Stop Drinking Now - Medication For Alcohol Abuse and Dependence

Treatment for alcohol dependency typically includes education and family/friends support to stop drinking, medications to reduce potential withdrawal symptoms and stop alcohol cravings, and finally professional counseling to work through relationship issues. Recently introduced to the marketplace is a drug which can help alcoholics quit. It includes a brand name chemical named ReVia [formerly called Trexan], Vivitrolnaltrexone. Vivitrol is taken monthly as an injection into the muscles. Naltrexone is also available in tablet form.

Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that interferes with the part of the brain involved in producing the pleasure you get from drinking alcohol or other drugs. Basically, Naltrexone is used to reduce the pleasurable effects received from alcohol. This drug can be used alone or it can be combined with other medicines to treat alcohol dependence.

ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS

Naltrexone works best to help you stop drinking if you also get counseling.1 Most studies show that naltrexone significantly reduces your chance for relapse after you have stopped drinking. But it might not be effective in treating men with severe, ongoing alcohol dependence. Some side effects of Naltrexone include nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. It can also cause headaches and make you feel anxious, sleepy, or nervous.

You might develop liver damage if you have existing liver disease (such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, or liver failure) and take too much naltrexone. If you are addicted to narcotics taking this medicine will cause withdrawal symptoms. To effectively prevent relapse you might need to take naltrexone for several months. Vivitrol, a once-a-month injection of this medicine, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat drinking problems. This form of naltrexone can be useful for people who have a hard time deciding whether or not to take the medicine each day.

Stop Drinking Now - Medication For Alcohol Abuse and Dependence

ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS

Neuropathy Medication

Neuropathy is disease of the nervous system. One or more nerves of similar length could be damaged, thereby causing severe pain, numbness or tingling sensations.

Medications are available to cure neuropathy, but these take a long time; the time taken depends on the type and intensity of the disease. Taking too many drugs could also cause neuropathy.

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Strong medications such as narcotics are mostly used to control severe neuropathy pains, which should be avoided for milder neuropathies. Non-narcotic pain killers are not effective against these neuropathy pains. But over-the-counter analgesics can be used for mild pain. Antidepressants and anticonvulsants can be administered for other type of nerve pains.

But although narcotic pain killers are initially effective, their effect wears off: as time goes by, the dosage of the drug needs to be increased to achieve the same measure of pain relief. Topical anesthetics are said to be effective against these resistant neuropathy pains.

Medications approved by FDA for diabetic neuropathy pain is Duloxetine or Cymbalta. It is a known fact that HIV patients are more at risk of neuropathy. Drugs like didanosine (ddI, Videx), zalcitabine (ddC, Hivid), and stavudine (d4T, Zerit) are prescribed for HIV patients. Taking all these drugs together could also cause neuropathy, so care should be taken to follow the doctor's prescription strictly.

The effectiveness of neuropathy medication ranges from slight to complete. Strong medication should only be used for severe neuropathy, and taken in moderation to avoid resistance to the drugs. Care should also be taken not to cause neuropathy by overload of drugs.

Neuropathy Medication

ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS