If you or one of your loved ones is struggling with this its worth knowing and worth asking your doctor about. Article mainly discusses generic anticonvulsants that have proven beneficial, but there are others such as Naltrexone that can also be helpful.
However, there already are three FDA-approved medications for alcoholism: disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate. While probably not as effective at maintaining long-term abstinence as NBACs, they still provide benefits—yet they too are grossly underutilized.
These three drugs work in completely different ways, by the way.
Disulfiram gets the patient to stop drinking alcohol by causing the body to accumulate poisonous acetaldehyde — causing drunkenness to rapidly become a hangover.
Naltrexone is used in the Sinclair method, and works by suppressing the positive feelings (psychological reward) of drinking. Notably, Sinclair method patients are instructed to take naltrexone and then drink alcohol; the lack of reward trains the brain to not think of alcohol as pleasant anymore.
Acamprosate counteracts the downregulation of GABA receptors, making it less unpleasant to go without drinking.
Yes, Disulifram is the oldest of these, been around many years, and some chronic alcoholics just drink over it and power through the hangover
Naltrexone is the one I have heard most positive things about, never even heard of Acamprosate before.
Unfortunately when I was in a relationship with an alcoholic some years back Disulifiram was the only thing doctors here were even aware of.
My husband is currently taking naltrexone, so I just wanted to hop on here and say to anyone that is considering taking it, please be careful and do your research! It’s not that the medication is bad, but you should prepare for it before you start, especially if you currently drink in high quantities. My husband went to a psychiatrist who specializes in substance use, she gave him an RX for naltrexone but didn’t provide really any resources or advice about how to approach it. The first night, he decided to drink maybe half of his normal nightly amount of alcohol - he vomited multiple times, had bad chills, etc. There’s also risk of seizures if you try to quit or taper down from alcohol too quickly. After that night, he decided that he would only take half his naltrexone dose at first and would taper down very slowly. Things have been going much better for the last few weeks. Also, you really need someone to help you stay accountable if you’re going to try an at-home detox. In our case, we locked up all of the alcohol in our house (I keep the key). And I’m in the room with my husband while he drinks a specific amount of vodka each night. Since that first night, I don’t think he’s really had any significant side effects.
I went cold turkey and the first week felt like a nightmare. I know everyone is different so a multitude of options is very good. Props to you for being a supportive wife. My wife helped me through my addiction immensely and I’ll never be able to repay her for the amount of support she gave me. I’m 2.5 years sober now and feeling great.
I try to find ways to sho my thanks to her everyday and our marriage is significantly better because of me overcoming my urge to drink.
(Used to be 8-12 beers on work nights, drink until blackout on weekends)
And in the US they insist religion will cure it. My sister in law had to demand medication, she just kept getting referred to AA. Guess which one finally got her sober?
Yes, referring someone to AA if they know it will not work for them is just stupid. AA may work for some people but it cannot and should not be the only referral or treatment option - medication is going to be a better option for many. Unfortunately its much the same here
If you don’t mind the magical thinking monotheism and 1930s pseudoscience and sexism that must never be changed, then it may work for you. Plus its success rate is a non-negative number. What’s not to like??
Funnily enough all of the above does actually work for some people, but it should absolutely never be the first or only option. When peole ask me if they should use medication, therapy, or 12 step programmes I would say all of the above
I read that AA has an 8% success rate. It didn’t work for me.
