Hi, this is very long, thanks if you read it.
I'm posting here about my husband and I'm wondering what people would recommend for him. He's 33 has been drinking heavily since his teens. In the last 20 months or so he's acknowledged that his drinking is a problem. (With varying degrees of acceptance
). 9 months ago he had acute liver and kidney failure, though this was more to do with prolonged paracetamol overdose than alcohol. (He spent a weekend very drunk and somehow convinced himself he had a broken rib, he kept taking painkillers then forgetting her had taken them and taking some more a few minutes later). His kidneys are now near normal and his liver Gamma GT is back to 90, down from 890.
He has attended AA (which he hates), psychotherapy (he initially had a great psychologist but we've moved back to Ireland from London so can't see her anymore), attended a two week in-patient detox and tried CBT. He was on Campral for a few months which he found useless and is now on Effexor, 75MG a day. At the moment he is drinking 3-4 times a week, usually a 1/4 or 1/2 bottle of neat vodka on his way home from work.
He is prone to crazy mood swings. He can be sitting having a chat one minute and then just freak out, storm out of the room, start yelling. Sometimes he seems to think we're in the middle of an argument when we are not. He is working really long hours at the moment, out of both job necessity and a desire to keep busy, and he isn't sleeping well so I think sometimes these "arguments" happen because he is half asleep and in a type of dream.
If he can get sober forever then great, if he can find a way to be a genuine "social drinker" (which he says is what he'd honestly really like) that's fine too. I just wish there was a way that alcohol could become unimportant to him. There are other issues at play here too, I've read many theories that in a lot of cases problem drinking is a symptom as much as a cause and that may very well be the case here. He is now looking for a counsellor/psychiatrist who will help him deal with those issues rather than one focussed on alcohol abuse.
We have talked about him trying either Naltrexone or Baclofen. Obviously with his past health problems neither may be possible and we'll find some doctor who we can consult about this. But from a mental health type of place what do people here think might be best? If he was going to try Naltrexone would he have to change the way he drinks in order for it to work? I'm not sure how well I could cope with him openly drinking at home a lot. (I can't quite describe the level of hell that my life has been for years with his drinking.) I've read a lot of stories on The Sinclair Method board and a lot of people describe keeping on drinking for ages and ages out of habit rather than desire. My husband has gotten out of the habit of drinking at home and I don't want to re-ignite that. He has some of the same worries though he hasn't read through the website. He says he has worked hard to stop drinking at home and doesn't want to restart.
Would Baclofen be a better option in that case? It seems to me that how much he drinks has less efficacy in helping the Bac to work? So he could just continue on doing as he normally does with alcohol until the point when (if) he gets the urge to change due to the drugs? Though the side-effects sound more nasty (and the ED stuff would be especially unwelcome). And the thought of starting a drug that may well need to be for life is warying.
I'm posting here about my husband and I'm wondering what people would recommend for him. He's 33 has been drinking heavily since his teens. In the last 20 months or so he's acknowledged that his drinking is a problem. (With varying degrees of acceptance
). 9 months ago he had acute liver and kidney failure, though this was more to do with prolonged paracetamol overdose than alcohol. (He spent a weekend very drunk and somehow convinced himself he had a broken rib, he kept taking painkillers then forgetting her had taken them and taking some more a few minutes later). His kidneys are now near normal and his liver Gamma GT is back to 90, down from 890.He has attended AA (which he hates), psychotherapy (he initially had a great psychologist but we've moved back to Ireland from London so can't see her anymore), attended a two week in-patient detox and tried CBT. He was on Campral for a few months which he found useless and is now on Effexor, 75MG a day. At the moment he is drinking 3-4 times a week, usually a 1/4 or 1/2 bottle of neat vodka on his way home from work.
He is prone to crazy mood swings. He can be sitting having a chat one minute and then just freak out, storm out of the room, start yelling. Sometimes he seems to think we're in the middle of an argument when we are not. He is working really long hours at the moment, out of both job necessity and a desire to keep busy, and he isn't sleeping well so I think sometimes these "arguments" happen because he is half asleep and in a type of dream.
If he can get sober forever then great, if he can find a way to be a genuine "social drinker" (which he says is what he'd honestly really like) that's fine too. I just wish there was a way that alcohol could become unimportant to him. There are other issues at play here too, I've read many theories that in a lot of cases problem drinking is a symptom as much as a cause and that may very well be the case here. He is now looking for a counsellor/psychiatrist who will help him deal with those issues rather than one focussed on alcohol abuse.
We have talked about him trying either Naltrexone or Baclofen. Obviously with his past health problems neither may be possible and we'll find some doctor who we can consult about this. But from a mental health type of place what do people here think might be best? If he was going to try Naltrexone would he have to change the way he drinks in order for it to work? I'm not sure how well I could cope with him openly drinking at home a lot. (I can't quite describe the level of hell that my life has been for years with his drinking.) I've read a lot of stories on The Sinclair Method board and a lot of people describe keeping on drinking for ages and ages out of habit rather than desire. My husband has gotten out of the habit of drinking at home and I don't want to re-ignite that. He has some of the same worries though he hasn't read through the website. He says he has worked hard to stop drinking at home and doesn't want to restart.
Would Baclofen be a better option in that case? It seems to me that how much he drinks has less efficacy in helping the Bac to work? So he could just continue on doing as he normally does with alcohol until the point when (if) he gets the urge to change due to the drugs? Though the side-effects sound more nasty (and the ED stuff would be especially unwelcome). And the thought of starting a drug that may well need to be for life is warying.
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