Unique Original Articles » Massive Step Forward In Battle Against The Booze

If you've never loved someone with an addiction problem this article may not make any sense. If you've had the misfortune to have had a loved one with an illness for which there isn't a cure it will. The reason for this is that up until present there has been no medical cure for alcohol addiction. Other forms of treatment including AA and rehab have had their share of successes, a larger proportion trying these routes have not had success.

There are moments in history when we can change things and make the world a better place. We are at that moment in history with alcohol addiction. For those of you out there who love someone who is addicted to alcohol there is now real hope. But things have to change before we can declare victory and before change can happen there needs to be some education about the causes and the effects of alcohol addiction - not just amongst lay people but those in the medical and addiction professions.

The first and most important point to make is: we've never met an addict who wilfully set out to become addicted. Their addicted state has almost always been reached by trying to mask a pre-existing mental health disorder which in many cases is anxiety-related.

Anxiety can have physical affects - panic attacks are a common problem; emotional affects - with feelings of apprehension and dread very common; cognitive affects - fear of suspected dangers like dying and behavioural affects like withdrawing from situations where unpleasant effects of anxiety have been experienced in the past. If you love someone with anxiety they will no doubt look very normal and behave quite normally. But there may be small signs that give you a clue like sweaty palms, anxiety about social situations, disturbed sleep patterns, nail biting and foot tapping. Remember, your loved one will see things no doubt in a much different way and maybe experiencing symptoms such as a heightened fear of what people think of them, a constant feeling of being overwhelmed and a racing heart/palpitations in situations that evoke irrational fears in them.

Whilst these are relatively minor external symptoms, the anxiety they feel will not be minor and their anxiety will start to progressively interfere with and affect their lives. That explains why when someone with acute anxiety first tastes alcohol they will already be at risk of addiction because the drug will hit their brain and make them feel normal probably for the first time in their lives. You hear that over and over again in AA meetings and rehab in answer to the question why do you drink? Answer: because it makes me feel normal.

And so the connection with the brain chemistry is made from that very first drink and someone with acute anxiety who experiences this feeling of euphoria will continue to take alcohol in ever larger doses and so start the journey into dependency and then full-blown addiction.

As well as leading to a bleak future for the addict unless they can find their path, it will lead to feelings of desolation within families, broken relationships and family ties, loss of friends and jobs, and ultimate isolation.

Up until now if you loved an alcoholic the only "treatment" you may have heard about is AA or rehab. Indeed commonly those who love an addict can only watch without having recourse to information until an emergency or tragedy happens.

So what about the drinker. What have been your preferred hopes for recovery historically?

Of all options, AA has been the first port of call for most and is the most well-known. As a truly international organisation, it is open to all who have a desire to stop drinking and step 1 is accepting that they are powerless over alcohol and that a higher power is required to help them maintain sobriety. Interestingly, they avoid discussing the medical nature of alcohol addiction despite the fact that they will almost all be suffering from a primary mental health disorder. Whether caused by the mis-use of alcohol or whether pre-existing the addiction, the fact that many attendees will have some kind of mental health disorder is something that is not considered alongside following the steps.

AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr Bob Smith in the US who, as alcoholics, found that by supporting and talking to each other they could maintain their sobriety by talking to each other and eventually to other alcoholics. Whilst a small percentage of alcoholics go on and find lasting sobriety through working the steps, there are high-drop out rates over the first year as well as high relapse rates. It does not suit everyone regardless of the fact that it does at least provide fellowship. Despite this the medical and addiction professions have not moved much further forward with the fundamental diagnosis and treatment of alcohol addiction. Go to the most expensive rehab centres in the world and their methods will almost always certainly be based around the 12 Step Programme developed by the members of AA and with cognitive and other counselling services and attendance at AA will be the recommended post-care treatment.

These programs have worked for some and are to be applauded but many of us have tried and paid a lot of money to find sobriety in this way and that is why new treatments such as those described in our book are exciting. Particularly the discovery by French-American cardiologist Prof Ameisen who became addicted to alcohol, and found that when self-medicating his own acute alcohol addiction that a drug commonly prescribed for Multiple Sclerosis (i.e. Baclofen) cured him of his complusion to drink - if taken in the right way and to the right dose - by reducing the cravings and eventually making him indifferent to alcohol. Baclofen is also a muscle relaxant and so in cases where anxiety is the root cause, the drug can help dampen this down and hence treat the underlying cause.

Whilst the science behind this is not yet completely understood what we do know is that it is already having dramatic results. The problem here in the UK is that Baclofen whilst available on prescription for Muliple Sclerosis is not yet available to alcohol addicts and, indeed, many of the medical trials that have been set up or are being set up are only going to use doses which so far have proved ineffectual in treating addiction. It is possible that for some this drug will not provide the complete answer, but at least if trials are conducted Baclofens' efficacy can be measured against an individual's medical profile.

We are calling on the Government and the medical establishment to take the opportunity to change history and the future for many addicts and the families who love them.

I undoubtedly get the feeling that most of the present treatments for addiction are outdated. We must understand and treat the route cause of the mental health problems that cause addition and help those who are already addicted. Baclofen needs to be put through clinical trials and then made available to patients on prescription. Maybe in more sever cases now it might even be made available off-label.) If a new cheap, safe and widely available (these are the key characteristics of Baclofen) cancer drug had just been found and the Government and medical professions were taking time to do medical trials and not using the therapeutic dose levels which research suggests are needed to treat the problem there would be a public outcry And that is the reason we are now calling for the government to adapt. Alcohol addiction happens to people who are already ill with mental health disorders such as acute anxiety and that is why they have a right to and need as much help as someone with terminal cancer or other life threatening diseases. We must embrace this new treatment and fast-track it, we must save lives on the grounds of basic humanity.

Help Them Beat The Booze is co-authored by best-selling authors Edmund and Helen Tirbutt

More information on Help Them Beat The Booze is available at
http://www.BeatTheBooze.com
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