What OTC Alcohol Withdrawal Medications Can Help Stop Drinking?

Overconsumption of alcohol has significant negative effects on an individual’s health and contributes to an enormous economic impact on society as a whole. Pharmacotherapies to curb excessive drinking are important for treating alcohol use disorders. The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.

• This amino acid occurs naturally in the body and many protein-rich foods, and is a building block for some of the brain chemicals that regulate anxiety and depression.
• It is highly recommended to seek medical guidance from your physician or other qualified healthcare practitioner with any queries/concerns you may have regarding your medical condition or prior to incorporating a new healthcare regimen.
• The anti-craving effect of disulfiram may also be due to inhibition of dopamine beta hydroxylase thereby increasing neuronal dopamine .
• Adding this supplement can help boost mood in recovery and reduce withdrawal symptoms.
• After that, each subject was given the pill he or she didn’t get the first time and told to take it for a week.

In Chinese pharmacy books, kudzu is listed as a possible treatment for alcohol-related hangovers and cravings, Penetar tells WebMD. According to the CDC, binge drinking is kudzu alcohol addiction having four or more drinks on one occasion for a woman and five or more for a man. Never take a new medication for alcohol dependence without consulting a doctor first.

Daidzin inhibits mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase and suppresses ethanol intake of Syrian golden hamsters

In fact Keung et al. demonstrated a direct correlation between ALDH-2 inhibition and ethanol intake suppression and raise the possibility that daidzin may in fact suppress ethanol intake of golden hamsters by inhibiting ALDH-2. However, this effect by daidzin is not like a classical ALDH-2 inhibitor because it does not also inhibit the cytosolic form, of liver ALDH-1, which is a very efficient catalyst of acetaldehyde oxidation. Thus daidzin can suppress ethanol intake of this species without blocking acetaldehyde metabolism. When given equal amounts of alcohol, kudzu- and placebo-treated individuals respond similarly (Penetar et al., 2011). The current evidence favors the safety of Kudzu root although some have questioned the potential build- up of acetaldehyde following its administration to humans . On the other side of the safety issue, Singh et al. evaluated the protective effects of puerarin from kudzu root against alcohol-induced toxicities. Alcohol withdrawal after 70 days of drinking generated severe withdrawal symptoms including seizure-type EEG activity.

One study in mice found that taking 10 mg per day of kudzu root extract for 4 weeks caused liver toxicity . In an initial 90-minute session in the “apartment,” each subject was allowed to consume as many beers as he or she wanted—up to a maximum of six. After the session, each was given either puerarin or a placebo and told to take it daily for a week.

You may also be interested in: Herbal Remedies and Acupuncture for Addiction Recovery

A 2017 research review did not find that this therapy was more effective than other forms of relapse prevention. Arno Kroner, DAOM, LAc, is a board-certified acupuncturist, as well as an herbalist and integrative medicine doctor.

Daidzein and glycitein in soy and kudzu, and formononetin and biochanin A in red clover. Chris Scott founded Fit Recovery in 2014 to help people from around the world dominate alcohol dependence and rebuild their lives from scratch. A former investment banker, he recovered from alcohol dependence using cutting-edge methods that integrate nutrition, physiology, and behavioral change. Today, Chris is an Alcohol Recovery Coach and the creator of an online course called Total Alcohol Recovery 2.0.

May reduce alcohol dependence

Specifically, male and female “heavy” alcohol drinkers were treated with either placebo or a kudzu extract for 7 days and then given an opportunity to drink their preferred brand of beer while in a naturalistic environment. They found that Kudzu https://ecosoberhouse.com/ treatment resulted in significant reduction in the number of beers consumed. “Recently, preclinical studies with animals have shown reductions in alcohol consumption when treated with isoflavones contained in the kudzu root,” said Penetar.