What is it?

Many people drink beer, wine, liquor, (like vodka or whiskey), or other drinks that have alcohol in them. Alcohol is so common that it is easy to forget that it is a legal drug. It can taste good and may also make you feel good. Most people can drink alcohol with few or no problems. But it can cause very serious problems if it is drunk too much or at the wrong times. These problems may affect your health, work, family, or friends.

Some people who abuse alcohol drink every day. But others are binge drinkers who drink large amounts of alcohol only at certain times, like weekends. And still others drink heavily for weeks or months, stop drinking for a short while, and then restart drinking. Any of these people may be abusing alcohol. With help, they can stop drinking.

Alcohol abuse is an illness with 2 parts. These include what alcohol does to your body and what it does to your life.

• Body changes: Drinking a lot of alcohol for a long time can make you dependent (d-pen-dent) on alcohol. This means that you feel like you have to have it. You can get sick if you stop drinking all at once. It can also cause serious damage to the liver, brain, and heart.
• Life changes: You may lose your family or job, get hurt or hurt someone else while drunk. You may drive when drunk and may even get arrested for driving drunk.

What causes alcohol abuse? It is not known for sure what causes alcohol abuse. You may be at a higher risk of abusing alcohol if you have parents or close relatives with a drinking problem. Men seem to be more likely to abuse alcohol than women. You may use alcohol to help depression, anxiety, loneliness, unhappiness, or other personal problems.

How much alcohol is too much? Your age, health, size, and other things affect how your body deals with alcohol. Different people have different ideas about what "too much" means. It is important to remember that how often you drink is as important as how much you drink. Drinking often could be a sign of a problem. But you do not have to drink every day to have a drinking problem. Some people drink rarely but may have a drinking problem because they drink too much when they drink. The following may help you decide if you are a light, medium, or heavy drinker.

• Light drinker. This means drinking less than 1 drink every day.
• Medium drinker. This means drinking 1 or 2 drinks every day.
• Heavy drinker. This means drinking more than 2 drinks every day.

How can I tell if I have an alcohol problem? Alcohol may be a problem for you if it causes a problem in any part of your life. Following are signs that you may have a drinking problem or are alcohol dependent.

• Blacking out or forgetting where you were or what you were doing.
• Drinking to get drunk. Or, you may feel like you need to drink more to get the same feeling or "buzz."
• Drinking to decrease pain or stress.
• Drinking more than you had expected to drink.
• Drinking in a pattern, like every day or every week at the same time.
• Drinking may start to take over and destroy your life. You may not show up for work or drive when you are drunk.
• Feeling guilty or angry when someone says something about your drinking.
• Hallucinating (huh-lew-sin-a-ting). This is when you see or hear things that are not there.
• Having big personality changes when drinking.
• Planning activities around drinking.
• Seizures (convulsions).
• Shaking of your hands if you have not had a drink for a while.
• Sleeping problems or bad dreams.
• Sweating, nervousness, confusion, or depression.
• Thinking a lot about drinking.
• Trouble having erections in men.
• Trying to hide how much you drink.

What about women and alcohol? When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her unborn baby also drinks it. The same amount of alcohol that is in the woman's blood quickly goes to her baby's blood. The more a woman drinks during pregnancy the greater the danger to her unborn baby. It is even more serious if a woman drinks during early pregnancy when her baby's body systems are being formed. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the name given to a group of problems that a baby can have when born. This may happen because the baby's mother drank too much alcohol during pregnancy. The baby may have mental, behavior, and physical problems. These problems will continue throughout the baby's life.

Medical Care:

Your caregiver will ask you many questions and examine you. You may want to see a counselor. It can take many months or years of treatment to stop drinking. Antidepressant medicine may decrease alcohol cravings. Other medicine may be used to help you stop drinking.

Dietary Measures:

Eating a well-balanced diet may decrease the desire for alcohol.

Herbs and Supplements:

Before taking any herbs or supplements, ask your caregiver if it is OK. Talk to your caregiver about how much you should take. If you are using this medicine without instructions from your caregiver, follow the directions on the label. Do not take more medicine or take it more often than the directions tell you to. The herbs and supplements listed may or may not help treat your condition.

Herbs:

• Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) has been used for many years for alcohol abuse.
• Milk thistle (Silybum marinum) has been used for many years to help protect livers, but has not been studied in people who abuse alcohol.

Supplements:

• Taurine , an amino acid, may be helpful for alcohol withdrawal and has been studied in people.
• Multivitamins contain many vitamins and minerals. People who abuse alcohol have a hard time getting enough nutrients from the food they eat.
• Essential fatty acids (EFA), such as fish oils (EPA, DHA) or flax oil. People who abuse alcohol have a hard time getting enough nutrients from the food they eat.

Complementary Therapies:

• Acupuncture may help alcoholism. For more information, read the ACUPUNCTURE document.
• Hypnosis may help alcoholism. For more information, read the HYPNOSIS document.
• Meditation may help alcoholism. For more information, read the MEDITATION document.
• Relaxation training may help alcoholism. For more information, read the RELAXATION TECHNIQUES document.

Other ways of treating your symptoms:

Other ways to treat your symptoms are available to you.

Talk to your caregiver if:

• You would like medicine to treat alcohol abuse.
• Your symptoms have not gone away or improved by these self-help measures.
• You cannot fight the need to drink alcohol. Call your caregiver, a counselor, friend, or family member you trust right away.
• You feel your problems are getting the best of you and you cannot deal with them on your own.
• You have questions about what you have read in this document.

SEEK CARE IMMEDIATELY IF:

• You have chest pain, breathing problems, or are sweating more than usual.
• You have blood in your bowel movements (BMs). Blood in a BM may look black or red.
• You vomit (throw up) blood. Blood in vomit may look like coffee grounds.
• You pass out or have a seizure (convulsion).
• You have a hallucination (huh-lew-sin-a-shun). This is when you see or hear things that are not there.

Care Agreement:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

References:

1. Biery JR, Williford JH & McMullen EA: Alcohol craving in rehabilitation: assessment of nutrition therapy. J Am Dietet Assoc 1991; 91:463-466.

2. Bullock ML, Umen AJ, Culliton PD et al: Acupuncture treatment of alcoholic recidivism: a pilot study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 1987; 11(3):292-295.

3. Ikeda H: Effects of taurine on alcohol withdrawal. Lancet 1977; 2:509.

4. Klajner F, Hartman LM & Sobell MB: Treatment of substance abuse by relaxation training: a review of its rationale, efficacy and mechanisms. Addict Behav 1984; 9(1):41-55.

5. Orman DJ: Reframing of an addiction via hypnotherapy: a case presentation. Am J Clin Hypn 1991; 33(4):263-271.

6. Shafil M, Lavely R & Jaffe R: Meditation and the prevention of alcohol abuse. Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132(9):942-945.