April – Alcohol Awareness

April 1, 2012 By

Alcoholism is a physical addiction prevalent in our society, affecting approximately 10% of all women and 20% of all men. It is defined as an inability to control the amount of alcohol consumed. What begins with one social drink can turn into an uncontrollable necessity for more and more alcohol. Over time the body becomes accustomed to the amount consumed but needs more to maintain the high received as the habit continues.

There is no single known reason for this abuse to occur. Some research indicates that specific genes may increase the risk of alcoholism; however, which genes are to blame remain unknown. Some key factors may increase a person’s risk of becoming an alcoholic, such as a family history, easy access, a stressful lifestyle, and low self-esteem. Those who develop a dependence on alcohol typically do so between the alarmingly young ages of 18 and 25. The problem appears almost epidemic in the United States.
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Wet brain withdrawal and PAWS

November 11, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I was speaking with a group of friends earlier in the week and one girl mentioned a person suffered from wet brain and PAWS. All she admitted was that he is an alcoholic. Well, I thought I’d heard it all but this is a new one on me. Can you tell me what it’s all about? I was almost too embarrassed to ask her to explain.

DEAR READER: The average reader is aware of alcoholism and its devastating effects on the people that live with, care for, or are otherwise around the alcoholic person and we’ve all seen people who appear to drink too much. To some degree we understand the addiction but what we don’t pay enough attention to are the signs that make sobriety so difficult.
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Are symptoms due to illness or alcoholism?

October 13, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My wife is 64 years old and has been sick since December of 2010. She weighs less than 80 pounds, has chronic diarrhea, acid reflux, no appetite, is constantly tired, has had skin rashes and has had shingles in the past. She also consumes quite a bit of beer daily (more than 10 12-ounce glasses). There is no way that I can get any information from her doctor because she has put a lock on it. I don’t think she has been totally truthful with him. I don’t claim to be a doctor but these problems seem to look like CD. Can you help?

DEAR READER: To be blunt, your wife is an alcoholic. If she isn’t eating properly but is consuming excessive amounts of beer, her acid reflux, fatigue, loss of appetite, and chronic diarrhea are likely a result. The shingles are almost surely unrelated, as it is caused by the chicken pox virus that lays [Read more...]

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Here’s the other half of the story alcoholics

August 6, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Your response about the effects of alcohol consumption missed many concerns I wish you had discussed. Specifically, you emphasized the social and health impacts of binge and alcoholic consumption, which are certainly quite real. However, your discussion might be easily dismissed by the AVERAGE American drinker, leaving him or her thinking that a couple drinks a day is harmless or even, as my parents believe, beneficial.

Daily consumption of alcohol can increase a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer, which is already far too common. In addition, please emphasize that one need not have a “problem” to be consuming sufficient alcohol to significantly alter the risk of impaired health via obesity, auto accidents, gallbladder disease, colon cancer, diabetes, heart disease and ischemic strokes.
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The effects of alcoholism

June 23, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Please list the effects that alcohol has on the body, and I mean all of them, such as how it makes a person look older and the harm drinking causes.

DEAR READER: Alcoholism is truly a disease with far-reaching effects on the individual who imbibes, as well as virtually on everyone surrounding him or her. Initial social drinking, sometimes with as little as one or two drinks, can change a passive personality into an aggressive, raucous, life-of-the-party person — for a while. However, as the habit progresses, the price everyone pays can become greater, more destructive and devastating.
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Praise for alcoholism article

February 1, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am writing in regards to your article that appeared in my newspaper on June 26, 2010.
A counselor wrote to you asking about her husband’s habitual drinking habits. Your response to her was extremely accurate. Your description of the disease and its profound effects on a family was one of the best descriptions I have read outside of the literature that the Al-Anon Family Groups publish. It is truly wonderful to read such a straightforward, honest answer about alcoholism and its effects on the family in our local newspaper.

Unfortunately, the public is uneducated about alcoholism and relates to the disease, much like this writer, as shameful behaviors that can be changed “if he loved me enough.” [Read more...]

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Fighting oral cancer

September 16, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I follow your column in our local paper religiously, and your “No Flour-No Sugar” plan has made a big difference in the hypoglycemia condition that I seem to be prone to. Sadly, I don’t stick to it nearly often enough.

More specifically, I am 65 and probably an alcoholic — the result of a lifetime of bad choices and a couple of bad marriages. I live (by choice) in a fairly remote part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where medical advice is hard to come by. I also have a history of oral cancer, despite not having smoked for more than 20 years. The only ENT doc available to me has decided that the “cut it out and biopsy it” approach every three months or so is the proper one.
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Wife struggles with husband’s alcoholism

June 27, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I simply cannot understand my husband’s habitual drinking. I’m embarrassed, ashamed and frustrated, and we’re even considering divorce because of it. We are a well-educated couple. He’s a professional with a good job, and of all things, I’m a counselor. Wouldn’t you think I might be able to advise my own partner? Well, I guess not, because life is a mess, things are out of control, and what’s worse, my husband doesn’t even seem to know or care. He promises he will change but those promises have been broken so many times I have lost track. We have three wonderful children who have been damaged because of his habit. I try to help them understand, but they aren’t dumb. They can read between the lines.
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Change hard for alcoholics

February 16, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I have a friend who drinks beer or anything mixed like there’s no tomorrow. His triglycerides are very high. I told him I thought all the alcohol he drinks could be the cause of the elevation. He claims his doctor told him it’s not. He runs around with others who behave the same way. I may be wrong, but he seems to be in his glory when he has a drink in his hand.

DEAR READER: Your friend appears to be drinking inappropriately. I would likely label him an alcoholic if I had more information about his drinking habits. What you have to remember is that he will not make significant changes in his lifestyle (and alcohol consumption) until he is ready to do so. [Read more...]

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