Counseling, 12-step recovery programs, and addiction treatment centers are all well-known ways to overcome alcoholism. According to government statistics, 75 percent of those receiving treatment for alcohol dependence fall back into heavy drinking within the first year.
A division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has recently issued best-practice guidelines for the treatment of alcohol dependence. The guidelines, called “Incorporating Alcohol Pharmacotherapies Into Medical Practice,”Included for the first-time are the FDA-approved drugs for alcohol dependence, naltrexone extended-release injectable suspension (Naltrexone) and acamprosate Calcium.
FDA-Approved Medicines
FDA has approved medication to treat alcohol dependence. This includes treatment options that go beyond traditional 12-step or counseling programs. The brain of someone suffering from alcohol dependence can be affected by medications.
To help someone stop drinking, medication is used in conjunction with counseling. An extended-release injection, which is administered once per month, is one of the new medications added to the HHS guidelines.
If medication is part of a treatment plan that includes counseling, the physician must assess whether the patient can adhere to a daily regimen. An analysis of the difficulties faced in prescribing oral pharmacotherapy to treat alcohol dependence revealed that there are many. More than 85 percent of patients who tried oral therapy for alcohol dependence failed to persist over a six-month span. Some patients have had success with oral therapy. Extended-release injections that are administered once per month may be helpful in cases where adherence is difficult.
“We now know that alcohol dependence is a chronic disease with a potentially life-threatening course,”Harold C. Urschel III M.D., chief medical strategy, EnterHealth LLC “These new guidelines increase awareness and information about the new medications available for alcohol dependence so that patients and their doctors can consider all the available tools for each individual case.”
Patients with alcohol dependence, as with complex chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, and depression, must work with their doctors and families to determine the best treatment options.
You can find a copy of the HHS guidelines at www.alcoholanswers.org/TIP49.pdf.
Please visit to locate a physician near you. www.alcoholanswers.org/local/.
