In thinking this is crazy?

[allisgood1]

We have a dear friend. He has suffered all his life with depression. He has now taken to becoming an alcoholic, which also runs in his family. He is single with no family around.

Anyway, he went to GP to ask for help. Told them everything (they will have known most of it anyway) and added that he's an alcoholic (we calculated he drinks over 100 units per week). The GP said he is "not eligible for help as he is an alcoholic" and sent him on his way (I believe did prescribe stuff for the depression). GP also advised friend that as he has now admitted he's a alcoholic it will be reported to the DVLA, rendering his insurance useless.

So now not only is he 1) not going to get help he also 2) can't drive himself anywhere meaning he can't work (his work involves driving) and this of course makes getting any other outside help (AA) even harder due to the relatively rural area he is in.

Is he being misinformed or is this right??

I think psychiatric help. I don't have specific details.

I see the point about him not being on the roads and its well taken. Its just preventing him from getting help and making the situation worse.

If anything alcoholism has taken him rather than the other way around :(

My step dad is an alcoholic (2 years sober though) and when he sought help, his license was suspended for nearly 9 months.

A person who consumes 100 units a week should not be able to drive. With that amount of alcohol, it stands to reason that they would be unable to safetly operate a car.

He needs to get in touch with his local chapter of AA. There are likely members that could offer assistance with getting around. They did for my step-dad and he is really rural.

I hope this thread isn't sidetracked by the no driving thing. That's not as big of deal as the no help from the NHS. This is what will end up killing him.

Is AA enough for someone with a problem to the severity of his? I think he was looking at rehab which isn't an option now.

Any other suggestions I can give him?

AA isn't for everyone but it worked for my step-dad and he is not the type to share with strangers. For some reason though it was a good fit. He celebrated two years sober in April and he did that entirely with AA.

He'll have to tackle the drinking himself.. the AA might be a good start, it might not suit but it's a start.

Blame the cuts, mental health won't touch you or put you way way down the list if you have addiction issues. It's not fair but that's how it is now.

When he's got on top of that and is making progress then go back to the GP and ask for help then.

Most areas have a community addiction team who provide support to alcoholics and addicts. If he's drinking at that level he'll need a medical detox, it's life threateningly dangerous to try and come off that level of alcohol consumption on your own. If he had health insurance (most people don't obviously but sometimes people have it through their work) then that sometimes covers rehab. Aa is a great idea too but he'll need medical support to stop drinking.

I will encourage him to contact his local AA. I hope he does it. And I hope it works.

Sandor how do I find out if he has a community addiction team?

I think every surgery should have access to addiction clinics or whatever they're called. To say he's on his own must be untrue! If you went to your gp and said you were on drugs they wouldn't send you off again! It's probably not psychiatric help he needs though

AA will only help if he wants to stop drinking.

I'm shocked that the GP said he couldn't have help because of his drinking. Did he not get referred to anywhere?

Advise your friend to seek help from AA. There are programmes and medication available but afaik you have to be sober for a certain number of weeks before the GP will prescribe them.

My friend received some mh support last year but only because of a suicide attempt, he was still refused help with his alcoholism until he was sober for 4 weeks I think (maybe 6).

What area are you in? Google addiction services/ community addiction team and the name of the nhs area?

Aa is great and he doesn't need to be sober to go there, just have a desire to stop drinking but I imagine he needs a medical detox.

"I think psychiatric help. I don't have specific details. "

He probably wasn't suited to the help he asked for and it may be the case that he didn't want what was suggested.

For example, if you request CBT, to correct your faulty thinking, but then the reason for your faulty thinking is excessive alcohol use and you won't be able to use the techniques once you are tipsy, then there is no point in making a referral.

Likewise with some counselling.

A lot of anti depresents are dangerous if combined with alcohol.

There will be charity based addiction services, but your friend may have refused them.

I have had alcoholic friends, I've attended addiction services with them, it's never as simple as it sounds and very few of my otherwise fully functioning highly intelligent friends, have had enough of a grasp on their problem to not have sunk a lot lower before they take advice, or realise why what they want isn't what they need.

I understand your frustration at the NHS, OP. When my dh sought help for his addictions through his GP he was told it was their policy not to help and just gave him a sheet of numbers.

My DH needed medical intervention as he was so physically ill with alcoholism so we sought to get him into rehab ourselves. It cost us a fortune but there are funded places available - we were lucky enough to have family who could step in and help us, thank goodness.

The charity Action on Addiction - www.actiononaddiction.org.uk - are brilliant. They help anyone who has been affected by alcohol and are very understanding and compassionate. Give them a call as they may be able to give your friend advice on getting funding for a rehab place.

I should add that dh is now on a 12 step AA programme which is working very well for him. However, he first needed help with his physical addiction to alcohol before he could fully address the psychological side.

I'm sorry if this sounds crass, but this could be the best thing that happened to him in the long term. In my experience 12 step members are incredibly supportive of each other and are happy to help getting each other to meetings etc.

Psychiatry won't see anyone with an alcohok addiction. We can refer to addicitions service but the DNA rate is crazy. We give the numbers and patients refer themselves. What exactly do you think a GP can or should do?

What do I think a GP should do? Not nothing!!

He needs rehab. Going cold turkey from alcohol could cause severe complications.

I would make an appointment with a different doctor.

There are resources out there which will help your friend if that what he wants - it does take a bit of digging around to find the right one though. In a way I think this isn't such a bad thing as it can indicate how much the addict wants to get recovery.

I've text him the community addiction details. They will see alcoholics within 4-6 weeks and accept self referrals. DH said he's already stopped cold turkey but I don't know how long ago that was (I'm thinking v recently). When DH visited him the other night he was sober. I know this means nothing though as we have another friend who is also an alcoholic and he gives up regularly but it only ever lasts a week or so :-(

So what allies then? Be specific I'll tell you if it's possible/works/is effective/has an evidence base ? We don't actually posess magic wands you know?
You said he was given antidepressants, what else were you expecting?