Alcohol-use disorder

Signs of alcohol-use disorder include: regularly drinking more alcohol than you mean to difficulty stopping or reducing the amount you drink, even if you want to feeling guilty or remorseful after drinking people you know being concerned about your drinking continuing to drink even when it's causing problems for your health, work or relationships craving alcohol, for example, needing a drink when you wake up in the morning needing increasing amounts of alcohol to get the same effect getting withdrawal symptoms when you stop or reduce drinking Alcohol withdrawal symptoms If you stop drinking or cut down, you may get withdrawal symptoms. This is a sign your body is dependent on alcohol. Symptoms include: anxiety difficulty sleeping feeling and being sick (nausea and vomiting) a racing heartbeat, sweating and shaking (tremor) seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there (hallucinations) confusion seizures Withdrawal symptoms begin within 6 to 12 hours of your last drink, and usually last from 3 to 7 days. But some symptoms may last for a few months, especially if you drink heavily. Important It can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you're dependent on alcohol. If you get withdrawal symptoms, get medical help before you try to stop drinking.

If you see a GP or alcohol support service about your alcohol use, they will ask about your drinking and how it's affecting your life. You may be asked to fill in a questionnaire about your symptoms. You may also be offered blood tests to check if your drinking is affecting your health.

You can get treatment for alcohol-use disorder from your GP or a specialist alcohol addiction service. The aim of treatment is usually to help you stop drinking completely, especially if you're dependent on alcohol. But if you're not ready to stop yet, or just want to cut down, you'll be supported to reduce your drinking to a safer level. Treatment for alcohol-use disorder can include: talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) medical help for withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking alcohol, either at home or in hospital help to prevent relapses (where you start drinking again), such as medicines to reduce alcohol cravings support to make positive changes in other areas of your life, such as your relationships help accessing other forms of support, for example with employment or housing Medicines for alcohol-use disorder Medicines for alcohol-use disorder can help you to avoid drinking. They're usually offered once you've stopped drinking and need help to stay sober. These medicines can include: acamprosate or naltrexone, which help reduce alcohol cravings disulfiram, which causes unpleasant effects (such as a headache, feeling sick, high body temperature and heart palpitations) when combined with alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol is very bad for your health. Stopping drinking is the best way to reduce your risk of serious health problems. Short term risks of drinking too much include: serious accidents or injuries while drunk alcohol poisoning Longer term risks include: liver damage such as alcohol-related liver disease increased risk of many different types of cancer high blood pressure and stroke heart problems including cardiomyopathy and heart failure acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression alcohol related brain damage Risks of drinking alcohol when pregnant If you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant, it's recommended that you don't drink any alcohol. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth. It also puts your baby at risk of long-term problems such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder . If you're finding it hard to stop drinking while you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant, get help from your GP or an alcohol support service.

There are things you can do to help stop or reduce your drinking. Get medical help before you stop or reduce drinking if you get withdrawal symptoms. Do keep a daily diary of how much you're drinking, or try a drink tracking app to cut down, try alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks, or choose lower strength (ABV in %) drinks tell people you're stopping drinking so they can help keep you on track avoid situations where you know you're likely to drink find different activities to do when you'd usually drink, such as trying a new hobby try joining a support group

Stopping drinking can be difficult. You can get support from your GP or alcohol addiction support services. There are also charities and peer support groups where you can get support from other people going through the same thing. Support groups Organisations offering support for people trying to stop drinking, including helplines and support groups, include: Alcoholics Anonymous SMART Recovery Support for friends, family and carers Organisations offering support for friends, family and carers, including helplines and support groups, include: Al-Anon UK SMART Recovery: family and friends programme Adfam More information about supporting someone else: Help for family and friends (Alcohol Change UK) Caring for someone with alcohol or substance misuse issues (Carer's Trust)