Taking5

Wow. This may have been a rerun for all I know but it was the first time I saw it. It was the most incredible episode of Intervention I have ever seen.

Even the interventionist said he'd been doing this a long time and she was one of the worst cases he had ever seen. She had 8 seizures in the last 6 months when slowing down on her drinking.

Well, she went to treatment (naturally) and 3 months later was unrecognizable. And what a talented artist! (she started painting again while in treatment).

Her name is Janet, if you are a fan of this show you have to see this. Or if you are unfamiliar with the show it is on A&E.

serenityqueen

I just got done watching it too. Yes, it was a rerun. I thought during the update they would say she left treatment and passed away.

I'm sure glad I was wrong.

Yes, that is a remarkable change.

I'd love to know how she's doing now.

beingjenagain

got it going on the DVR, gotta watch 24!

gmaklay

Yup... I watched it too.

I enjoy watching it. Kinda let's you know your not alone! ....and just when I think I had it bad I see some of these cases... Yikes!

ralph9898

The one with Janet is on again at midnight tonight according to my guide.

TryingSoHard

Thanks for suggesting it. I have not seen that one but will definitely record it or look it up online.

TryingSoHard

Oh. My. GOD.

That didn't even look like the same woman! I was sitting here watching, thinking, "How on EARTH are they going to get her to agree to go to treatment?!?" I thought for sure she was going to say no.

I would totally love to see a follow-up on her. I sincerely hope she is still sober. Wow, if she is... what an inspiration. I mean, if SHE can get sober, we ALL can do it!!!

BackToSquareOne

The Janet story seems to follow a fairly common pattern. She was married to a drug dealer early on and got used to living the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. At that point in her life she was living the american dream that is until her husband got arrested and her house of cards came tumbling down. Her blue blood lifestyle came to an abrupt end and getting lost in alcohol was a lot easier than being poor.

You seem to see this pattern unfold a lot when people have a lot of success at a very young age or even in those that have fleeting brushes with success such as a lottery win, inheritence or whatever. When their brief dance with money, fame, power or success comes to an end they are very often unable to cope and the thought of a life without the easy money is just too much for them.

I wasn't alive in 1929 but I'm sure that the great depression and stock market crash took its toll in reversals of fortune. Even today the current financial mess our country is in will claim its share of victems and those that can't cope often turn to drugs, alcohol or suicide.

There seems to just be something that changes in people once they have tasted wealth, It's hard to put into words but there is a change. Can anyone relate to what I'm saying or do you think I'm way off on this.

tellus

Do you guys know if there's a place to get full episodes online? I know Hulu doesn't have it.

BackToSquareOne

You Tube has them all, but they're broken up into parts. Just have to watch all the parts.

Taking5

Google "intervention a&e". They are all online by intervention themselves.

TryingSoHard

Actually A&E's site doesn't have ALL the episodes. There are A LOT but not all. YouTube has ALMOST every single one, but like someone else pointed out, they're broken into sections (usually 5 parts per episode). It's no big deal, though, and there are no commercials. I've never had any trouble watching the ones on YouTube. Oh yeah, and check your cable company's OnDemand listings, too, if you have that. A&E has a free OnDemand channel and there are some episodes of Intervention there as well.

I watched the "Lana" episode last night, too, after "Janet". A gallon of wine AND a half a bottle of vodka, plus Lortabs and Xanax. Every day. *sigh* When you see it like that, from an outsider's perspective, I don't know about you guys but it makes me say to myself, "What in the H#LL was I thinking?!?!" Turns my stomach, actually. It is so different to watch someone drinking than to BE the one drinking, ya know?

here4theflowers

I have been watching Intervention episodes via the iTunes app for my (windows) laptop, especially episodes that deal with alcohol. I want to show myself where I DON'T want to end up...actually dependent on alcohol, let alone a slew of personal problems worse than what my over-drinking has recently led to (mostly regret and money better spent elsewhere, which is bad enough). Janet really touched me. It was awful watching her oldest son (who, through most of the episode, I liked) dump out his mom's wine while holding a huge glass 40oz of none other than cheap, swill beer, of all things (it only would have been more ironic had it been Colt 45, I think, not that what we drink matters, it matters that we drink..or here, that we are no longer drinking, yay!) At any rate, he knows his mom goes into seizures just from trying to cut back and self-limit, to tell her it's as easy as choosing to drink water while doing things that can lead to her physical harm was mind-blowing, though perhaps it was youth, frustration, and ignorance speaking.

I hope she is still maintaining recovery, I tried finding more recent updates on her, but without success.

I am about to watch Lana's story now. I know I can drink too much before blacking out (a bottle and a half to nearly two of red wine, if I haven't been eating, which I frequently don't, another long addiction ((since age 9)) I have to tend to and which just adds onto my story so I'll stop for now and not derail things too much from topic at hand.)

The pain of so many of these addicts..the pain their families and friends experience, it's gut-wrenching.

But by grace go I....

I am thankful for an online support network, more grateful than I can express right now.

DayTrader

I used to get loaded, watch "those alcoholics" and marvel how they couldn't get their lives turned around.

A prime example of delusion rather than denial being my (and the folks on the show if they're real alkies) problem.

zjw

yeah been there myself.

Yeah ignorance is a funny thing. i've had those in my life lecture me on my smoking and drinking as if it was just so simple to quit this is normally from the ones that never had such issues. Now that I've cleaned up my act I'd love to turn the tables on these folks lecture them on there dietary and excercise needs and how they will likely die of heart disease from there poor choices. I'd like to tell them things like dont worry I'll take care of your kids after your dead like they told me. But I have more tact then they do so i just bite my tongue. They have the gall to say such things to us and treat us like we are the ignorant ones for its just so easy just drink water instead.

maddenign but i guess people are what they are.

silentrun

The Janet episode was a good one for me. This thread was started almost 4 years to the day before I figured it out. I didn't think about alcoholism back then. If I had seen the show in 09 I would have probably used it for proof of how different I was than an actual alcoholic. Now I can see it for what it is, my future if I mess around with booze any further. Her pain was oozing off her and I could totally relate to that. She seemed so trapped and hopeless and watching what her family went through was horrible. I hope she is still doing well.