Tony88

I recently joined here, I had a thread this week about my story and drinking career. I had lost's of support on here and telling me things would get better of I quit drinking.

Here's the thing besides not having the will power to quit, I'm wondering if I need medical attention. Just quitting can be bad from research. Ive been drinking a 18 pack or more for at least three years, that's daily btw. I know you guys can't give medical advice but from some of your guy's knowledge, your thoughts??

Dee74

My recommendation is always get some professional medical advice - detox can be rough for some of us....I think it's even more important if you've been a heavy daily drinker for some time.

D

ReadyAndAble

Hi, Tony.

Withdrawals can be dangerous in some cases, warranting a medically supervised detox. But you don't care about some cases; you care about your case. So why not talk to your doctor? He would be in the best position to evaluate you and help you reach your own conclusion.

I'm glad you're taking steps to quit. Because the risks of detox pale compared to the risks of continuing to drink 18+ beers a day.

instant

A family member had a medically controlled home detox earlier this year. It went well..........apart from the return to drinking "in moderation" after a couple of months.

I decided if I ever go back and want to quit I will go the medical road. I hope it would stop me putting it off due the fear of the cold dread.

IndaMiricale

Hey Tony welcome

I drank like that easily and i highly highly recommend seeing a doctor to detox.

Everyone is different but i was foolish enough to once stop cold turkey at home which was torture. and once in county jail where dt's got so bad i wound up in the ICU.

Be safe and get through it for you will never have to again.

Squizz

Unless someone here amongst us is a doctor, I'd strongly advise you to seek medical advise. Detoxing is extremely stressful on the body, and not something to be taken lightly.

Good luck none the less!

soberwingz

I agree. See a doctor. Detox can be a huge wild card in that everyone is different.

Good job on deciding to get some help. Keep us posted.

coming_clean

i'm no doctor....

in case of alcohol detox I guess it's wise to check...

SadRN

I'm NOT giving medical advice- But as a nurse, I've had many patients admitted to physically detox. Most of them are given round the clock medication to knock out the physical symptoms, as well as "as needed" meds for breakthrough symptoms. I had a detox MD tell me he'd prefer his patients well medicated- it's less of a stress on the body. Seizures are not fun! I always thought the "after discharge" portion was the hardest. The mental issues are much tougher, IMHO. Good luck, keep us posted.

Tony88

How do you guys feel about trying to slowly cut back?

Squizz

Quite frankly, I've been trying that approach since March 3rd/2006.

Hasn't worked out too well for me.

ReadyAndAble

Tony, play it safe. Get professional advice. No one here even knows your age, much less your blood pressure.

Dee74

I tried slowly cutting back for 20 years Tony. Never worked.

My whole problem was I couldn't control myself where alcohol was concerned.
How could I hope to manage cutting back?

D

Peter G

It doesn't work for me, and it never seemed to work for a whopping 100% of the problem drinkers I've met in my life. For me, "cutting back" is also closely related to a few other great quitting epiphanies... "I'll just have one more bottle", and "I'll quit next week". I'd say cutting back makes perfect sense in theory but is entirely useless in practice.

If you're worried about how gross it will feel to come off your drinking habit, do it at a detox facility. A medical detox is truly not as ominous as many think they are, in fact detoxing under doctor's supervision makes the process a lot less painful. And as you've heard already, doing it on your own puts your life at risk.