Forwards

Hello all,

I'm currently planning to taper off alcohol starting now. The last couple of times I did this I had seizures which hospitalised me and the most recent time my mental health (paranoid schizophrenia) deteriorated to the point where I was in hospital for six weeks. I need to avoid this happening again.

My alcohol counsellor has told me that once I'm down to 10 units per day (roughly one bottle of wine) I should be safe to stop entirely. I'm not so sure... I'm keen to make progress but as my consultant told me last time around I could have died...

Does anyone have any experience of this kind of thing please?

Thanks, Forwards.

Dee74

I would get a second opinion from a GP. Your alcohol counsellor is probably no more medically qualified that you or me, Forwards.

I'm sorry you're still drinking. I hope you work out what it is you need to do to make this time the last time.

This stuff can kill you.

D

tomsteve

read around here at how many TRIED to taper and couldnt. im not sure i can recall reading 1 that was successful, but ive read hundreds that werent.

and second what dee said. i find it hard to believe an alcohol counsellor would even be ok with tapering. it seems to me an alcohol counsellor that knows the severity would be getting a person medical help to detox.

Stayingsassy

If it’s that severe why not do inpatient detox so you can be monitored and medicated? Expensive and gets in the way of work and commitments I know, but safer than the other options.

least

See your doctor about getting medical help to get safely and comfortably thru withdrawal. Tapering rarely works. See your doctor for help.

ScottFromWI

Absolutely see a medical doctor first forwards. Based on your past, you would literally be risking your life without doing so.

BullDog777

yeah....don't do it. I tried for the better part of 4 years to no avail. I could get close, but every time I tried something bad happened and dragged back to hell.

Listen ...these are the most honest words I can write to you. Go check yourself in at the ER and let them do this.

My last taper, my neighbor found me on the sidewalk of my street half dead from withdrawal. I was in the hospital for the better part of 2 months. Be smart...leave this to the doctors.

Maudcat

My sib had a withdrawal related seizure several years ago that put him in hospital and medical detox.
He now has neurological damage, partly from the seizure, and also from his many years of alcohol abuse.
Proceed with caution.
Good luck.

Forwards

Thanks everyone for your replies. I must admit I'm deeply ashamed and embarrassed to be in this position again.

One option open to me is to use some family money to go in to private detox. This costs about £800 per day and if I was there for a fortnight it would set me back the best part of £12,000 which seems a lot.

Alternatively I could just build a computer model of my drinking in Excel and use that as a guideline to taper off. There is no reason (other than willpower) why this shouldn't work...

Medical advice might be helpful but frankly there is nothing I don't already know having been through this several times already. I can download a CIWA chart to track the withdrawals myself and borrow a blood pressure monitor if needed. I'm not drinking all that much (relatively) at the moment so it should be possible. It's just the risk of having another seizure which is putting me off.

Thanks, Forwards.

Dee74

With respect, I thought I knew everything too and I ended up having some mini strokes.

I'm not suggesting you'll have those too, but with kindling, no one can assume they're starting from the same baseline every time with detox.

If you've had seizures before I think it's doubly important you get some qualified medical advice. if not outright supervision.

D

BullDog777

how can you put these two ideas in the same post and not see the insanity of this illness in their direct contradiction?

in the end you're gonna do what you're gonna do. i had charts and taper schedules and i had done this hundreds of times.....every time would be different, but the out come was always the same.

i mean this sincerely and without conceit..good luck. maybe you're stronger, but i doubt it.

this illness, disease ...whatever you call it frustrates me to no end some days.

Forward12

With having severe withdrawal before, I think it would be in your best interest to seek a professional detox. I see it says you are from the UK and over there they seem to suggest the taper method for getting through the detox, though I would see what you could do to get an "american" style home detox with meds or inpatient would be even better.
Worst case scenario you can try a withdrawal taper, hopefully someone lives with you or be sure to have someone around in case things do go south to take you to the er.

Forwards

Thanks Dee and Bulldog,

I agree that there is contradiction in my posts. All part of the insanity I guess. Part of the problem is that I'm probably still in denial about the seriousness of my situation but I'm still hoping for the best.

My GP doctor won't help me (I've asked), my psych hospital won't admit for alcohol but I do have the support of a very good alcohol counsellor and psych home treatment team once a week.

I really don't want to go round the whole loop of hospitalisation again. ECG (normal), Blood pressure (normal), Liver function (mildly elevated), CIWA chart (predictable). The only thing they can do is give me diazepam or Librium to help and in the past I haven't needed much of them.

Onwards... Forwards.