Can You Drink Again After Alcohol Use Disorder?
Understand how recovery goals, health risks, medications, and withdrawal history affect whether cutting down or avoiding alcohol is the better plan.
Medically reviewed by Daniel R. Karlin, MD, MA, Chief Medical OfficerPubMedGoogle Scholar
Whether to drink again after alcohol use disorder is a medical and personal decision that deserves careful discussion. There is no online test that can establish that drinking will be safe for you. Your previous drinking pattern, health, medications, and recovery goals all matter.
These five points can help structure a conversation with your clinician.
1. Recovery goals differ
Some people pursue abstinence; others work toward reducing drinking. The appropriate goal depends on the severity of the problem and the risks involved.
NIAAA advises quitting when someone cannot stay within intended limits, has certain health conditions, takes interacting medication, or is pregnant or may become pregnant. Someone with a history of severe AUD or repeated failed moderation attempts should discuss those experiences explicitly. NIAAA: Cutting down or quitting alcohol
2. A period without alcohol does not predict future control
Feeling better after stopping is valuable, but it does not prove that the previous pattern cannot return. Consider what happened during earlier attempts to moderate. Did one drink repeatedly become several? Did you spend increasing time planning when to drink?
A treatment professional can help evaluate these patterns without treating them as a character flaw. Repeated loss of control is one of the symptoms clinicians assess for AUD. NIAAA: Alcohol use disorder symptoms
3. Medication changes the discussion
Naltrexone can help reduce alcohol-related reward and heavy drinking for some patients. Acamprosate supports abstinence. Disulfiram interferes with alcohol metabolism, causing acetaldehyde to accumulate and potentially producing a serious reaction if alcohol is consumed. SAMHSA: Treatment options for substance use disorders DailyMed: Oral naltrexone prescribing information
These medicines do not make drinking universally safe. Do not test a disulfiram reaction or change a prescription in order to drink.
Tell your clinician about opioid medications, including buprenorphine, before considering naltrexone. Naltrexone can trigger opioid withdrawal and block opioid medicines.
4. Withdrawal requires a separate safety plan
Medication for ongoing AUD treatment is different from treatment for acute withdrawal. If you have returned to heavy, regular drinking, abruptly stopping can be dangerous.
Get medical advice about shaking, sweating, nausea, or drinking to relieve symptoms. A history of withdrawal seizures or severe confusion may mean a more closely monitored setting is necessary. NIAAA: Cutting down or quitting alcohol
Do not use alcohol itself as an unsupervised withdrawal-management plan.
5. Your plan should include follow-up
If you and your clinician choose a reduction goal, agree on how to monitor it and what would trigger a change in the plan. Useful measures include episodes of loss of control, health symptoms, missed responsibilities, and whether drinking is becoming a greater focus.
If abstinence is your goal, plan for social pressure and keep support available. A return to drinking should prompt reassessment rather than shame or abandonment of care.
Where to begin
Bring an honest account of recent drinking, prior attempts to stop, withdrawal symptoms, medications, and goals to a healthcare visit. NIAAA's Alcohol Treatment Navigator explains how to find evidence-based options.
You can ask for help while you are still unsure about the long-term goal. The first step is understanding your risks and the support available.
Looking for help with alcohol? Recovery Delivered is not taking alcohol treatment bookings yet. Get alerted when we launch this program