Alcohol-Dependent Individuals Are Not Good Candidates

Let’s be clear about who isn’t a good candidate for quitting cold turkey. If you are alcohol dependent, it is extremely difficult and nearly impossible for you to quit alcohol on your own. Chronic drinkers and drinkers who have been alcoholics for many years will experience severe and potentially life-threatening symptoms if they attempt to quit on their own. If you only drink occasionally, say a glass of wine here or there, quitting is more a matter of deciding not to drink and sticking to it. This article doesn’t pertain to you. But you may also know someone who does have a problem with alcohol. Hopefully this information will prove useful in encouraging that individual to get professional help to quit drinking.

What Is Quitting Cold Turkey?

The phrase “quitting cold turkey” has been around a long time and, depending on which source you read, has a few definitions. When you quit something cold turkey you are stopping use of the substance: alcohol, nicotine, prescription or street drugs. The most definition of cold turkey refers to one of the symptoms of withdrawal you’ll inevitably go though: goosebumps from the chills.

Detoxification

Quitting alcohol first involves a phase known as detoxification. This is where your body is purged of all the traces of alcohol. It’s a process that takes time, and some of the withdrawal symptoms are not pleasant.

How severe your withdrawal symptoms are depends on how chemically dependent on alcohol you’ve become. If you’ve been a mild drinker, your symptoms may be minor. But for the person who is alcohol-dependent, symptoms take on an entirely different complexion. Here’s what happens.

The first stages of withdrawal from alcohol are similar to what your body goes through after an all-out binge where you wake up totally hung over. You’ll recognize them – they occur as the alcohol content in your body drops the first few hours after you’ve stopped drinking.

Then, even with individuals who are “mildly” alcoholic, withdrawal may include the shakes, sweats, rapid heartbeat, and an increase in blood pressure, nausea, and headache. These physical symptoms are accompanied often by anxiety, feelings of discomfort, loneliness, and depression. The craving to drink becomes overwhelming. Without help and support, you may not be able to get through the physical or the mental withdrawal symptoms, let alone the craving – which does many people in despite good intentions.

What happens is you’ll do anything to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal: you go back to drinking, which immediately makes everything seem better. Gone are the shakes, the headache, anxiety, nausea, etc., and you may tell yourself that you’ll quit another day. But the reality is, you will remember how awful quitting cold turkey was and never take that step again. All your good intentions will be forgotten. You may even tell yourself that you’re not that bad of an alcoholic, that you can control your drinking, cut down gradually, or some other lie. You’re not really your own best counsel. After all, you’re the one with the alcohol problem. Would you trust your own word?

Severe Withdrawal Symptoms

For alcohol-dependent individuals, withdrawal symptoms may become severe or even life threatening. In 6 to 48 hours after you stop drinking, hallucinations may start. These are usually visual hallucinations, but they can also involve your sense of hearing and smell. Psychosis can also develop. These symptoms can last a few hours to a few weeks.

Convulsions or seizures occur, possibly progressing to a dangerous condition known as delirium tremens or the DT’s. DT’s appear 3 to 5 days after cessation of alcohol consumption. Effects of the DT’s include extreme disorientation, more pronounced hallucinations, hyperactivity, confusion, and dangerous cardiovascular problems. When you experience the DT’s, you are in a life-threatening situation – and this is definitely not something you should attempt to go through on your own.

Withdrawal Can Be Managed With Proper Treatment

Did you know that you can detox from alcohol and have minimal or no withdrawal symptoms? How’s that for an eye-opener? The beauty of detoxification under medical supervision in an alcohol treatment facility is that there are medical practitioners and licensed professionals who will monitor your detox 24/7. The physician can prescribe medications that can alleviate or greatly reduce any discomfort you begin to feel. This medication (which is only available by prescription) is combined with a process during which you learn about the disease of alcoholism, and make a commitment to ongoing treatment – which begins after you’ve been detoxed from alcohol.

After Detox – Then What?

Once all traces of alcohol have left your body, there’s still a long road ahead. Actually, all the detox does is help to clear your mind to get you ready for the real work you have to do now.

Treatment is tailored according to your individual needs. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment program. You will need to learn behavioral changes, how to recognize the triggers that cause you to drink, new coping mechanisms and how to prevent relapse. You may continue to take prescribed medication during some or your entire post-detox treatment program.

Behavioral therapies can include individual counseling, group therapy, support groups, and family therapy. Treatment medications will help reduce or eliminate the craving for alcohol that derails many people who quit after detox and don’t go on to rehab therapy. In fact, without behavioral changes, 90 percent of patients who leave after detox and don’t go on to participate in therapy resume drinking. The ultimate goal of treatment is to get you to the point where you abstain from alcohol completely. Other goals include fostering your ability to function again in society, and to minimize the social and medical complications of alcohol abuse.

Length and Type of Treatment Vary

Patients who stay in treatment longer than 3 months usually have a more successful outcome than those who leave sooner. There are short-term, or programs of 6-month and less duration, including residential therapy, medication therapy and drug-free therapy as an outpatient. There are also longer-term therapies and aftercare support programs.

After rehab is completed, you are encouraged to continue participation in support groups, or 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. The goal is to keep your new-found confidence in your ability to stay clean and sober. You will be tempted to stray, and you need the support of those who can help you when that situation occurs. And it will.

How To Find Treatment

By now, you should have enough reasons why it isn’t a good idea to quit alcohol cold turkey. But where do you find the right treatment program for you? There are numerous resources available on the Internet, or you can check the Yellow Pages for alcohol and/or drug treatment centers. A good starting point is to usethe treatment facility locator accessed through the website of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/. The locator includes more than 11,000 addiction treatment programs, including residential treatment centers, outpatient treatment programs and inpatient hospital programs for alcoholism and drug addiction.

You can also ask your own doctor, your minister, or friends or family for help in finding the right alcohol treatment center for you. Just don’t try to go it alone. Give yourself the best chance possible to begin on a new path toward sobriety and a productive life. Take the next step. Find a treatment center today and get started.

Subutex works by binding to receptors in the nervous system and brain in an effort to prevent the withdrawal symptoms that generally accompany the stoppage of drug use. Subutex is specifically designed to treat individuals who are addicted to narcotics such as Oxycodone, heroin, opium, morphine, and codeine.

It is important that Subutex be taken as your doctor recommends. The pills should never be crushed, chewed, or swallowed, as it is intended to dissolve under the tongue. It also should not be injected, as this can lead to life-threatening health problems.

While the majority of medications carry the potential to produce side effects in different people, it is always important to find out what those potential side effects are before beginning any new treatment. With Subutex, the following side effects may be experienced during the course of treatment:

• Vomiting
• Sweating
• Chills
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Nausea
• Insomnia
• Weakness

In addition to the milder side effects that might occur, you should also be aware of some more serious side effects that would require immediate medical attention.

• Anxiety
• Dark colored urine
• Slow or shallow breathing
• Psychological changes such as depression
• Stomach pain
• Rash or hives
• Swelling of the face

There are also some pre-existing medical conditions that might prevent a person from being able to safely take Subutex. These conditions include liver or lung disease, thyroid or adrenal problems, psychiatric conditions, alcoholism, or abdominal problems. If you have any of these medical conditions, it is very important that you discuss them with your doctor prior to taking Subutex.

Subutex should only be administered by qualified medical doctors. You should also know that this particular type of treatment works best when it is combined with a drug addiction treatment program. These types of programs can be found on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, but it is often recommended that people enroll in substance abuse treatment centers when possible.

Being enrolled in an inpatient treatment facility allows patients the opportunity to receive an expanded level of treatment that includes not only the physical needs of the body during recovery from drug addiction, but also the mental and emotional needs of recovering addicts. Complete healing may be addressed through individual and group therapy sessions, acupuncture, massage, exercise programs that are individually tailored, and educational classes that help people to transition to a life that is free from addiction.

Sources Used

1. Subutex. http://www.medicinenet.com/buprenorphine-sublingual/

article.htm. Accessed 15 June 2009.

2. Subutex. http://www.drugs.com/cdi/subutex.html. Accessed 15 June 2009.