by Lisa Frederiksen
I am often asked whether there are medications that can be used to treat alcoholism. And the answer is, “Yes and no.” There are no medications that will ‘get rid of’ an addiction to alcohol in the same way an antibiotic medication might be used to get rid of an infection. However, with the new “disease management” approach to treating addiction (alcoholism is but one – others include addictions to illegal or prescription drugs, as examples), clinical treatment options now include medications in addition to the new and/or traditional therapies and support services.
These medications are used to help with the cravings. You will recall reading in previous posts on this blog that an addiction craving can be 3-5 times stronger than our hardwired, instinctual cravings, such as our craving to eat when hungry, for example. When you think about the hungriest you’ve ever been and your resulting craving for food and then multiply that by 3 to 5, you get the sense of what an addiction (substance) craving is like.
Therefore, having a medication to help with the cravings to drink so that one can then work on how to manage the cues (memories, sights, sounds, people, smells, time-of-day, stress) and underlying behavioral/ psychological/spiritual issues that trigger the cravings can be hugely powerful to a person’s overall treatment success.
The newer medications used to help with addiction cravings for alcohol include Naltrexon (Revia) – approved by the FDA in 1994, with an injectable product version (Vivitrol) approved in 2006, and Acamprosate (Campral) – approved in 2004.
Here are links to three excellent, short videos on addiction. Remember addiction is addiction, whether it be an addiction to alcohol, illegal or prescription drugs – the substance does not matter.
The Hijacked Brain – click on the top film icon, right column.
Addiction and the Brain – click on the film icon, right column.
Addiction – click on the film icon, center screen.
