STVoyager

I've been trying to just cut down on my drinking, but it seems like now I am an even worse butthead on the days I do drink. Then I lay around the next day feeling crappy for being mean to everyone. When the hangover finally wears off, I want to go out and get another fifth of whiskey. Today I'm going to try not to get that bottle.

In the past when I've tried to go cold turkey I couldn't sleep well and started taking some benadryl to try to at least get some sleep. I'm not sure if that's a bad idea or not. I've never heard of benadryl being addictive and I get so agitated when I don't sleep.

For now I'm brewing some iced tea and then I'm going to try to work on my garden to burn off some energy. Maybe I'll listen to some Marc Maron or Lovelines later on to try to motivate me to keep on a path to sobriety. I really don't want to go the AA path. But if I have to, maybe I will.

DisplacedGRITS

I went to my first AA meeting in a long time earlier today and it felt really good even though i'm not a Christian. Just having the community there was helpful. Getting out of the house and being around a sober community helped me. Try to not isolate yourself too much.

sugarbear1

Please see a doctor for safe withdrawal from alcohol, it can be deadly.

Welcome to SR!

STVoyager

Thanks for the welcomes. Unfortunately I don't have any insurance and money is tight due to being unemployed right now, so I'm not sure I can go to the doctor for a preventative visit. But I have heard how even a minor illness can turn deadly if you're in withdrawal. If I get sick, I'll definitely seek attention right away.

sugarbear1

Er's won't turn you down and a $5 payment (monthly) keeps the bill collectors away. Sometimes there's a low payment for those of us who aren't employed.

I wish you a safe detox!

TheRandomPotato

I would also recommend that you should seek medical help and/or advice from someone medically trained, call a help line or something, if you decide to go cold turkey. I drinked etremely heavy for 10 years and then decided to go cold turkey without any knowledge of what i was in for. 1 week after withdrawal i landed in the hosptial with severe anxiety panic attack, and it took me 2 days to recover from it. I dont wish that upon you. And alcohol as you know is the only drug out there that can actually kill you if you go cold turkey as it is so inbedded in your nerv system. If you do decide to go cold turkey, you need to start taing vitamins, eat fruit and veggies and drink lots of water, but everything in moderation, stay away from vaffeine and nictoine as it amplifies the withdrawal and be prepeared for weeks and maybe months of withdrawal issues. But everyone is different your withdrawal might not be severe but i wouldnt recommend that you take any chances.nStay safe and good luck :-)

DisplacedGRITS

The good thing about medical bills is that even small payments over a long period of time are accepted and won't result in a default. Just be safe. Seizures are scary and deadly.

instant

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Being where you are is a trap that can get more difficult with time. As for the substitution. I tired it many times really I was not getting to where I needed to be ie sober. Even if you do not go to AA read the big book, it is free online.

awuh1

I would suggest you work up a plan. People here have gotten sober with the help of a variety of different methods. Take a look at what worked for others (and what did not work) and choose a direction. Learn from the mistakes of others as well as what worked.

You can read a bit about AA here if you wish to investigate that as an option.
[Big Book On Line

2granddaughters

AA will welcome you with open arms, soon you will be asking yourself why you stayed away so long.

All the best.

Bob R

Dee74

There are free and low cost medical care options in a lot of places too STV

Free/Low-Cost/Sliding-Scale Clinics

I detoxed on my own without apparent ill effect for 20 years - but I'm still dealing with the lasting effects of my last detox in 07.

Noone knows what might happen - why not play it safe Voyager?

D

Anna

I hope you stay safe and seek medical help.

Peter G

It only takes one bad detox and your whole life changes. And that doesn't always come from the really bad binges. Sometimes it can happen after relatively trivial amounts of alcohol consumption, respective to your chronic condition of course.

Some of us have strokes and lose the use of our faculties forever. Others die, some will go blind, and some of us seize up so bad we can break bones that only surgeries can fix, which, relative to your concerns, is hella expensive - trust me on that. Some have our hearts stop and come so close to death that even the attending Doctor needs a Xanax after resuscitating us. You can trust me on that one also.

Then again, maybe you'll be lucky. Maybe.

An ER is required to admit and treat you no matter your financial shape. Even if they bill you, it's nothing that can break your bank. Insurance is not an issue. Heed our warnings please: Go down the road some of us have by detoxing at home alone, and look forward to potentially living the life of a disabled person for the rest of your life - if you survive at all. And don't let the active alcoholic logic fool you (If I get sick I'll call), when your body submits to a seizure there is no time and no conscious brain available to call 911. I'd add that by the time you seize up it's entirely possible the bus and paramedics won't arrive on time to stop some very permanent damage.

If you are lucky, this isn't the one that gets ya, and if that's a chance you're willing to take I can only say good luck, and advise that you try and have someone there to look out for you with 911 on the speed dial. Personally I'll never risk my life like that - ever again. Skydivers jump out of planes all the time mate, but they always have a reserve chute ready. Doing a home alone detox is like jumping without that reserve.