GoshinJ

I posted almost a week ago about my father under the post "Can You Force Treatment". I just want to say that I sent my father some of the messages from the al-anon message boards through email. It all hit him really hard after reading the messages I sent him. I believe it made him reflect on his life and everything that has been going on. I am proud to say that tommorrow will be his day 6 of sobriety. He was prescribed a while back a particular pill which is a benzodiazapene.(spelling could be wrong). Anyway, he has used these pills when he begins to feel he needs to drink or when he might feel withdrawals, etc. They seem to be working greatly and he only takes 1 pill at night to my knowledge. I am very hopeful in this situation. My other concern regarding his drinking even now that he has stopped for almost a week is his mental condition as far as stability, balance, and overall cognitive function. Does anyone know if damage to the brain(cerebellum) can be reversed after alcohol use diminishes over a period of time? Can my father gain back the stability, motion control, etc., he once had in the long term after quitting drinking. I really would appreciate any responses and please keep my father in your prayers, thank you, sincerely,

Jeremy

thinkmink

Congratulations on your father's 6th day! That's great. It's hard to say what functioning he has permamnently lost and what will come back. Needless to say, the longer he can abstain from drinking the greater his chances will be. It's important that he should not replace one addiction for another. So now that tomorrow will be his 7th day it shouldn't be neccesary to take the pills after that...but don't take my word on it-consult a doctor! Detox is a life-threatening situation but it sounds like he has been easing out of the detox fine so far. A great help to him now would be going to an AA meeting. He will get knowledge and support there that will help him gain true sobriety. You can help by reading as much as you can about alcoholism and attending al-anon. Knowledge is power and the more everyone in your family knows about this insideous, cunning, powerful, baffling disease..the better off you will be.