everyday not having the desire to drink. Avoid situations that involve drinking. Parties might need to be avoided momentarily to keep yourself from giving into the temptation.

Remember to never give up. When you are trying to do something there will be trials and tribulation. You just need to keep your eyes on the goal and you will over come. If you need medication for alcoholism to help you come out on top, so be it! There are tools, and groups, and people who love you that will help you be the person that you want to be. Never give up.

]]> http://www.abcrecovery.org/2010/03/medication-for-alcoholism-and-recovery-treatment/feed/ 0 Alcoholism Recovery – What is the Cycle of Addiction? http://www.abcrecovery.org/2009/05/alcoholism-recovery-what-is-the-cycle-of-addiction/ http://www.abcrecovery.org/2009/05/alcoholism-recovery-what-is-the-cycle-of-addiction/#comments Sun, 10 May 2009 10:48:57 +0000 admin http://www.abcrecovery.org/?p=3



Understanding alcoholism recovery often starts with understanding the cycle of addiction. Everyone wants to feel good. Everyone wants to be free from physical or emotional pain. Everyone wants to enjoy life. Our “pursuit of happiness” is what starts the Cycle of Addiction.

It begins with an event, our introduction to drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons. We want to have a good time, we want to fit in with our friends, or we want to numb the pain. It starts as an experiment, to see what the drug will do. It starts as a medically prescribed treatment for an injury. It starts innocently enough. No thoughts of alcoholism recovery or addiction.

12:00 AM

Let’s use a clock as an example. At 12:00 we begin with an event. “Joe” uses prescription medication to get relief from the pain of his knee injury. The doctor prescribes the drug, the amount to be taken and the frequency of use. But as time goes on, Joe’s pain level is not under control, so he takes a couple more pills. That doesn’t work for him, so he takes his medication more often. He may receive pain relief, but as time goes on, he needs more and more drug just to feel normal. Joe also uses alcohol to mask his pain.

1:00 AM

From the 12:00 event, through 1:00 and 2:00, his use of the drug increases to the point where he is beginning to think more and more about getting his prescription filled sooner than the recommended time. The drugs have appeared to be the answer to his pain. They help him get through the day, but more and more is needed just to get by. The drug is necessary, vital to his feeling good or normal. His knee injury is now secondary, as the use of the drug is necessary with or without the injury pain.

When Joe goes beyond the limits of the prescribed amount of drug and the frequency of use, and this pattern of behavior is left unchecked, it results in addiction, because the drug seems to help him not only with pain, but help him get through life. He feels better. The problem is Joe has lost his ability to control the drug. It now controls him.

Alcohol works very much the same way. Joe starts drinking in college and then without knowing it alcohol begins to control him. Joe does not think he has a problem, he thinks he can stop anytime he wants to, but like any other drug, Joe has an addiction called alcoholism.

Let’s take a moment to share an analogy. There is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying a piece of chocolate. If that enjoyment results in weight gain, diabetes or any number of other medical calamities, then chocolate is not a good idea. There’s nothing wrong with taking a drink either, only for some of us it results in two, three, four drinks and more. When we no longer control the substance, but the substance controls us, it means trouble. We are looking for the effect the substance gives us. Without it, we are left craving.

3:00 AM

Let’s continue with our cycle of addiction and understanding alcoholism recovery. The addiction has set in because of prolonged use of the drug and alcohol, as more drugs more often is necessary for Joe to achieve the result the addict is looking for. The drug is psychologically habit forming, as we are led to believe that the drug is necessary for our happiness, or we will be in pain without it.

Let’s say we have arrived at 3:00. The person is in the throws of addiction, or close to it. There is an obvious problem. Perhaps family members and friends have tried to encourage Joe to get help. Joe may or may not realize that the drug has caused problems; he isn’t thinking about alcoholism recovery.

He has turned his life over to the drug. He makes sure he has enough. He thinks about getting enough. He craves using the drugs to relieve the pain. When he doesn’t have the drug, Joe may experience terrible withdrawal symptoms, live sweats, the shakes, hallucinations or a variety of physical ailments. He may not sleep, or may have digestive problems, he may not eat, or he may not have any interest in anything other than the drug.

Joe’s level of addiction at this point just means that he is on a downward spiral. He is descending into addiction.

6:00 AM

Let’s say that Joe’s friends are now actively encouraging him to get help. Let’s say that Joe agrees that he’ll try. The process of addiction taking hold, the friends trying to help and Joe agreeing to get help takes us to the 6:00 position. Joe has admitted that the drugs are getting in the way. He says he’ll try harder to not use the drug. He may say he’ll “cut back” or he may say he’ll accept some outpatient treatment. People have strong spirits. It’s the American way to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. “I did it my way,” was a popular Frank Sinatra song years ago, and we still hear it today because it embodies the free spirited, rugged individual personality. Don’t tell me what to do or how to do it. Joe is going to try, but it has to be his way or the highway.

Let’s pause for a moment. I respect effort. Do not misunderstand this important point. Joe says he’ll try and for a time he succeeds. I respect the effort. There was a lovely woman in one of my spirituality group sessions who shared that she had been clean for seven years. It was very difficult for her, but by sheer determination and personal strength, and with a little help and encouragement from friends, she did it for seven years. God bless her.

But something happened in her life. There was an event, and as she described it, she just used again for no particular reason. She did not necessarily understand her own decision to use, but the cycle started all over again for her; she had to start alcoholism recovery all over again.

You hear alcoholics tell people that they cannot have as little as one drink. No matter how long they have been sober, they can’t have one little drink. It’s too much. They will also tell you that once they start, no amount is enough. The alcoholic understands the cycle of addiction.

9:00 AM

Joe tries to stay clean, but as the time on the clock approaches 9:00, for some reason, Joe uses. Why? We’re human. I am not offering our being human as an excuse for bad decision making, but I am suggesting that human nature leans toward rebellion and disobedience. The addiction might have been managed for a season, but it was not defeated, nor will it ever be defeated. Give Joe credit for trying, but the cycle of addiction was not broken. Joe found himself back at “high noon” and began using again, which started the cycle all over again.

The cycle has to be broken, and I firmly believe that people will not break that cycle by their own effort.

We are made for relationship and made to receive help. A person can succeed by trying and ALLOWING outside help. When it comes to managing addiction or overcoming major events, the “I did it my way” mentality is nothing more than arrogance. Alcoholics Anonymous says in its second step that “we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” The wisdom in that confession is the acknowledgment that our “trying harder” isn’t going to cut it.

If you or someone you love or someone you know is experiencing what Joe has experienced, you need help to break the cycle. Seek professional help.

Descending into ADDICTION as a Spiritual Disease

Below is a description of how a person descends into alcoholism.

1. Drug/Alcohol sedates value system, which gets indifferent, confused

2. Grandiosity, perfectionism, pride

3. Intolerance of others, suspicion, disgust, argues

4. Religion getting sick, rigid, arrogant, unrealistic, disenchantment with childish idea of God

5. Loses interest in life, “Blues”

6. Guilt feelings, not “at ease” with God

7. Stops daily prayer, attends church out of habit or pretense

8. “Nobodiness” — feels estranged, alienated, lonely

9. Immaturity, some irresponsibility

10. Life has no meaning

11. Anxiety, indefinable fears

12. Resentments: Angry with God, hostile to mention of religion, projects fear into concept of God as a tyrant

13. Moral deterioration: Dishonest, selfish

14. Loss of faith: Consciously rejects God, unconsciously longs for Him, a “sick love” relation

15. Remorse: Depression, suicidal thoughts, impaired thinking

16. Vague spiritual desires

17. Gropes for spiritual meaning

HITS BOTTOM (USES DRUGS/ALCOHOL TO COPE WITH PROBLEMS OF USING

Ascending Aspects of Alcoholism Recovery

ADMISSION THAT HELP IS NEEDED (ALLOWS TREATMENT TO MOVE FORWARD

This is a list of how a person can ASCEND into alcoholism recovery.

1. In spiritual fog

2. Honest desire for help

3. Vague notion of Higher Power

4. New faith: “Came to believe”

5. Hope dawns: Can be restored to sanity

6. Thirst for God examined (hard struggle for some)

7. Second BOTTOM: Existential crisis

8. Acceptance (surrender, turnabout)

9. Conversion: “Let go and let God”

10. Trust: “Thy will be done”

11. Appreciates possibility of new way of life

12. Patience: “One day at a time”

13. Forgiveness: Not “Why did I?” but “forgive me”

14. Reconciliation: personal relationship “at ease” with God just

15. Humbly asks God to remove shortcomings

16. False ego deflated

17. Return of self-esteem (God not a rescuer)

18. Honesty: Makes amends

19. Promptly admits when wrong

20. Courage. Optimism, new freedom

21. Rebirth of ideals

22. Appreciation of spiritual values

23. Gratitude

24. Increased tolerance of others

25. Serenity, peace of soul, joy

26. Prayer and meditation

27. Growth in proper concept of God

28. Deeper relation to God as a loving God

29. Unselfish: Goes to others because God loves them

30. “Weller than Well” — higher than believed possible

Alcoholism Recovery Successful!

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