Integrated Clinical Issues - Essay Example

Different sections of the brain get affected by alcohol at dissimilar levels thereby creating alternative periods of restiveness and stupor. Alcohol has long-term consequences on the central nervous system that comprises including tolerance, irreversible damage, and dependency (Pedro & Eric, 2011). Changes in alcohol tolerance, as well as the dependency of an alcoholic drinker on alcohol, is an illustration that changes take place in the brain.

The brain happens to be the organ most affected by alcohol and confirms that it is getting damaged by the behavior of the drinker, together with his emotional distress (Obembe, 2012). There are three visible effects of alcohol injury in the brain, which include memory loss, augmentation, and confusion. The drinker's swift mood swings, along with the emotional and behavioral volatility can be controlled by stopping drinking (Lake, 2006). Loss of memory or blackouts during drinking happens to be alcohol’s physical effect on the brain; this occurs when alcohol cuts off the oxygen supply oxygen into the brain. A lack of oxygen supply into the brain is capable of killing the majority of brain cells each time a person gets intoxicated (Johnson, 2010).  Additionally, learned behavior syndrome happens to be another alcohol effect on the brain; when a person learns a certain behavior under the stimulus of alcohol, he sometimes has to re-learn that behavior, immediately after ending drinking (Lake, 2006).

Alcohol withdrawal tends to be exceedingly unpleasant with symptoms varying from one person to the next; nonetheless, the majority of people go through some negative signs of alcohol withdrawal if they attempt to stop the intake of alcohol after long-term usage (Pedro & Eric, 2011). Mild to moderate signs comprise of headache, fatigue, nausea, depression, vomiting, anxiety, insomnia, abnormal movement, and rapid heart rate. Severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms comprise hallucinations, fever, as well as convulsions (Johnson, 2010). Although many people going through alcohol detox do not have to be hospitalized, in severe instances, hospitalization might turn out as being necessary. Benzodiazepines continue to be the drug of choice in the treatment of severe cases of alcohol withdrawal since their inception in the 1960s (Lake, 2006).

Benzodiazepines happen to be a class of psychoactive drugs, whose aim is to decelerate the central nervous system through the activation of GABA receptors. This presents an array of practical tranquilizing effects. In addition to relieving signs of alcohol withdrawal, benzodiazepines are also usually prescribed for treating insomnia, convulsive disorders, muscle spasms, anxiety disorder, and involuntary movement disorders (Lake, 2006). Chlordiazepoxide, together with diazepam happens to be the two most prescribed benzodiazepines (Pedro & Eric, 2011). Chlordiazepoxide gets preferred for its advanced anticonvulsant competencies while diazepam gets preferred for its safety against alcohol overdose.

Most people with alcoholism are unwilling to get treatment since they do not acknowledge they have a problem; therefore, there is a need to convince them that they require professional help (Michel & Johan, 2008). According to the medical records of Mr. Derek Donald, he suffered several conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression after divorcing his wife, detoxification, COPD, chronic alcohol abuse, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and type 2 diabetes. Various treatments might be helpful in this situation (Michel & Johan, 2008); the initial step is determining if Derek has a problem with alcohol, which in this case, the answer is yes. Considering that Derek has an alcohol addiction, simply cutting back happens to be ineffective (Michel & Johan, 2008); therefore, working on stopping the use of alcohol to improve the quality of life turns out to be the key treatment goal.

The different treatment for alcoholism suitable for Derek entails:
- Detoxification and withdrawal: Alcoholism treatment might start with a program of detoxification that in most cases takes from two to seven days (Barbara & Nancy, 2004). There is a need for Derek to receive sedating medications to avert shaking, confusion, hallucinations, or other withdrawal symptoms. This can only be done when Derek is in an inpatient treatment center or even a hospital;
- Learning skills and creating a treatment plan: This entails alcohol treatment experts and includes goal setting, counseling, behavior change approaches, use of self-help manuals, along with follow-up care from a treatment center by experts (Obembe, 2012);
- Psychological counseling: counseling, as well as therapy for both groups and individuals, is very helpful to alcoholics (Barbara & Nancy, 2004); therefore this will be helpful to Derek since he will understand his problem with alcohol comprehensively, together with alcohol support recovery from the perspective of a psychologist. In this case, he will benefit from family therapy considering that family support hastens the process of recovery;
- Continuing support: Programs after completing counseling sessions, along with support groups will assist Derek to recover from alcoholism; this way, he will be able to stop drinking, control relapses, and deal with necessary life changes. This might entail medical or psychological care or even attending a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous amongst others (Michel & Johan, 2008);
- Treatment for psychological crises: In most cases, alcoholism leads to other mental health disorders (Barbara & Nancy, 2004). In this case, Derek suffered from depression and anxiety; therefore, he needs to attend talk therapy and get medications, as well as other treatments for other conditions he is suffering from respectively.