This week’s article was about alcohol abuse, alcoholism and the mechanisms behind it. The purpose of this article was to figure out what happens when alcohol enters the brain and what parts of the brain are affected. If scientists can figure out what happens, they may be able to find drugs that can reduce alcohol dependency in alcoholics, repair brain regions that have been damaged due to alcohol and even find drugs that can cause an aversion to alcohol. However, can there really be a cure for alcoholism?
Currently there are three drugs that are approved by the FDA for alcohol treatment. The first is called Campral and it is used to reduce the withdrawal symptoms experienced by long term alcohol abusers when they stop using. It is also believed that it helps the brain return to its normal cognitive function. However this drug has many side effects such as diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Another drug is Antabuse and when this drug is taken in conjunction with alcohol, it causes headaches, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, sweating, choking and difficulty breathing. The last medication that has been approved is called Trexan, and it inhibits the “good feeling” that people get from drinking. The downsides of this drug are that it may worsen withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and it can only be used in treatment programs.
Although there are numerous drugs on the market, I don’t think that any one of them can really be used to treat alcoholism. I personally know a recovering alcoholic and after talking to her, she said that the only thing that really truly works is when the person wants to change, and is fully committed to making that change. She has been involved in Alcoholics Anonymous for three years now and even though there have been great struggles, it has been well worth the time. When I talked to her about easy fixes and the drugs that are now available to help, she is extremely skeptical on whether or not these drugs will work on the person long term. Sure you could easily take a drug that makes you puke when you drink, but people that truly desire the alcohol, will just not take the drug. The drug that improves your brain function, could be used as an excuse to just continue drinking, because in the end, you can take a pill and be cured from any brain damage.
Therefore in my opinion, alcoholism is not an easy fix. You can’t just magically take a pill and no longer desire alcohol. Recognize that you have a problem, desire change, and take action yourself to make those changes. We can’t always rely on medicine and science to fix our problems, the power rests in our own will.
If you are or known someone who is an alcoholic and would like more information about the program Alcoholics Anonymous, you can visit their website and find a meeting location near you by clicking here: http://www.aa.org/
The Cure for Alcoholism….
G’Day! Cobbersonthebrain,
I know what you mean, Naltrexone has been noted to “overcome” alcoholism. Certainly I says the get rid of word. That is a great assertion for a disease that is epidemic and kills thousands and thousands of people each calendar year. Additionally, how some conditions can we in fact get rid of? We can deal with the indications for fairly a couple of illnesses, but get rid of? Not that a large number of. And here is how you do it. You honestly have to maintain ingesting to be cured. Converse about controversial.
Keep up the posts!