GreenColor

My seasoned psychiatrist told me I wouldn't get the DTs at my age (27). Yet I did get them 2 weeks ago. At the peak, I couldn't distinguish between hallucination and reality. (I had a "girlfriend" at the time who wouldn't stay with me. I'm wondering who else had this experience.

Music

I'm wondering if your psychiatrist knows what he's talking about. DTs aren't caused by age. They're cause by drinking alcohol.....HELLO!!

BBQBOY

Did your Psychiatrist know exactly how much and how long your were drinking? And yes people can have DT's at any age if they have a history of alcohol abuse.

ScottFromWI

Sounds like time for a new psychiatrist. You've known for a few weeks that you had DT's and most likely you had them before when you posted about similar symptoms.

The silver lining is that they are 100% preventable, and you can simply choose if you want to have them again or not.

Bostonsportsfan

I don't think DT's and age have anything to do with each other.

PurpleKnight

Are you still drinking? because that would be the first thing to address and after that get a new psychiatrist!!

jsprplc2006

I must defend the psychiatrist; Delirium Tremens is a medical diagnosis, which a very small fraction of alcoholics ever develop.

It is completely possible for you to have vivid hallucinations without it qualifying for the diagnosis of DTs.

To make a point, allow me to paraphrase a previous poster: "Sounds like time for a new doctor. You've known for a few weeks that you had appendicitis and most likely you had them before when you posted about similar symptoms."

That's like the people who go to their GP with printouts from WebMD and insist that they have super-rare-ooga-booga disease.

ScottFromWI

In this specific case, the OP was diagnosed with DT by a medical doctor several weeks ago. I am not suggesting his psychiatrist should have diagnosed him, but I am suggesting that being told that you cannot get DT because you are 27 is incorrect.

Taking5

While this is true, (about 3% according to my online research) the mortality rate of DTs if left untreated is very high - up to 35%. Also, you can die of alcohol withdrawal without ever experiencing DTs at all - alcohol withdrawal is that dangerous.

I also think that it would rare to find a psychiatrist who is qualified to diagnose DTs. It is even worse to project a diagnosis (or lack thereof) as this one did.

MattyBoy

A lot of factors contribute to your likelihood of getting DTs. Age isn't actually an important one of those factors. For me, I had alcoholic hallucinosis at 20 years old. I had been on a bender for 12 days and durin that time had not eaten anything and had not slept properly. The combination of sleep deprivation, nutritional deprivation and an inordinate amount of straight vodka led to me hallucinating during withdrawal.
Based on my experience, lack of sleep and food during heavy periods of drinking is far likely to increase risk of delirium tremens than merely being older in age.

matt4x4

Most medical field people have no clue at all about alcoholism. They are given a certain amount of hours on the subject then they move on. Some will say its a matter of will power, others will snub their nose at you. Its all in the amount of alcohol that you drink, and DT's is quite normal for heavy daily drinkers. I wish you could see a person with Korsakoff's Disease.

Boleo

I would not be surprised if there were new born babies with DT's because their mother's drank every day.

UnixBer

Yes I agree it doesn't have anything to do with age the phenomenon, although it is regarded that to get "real" DTs you need to have drunk and drunk good. I also once had something that was clearly DTs, even when I was 25 then. The most frightening psychotic episode. And that was exactly at a time when I wasn't drunk but just felt strange. And then it was hell time.

I think that belittleing the whole issue of delirium tremens and making it a veteran disease is often just an excuse to keep drinking, and not the reality.

KateL

I haven't had it that bad thankfully but it's the most heartbreaking thing to witness.

GreenColor

I actually had alcoholic hallucinosis, not DTs. My psychiatrist runs a rehab program in a wealthy area, so I trust her. She said it was basically a very light form of DTs. I just didn't have the tremors.

GreenColor

The psychiatrist didn't specifically say that it was impossible to get DTs, she just said it was extremely unlikely after taking my blood pressure and checking my heart of a lungs, as well as my overall composure.