littlebrr

Hi All,

Brief background - my mom stopped drinking last Saturday after consuming three gallons of vodka in five days (she binges a lot). Tuesday night (Weds. morning I guess) at 2 am she called the police (four times) because "two men" broke into my step-dad's house and began torturing her (DTs). Needless to say, the police came out and there was no one there and no sign that anyone had done any bodily harm to her or any physical damage to her house.

Wednesday afternoon, she went to the ER and while there, was hallucinating that she was teaching a daycare class (she taught daycare almost 30 years ago) and was driving (her hospital bed) around amoung other things. I got a call at 2 am from her nurse saying she was being combative, tried to break a nurses arm, would not stay in bed, etc. so they had to tie her down. It was unreal and quite frankly, one of the scariest things I've ever seen.

She was admitted to the hospital because she was tachycardiac, her potassium and magnesium levels were low, she was dehydrated, etc. She was released yesterday and her doctor said she was not to be left alone because she is too weak and needed help. It was decided that she would go back to my step-dad's house. Prior to her release she was very scared to go back to his house for fear of the two men breaking in again and torturing her.

He cannot go and stay at her house because she has a two-story and he cannot go up and down stairs due to a recent surgery. I offered for her to come here and stay with me, but she declined. So, she had no other choice but to go to his house.

So, my question is this: How do we handle the subject of the two men breaking into the house? If we tell her it wasn't real, she gets upset because we think "she's crazy". But, on the other hand, it can't be healthy for her to continue to believe this stuff because it feeds into her anxiety and fearfulness. Will it do her harm to continue to believe that it was real? Do we just agree to disagree? I'd appreciate any thoughts you can share on this one.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I am enjoying cleaning my house and doing things for ME instead of being at the hospital. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

ItsmeAlice

Are there other psychological factors involved here? Or is this all related to her sudden withdrawal from alcohol? I ask this honestly because I have no experience with DTs beyond very mild symptoms in my ABF, and even then medical advice was to admit him for detox.

I guess I am surprised that she was just released to her own devices when she had to be restrained by medical personnel. Even though she was sent where she could be "supervised," it is not by trained caregivers and it's by someone with limited mobility at the moment.

My thought would be to consult somone with professional experience with detox and mental health on the hallucinations issues. I can't imagine that going along with this kind of hallucination would be healthy. If she believed she was the Queen of France where's the harm, but she's involving the police and could do harm to herself "escaping" from the attacks she believes are occurring.


I am delighted you are focusing on what you truly CAN change, and that is you and your surroundings. HAPPY HOUSEKEEPING!

Alice

Bernadette

Tell her the truth. That's all you can do. Whether she chooses to believe it or not is out of your hands. The men bfeaking into the house wasn't "real" but the experience of the hallucination was real.

So tell her she is not "crazy" but the men breaking into the house was a hallucination brought on by alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal causes serious neurotoxic side effects. Hallucinations are just one of those possible side-effects. The police confirm that it was a hallucination and the medical community can confirm that it was caused by alcohol withdrawal.

What's her plan for follow up treatment? How does she get her alcohol? Who provides the money and means of acquiring it?

I hope she accepts the help she needs to get healthy!

How are YOU doing littlebrr? It's a very stressful situation and you need to take care of yourself. Your mother has to choose recovery and sobriety for herself - she may or may not. You also can choose whether to get wrapped up in the drama or find your peaceful path towards pursuing your goals and your healthy life.

Good luck--
peace,
b

steve11694

To me it seems getting away from alcohol is the issue at hand. as long as she continues to drink she will continue to have problems. Trying to reason with an active alcoholic that has been delusional, etc is futile.

alcohol has pickled her brain and until it is removed from the equation do not expect logic/reason to apply.

my heart goes out to her, you, and your family. i say this as someone that has had an alcoholic loved one tell me on the phone that she has seen me following her in addition to seeing my car parked near bars she frequents. the only catch is i had been 6000 miles away when she perceived/imagined/hallucinated these events, and if i may add, probably without DT's.

Seren

I'm very glad to hear that she at least went to the hospital. Withdrawal from alcohol can be very dangerous. My fiance's AS was taken to the ER by his family after months of drinking himself to death in his room. He thought there were spies everywhere, spiders crawling on the walls, and reruns of old TV shows playing on the walls of his hospital room.

This will continue to happen each time she comes out of such a binge. Unless and until she hits her bottom, there is not much you can do. You should not feel responsible for her calling the police. I have no idea what they will do if this continues, but at least the hallucinations will pass after a few days.

Hugs and prayers coming your way! I hope things will settle down very soon!!

HG