1. Alcoholism

2. What is alcoholism? Craving Loss of control
Physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety after stopping drinking

3. Is alcoholism a disease?
Yes
It is a chronic disease, meaning it lasts a person’s lifetime.

4. Is alcoholism inherited?
Risk for developing alcoholism does indeed run in families. Genes are a partial factor but lifestyle plays a role.
Remember risk is not destiny.

5. Can alcoholism be cured?
No, not at this time.
Relapse can occur at any time
Safest course for an alcoholic is not to drink at all

6. Can alcoholism be treated?
Yes
Treatment consists of both counseling and medications

7. What medications treat alcoholism?
Three oral medications have been approved to treat the disease
Disulfiram (antibuse) acetaldehyde
Naltrexone (Depade, ReVia)
Acamprosate (Camprol)
Vivitrol, long acting injectable form of naltrexone is available

8. Does alcohol treatment work?
It depends on the definition of success

9. Does a person have to be an alcoholic to experience problems?
No, persons who have been drinking often engage in risk behaviors, DWI, drinking during pregnancy, other drug experimentation

10. Are specific groups more likely to have problems?
Alcoholism cuts across age, ethnic, gender and age lines. 1 in 12 adults are estimated to abuse or are alcohol dependent
Rates of alcoholism are highest among young adults 18-29, lowest among adults over 65
People who start drinking at an early age, less than 14 are at higher risk

11. How can you tell someone has a problem?
Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?

12. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
One yes, two yeses, three ?

13. Can a problem drinker simply cut down?
Depends but not likely

14. If an alcoholic is unwilling to get help, what can you do about it?
An alcoholic cannot be forced to get help except under certain circumstances, such as court ordered treatment after a DUI
Do you have to wait for them to hit bottom or bring the bottom to them
Stop all cover-ups

15. Time your intervention
Be specific
State the results
Get help
Call a friend
Find strength in numbers
Get support

16. What is a safe level of drinking?
Moderate alcohol abuse, 2 drinks a day for men, 1 for women and older people
Certain people should not drink at all:
Pregnant women
People who will be engaging in activities which require alertness and skill
People taking OTC medications

17. People with medical conditions which can be made worse by drinking
Recovering alcoholics
People under the age of 21

18. Is it safe to drink during pregnancy?No

19. Does alcohol affect older people differently?
Probably, slower reaction times, problems with seeing and hearing and lower tolerance to alcohol’s effects puts older people at risk for all types of injuries.
Increased medications

20. Does alcohol affect women differently?
Yes, women become more impaired by drinking the same amount of alcohol as men. Women have less water than men therefore alcohol is more concentrated
Alcohol abuse takes a heavier toll on a woman’s heart, brain and liver

21. Is alcohol good for your heart?
Moderate drinking
Don’t start in receive possible benefits

22. What about medications?
Stop drinking, more than 150 medications interact harmfully with alcohol
Alcohol’s effects are heightened by medicines that depress the CNS such as sleeping pills, antihistamines, anti-anxiety drugs and some painkillers

23. How can a person get help?
National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service provides a toll-free telephone number HELP
Al-Anon AA
National Association for children of Alcoholics
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information

24. Alcohol Withdrawal
Abstinence syndrome that develops is medically more severe and more likely to cause death than withdrawal from opioid drugs.
Detoxification
Progression of withdrawal consists of several parts.

25. Stage 1 tremors excessively rapid heartbeat, hypertension, heavy sweating, loss of appetite and insomnia
Stage 2 hallucinations, auditory, visual tactile or a combination of these
Stage 3 delusions, disorientation, delirium, sometimes intermittent and usually followed by amnesia

26. Stage 4 seizure activity

27. The 12 Steps of AA
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him.

28. Made searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.

29. Make a list of all persons we have harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except where to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take moral inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

30. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with god as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

31. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.