localo

okay let me just say - i have experienced every withdrawal symptom that has been written in medical books or articles... from minor things like the sweats to DTs and hallucinations. BUT i'm on day 4 of my detox and the most unbearable thing i've dealt with are sleep disturbances. severe insomnia. SEVERE.

but last night something weird happened. i woke up, in sweats and i had that "pins and needles" tingly feeling all over and my hands and feet were INVOLUNTARILY moving or like - hopping. it's still kind of happening. also, the pins and needles almost feel like pinching. has anyone ever experienced this?

localo

i realize this sounds nutzo... but it feels like my nerves are going loopy. my withdrawals never lasted this long before.

Uninvited

I think you should go to the ER. Please make sure you have the help you need to be safe.

jaynie04

Detox can be a very tricky thing, it is not something to guess about, and there are ways to do it safely. I would really encourage you to go to the ER.

losteverything

Hello.. I am sorry you are going through these traumatic feelings and sensations. I am certain more people will chime in, but I wanted to suggest to you that you dont hesitate to go to Emergency Health Services or your doctor and get yourself checked out.. at least they can alleviate any fears you might have.. detox can be deadly, sorry... Since you have detoxed before, you may be subject to Kindling, or increased withdrawals because of previous detoxes. Good luck, and welcome to SR a great support site.

localo

thanks for all the replies. i've been hesitant to go to the ER because i'm certain they'll admit me and then my family will for SURE know i had been drinking.

i'm going in tomorrow morning, i called my mother and she's going to take me before she heads to church. i'm so tempted to drink tonight and check myself into detox tomorrow.

booze brings me to my knees every time.

foolsgold66

Yes, these have been reported as withdrawal symptoms, detoxing without REAL medical advice\help can be dangerous.

ERS are less likely to admit you than you think, make the trip.

localo

and the ONLY reason i would pick up right now is because i'm a mess and scared of seizing up.

foolsgold66

I wouldn't believe yourself about that. Visit the ER.

localo

i don't have a way of getting there. i have NO insurance for the ambulance. if i drink now will i be ok until tomorrow?

MemphisBlues

Mate, at four days you could be at the end of detox or you could be at the beginning of some potentially serious issues. I really would seek medical advice at this point. You probably need some hydration and potentially some medication that will ease your symptoms, see you through the scary, final stages of withdrawal and avoid some pretty serious consequences such as a seizure.

Picking up right now might seem like the sensible thing to do to prevent complications but it is only going to make the next withdrawal much worse -- if there is a next one.

Get some help. Please.

longbeachone

Why keep extending this nightmare by drinking today? Unless you enjoy feeling like absolute sh*t, suffering, shaking, jumping, not sleeping, all of the wonderful things that go along with drinking. You certainly know that if you drink you might have twenty minutes, an hour of relief. This will followed by another long, dreary episode of shame, sickness, humiliation. So just try to suck it up, walk it off and just for today, say no.

It's not impossible, it is within your capacity to do this. Watch something you really like on tv. Try to take a walk, it must be a beautiful Fall day there in Boston. Think long and hard about how good it's going to feel when you are finally free from these chains, and try to realize that with every sober minute that ticks by, you are dropping links off of those chains!

MemphisBlues

OK. Just saw that you drank. Did that ease the symptoms? Where do you live? Can someone drive you tot he ER? They have to treat you if you are in the states. And I'm not sure if this is the time to be worrying about insurance.

There are many free detox and rehab facilities out there. They may not be the prettiest, but neither is end-state alcoholism.

Uninvited

Your message confuses me. You can't go to the ER now cause your family would find out, but your mother will drive you there in the morning? Huh? Please don't put yourself at further risk by delaying seeking medical attention. Avoiding a little more debt to the ambulance company is not worth dying over.

MemphisBlues

This might be a place to start:

Massachusetts Substance Abuse Helpline

localo

i should have specified

my mother and stepfather live about an hour away from me are both HEAVY, HEAVY drinkers but don't understand the concept of alcoholism. i spent the entirety of my sophomore year watching my mom crawl from the couch to the floor to her bed every night because of her nightly cocktail of xanax and wine. i simply told her i didn't feel "right" and that i was "shaky" for no apparent reason.

my father and my stepmother (who basically have stopped talking to me because of my alcoholism) live in NYC. if they, or my siblings found out i'd relapsed... well, that would be the absolute end of those relationships.

KDBnSLC

Do you have a friend or neighbor who could take you to the ER. Sorry for being so blunt but you can die from this. Please take a cab or some other means and get to the hospital. Now.

Tamerua

I think they would be more upset if you were to have something grave happen to you from detoxing alone, no? You don't need money right away for an ambulance, they can bill you. That isn't ideal but it could help.

Take care of yourself.

EndGameNYC

Sounds like the end of the relationship already happened, but you haven't gotten the memo yet.

Your comments are virtually the same as so many other people here who would rather risk severe health problems, even death, than let their families/friends/employers know what's going on. Embarrassment trumps putting your mortality to the test. Some of these folks were lucky; some were never heard from again.

It's like trying to talk someone down from the ledge on the twelfth floor of a building. "I can't come back in now. My parents will know, and that will be the end of it." True. And if you jump, you'll never have to deal with their reaction to your being suicidal. A no-brainer, right?

Your thinking is the epitome of untreated alcoholism. Death is preferable to temporary and overblown shame. So, you gonna jump, or you gonna come back inside and get some help?

MemphisBlues

Have you ever received medical help before either for detox or treatment? If not, this could be your bottom. You don't have to go through this again.

My bottom was pretty nasty, with an ambulance ride and 10 days in the hospital. There was an overwhelming since of relief when I woke up in the hospital.

You can be done with this. I know you have family issues, but I wonder if it really will be that big of a surprise to them to find out you are drinking.

What might me a huge pleasant surprise is your reaching out for help and telling them this is it, this is the last time, this time you are going to do the responsible thing to end this cycle of insanity.

SO you are drinking today. Did that east the symptoms? I would start building a big plan around tomorrow and how to get medical help for your last detox. And I;d go easy on the booze while I was doing it.