As a parent, you don’t ever want to see your son struggle in life. It’s very likely that any pain they might feel will become pain that you will feel. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to see a son struggling with the cycle of alcohol addiction. At first, it might be difficult to detect the presence of anything being wrong. However, there always comes a time when a parent knows something is not right. When that time comes, you can bet your resolve as a parent will be tested.
The first thing you will need to be able to do is to identify its alcoholism with which your son has been dealing. How do you do that? Here’s a list of signs that your son might have a drinking problem:
- He becomes very secretive with his time and location
- You begin to see empty bottles and cans around his house or room
- You see him struggling with personal relationships
- You sense he is having difficulties at work or at home
- You find him drinking alone more often than what feels right
- He begins to let his personal appearance slide
- He begins spending or asking for money beyond what is normal for him
- He fails to handle personal responsibility like paying bills
If you start seeing these signs, you have reason to be concerned. Unfortunately, every instinct in your body will want to reach out and try to protect him. What you have to realize is there very little you can do until he is ready to admit he has a problem. If he gets to that point, that’s when you can step in as a parent and suggest he goes to rehab.
If this is the first time he has been addicted to a substance, it’s likely going to be the first time you have had to go through the experience of supporting someone with addiction issues. If that’s the case, you won’t know what to expect. For that reason, we would like to offer you information about one aspect of the addiction recovery process, going through withdrawal.
How Do I Know What to Expect from Alcohol Withdrawal for My Son?
At the point when your son decides to stop drinking, it won’t be long before he starts to experience withdrawal. Of course, the extent of his potential withdrawal symptoms will depend on the depth of his drinking problem. The worse the drinking problem, the more likely his withdrawal symptoms are going to be significant. For the most part, you can expect him to start showing signs of alcohol withdrawal within 8 to 12 hours of his last drink. Once the detox process begins, you can expect it to last for up to a week with the first five days being the most dangerous.
Before we go any further, we think it would be prudent to let you know what kind of withdrawal symptoms he might experience. The physical signs might include:
- Elevated blood pressure
- Drastic increase in heart rate
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sweating on the palms and face
- Tremors in the extremities
- Loss of appetite
- Muscle cramping and headaches
The psychological signs might include:
- Moodiness and irritability
- Anxiety and depression
- Confusion and trouble with concentration
- Bad dreams and hallucinations
- Feeling jumpy or nervous
Hopefully, he goes through withdrawal in a medical detox facility or program. That is the best chance he will have to get past the detox process without having to experience pain and distress. As part of a medical detocx program, a medical professional would be standing by to intervene if your son starts to struggle. Intervening could include prescribing relief medications. For your part, the best thing you can do is remain supportive. After detox, he will need your support as he goes through therapy.
If your son has a drinking problem, the only way he is going to arrest his addiction is by entering rehab. That’s the point where we can step in and help. If you would like more information about our facility and alcohol addiction treatment services, you can call one of our representatives at 833-820-2922. Based on your initial call, we can help you decide how best to get your son to agree to enter rehab.