Your Health

New Approach Can Help Overcome Addiction

Posted 8/5/2010

Starting over is possible. First, alcoholics must deal with the physical craving for alcohol.

(NAPSI) - Alcoholism is a difficult addiction to beat, but a newly available, multifaceted approach offers a less stressful and potentially more successful way to beat the craving.

The medically proven treatment, although new to the U.S., has had an 85 percent success rate in more than 4,000 patients overseas.

The approach has been so successful because it treats the addiction on both a physical and psychological level. Most rehab and treatment centers treat only the psychological part of the addiction and not the physical side of the addiction.

Experts at Fresh Start Private (FSP) Alcohol Recovery Centers find that it is most effective to treat the physical addiction first and then work on giving alcoholics the tools they need in the future to stay sober and happy with their customized alcohol recovery coaching program.

Such treatment involves giving patients naltrexone, a medication that coats the receptors of the brain, taking away the cravings produced by alcohol. This gives the alcoholic on up to 12-month window of opportunity to get a fresh start on life.

While patients can take naltrexone as a pill or through injections, Dr. George O'Neill of Perth, Australia came up with the idea of using an implant to deliver the drug. In tablet or injection form, there is always the possibility of noncompliance.

With the implant, the patient maintains the same therapeutic levels in the bloodstream for long periods of time, up to 12 months.

Once the craving is under control, counseling has a better chance of success, especially when undergoing FSP's recovery coaching program, which is tailored specifically for alcoholism.

At Fresh Start Private, the treatment program lasts eight weeks and is done on an outpatient basis.

Experts there recommend that anyone with alcohol dependency who wants to quit should use a program that is specifically tailored to alcoholics.

For more information, visit www.enddrinkingnow.com or call toll-free at (877) 771-4377.