Myth One:

Eating something sweet helps the alcoholic stay off alcohol.

• Actually the opposite is true. Studies have been done in treatment that show those with a lot of sugar in their diet have significantly more cravings for alcohol and consequently tend to relapse at a higher rate.

Myth Two:

Hypoglycemia causes alcoholism.

• Highly unlikely.  Most alcoholics show some hypoglycemic tendencies in early recovery; however, after a few months all but a few tend to have normal blood sugar levels.

Myth Three:

When it is clear the person is alcoholic there is no more need for diagnosis. 

• Accurate diagnosis is time consuming and necessary for a good treatment outcome. Here are a couple of examples:

The patient has a bad liver and his ammonia level is high which may cause dementia. This usually is temporary; however, if this hasn’t been recognized he may be viewed as unable to benefit from treatment or be an unwilling patient.

• In one study 40% of the patients had brain damage serious enough to impair their functioning. The damage was usually due to falls and accidents. If this isn’t recognized they may not receive proper treatment.

• Inadequate diagnosis often results in the “bad patient” problem.

 Codependency Myths

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