Sbforever

For most people with the symptoms of alcoholism, myself included, it takes years even decades to progress from a few drinks every night to drinking morning till night every day.

Many people assume that after quitting drinking for a period of time it should again take years to progress to its former level but no in most cases people pick up right where they left off.

Why is that and can the reason for that be reversed ?

alumni

Unfortunately, the answer to both of your questions is no.
The best approach I'm aware of is to find ways to control the symptoms of this disease as opposed to curing it.
It is progressive, chronic and can ultimately be deadly unless controlled.
You've apparently recognized that it is progressing with you. Now the next step is pursuing the goal of getting it under control.
Have you discussed your problem with a professional experienced in treating alcohol abuse? Or reached out to those who can offer support and assistance? Now is the time to begin the process of recovery before it becomes a serious medical situation or more damage is done. Don't wait for the "best" time to get help. In my opinion, there's no such thing.

Sbforever

My drinking has been over for me along time now, I am quite sober.

The damage to me is done but what exactly is that damage in the way of medical stuff ?

I tested it like so many do, quit drinking for over a year got healthy tried again and tolerance dependence came right back then withdrawals in about a week I was done.

Why does alcohol make me sick and shaky real quick now and also why does my tolerance rise up to previous levels so quickly and whats the mechanism of action behind those things ?

If that's figured out there could be a treatment like insulin for diabetes or a hundred other bodily deficiencies/malfuntions easily treated with modern treatments.

Gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance... Science is working on those things, what's going on with "alcohol intolerance" ?

I hope scientists are working on it, if people sat around in the old days saying "it is what it is" and accepting failure like so many do today the average age of death would still be 35yo.

Nocturnal

Never ....science created it would you be a part of the demise of your maker?

alumni

I better understand your question now.
There currently is research and experimentation being conducted regarding the physical changes that can result from abusing alcohol and other psychoactive substances.
Receptor down-regulation, up-regulation, existing genetic predisposition, conditioned response syndrome, etc. However, there are no medical conclusions or treatments I'm aware of to date that will specifically preclude the effect you're describing when returning to the use of an addictive substance like alcohol. You will find some cases of individuals who reported they eventually could drink in moderation after prior abuse but this is not common nor has the science of it been well-established.
I guess my question is why would you pursue starting all over with using something that created problems for you before? Even if you knew it would take a longer time to get back to previous levels?

Sbforever

Drinking with friends and social occasions and getting loose is part of our culture, I don't like being the oddball who can't drink.

What if sign up for a dating site, well I don't drink... that's a fun one to explain.

anattaboy

Yes.

Sbforever

I can sort of do moderation, but It doesn't work out at all.


A few hours of feeling good from drink results in a sever rebound reaction with severe anxiety gloom and doom thinking when it wears off .The math of the whole thing sucks , feel sorta good for a short time feel real bad for a much longer time when its over. The bad feeling part is so nasty I don't want to drink anymore and that's why I quit.

I didn't quit drinking, drinking quit me.

I really thought a period of sobriety would somehow fix that but it didn't.

Sbforever

The bad feeling part when its over is like the exact polar opposite of the good part of drinking but times 10. 50-50 I might do it , but 10-90 no way.

SoberCAH

I was never particularly private about my drinking (I refer to myself as a public drunk - come to think of it, I can probably document that classification).

I go to a fair amount of social occasions, college football games, NASCAR races, concerts and pretty much anywhere else I choose to go and I am not the oddball by any stretch of the imagination.

And I can drink, unfortunately.

Last time I checked, I could drink pretty well.

I am married, so I don't troll on dating sites, but, from a quality standpoint, I suspect you will meet more interesting women who know that you don't drink than you would if you put on your site bio that you are a party animal.

I don't think that most women are attracted to guys with legal problems, boss problems, landlord problems, ex-wife problems, child support arrearages, STD's and the other problems late stage alcoholism tends to make the alcoholic accumulate.

There are exceptions (Courtney Love and Amy Winehouse come to mind), but I think most women would prefer a more stable partner over his ability to polish off a fifth of whiskey or a 24 pack of beer every night.

Taking5

Newsflash - you'll have more prospects than you can handle.

I signed up on a dating site and there are so many people that are looking for a sober SO it isn't even funny. All it takes is 1 bad dating experience with an active alcoholic, or maybe being raised by an active alcoholic, and many people are turned off for life against ever dating an active alcoholic. Many others are sober for health reasons and seek only sober companions.

Only we alcoholics assume that "everyone drinks" and that not drinking will be a detriment to our dating or social life.

Taking5

Have you read what the AA big book says about periods of sobriety? I don't know if you use AA or not, but this story is particularly relevant:

Hammer

Interesting insights on the human side in this thread.

Thanks for starting it.

Quick Background -- I am an Electrical Engineer who does Biomed from time-to-time. Including Neural / Brain type work. So I read your question . . . ."will Science . . ." as a technical one. i.e., will a technical "cure" to Alcoholism ever ("ever" being your word choice) exist?

I would have to say -- Yes, of course. However -- "ever" is a very long time, and it is not today.

But before parsing all the various levels of alcoholism -- which may come from various causes . . . let's assume the traditional "worse case" -- Genetic traced, Emotional Dyregualtion, Hyperactive Amygdala, Alcoholic / Addict for life?

Several approaches to it:

------------------------------------

On the front end -- Genetic Modification -- before birth. Even before conception. Ever see "Gattaca?" At this point the Genome is known and it could be removed or modified.

Gattaca - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

-------------------------------------

But you say you are already born -- There is Psychological Reconditioning. Sort of what AA and other models do. A specialist working in this is Paul Henry -- Welcome | The Alcoholics Guide to Alcoholism

--------------------------------------

But that is too much work, and you may like to just buy the answer?

Not there yet, but not too far away. My area:

Neural Implants, and Neurotransmitter "Pumps." A normal brain neither craves nor is well served by Alcohol. This is because the feedback mechanism within the limbic system in the normal brain self-sedates, and calms the brain without external methods. With Emotional Dysregulated brains, a method to selectively sedate the Hyperactive portions may serve the same function as Ethanol (and other addictions) without the devastating side effects.

Hawks

if they ever invent a pill that will make an alcoholic of my type into a social drinker .... what's the first thing I'm likely to think ?

One pill will make me social .........

lebroncavs

I don't want to be cured. I drink because of depression and anxiety. The treatments they have in pill form for those two things now are a joke. I don't even want to see what the treatment for alcoholism would be. Like everything else there would be side effects and a price to pay to be able to drink like everyone else. Thinking back through my life I never wanted to be like everyone else anyway.

Aellyce

I am a scientist studying addiction on the basic biology level. It's a very complex and dynamic field and there are always developments. New knowledge, new drugs being developed, more holistic approaches (eg. the effects of mindfulness training and meditation on recovery is a "hot" area now). Honestly, I doubt science will ever "cure" alcoholism in a way that there will be a medication or other form of treatment that will make the susceptibility and the condition go away completely, as if it never existed. It is in part because alcoholism is not like a visceral problem or a tumor that can just be cut out or eliminated easily. It's not something that suddenly just grows in us anew. It's related to disturbances in the normal working of our brains, which is extremely complex. We humans are also quite diverse as individuals, and these days it's generally accepted that psychiatric problems will need more personalized treatment to be effective.

I do believe that there will be better and more effective methods being developed, a larger palette to choose from! It's hard to predict what will be the state of all this in 5 years, 10 years, or later. One area that I personally put a lot of hope in is prevention - but for it to work, we would need some radical reforms in healthcare and education, which is not an easy call.

Taking5

My issue is, if they ever invented a pill that would cure alcoholism or addiction, I'd probably take the whole bottle all at once.