joey8262

hi folks-am back-fell good and proper-havent had a sober day in god knows how long-my g.p prescribed me librium-starting with 40mg and decreasing by 5mg each day-the problem being-it's just not doing the job

I have had some bad mental health issues lately-to the point where i tried to overdose-everything just got to me, so the mental health workers have referred me to a clinic for detox as a matter of urgency

I spoke to the clinic today to see how my referral was going-only to be told that there is AT LEAST a 3 month waiting list-whilst on the phone with male nurse(actually the nurse in charge of the detox ward)and explained how i was feeling-he was amazed that i'd been given such a low dose given the fact that i've been a hardened drinker for 20+ years-his opinion is that I should be on 25mg caps 6 times a day,for the first few days-then gradual reduction-he's recommended that i go back to g.p tomorrow and ask him for increased dosage-rather than having to wait 3 months to deal with it.

I don't know the effects such an increase is going to have on me-but i'm wasting my time at the moment-am down to 15mg today and 10mg tomorrow-and it's having absolutely no effect at all on stopping the cravings and shakes etc.has anyone had any experience with dosage increases etc-just so i have some sort of idea what to expect.

Peta

Hey Joey

Thanks for posting - its good to see you are wanting to get sober

I cant really comment much on the drug issue - all I can say is that I have over 8 months sober and I too had a real desire to get sober after trying and trying for years and years (had one period of sobriety for over a year but then started drinking again)

I'm not saying AA works for everyone because I know there are people who get sober without it and there are other issues to contend with (genuine mental health imbalances require medication etc) but from my experience and those around me i've seen in the program (hardened drinkers of over 30 years getting sober) its the only thing that has truly worked for me

Looking forward to watching your journey

CarolD

Let me remind everyone.....we are not allowed to give advice
on meds or medical issues. Thanks.

Welcome back ..I certainly hope this will be your time for sobriety

SSIL75

Welcome back Joey. You popped into my head the other day. Sorry to hear you relapsed.

IDK about librium dosage, etc. Just wanted to say hi and I hope you and your son see better days soon.

joey8262

thanks ssil-as you know i had a lot of problems with my ex-partner, to the point now where i have had to take a non-molestation order(injunction) out just to keep her away from me-but the things she was doing really sent me over the edge-i tried suicide but that didnt work-the only thing that got me was 6 police officers coming for me and taking me away-i actually ended up in the a+e under police guard-it was only until i had the mental heath team assess me(12 hours later)-and a psychiatrist evaluating me as to whether i should be sectioned or not-that the grim reality hit home-I done the a.a thing but due to my issues i wasn't comfortable in the surroundings-i was going to afternoon meetings with the best of intentions-and then upon leaving-the church where i was going-has a "bargain booze" sort of place directly opposite !!!! not exactly easy to walk past at the best of times-but when you go to a meeting and you think-"i've done well-i'll just have one last drink-it's only cheap and i can control it" it just puts everything back to square one

sorry for the rant and thanks for the welcome back guys.

Dee74

Welcome back J

Surely there must be a way for you to get a second opinion from somewhere?
I'd definitely want professional advice about this

Liverpool has a fairly active support network for alcoholics from what I read...ther seems to be a lot of initiatives?

I'd really use everything I could find right now J.

D

joey8262

there is dee-but accessing it has become a bit harder lately-i was due to soo a place called addactions-2 days before my appointmend i got a phone call cancelling session as government funding cuts mean they've had to close down

thats when i went to gp to check on progress of referral-and he told me i hadn;t even been referred-by neither of 2 gp's that i see, or the mental health workers, who assured me they would try and fast-track the clinic admission-and the same, no referral from them either.

Dee74

Keep hassling folks J - sometimes its the only way to get the wheels to turn.

and the addactions site looks up... and current....so it might be worthwhile contacting them again if only to see if they can lead you somewhere else?

Homepage - Addaction
D

laurie6781

Good to see you back Joey!!!!!

Please check with the Salvation Army over there. I know here they have a GREAT FREE program and I do believe they run it also in England, but not sure if it is in all cities or just in London. No harm in calling and asking.

As Dee said, keep 'bugging' them. There is a saying here in the states: "the squeeky wheel gets the grease." Thus the more you 'bug' folks the sooner they will try and find something for you just to get you to stop 'bugging' them, lol

In the meantime, please keep posting, as we do care how YOU are doing and are here for you.

Love and hugs,

joey8262

i was waiting to go to addactions but when i went to gp for meds last week he told me that their funding had been cut-i don;t know if they're just running for existing clients-but my gp has said they're not taking any new cases due to funding cuts as i say.

joey8262

update-have been back to see my g.p this morning who agreed that instead of having a med course being reduced day by day, it would be a better situation for me to stick to a regular dose(30mg daily librium), i rang detox clinic back when i got in and they still had no referral from g.p or shrink etc-they got in touch with g.p and he faxed referral there and then for me-they called back and told me 4 weeks before i can go in, which, given i've got 20+ years of drinking under my belt-isn't that long to wait-finally things might be moving forward-i just hope g.p will maintain meds until i do get into detox.

OklaBH

Glad you are staying on it! Like someone else mentioned "the squeeky wheel gets the oil" you are doing a great thing for your health/life by being diigent! Good job!

artsoul

I'm so glad you talked to them..... the health care system is maddening, even here in the US where you pay a boatload...... Keep hanging in there and using SR. Each day is one step closer to a better life.:ghug3

joey8262

diligent ??? no-i basically harassed the a$$ off of them until they done something about it-why should i be left to rot and end up in an early grave ?-imo thats what these people are there for-to help-it took for me to get so angry with myself through banging my head against the proverbial brick wall-to stand up and basically say-until you sort something out then i'm going to be on your doorstep every day and i won't give in-thats the level of frustration i had built up inside me over time-ok, i suppose the attitude may have been wrong-BUT it got me the result i've been trying to get for the last god knows how many years-there's a saying-"persistence overcomes resistance" well i'm living proof of that now-and i'm pretty damn proud that i DID stand my ground-even if the poor doctor is sick of the sight of me !!!! every day

MrDavid

Welcome back...