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Patienteducation:Alcoholusewhenisdrinkingaproblem?(TheBasics)
WrittenbythedoctorsandeditorsatUpToDate

HowdoIknowifIamdrinkingtoomuch?Ifalcoholishavinganegativeeffectonyourlife,youare
probablydrinkingtoomuch.Answerthesequestions:

Haveyoulostcontrolofyourdrinking?Forexample,doyousometimesfindthatyoudrinkmorethanyou
meantto?

Doyouneedtodrinklargerandlargeramountstogettheeffectyouwant?Ordoyougetsickorfeel
physicallyuncomfortableifyoucutdownonyourdrinking?

Haveyoulostyourjob,gottenintroublewiththelaw,orhadproblemswithyourfriendsorfamilybecauseof
alcohol?

Ifyousaidyestoanyofthesequestions,orifyoujustthinkyouhaveaproblem,mentionittoyourdoctoror
nurse.Heorshecanhelpyoufindoutifyoudohaveadrinkingproblem.Donotbeembarrassedtotalkwithhim
orheraboutit.Alcoholproblemsarecommon.Buttherearetreatmentsthatcanhelp.

WhathappensifIkeepdrinkingtoomuch?Peoplewhodrinktoomuchcangetseriousliverandheart
disease.Theycangetdifferenttypesofcancer.Andtheycandamagetheirbrain.Plus,peoplewhodrinktoo
mucharemorelikelythanpeoplewhodonotto:

Havecaraccidents
Killthemselves
Drown
Beseriouslyhurt

Whatisalcoholusedisorder?Alcoholusedisorderisbasicallythemedicaltermforalcoholismoralcohol
addiction.Peoplewhohavealcoholaddictionhave2ormoreofthefollowingproblems.Themoreofthesethey
have,themoreseveretheirdisorder.

Theyendupdrinkingmorealcoholthantheyplannedtoorforalongertimethantheyplannedto.

Theywishtheycouldcutdownonalcohol,buttheycan't.

Theyspendalotoftimetryingtogetalcohol,gettingdrunk,orrecoveringfrombeingdrunk.

Theycraveorhaveastrongdesireorurgetodrinkalcohol.

Becauseoftheiralcoholuse,theyoftendon'tdothingsthatareexpectedofthem,suchasgotoworkor
school,rememberfamilyevents,andcleantheirhome.

Theykeepdrinkingevenifitcausesorworsensproblemsintheirrelationshipsorinteractionswithother
people.

Theystoporcutbackonimportantsocial,work,orfunactivitiestheyusedtodo.

Theykeepdrinkingalcoholeveninsituationswhereitisdangeroustodoso(suchaswhiledriving).
 Theykeepdrinkingalcoholevenwhentheyknowtheyhaveaphysicalormentalproblemthatwasprobably
causedormadeworsebytheirdrinking.

Theyneedtodrinkmoreandmoretogetthesameeffectstheyusedtogetwithless.Ortheygetlesseffect
fromusingtheamountthatusedtogetthemdrunk.Thisiscalled"tolerance."

Theyhave"withdrawalsymptoms"iftheystopdrinkingalcoholafterdrinkingforalongtime.Withdrawal
symptomscaninclude:

Sweatingoraracingheart
Handtrembling
Insomnia(notbeingabletosleep)
Nauseaorvomiting
Seeing,feeling,orhearingthingsthataren'treallythere(thesearecalled"hallucinations")
Beingrestless
Anxiety
Seizures(thesecanbeserious,evenlifethreatening)

Whattreatmentscanhelp?Peoplewhohaveproblemswithalcoholcan:

Seeacounselor(suchasapsychologist,socialworker,orpsychiatrist)
Takemedicines
TakepartinasupportgroupsuchasAlcoholicsAnonymous(sometimescalledAA)

Allofthesetreatmentscanhelp,andtheycanbecombined.

Thereareafewdifferentmedicinesdoctorsandnursescanusetotreatalcoholproblems.Thesemedicineswork
indifferentways.Theycan:

Changethewayyourbrainrespondstoalcoholsothatitislessfun
Reduceyourcravingforalcohol
Makeyoufeelsickifyoudodrink
Helpyoufeellesssickwhenyoustopdrinking

CanIstopdrinkingonmyown?Manypeoplegetovertheirdrinkingproblemontheirown.Butpeoplewith
whohavebeendrinkingseveraldaysaweekforweeksinarowshouldnottrytocutdownwithoutthehelpofa
doctorornurse.Peoplewhodrinkthatmuchcandieiftheystoporcutdownondrinkingtooquickly.

Moreonthistopic

Patienteducation:Alcoholpoisoning(TheBasics)
Patienteducation:Alcoholwithdrawal(TheBasics)
Patienteducation:Alcoholanddruguseinpregnancy(TheBasics)
Patienteducation:Fetalalcoholsyndrome(TheBasics)
Patienteducation:Cirrhosis(TheBasics)

Patienteducation:Alcoholusewhenisdrinkingaproblem?(BeyondtheBasics)
Patienteducation:Risksandbenefitsofalcohol(BeyondtheBasics)

Alltopicsareupdatedasnewevidencebecomesavailableandourpeerreviewprocessiscomplete.
ThistopicretrievedfromUpToDateon:Mar15,2017.
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diagnosis,ortreatment.Alwaysseektheadviceofyourownphysicianorotherqualifiedhealthcare
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