0 Alcohol Abuse and Dependence

Drug

Drugs can be used to help treat alcohol dependence and abuse. Some medicines reduce withdrawal symptoms during detoxification. Other medicines help you stay sober during the long recovery process.
Drug Choices

The drugs most often used to treat withdrawal symptoms during detoxification include:

- Antianxiety medicines (benzodiazepines such as diazepam), which treat the symptoms such as
delirium tremens (DTS).

-Seizures of drugs to reduce or stop severe withdrawal symptoms during detoxification.


Medicines used to help you stay wise include:

-Disulfiram (Antabuse), which would reduce the enjoyment of producing alcohol and will make
your stomach hurt when you drink.
-Naltrexone (ReVia, Vivitrol), which interferes with pleasure you get from drinking. Vivitrol is
a once-a-month injection used to treat alcohol dependence.
- Acamprosate (Campral), which can reduce the craving for alcohol.
- Topiramate (Topamax), medicines used to treat attacks. One recent study showed that it
also can help treat alcohol problems.6 Experts are studying how these medicines, and drugs
like that, maybe with the help recovery from alcohol abuse and addiction.

About what to think

Abuse of alcohol can cause your body to be low in some vitamins and minerals, especially thiamine (vitamin B1). You may need to consider thiamine supplements to improve nutrition during recovery. Thiamine helps prevent Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which causes brain damage.7

You may also need supplements to help replace fluids and electrolytes.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an injectable form of naltrexone advice. You may have skin reactions at the injection site, where images are given. Call your doctor if you will notice a change in the skin at the injection site, such as swelling, pain, redness, or pain, which did not increase or greater within two weeks.