I am alcoholic due to some my past stress. Without drink I can not sleep 1 or 2 am. So I want to stop drink. But how, I do not know. If any medicine for stop drink. Pls suggest me.

Dr. Saranya DevanathanPsychiatrist47yrs exp

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Dear Luise, Since alcohol is a sedative, when you stop drinking there is difficulty in sleeping. The brain gets used to the drinks. It will ask you to give drinks by disturbing your sleep. So, doctors' first medicine when you stop alcohol is a Calmpose kind of drug. There are many types of such drugs - both tablets and injections. Few act only for 2 hours, few acts longer than 24 hours. It will be given for 2-3 weeks initially, when you stop drinking, depending on your need. It is a drug to stop you from suffering withdrawal symptoms. It may be given throughout the day also for few days so that you will not go for alcohol immediately. You will also be given motivational enhancement therapy and stress management therapy in first 12 weeks. You can also start with anticraving drugs like Acamprosate, Baclofen and Naltrexone. They postpone your craving for alcohol. Not immediately - but in 3 months or so. They also make your brain to tolerate less and less alcohol. They are costly and need to be given for 9 months to a year in appropriate dose. You can also ask for aversion therapy with Disulfiram. It makes the alcohol into a poison. The effect of poison, you don't like. You will be OK after taking the drug daily. The drug acts only when alcohol gets into your blood. Since the poison effect happens as soon as you drink, you feel like not drinking or induce vomiting after drinking. This drug is cheap, only less than Rs.2/day. It can be taken for life. Better to assign someone who will give the drug daily to you. May be your wife or mother. All the other drugs you can take by yourself. 

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