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Suggest Treatment For Aggressive Behaviour Due To Intoxication Syndrome Of Alcohol
Question: my father is alcoholic since last 25 years.right now he stays with himself,does not talk much.avoid conversation with everyone.talks as least as possible.but when he is drunk he fights with my mom for no reason.if there is no topic to talk,he will bring one of no importance and will start saying i have to do this,i have to do that. he will start discussing the same thing that has been discussed already. he pretends like there are many problems in his life that's why he is worried,even if there is no problem really. he gets disturbed even by a smallest task he has to do. he is happy to give us money and let us do our work on our own as we wish .but if he has to do something he gets anxious.some important points i would like to mention-
1.he brings back old topics for fight which are gone long time ago.
2.when his alcohol INTOXICATION goes, he becomes normal and pretend like nothing happened when he was drunk.and when we remind him of what he was doing ,he starts blaming us that we are lier's '.but in his mind he knows that he was behaving badly but he cant accept that.
3.when he is drunk and fighting with us and suppose a phone call comes or a outsider comes he starts behaving normally like nothing was happening there.
4.he cries many times for no reason, like he wants us to believe that he has many problems in life.
5.he abuses my mom to go to his brothers home and my sisters to go there husbands when the come to home. but when my mom goes for few days to his brother in anger, my dad start missing my mom. then he will call her everday and will not drink and then will go there to bring her back. but again after few days its again same.
p.s.- my mom says he was not like this earlier,but has become like this since last 10 years.
ps. 4 months ago i found out i have obsessive compulsive disorder. and i am taking medication for that.
so what to do about him?
1.he brings back old topics for fight which are gone long time ago.
2.when his alcohol INTOXICATION goes, he becomes normal and pretend like nothing happened when he was drunk.and when we remind him of what he was doing ,he starts blaming us that we are lier's '.but in his mind he knows that he was behaving badly but he cant accept that.
3.when he is drunk and fighting with us and suppose a phone call comes or a outsider comes he starts behaving normally like nothing was happening there.
4.he cries many times for no reason, like he wants us to believe that he has many problems in life.
5.he abuses my mom to go to his brothers home and my sisters to go there husbands when the come to home. but when my mom goes for few days to his brother in anger, my dad start missing my mom. then he will call her everday and will not drink and then will go there to bring her back. but again after few days its again same.
p.s.- my mom says he was not like this earlier,but has become like this since last 10 years.
ps. 4 months ago i found out i have obsessive compulsive disorder. and i am taking medication for that.
so what to do about him?
Brief Answer:
Please see the details below.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX
I read your query in detail and do understand your concern regarding your father.
From what you have mentioned, your father's behavior seems to be due to the effects of alcohol. His becoming aggressive against family members seems to be occurring as part of intoxication syndrome of alcohol. In addition, you also mentioned that he becomes anxious when he is faced with task to do and that he cries talking about some negatives in his life. That suggests some underlying anxiety or may be even depressive symptoms that your father might be having.
The best way in this case is to sit down with your father and talk to him face to face about what you feel is really happening and that he needs to look into his drinking and stop it as that is causing problems not only for him but for his family as well. The best way out is trying to motivate him when he is sober. You will have to gradually try to show him the direction. You can talk about about his depressive symptoms and talk to him about seeking treatment. This process might take time but will give you long lasting results.
I know it is a very difficult task and saying is easier than actually doing it. But evading this will only lead to accentuating the problems. You should seek out a psychiatric consultation for him and discuss regarding starting medications both for controlling anxiety/depression and decreasing his alcohol use.
There can be multiple treatment options for alcohol. Anti-craving drugs like acamprosate, topiramate and naltrexone do help. In addition, he might need medications to control his anxietyand depression like escitalopram or sertraline.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.
Best wishes,
Dr. Sunil Gupta
Please see the details below.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX
I read your query in detail and do understand your concern regarding your father.
From what you have mentioned, your father's behavior seems to be due to the effects of alcohol. His becoming aggressive against family members seems to be occurring as part of intoxication syndrome of alcohol. In addition, you also mentioned that he becomes anxious when he is faced with task to do and that he cries talking about some negatives in his life. That suggests some underlying anxiety or may be even depressive symptoms that your father might be having.
The best way in this case is to sit down with your father and talk to him face to face about what you feel is really happening and that he needs to look into his drinking and stop it as that is causing problems not only for him but for his family as well. The best way out is trying to motivate him when he is sober. You will have to gradually try to show him the direction. You can talk about about his depressive symptoms and talk to him about seeking treatment. This process might take time but will give you long lasting results.
I know it is a very difficult task and saying is easier than actually doing it. But evading this will only lead to accentuating the problems. You should seek out a psychiatric consultation for him and discuss regarding starting medications both for controlling anxiety/depression and decreasing his alcohol use.
There can be multiple treatment options for alcohol. Anti-craving drugs like acamprosate, topiramate and naltrexone do help. In addition, he might need medications to control his anxietyand depression like escitalopram or sertraline.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.
Best wishes,
Dr. Sunil Gupta
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
your suggestions are deeply welcomed and fits for the solution.
but i fear in starting while he will be still drinking,he may not take tablets while he is drunk..is there a Anti-craving tablet which can be given to him without his knowledge like mixing with food or in water.
and when he stops drinking,then we can start medication for anxiety or depression.
but i fear in starting while he will be still drinking,he may not take tablets while he is drunk..is there a Anti-craving tablet which can be given to him without his knowledge like mixing with food or in water.
and when he stops drinking,then we can start medication for anxiety or depression.
Brief Answer:
Please see details below.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX
Thanks for following up. I do understand your concern regarding his not being ready to take medications.
Treatment for quitting alcohol includes anti craving drugs and aversive drugs. The problem with anti-craving drugs like acamprosate, topiramate and naltrexone is that they are usually useful when the patient is actually motivated to quit. Aversive drugs like disulfiram can cause severe and sometimes lethal reaction if alcohol is taken after taking the drug, hence is not recommended to be given without informing the patient.
And that is the reason why I talked about directly talking to your father and trying to motivate him for starting medication. Anti-craving drugs can be tried initially which might to an extent reduce his craving for alcohol and make your job easier. In addition, he might also need some benzodizepines like chlordiazepoxide to help overcome the withdrawal symptoms which he may have if he at all decides to quit alcohol.
The treatment for anxiety/depression should also be started be started simultaneously as there might be a good chance that he is drinking to overcome his anxiety symptoms.
So, I would still suggest that you talk to him first. You can also ask him ti meet the psychiatrist you are taking treatment from. May be, the psychiatrist will help him understand the need of treatment plus you will be able to get a prescription for him (as the medications are prescription medicines).
Hope I have answered your query. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer.
Wishing your father good health.
Dr. Sunil Gupta
Please see details below.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX
Thanks for following up. I do understand your concern regarding his not being ready to take medications.
Treatment for quitting alcohol includes anti craving drugs and aversive drugs. The problem with anti-craving drugs like acamprosate, topiramate and naltrexone is that they are usually useful when the patient is actually motivated to quit. Aversive drugs like disulfiram can cause severe and sometimes lethal reaction if alcohol is taken after taking the drug, hence is not recommended to be given without informing the patient.
And that is the reason why I talked about directly talking to your father and trying to motivate him for starting medication. Anti-craving drugs can be tried initially which might to an extent reduce his craving for alcohol and make your job easier. In addition, he might also need some benzodizepines like chlordiazepoxide to help overcome the withdrawal symptoms which he may have if he at all decides to quit alcohol.
The treatment for anxiety/depression should also be started be started simultaneously as there might be a good chance that he is drinking to overcome his anxiety symptoms.
So, I would still suggest that you talk to him first. You can also ask him ti meet the psychiatrist you are taking treatment from. May be, the psychiatrist will help him understand the need of treatment plus you will be able to get a prescription for him (as the medications are prescription medicines).
Hope I have answered your query. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer.
Wishing your father good health.
Dr. Sunil Gupta
Note: In case of any other concern or query related to prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, or the recovery of persons with the any type of addiction or substance use, follow up with our Addiction Medicine Specialist. Click here to book a consultation now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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