Originally Posted by
Dee74 
As far as detox goes...if it's determined you need inpatient detox, go...I'm not being flippant when I say you can always get another job, but your health can be a fragile thing and taken far too much for granted...
believe me I know.
D
Yes, I agree. I'd rather live than have an obituary that cites my career.
BTW, for anyone going through similar issues -- I'm completely sober now and took the doctor prescribed tegretol. That worked like magic. I should have taken it from the start.
I have no withdrawal symptoms. That medicine is prescribed widely in Europe for alcohol detox, but not so much in the US; the hospital probably gave it to me due to the codependency on benzos (since adding valium or librium would just add to the wreck that I've become).
Anyhow, the moral of this story is to follow medical advice. Alcohol detox is scary as hell (I know), and combining benzos with alcohol is a prelude to an awful experience. It damaged me to the point that I had my IQ tested to make sure I didn't end up with brain damage from repeated withdrawals. My psychologist thinks that I have PTSD.
The shakes and DT's started with me when I found some moronic advice about tapering with beer. (plus, I was on a benzo, which complicates everything).
Whomever reads this: I highly recommend that you
don't follow any alcohol tapering advice. It gave me DT's and a seizure.
This is a great community -- I hope to contribute whatever I can. I'd been lurking for awhile under different user-names and reading other peoples' tales. Now that I'm on the path to recovery (recent relapses aside), I'm so happy to give back and also find a place of support.