About
This weaning can be accomplished in two ways.
One is "residential" weaning, based on a stay of varying duration (from one week to about 3 months) in a hospital or in a specialized care center.
The other is "outpatient" weaning, which is based on close medical consultations. The patient takes his treatment and resides in his usual environment. Some hospitals are able to propose an intermediate modality, day hospitalization. In all cases, a work stoppage is usually necessary.
Regardless of the modality chosen, patient adherence is an essential prerequisite for success.
DRUG TREATMENTS FOR WEANING
The modalities - residential or "ambulatory" - share the same objective: to set up abstinence safely for the patient. They use the same drug treatments to avoid the complications of physical withdrawal.
In most cases, the choice is for drugs of the benzodiazepine class. They not only limit the tremors, anxiety and insomnia due to weaning but prevent epileptic seizures and delirium tremens. In general, the prescription does not exceed five days. They are often associated with vitamins (B1 and PP) that fill the common deficiencies in alcohol-dependent people, which can lead to serious neurological disorders.
Finally, in addition to these treatments, increased attention is paid to the rehydration of the patient by weaning (several liters of water per day during the critical phase of the first five days). Indeed, the cessation of consumption leads to massive dehydration.
After this stage of withdrawal, other drugs may be prescribed to help maintain abstinence. They are based either on decreased urge to drink or on deterrence (alcohol intake with concomitant treatment causes unpleasant reactions).
In all cases, it is a comprehensive medico-psycho-social long-term support that is most likely to bring well-being to people in difficulty with alcohol. Support from self-help groups can also be beneficial.
The objective of the phase following weaning is to regain a harmonious life without alcohol. This longer phase can begin during hospitalization but continues for several months.
A DIFFICULT STEP
This period is tricky. Indeed, after weaning, the project of becoming and remaining abstinent brings about profound changes in all spheres of life. The former drinker must learn to live without the product that accompanied him in his daily life, sometimes for several years.
This represents sacrifices, changes in equilibrium and creates tensions that the person and his entourage must be aware of. It is a question for them, day after day to find new landmarks, to build a new balance.
CONTINUING ACCOMPANYING
After the period of intensive care, resuming daily life can be difficult. It is advisable to continue the accompaniment beyond the duration of the physical withdrawal. It aims to help the person rehabilitate himself / herself in his / her environment, to regain social skills, forgotten skills and to fight as well as possible the desire to drink.
The person will be able to continue to be accompanied by the team that followed him during weaning and / or to meet, through groups of speakers or mutual aid associations, people having experienced the same difficulties. These groups help to build a new identity, that of "alcoholic abstinent".
The person may consider staying in residential care. This is a full-time care over several months. The person is housed in a collective or individual place of life where he / she receives care, social and educational assistance and participates in therapeutic activities. Several forms exist offering close accompaniment to the most vulnerable people in the delicate post-weaning phase.
Soon after a first weaning, the patient may resume his alcohol intake. It is important to talk to the attending physician or the team that accompanied the weaning, because it does not necessarily mean a return to the "starting place". This is usually a step in a process of personal change, which must also be explained to the entourage.
One is "residential" weaning, based on a stay of varying duration (from one week to about 3 months) in a hospital or in a specialized care center.
The other is "outpatient" weaning, which is based on close medical consultations. The patient takes his treatment and resides in his usual environment. Some hospitals are able to propose an intermediate modality, day hospitalization. In all cases, a work stoppage is usually necessary.
Regardless of the modality chosen, patient adherence is an essential prerequisite for success.
DRUG TREATMENTS FOR WEANING
The modalities - residential or "ambulatory" - share the same objective: to set up abstinence safely for the patient. They use the same drug treatments to avoid the complications of physical withdrawal.
In most cases, the choice is for drugs of the benzodiazepine class. They not only limit the tremors, anxiety and insomnia due to weaning but prevent epileptic seizures and delirium tremens. In general, the prescription does not exceed five days. They are often associated with vitamins (B1 and PP) that fill the common deficiencies in alcohol-dependent people, which can lead to serious neurological disorders.
Finally, in addition to these treatments, increased attention is paid to the rehydration of the patient by weaning (several liters of water per day during the critical phase of the first five days). Indeed, the cessation of consumption leads to massive dehydration.
After this stage of withdrawal, other drugs may be prescribed to help maintain abstinence. They are based either on decreased urge to drink or on deterrence (alcohol intake with concomitant treatment causes unpleasant reactions).
In all cases, it is a comprehensive medico-psycho-social long-term support that is most likely to bring well-being to people in difficulty with alcohol. Support from self-help groups can also be beneficial.
The objective of the phase following weaning is to regain a harmonious life without alcohol. This longer phase can begin during hospitalization but continues for several months.
A DIFFICULT STEP
This period is tricky. Indeed, after weaning, the project of becoming and remaining abstinent brings about profound changes in all spheres of life. The former drinker must learn to live without the product that accompanied him in his daily life, sometimes for several years.
This represents sacrifices, changes in equilibrium and creates tensions that the person and his entourage must be aware of. It is a question for them, day after day to find new landmarks, to build a new balance.
CONTINUING ACCOMPANYING
After the period of intensive care, resuming daily life can be difficult. It is advisable to continue the accompaniment beyond the duration of the physical withdrawal. It aims to help the person rehabilitate himself / herself in his / her environment, to regain social skills, forgotten skills and to fight as well as possible the desire to drink.
The person will be able to continue to be accompanied by the team that followed him during weaning and / or to meet, through groups of speakers or mutual aid associations, people having experienced the same difficulties. These groups help to build a new identity, that of "alcoholic abstinent".
The person may consider staying in residential care. This is a full-time care over several months. The person is housed in a collective or individual place of life where he / she receives care, social and educational assistance and participates in therapeutic activities. Several forms exist offering close accompaniment to the most vulnerable people in the delicate post-weaning phase.
Soon after a first weaning, the patient may resume his alcohol intake. It is important to talk to the attending physician or the team that accompanied the weaning, because it does not necessarily mean a return to the "starting place". This is usually a step in a process of personal change, which must also be explained to the entourage.