For some people, drinking alcohol is simply a way to unwind after a hard day. But for others, it's a disease that worsens, causing problems with work and family. Alcohol dependence leads to drinking alcohol in large quantities and being unable to stop, even if you want to.
If you're struggling with alcohol dependence, Dr. Lori Scott provides specialized treatment at Lori Scott Family Care in Kinston, North Carolina. She provides excellent care and counseling to help you finally stop drinking altogether.
Alcohol dependence is a medical disorder that causes you to drink even when it disrupts your daily life. If you're living with this disorder, you drink alcohol frequently or a lot of it, even though you want to stop. Alcohol addiction alters your brain, making it nearly impossible to quit without going through uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.
Alcohol dependence affects each person differently. Some people may drink multiple drinks a day, while others may go several days without a drink only to binge drink excessively for days.
If you find yourself hiding your drinking or needing more and more alcohol to feel the buzz, you may be dealing with alcohol dependence.
If you think you may be struggling with alcoholism, the following are three signs that you’re drinking too much:
One significant sign of alcohol dependence is the intense urge to drink, even if you don't want to. You may have cravings throughout the day and feel the need to have a drink at inappropriate times.
Alcohol dependence often bleeds into every aspect of your life, including your work and personal life. If you're living with alcohol dependence, you're more likely to continue to drink, even when it causes problems at work or difficulty in your relationships.
Alcohol dependence isn't easy to quit, especially if you experience withdrawal symptoms when you try to put the brakes on your drinking.
Common withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, hallucinations, sweating, and, in severe cases, seizures. It can also manifest as anxiety and depression in some people.
If you think you’re drinking too much alcohol and you’re having trouble stopping on your own, Dr. Scott has the tools and expertise to help. She’s an expert in alcohol dependence and drug addiction, and she offers various treatments to help you stop drinking alcohol in a safe and healthy way.
At your first appointment, Dr. Scott talks with you about what you’re going through and asks about your symptoms related to alcohol dependence to determine the best treatment method. She offers counseling and may require you to enter rehab if your condition is severe.
She uses the Sinclair Method, a treatment option that allows you to stop drinking by blocking the pleasure signals alcohol sends to your brain when you drink. It’s a medication-based approach that has shown great success in many patients.
The Sinclair Method is pretty simple — you take a pill an hour before drinking alcohol. The medication, naltrexone, blocks the pleasure signal to your brain that alcohol provides when drinking. Over time, it helps you decrease and stop your drinking by removing the high you get from alcohol.
Dr. Scott monitors you throughout the process and helps you with any bumps you may experience along the road to ending your alcohol dependence.
To make an appointment for alcohol dependence with Dr. Scott, simply call the office at 252-238-7079 or send us a message through this website. The first step in recovery is realizing you have a problem and reaching out for help.
