About 14.4 million people (5.8% of adults over 18) have an alcohol use disorder. Only 7.9% of these people receive professional treatment. If you try to quit on your own, you might experience withdrawal symptoms.
For some people, withdrawal symptoms are so intense that they begin drinking again. Don’t let withdrawal impact your road to recovery, though.
Instead, consider using the best drugs to help alcohol withdrawal. You can start treatment at a rehabilitation center to begin your detox process.
A Alcohol Addiction Treatment Program for Men can use these medications for withdrawal to ease your symptoms.
Keep reading to learn more about the medications used during addiction rehab today.
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Before we discuss the best drugs to help alcohol withdrawal, it helps to learn more about withdrawal recovery as a whole.
Depending on the intensity of your alcohol use, your symptoms can range from mild to physically dangerous. You might begin experiencing mild symptoms eight hours after your last drink.
Your symptoms can grow more intense around 24 hours after your last drink. More severe effects could emerge 2 to 4 days later.
Potential symptoms of substance withdrawal can include:
- Hand tremors
- High blood pressure
- Increased heart rate
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Sweating
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Mood swings
Not everyone who struggles with alcohol abuse will experience these withdrawal symptoms. Your risk of these symptoms is higher if you consumed high amounts of alcohol beforehand. Older adults are at a higher risk of substance withdrawal symptoms, too.
Other people who at are a higher risk of alcohol withdrawal symptoms include those who have:
- Suffered a head trauma in the past
- Poor overall health
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Co-occurring mental health or physical conditions
- Regular drinkers for two decades or more
- A history of Delirium Tremens or withdrawal seizures
If you have a co-occurring mental health condition, talk to your doctors about dual diagnosis. You can click here on dual diagnosis to learn more.
If you’re worried about substance withdrawal, make sure to visit a rehabilitation center right away. Don’t try to detox at home alone. Otherwise, you could put your physical health at risk.
Seeking Help
If you have an alcohol use disorder, it’s important to seek help right away. Alcohol is a significant cause of death in the US. Over 95,000 people die every year due to alcohol-related causes.
That’s 261 deaths each day.
The number of alcohol liver disease deaths reached 24,110. The number of alcohol-induced deaths (not counting homicides and accidents) reached 39,043.
If you suffer from an alcohol use disorder, consider finding a rehabilitation center in your area. Withdrawal is safer under medical supervision.
You should consider an inpatient program if you:
- Have undergone multiple failed attempts at completing an outpatient detox
- Are pregnant
- Are in an advanced state of withdrawal (high fever, hallucinations, etc.)
- Don’t have a support network
- Don’t have a secure home setting
- Failed to respond to medications
- Have a history of withdrawal delirium or seizures
- Show signs of liver issues
- Have a co-occurring sedative addiction
- Suffer from severe psychiatric disorders
- Have coronary artery disease
- Have insulin-dependent diabetes
Choosing an inpatient detox program for your substance withdrawal could save your life.
You can seek help to manage your alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe, comfortable environment. Medical professionals can use the best drugs to help alcohol withdrawal, too. With their help, you can minimize your withdrawal symptoms.
Medications for Treatment
What are the best drugs to help alcohol withdrawal? Here are a few medications for withdrawal your doctors might consider administering.
Remember, it’s important to seek treatment at a medical center. A board-certified addiction psychiatrist can determine which medications are ideal for you.
These medications can help you complete the detox process with minimum negative side effects.
Benzodiazepines
Your doctors might administer benzodiazepines. Benzos are often the preferred drug for substance withdrawal treatment. Benzodiazepines can help you avoid many of the negative side effects of alcohol.
Common benzos include chlordiazepoxide and diazepam. You might receive loading doses every one to two hours. Otherwise, your doctors might recommend symptom-triggered treatment.
In this case, they’ll administer medication when they notice signs or symptoms of withdrawal.
It’s important to note that benzos can cause physiological dependence. Your doctors will need to gradually taper the drugs once you reach a stable state. A tapering schedule can prevent benzo withdrawal symptoms.
Phenobarbital
Phenobarbital is a type of barbiturate. Though it’s effective, it’s not often used for substance withdrawal. Barbiturates are highly addictive.
An overdose could prove fatal, too.
Remember, it’s important to receive these medications for withdrawal under a medical professional’s supervision. Otherwise, treatment might do more harm than good.
Naltrexone
This medication is usually used to curb opioid cravings. However, it could help with alcohol cravings, too.
Your doctors might prescribe naltrexone if you have a strong, intense desire for alcohol.
Disulfiram
Also called Antabuse, this medication could help deter alcohol drinking.
If you consume alcohol after taking this medication, you’ll feel violently ill. You’ll likely start associating drinking with this sickness. You could curb future cravings as a result.
The effects of this drug can vary, though. Disulfiram is usually used as a last resort. It’s ideal for patients who have experienced multiple relapses over time.
Antipsychotics
Your doctors might recommend antipsychotics if you’re experiencing agitation, delusions, and hallucinations. These symptoms are common during Delirium Tremens.
Antipsychotics can lower the seizure threshold, making you more susceptible to seizures, though. It’s important to remain under medical supervision if you’re given antipsychotics.
Acamprosate
Acamprosate can stabilize chemical signaling in the brain. Otherwise, these signals could become disrupted by alcohol withdrawal.
Your doctors might prescribe this medication post-detox. It could help minimize your alcohol cravings when you begin treatment.
It’s not as effective without behavioral therapy, though.
Starting the Road to Recovery: Drugs to Help Alcohol Withdrawal
Find a rehabilitation center that offers these drugs to help alcohol withdrawal. Visiting a rehab center can minimize your withdrawal symptoms. Remember not to complete substance withdrawal alone.
Otherwise, you might fail to receive the medical attention you need in time.
Instead, you can complete the detox process at an addiction rehab center. A medical professional can create a customized treatment plan based on your needs.
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