looking over the posts...
the GP is the first and best place to start. I have been working in the field of alcohol and substance use for longer than this guy has been drinking, and the GP is the best place to start. they will/should know who will be the alcohol service local to them and will be able to refer to them.

As a starting point the guy needs to stabilise on whatever he is drinking (having the same every day). Then to reduce by 10-15% every four five days. If he gets withdrawal symptoms (shaking sweating, vomiting, squits)then he is reducing too quickly and needs to have a little more alcohol to stabilise himself. If there is any blood then he needs to get to hospital asap. He needs to see the alcohol as medication now, not a means to an end!

I'm guessing his diet and sleep are going to be screwed. He will need to be eating little and often (something on toast, etc) and without doubt going to the GP. The doc will need to be prescribed vitamin b, thiamine and have a blood test called an lft to examine the potential damage to his liver. If he is drinking more than 20 units (10 cans of reg strength lager or half a litre of vodka) a day then he cannot just stop. He runs the risk of having an alcohol induced seizure which can be fatal.
He can then be referred to detox through his local alcohol service which will take 10 days max (for the physical dependency) and get support for the psychological dependency which could take a lot longer.

Of course all of this is for nothing if the guy doe not want support or admit to there being a problem. however all those that say 10 years of dependency means that he will never change are talking through their arses. I have worked with people who have endured 2 and 3 times that length of dependency and come out the other end. If the guy wants to do something about it he can, and the only one who will stop that is him!

I hope this guy gets the help he needs (and more importantly wants).

this is my first post after being a very long time lurker (of about 8 yrs!), please be gentle!
(Psych101, Sat 11 May 2013, 22:09, 1 reply)

Many thanks for that.
We - the rest of us around the office - reckon he's probably on about 6-8 bottles of wine a day. I've no idea how he survives that level, but there you go.

I had no idea that the physical dependency could be broken so quickly; that's reassuring. It gives me some hope for him.
(Gravity's Raincoat, Sun 12 May 2013, 16:12, closed)