kissthesky

hello, my name is liz and im an alcoholic. ive been fighting with this for many years now. i want to stop drinking but im scared im going to have a seziure. i stopped cold turkey last november and had a seziure, luckily my friends were there to call 911. i made it until april with only a drink or 2 between i started drinking again as an excuse to help deal with back pain. my doc has since prescribed my vicodin for the pain i now no longer want to drink. im done with it, im tired of being sick and feeling like crap and hurting my body. ive managed to keep my drinking just at night until recently. i see myself drinking earlier everyday. today i started shaking and having anxiety around noon. that scared me a lot! i knew the only thing to calm me down was to drink. and i did and i hated it. i want to ween myself off. i cant tell my doctor because he would take me off the vicodin and then i know i would use that as an excuse to drink again, just repeating the cycle. reason two is ive applied for disability, the drug and alcohol counsler i called today said that may effect my approval. we have no detox centers around here. i want to ween myself off safley and in the privecy of my own home. if i can just get past this first stage i can start attending AA and get my life back. can someone please help. thank you.

Zebra1275

Welcome.

Sorry, I'm not going to give you the advice you want to hear. You need to see a Doctor, especially since you've had seizure activity in the past. Withdrawal could kill you, or leave you with lifelong medical issues.

LLCY52

Hi Liz; If you have a history of seizures you may need a Dr. or a detox center to safely stop drinking. I know you are worried about the vicodin,but maybe you should consider stopping that as well....I'm sure the Dr. could find something else for pain control that is non-addicting.

Maybe others on these boards can give you more advice.

Hope I was able to help.
Lou

Dee74

Hi Liz

Welcome

My last detox I suffered several mini strokes - I will always carry around that legacy.

There's always a million reasons not to do something, even if it's the right, responsible thing ...but nothing is more important than your life.

Please do seek medical help.

D

Isaiah

Drugs and alcohol only affect disability if SS can prove or suspect that it's the source or a major cause of your disability. Just something to bear in mind.

Like the rest, not advice I could give even if I knew. Detoxing based off information on the internet is not safe. Like I wouldn't know what dose of alcohol you should take, for how long, I couldn't check your heart rate, and even weaning processes have not historically prevented DTs very well.

I can understand not wanting to maybe lose your vicodin with back pain present, but what are you giving up, what do you stand to lose by that decision?

ISPYSOBRIETY

Professional advice. Absolutely if you have regular seizures. A doctor could probably give you a heads up. But honestly, If you get down to one, two, three or even four drinks per day, it's hard to imagine someone going into a seizure by removing such a small amount of alcohol from the old system. Now if the drinker was regularly consuming half a fifth or more daily, that's a substantial amount denied. I'd ask the doctor for sure, then hell or high water, make it happen.

Supercrew

Liz, like you, I recently tried a home detox, and being that the last time I attempted it I was successful even though I was on the verge of the DT's. This time exactly a week ago it didn't go as well as I had planned, and I was prepared for what i thought was the worst. Long story short I was barely able to dial 911 as I realized this time was different and I had progressed to a much worse point than I ever imagined and I was alone at the time. See a doctor immediately tell them of your condition and what you are trying to accomplish. I thought it would be embarrassing and might hurt my insurance rates to admit to my doctor my problem, but it became much more embarassing and alot more expensive to have to have the fire dept. and the emt's pull up in front of my home and take me to the ER. I am lucky to be alive, and I truly underestimated the withdrawal I had to go through. I was stupid....don't be like me.

Supercrew

Although you might be giving "professional advice", everyone reacts differently. The first time I home detoxed I had been drinking for a much longer time period...years, and I was able to escape basically cold turkey, this time after only about month of regular drinking and trying to wean myself off the final 3 days the effects were much worse for me. So professionally speaking you may be correct, but I can tell you that it was not the case for me.

artsoul

Welcome kiss - I hope you put your health first and get some help detoxing. If I'm not mistaken, the chances are higher for a seizure if you've already had one.

Why not go to the ER? First things first, you know? I know it's hard to get up the courage, but that's what they're there for.

Whatever you do, we're here for you and I hope you keep posting.:ghug3

Ghostly

Welcome kiss. Lots of good advice here. Good luck.

Dee74

Just a reminder for everyone that we have an SR policy on medical advice.

None of us here know your clinical history or condition beyond what you've told us Liz.

With your history of seizures, again I really recommend you seek some professional guidance.

D

least

Welcome to the family! Please do see a doctor to be safe when going thru w/d. I hope you can detox safely and start living a rewarding sober life.