our detox experience
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: San Jose CA
Posts: 3
our detox experience
Hello dear friends. I am not an alcoholic, I am mother of alcoholic son and I would like to share with you our detox experience in hope it will help others.
My post will be long and I apologize in advance for my English, it is not my native language. I do my best to describe what happened to us .
Feel free to ask any questions if my writing will be confused.
We have 28 years old son who is an alcoholic. I am not sure how many years he has been drinking even he lives with us. He hided very well, until last year when it went out of control and he got 2 DUI's and lost two great paid jobs. He worked as IT engineer and made good money.
To make long story short , I found a program to call MyLifeRecovery center that inserting naltrexone implant to help addicts to stop drinking. Treatment cost 18k, I know it is pricy, but I thought if it will save my son's life - i will do it.
I told my son about this program, and of course he made fun of me and said he is fine and if he wants, he can stop drinking any time. Blah- blah...We gave him condition- he is going to treatment or he is out of the house. Day after Christmas he left the house and told us he is moving to his friends house. All next month we were texting each other to make sure everything is OK. A week ago, at 3am I got a text from him :" I don't want to lie, I am homeless now and Its very cold outside can I come back home" My husband ran and brought him back home. When he came home he looked miserable and dirty. He slept for a couple of ours and then told us he wants to stop drinking and agree to get an implant. Immediately I cold MyLife Recovery center and made an appointment. Day later we went there to sign up for treatment. People are great - Beverly, Travis, Michael were very kind and helpful. My only concern was ( i didn't say anything to them) - where i the medical doctor? Next day we came back to sign papers and made a payment for the procedure. He had his blood test and RX for medications that he needed to take to help him detox. Still didn't get to see a doctor. They explain to me he will meet doctor during the surgery when doctor will put implant under the skin. I told my self - great, googled the doctor. He is a plastic surgeon. Hmmm...
Sounds strange. But we decided to continue. Our son was very happy and determined to start the treatment . We went to the pharmacy and got his medication. It was Gabapentin, chlordiazepoxide and lorazepam. Instruction on the bottles were written, but not very clear to me. For example on chlordiazepoxide said : take one capsule every day as needed for anxiety.
We started, he took all medication as they were prescribed and 2 hours later he started hallucinating. I googled "alcohol withdrawal " and saw that it is expected . O well... I decided to wait and didn't go to sleep. I stayed with him that night . That was so scary!!! He was hearing voices, hunting some creatures, moving furniture and so on. Around 3am I fail a sleep for a min on a couch and walk because he was talking loud on the phone with police telling them to come to our house because people were attacking us. That night was a heal!! At the morning I decided to call my daughter ( his sister ) and my nice - they both medical doctor and tell them what is going on. They both were so mad at me!! They screamed - take him immediately to ER. He might die . OMG. We didn't know how to convince him go to the hospital, but to our surprise he went. He was so disoriented . He was admitted to the hospital immediately. Later that night, i talked to his doctor and she told : never ever do it without doctors supervision. It is very dangerous.
Seizures can start any time and heart can stop. My nice also said she always has couple of patients at the hospital who are going through detox. They have very strict protocol IV and watch those patients very closely. She said it is very serious and die .
Sorry for the long post. I just thought my experience will be useful and can help people who needed. Reading this forum gave me great support and I wanted to share my story with you guys.
I am going to visit my son now, hopefully he will recognize me today ;-(
Take care you all!
My post will be long and I apologize in advance for my English, it is not my native language. I do my best to describe what happened to us .
Feel free to ask any questions if my writing will be confused.
We have 28 years old son who is an alcoholic. I am not sure how many years he has been drinking even he lives with us. He hided very well, until last year when it went out of control and he got 2 DUI's and lost two great paid jobs. He worked as IT engineer and made good money.
To make long story short , I found a program to call MyLifeRecovery center that inserting naltrexone implant to help addicts to stop drinking. Treatment cost 18k, I know it is pricy, but I thought if it will save my son's life - i will do it.
I told my son about this program, and of course he made fun of me and said he is fine and if he wants, he can stop drinking any time. Blah- blah...We gave him condition- he is going to treatment or he is out of the house. Day after Christmas he left the house and told us he is moving to his friends house. All next month we were texting each other to make sure everything is OK. A week ago, at 3am I got a text from him :" I don't want to lie, I am homeless now and Its very cold outside can I come back home" My husband ran and brought him back home. When he came home he looked miserable and dirty. He slept for a couple of ours and then told us he wants to stop drinking and agree to get an implant. Immediately I cold MyLife Recovery center and made an appointment. Day later we went there to sign up for treatment. People are great - Beverly, Travis, Michael were very kind and helpful. My only concern was ( i didn't say anything to them) - where i the medical doctor? Next day we came back to sign papers and made a payment for the procedure. He had his blood test and RX for medications that he needed to take to help him detox. Still didn't get to see a doctor. They explain to me he will meet doctor during the surgery when doctor will put implant under the skin. I told my self - great, googled the doctor. He is a plastic surgeon. Hmmm...
Sounds strange. But we decided to continue. Our son was very happy and determined to start the treatment . We went to the pharmacy and got his medication. It was Gabapentin, chlordiazepoxide and lorazepam. Instruction on the bottles were written, but not very clear to me. For example on chlordiazepoxide said : take one capsule every day as needed for anxiety.
We started, he took all medication as they were prescribed and 2 hours later he started hallucinating. I googled "alcohol withdrawal " and saw that it is expected . O well... I decided to wait and didn't go to sleep. I stayed with him that night . That was so scary!!! He was hearing voices, hunting some creatures, moving furniture and so on. Around 3am I fail a sleep for a min on a couch and walk because he was talking loud on the phone with police telling them to come to our house because people were attacking us. That night was a heal!! At the morning I decided to call my daughter ( his sister ) and my nice - they both medical doctor and tell them what is going on. They both were so mad at me!! They screamed - take him immediately to ER. He might die . OMG. We didn't know how to convince him go to the hospital, but to our surprise he went. He was so disoriented . He was admitted to the hospital immediately. Later that night, i talked to his doctor and she told : never ever do it without doctors supervision. It is very dangerous.
Seizures can start any time and heart can stop. My nice also said she always has couple of patients at the hospital who are going through detox. They have very strict protocol IV and watch those patients very closely. She said it is very serious and die .
Sorry for the long post. I just thought my experience will be useful and can help people who needed. Reading this forum gave me great support and I wanted to share my story with you guys.
I am going to visit my son now, hopefully he will recognize me today ;-(
Take care you all!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 82
First and foremost, my thoughts are with you and your son. This was eerie to read; a few years ago I moved back to my home state to live with my Mom for a while and start over. She quickly caught on to the fact that my daily vodka drinking was taking over. I quit cold turky. I remember hallucinating people and things, and pcaking up my stuff to move to my mom's where I already was. I spent a few days in the ICU. I wish I had stopped then, it wasn't until a year after I went to rehab, and even after that, I have had spurts of drinking. Something clicked this last summer and my last drink was over six months ago. I lost a few years there due to how powerful this addiction is. I'm not aiming to scare you, just my story. Please urge your son the importance of what just happened. Life is much better now. My best to you and your family.
You can have reasons, or you can have results, but you can't have both.
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 1,232
I'm glad your son is getting medical help now!
I suffered a seizure when I tried to quit alcohol without medical help. It's very real and very dangerous.
A lot of people don't understand that someone who has been drinking heavily needs medical help at first. Once they are safely off the alcohol, then they can start to work on their addiction. But medical comes first.
I suffered a seizure when I tried to quit alcohol without medical help. It's very real and very dangerous.
A lot of people don't understand that someone who has been drinking heavily needs medical help at first. Once they are safely off the alcohol, then they can start to work on their addiction. But medical comes first.
now's the time
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 2,181
What a frightening experience for you. 
My mother saw some scary stuff too with me. We put our families through a lot. And that "treatment" center put you through a lot too! How awful that they would just send someone off with no information, just prescriptions.
I'm glad your son is getting help and hope you're getting support too. You're doing your best in a really terrible situation. People like me and your son are so lucky to have the support of our families.
My mother saw some scary stuff too with me. We put our families through a lot. And that "treatment" center put you through a lot too! How awful that they would just send someone off with no information, just prescriptions.I'm glad your son is getting help and hope you're getting support too. You're doing your best in a really terrible situation. People like me and your son are so lucky to have the support of our families.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: San Jose CA
Posts: 3
Thank you all for the kind words. I really appreciate it. Just want to give you an update on my son.
He was transferred from the ICU to the regular room at the hospital He is doing much better , but still kind of out of his mind. Doesn't really understand where he is and what happened to him.
I am getting disappointed with place that are going to insert Naltrexone implant.
Why didn't they tell me about how dangerous is alcoholic withdrawal ? He could have died. This is what i was told at the hospital. Instead, they just prescribed those pills. But these pills should be given under doctor's supervision. Patient should be evaluated every hour or so and dosage should be adjusted based on his condition. I just find out that withdrawal from alcohol is very dangerous and can be deadly . Looks like they just cared to get my money? Why did they completely neglected the first important part - detox? I couldn't get hold of them today. I will call tomorrow and see if they have any doctor to talk to.
I understand they are doing business , but what about people? Very upset.
He was transferred from the ICU to the regular room at the hospital He is doing much better , but still kind of out of his mind. Doesn't really understand where he is and what happened to him.
I am getting disappointed with place that are going to insert Naltrexone implant.
Why didn't they tell me about how dangerous is alcoholic withdrawal ? He could have died. This is what i was told at the hospital. Instead, they just prescribed those pills. But these pills should be given under doctor's supervision. Patient should be evaluated every hour or so and dosage should be adjusted based on his condition. I just find out that withdrawal from alcohol is very dangerous and can be deadly . Looks like they just cared to get my money? Why did they completely neglected the first important part - detox? I couldn't get hold of them today. I will call tomorrow and see if they have any doctor to talk to.
I understand they are doing business , but what about people? Very upset.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 359
Thank you for sharing this with us Hope - I cannot imagine what you are going through and how painful and frightening it must be.
Please before continuing with the place you wanted to take your son for treatment ask the doctor treating him now what he/she thinks or recommends. Maybe he can recommend a better treatment facility or plan - have you already paid for the full treatment at the other place? I don't think that it is legitimate and if it I don't think the staff has enough experience to help your family with what you are going through.
Also you mentioned your niece is in the medical field, maybe she can help advise you on treatment plans or places that she is familiar with that are more experienced than the one you are already looking into.
Good luck and please keep us updated on your sons recovery, I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and best wishes for a safe recovery
Please before continuing with the place you wanted to take your son for treatment ask the doctor treating him now what he/she thinks or recommends. Maybe he can recommend a better treatment facility or plan - have you already paid for the full treatment at the other place? I don't think that it is legitimate and if it I don't think the staff has enough experience to help your family with what you are going through.
Also you mentioned your niece is in the medical field, maybe she can help advise you on treatment plans or places that she is familiar with that are more experienced than the one you are already looking into.
Good luck and please keep us updated on your sons recovery, I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and best wishes for a safe recovery
Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 1,601
So glad you brought him to the hospital.
I tried to detox at home once. It was not pretty.
I had a seizure and slammed my head against the side of the coffee table.
I had hallucinations and was hearing voices.
The last time I went to the hospital. When I was admitted my blood pressure was 165/115 and my pulse was 155 beats per minute. I needed medical attention badly! Detox is brutal and can and does kill people!
I tried to detox at home once. It was not pretty.
I had a seizure and slammed my head against the side of the coffee table.
I had hallucinations and was hearing voices.
The last time I went to the hospital. When I was admitted my blood pressure was 165/115 and my pulse was 155 beats per minute. I needed medical attention badly! Detox is brutal and can and does kill people!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: San Jose CA
Posts: 3
Hello all. Yesterday our son was discharged from the hospital and we brought him home. He was cleared by psychiatrist for tomorrow procedure( Naltrexone implant). Doctor said it's a good idea for our son to get implant. He thinks it should help. Will see. I will post an update after he will get implant.
Thank you all for your support.
Thank you all for your support.
now's the time
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 2,181
Hope, the implant is a serious decision as I understand it. These doctors seem untrustworthy. Are you sure you and your son have all the information you need? I know similar implants for opiates can have very serious side effects and consequences if the person relapses... I don't know if its the same with alcohol.
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