Re: Mom went to detox and I have some questions
My husband went into a long-weekend detox program (Friday afternoon until Monday afternoon) at one of the top university hospitals in this nation. Did it dry him out? Not really. Less than eight weeks after being released from that detox program, he was pulled over by a county police officer and arrested for drunk driving. He kept trying to stay sober, but even with A.A. meetings (that helped his mental attitude), he kept picking up.
The next round of detox out-patient programs he attended - both of them - did random urine testing. In both cases, he did research on the Internet to find out how long alcohol stays in someone's system. It depends on sex, height, weight, age, and a few other variables. Anyway, he's a skinny guy and doing some computations, he arrived at the conclusion that alcohol stayed in his system (at least as far as having it show up in a urine test) for 24 hours. Symptoms such as flushed, blotchy skin, hand tremors and a smell of stale alcohol, can hand around longer. Of course, all his "research" was done so he could cut off the booze just long enough to pass the urine test!
You don't say how much for how many years your mom has been drinking. Some people can drink like fish for years and not show any permanent damage (amazing, isn't it?), while other people can suffer permanent damage. From the reading I've done on alcoholism, there are different theories on how many brain cells are killed by a drinking bout.
It sounds like your mom isn't ready to undertake a permanent change in her life if she doesn't want to commit to a rehab program, A.A., etc. Each alcoholic has unique reasons for suddenly wanting to embrace sobriety - some hit rock bottom, others just see the bottom and don't want to go there, and still others never have any desire to commit themselves to living a life without any alcohol.
Find out the name of the drug your mom's doctor prescribed for her. It is very possible she may be having a bad reaction to the medication or taking more than the amount prescribed by her doctor - particularly since she's going through an extremely stressful situation. Once you know the name of the drug, look it up on the Internet to read about possible adverse reactions. Also talk with her doctor about your concerns for the medication he prescribed.
That's about all I can tell you from my up-close relationship with an alcoholic. You might want to also post on the Alcoholics Anonymous board. Alcoholics in recovery can give you their opinions of what may be going on with your mom based on their own experience.
Take care.