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This is a topic I don't broach much because it hits close to home, but maybe that's the reason it should be discussed.

Alcoholism can bring you slowly to death or if you're lucky it can kill you instantly if you foolishly get behind the wheel under the influence.

Yes, alcoholism is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems.

There is a difference between those who abuse alcohol and those who are true alcoholics. Alcohol abusers don't feel the same compulsion to drink and usually don't experience physical withdrawal symptoms when they don't drink. A dependence on alcohol also creates a tolerance to alcohol and the inability to control your drinking.

Did you know some people who drink too much can be causing alcohol-related esophageal cancer? One of the telling signs is a flushed face after drinking. Esophageal cancer, is an especially deadly type with five-year survival rates of 12 to 31 percent. Ethanol is first metabolized primarily by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) into acetaldehyde, a mutagen and animal carcinogen that causes DNA damage and has other cancer-promoting effects.

During midlife (ages 30 to 59)the consequences of heavy drinking often become evident. Alcoholic liver disease, alcohol pancreatitis, several types of cancer, disorders of the heart and circulatory system, alcohol-related brain disorders, and other adverse effects upon the endocrine and immune system are most likely to emerge during this time.

As individuals age they metabolize alcohol more slowly; as a result, alcohol remains in the body longer. Older adults are more likely to have health conditions that can be exacerbated by alcohol, including stroke, hypertension, neurodegeneration, memory loss, mood disorders, and cognitive or emotional problems. Additionally, older adults are more likely than younger people to take medications, putting them at risk for interactions that can be dangerous or even life-threatening. Alcohol also may decrease effectiveness of some medications.

The brain is particularly vulnerable to excessive alcohol use. Alcoholics often exhibit problems with memory, learning, planning, and other advanced brain functions. In severe cases, they may even develop dementia.

The long-term heavy use of alcohol can lead to Korsakoff's syndrome ("wet brain"). This progressive, irreversible condition causes severe cognitive and memory disturbances to the point where it is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. A person with this syndrome may appear intoxicated or confused even when not drinking.

Recognizing and accepting that an alcohol problem exists is the first, crucial step toward solving the problem. Because denial is frequently a characteristic of alcoholism, it's unlikely that people who are dependent on or who abuse alcohol will seek medical treatment on their own. Often it takes family members, friends or co-workers to persuade them to undergo screening for alcoholism or to seek treatment.

Think about the benefits of making a change:
- Being healthier and stronger without alcohol or drugs.
- Having family and friends who know they can depend on you.
- Having a future with lots of choices.

Acute withdrawal and detoxification is used for individuals who use alcohol heavily
and is designed to prevent and treat withdrawal symptoms, which can otherwise be
severe and even life-threatening. This treatment may require a stay in a specialized
facility in addition to close medical supervision.

"Cutting down" on drinking won't do the job; stopping all alcohol intake is required for a full recovery.

She said if we're gonna make this work
You gotta let me inside even though it hurts
Don't hide the broken parts that I need to see
She said like it or not it's the way it's gotta be
You gotta love yourself if you can ever love me

I'll do whatever it takes
To turn this around
I know what's at stake
I know that I've let you down
And if you give me a chance
And give me a break
I'll keep us together

~ Lifehouse

Labels: alcoholism

We all know I like my wine, I'm a complete wine addict and until this very morning I was okay with it. Until, of course, I read an article in which research shows even having one to two alcoholic drinks in a day can raise your risks of certain types of breast cancer.

"While the studies do not prove cause and effect, they lend plausibility to growing evidence implicating drinking as a risk factor for breast cancer, says Elizabeth Platz, ScD, a specialist in cancer prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health."

Given the high rate of cancer in Delaware, where I live, and in my family history reading reports like this is alarming. When you put all these factors in the same bowl of likelihood then your risks appear ready to overflow, right?

The researchers reviewed data on 184,418 postmenopausal women, who answered questions about how much alcohol and what type of alcohol they drank each day. They were followed for an average of seven years.

Overall, moderate drinking raised the risk of developing breast cancer, regardless of whether a woman's preference was for beer, wine, or hard liquor. And the more she drank, the greater the risk.

Aw hell.

In other reports, we hear how a glass of wine a day is good for your heart. So how do you weigh the risks? Which studies should take precedence? This I do not know and even my assumptions should be taken lightly because I lack any type of medical background.

I suppose the biggest argument would be regarding your other behavior. When it comes to heart disease there are a plethora of preventive measures you can take to lower your risks. Whereas with breast cancer...well..not so much, unless maybe this means not drinking alcohol is your only preventive measure.

Decisions, decisions.

SOURCE

Labels: alcoholism, breast cancer, heart disease, research

Ooooh, this sounds promising!

Living with an alcoholic is like having a tornado rips through your home. No one on the outside notices a thing, but inside everything is in an upheaval.

A new study shows the quit-smoking drug Chantix may help treat alcoholism. The study appears in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The FDA approved Chantix in May of 2006. "Chantix acts at sites in the brain affected by nicotine and may help those who wish to give up smoking in two ways: by providing some nicotine effects to ease the withdrawal symptoms and by blocking the effects of nicotine from cigarettes if they resume smoking."

Pfizer Inc. developed varenicline specifically as a stop-smoking aid and has sold it in the United States since August under the brand name Chantix. The new study suggests not just nicotine but alcohol also acts on the same locations in the brain. But several experts also stress there is no such thing as a magic cure-all for addiction.

Labels: addition, alcoholism