Grendhar

I went to my dr and during the visit I told her I didn't plan on drinking that night and while she was happy to hear that she scared me about the dangers of alcohol withdrawal.

I have been drinking 2 40oz beers a night for a year or so ... sometimes more on the weekends but rarely more than 2 40z ..

If I quit without a detox could I be making a bad choice?

I work and I just want to be done with this ... but now I am scared.

Thanks in advance.

Grendhar

Saw in another thread that medical advice is not allowed .. but what about just honest opinions .. like if you were in my exact situation if you'd personally be worried about withdrawals ..

I won't take it as gold.. I promise .. but I would like to know what other drinkers/former drinkers think ..

damascus1986

i checked myself into a hospital when i was coming off opiates. they had a detox program there were ppl coming off alcohol in the same room as me. I will say that was one ofhte less sever withdrawls of my life compared to many other times i tried to quit or ran out of drugs. After detox i went straight to rehab the program worked for me.

Anna

No one can guess for you. We all react differently.

Talking to your dr is the only way to be safe, because, yes detoxing from alcohol can be dangerous.

Ninjaturtle

Everyone is different. your doctor didn't offer you any medication to help you? You should call back and ask if your worried. Just be honest. There's alot of stuff the docs can help you with. Not a smart idea to go it alone.

damascus1986

What they said , just remeber theres nothing wrong with getting help from as many ppl that are willing to help you through this. we do this thing together

Chewy88

don't be scared

be BRAVE

ScottFromWI

The amount isn't always a true indicator of how bad your WD's will be, but if you are drinking 2 40's a night that's at least 6 or 7 units of alcohol, maybe even more if it's a high-alcohol malt liquor/high gravity beer. By most accounts that means that you are binge drinking every day, so your body most likely isn't going to like it too much if you take it all away at once.

You said that you told your doctor that you planned on quitting - did she give you and advice as to how to handle it?

Grendhar

My dr just said to call the drs office if I started experiencing bad symptoms .. i have a job that i've already messed around with too much due to my drinking .. luckily im still there .. can't exactly leave for a week to go to a detox.

But also don't want to die lol....

ScottFromWI

I'd take your doctors advice then - try to drink lots of water and eat good foods if you can, and rest if possible. Make sure someone close to you knows what you are doing so that they can call for help should you not be able to do so on your own.

I personally quit Cold turkey before ( also a heavy beer drinker ) and once ended up in the ER, I literally thought I was having a heart attack. It turned out not to be the case and was most likely just anxiety from the WDs' but I needed help.

damascus1986

i agree death is bad. I personally didnt start with anything,no phone no job, no car , no self respect and the hospital visits were getting closer and closer together. i can't speak on alcohol withdrawls and its very true everyone is different. At the time getting sober was the only thing i could do. what jobs i had i was just working to use.

MrLofg0029

Yes, you could be making a bad choice.

I might be alone in suggesting this, but you might consider holding onto a quantity of alcohol, preferably entrusting it to someone familiar with the situation, should you experience severe withdrawal.

I quit without a detox a number of times. It was not enjoyable and I never stayed sober, long term.

The last time, I went to a detox on a Friday (I called in sick, for the last time) and was discharged on Sunday. I have stayed quit since.

I was in the exact same scenario! With hindsight, I realize that I was much closer to losing my job than I'd realized. Had I not gone for medical detox, I've no reason to assume I'd be sober today and that my subpar performance wouldn't have persisted, culminating in my work termination.

My going to detox probably saved my job, and many other things I value greatly. Alcoholism is a medical condition, and you cannot be fired for addressing a medical condition. Despite that fact, alcoholic fear will deceive you otherwise. You can speak confidentially to your HR or employee assistance representative, and they should confirm this and will go to bat for you in the future. I did.

damascus1986

Thats true my job has a detox plan as well^. i must say the job i have now is much better then the kinda jobs i was getting back then.

SarahB60

You can detox at home with medication and a taper schedule from your Dr. I personally wouldn't detox without medical supervision.

Dee74

Hi Grendhar

We're all different. Some people are fine with detox and some are not. There's simply no way we can know what your physical condition is etc

If thats what your Dr says I'd go with that

If you're still worried, it's ok to get a second opinion

D

thomas11

The only thing I will add is that if or when you start suffering withdrawal, you'll know it. Do some research online, there are different levels. And if it starts worrying you, go the doc. I wish you the best.

BecomingSober

It is unpredictable. I quit repeatedly with little withdrawal. (And feeling quite good went back to the bad behaviour.) Not this last time. Took myself to the ER my BP was 211/98. Yikes! Extremely dangerous. This happened on day 3. Spent night in the hospital to get the BP back down. Am on one of the benzo group of drugs and am doing much better. Going back to doc on day 6 tomorrow. And I "only" drank beer.

Soberwolf

Congrats on day 6 bud

Bmac

I chose outpatient detox. My insurance didn't cover it, so I exhausted my savings and maxxed my credit card. It was well worth it. I did not experience any withdrawals following the medication regimine that I was perscribed. My first day there, my BP was 210/120. When I finished 2 weeks later, my BP was 124/88. You'll be surprised how quickly your body begins to repair itself along with how good it feels to wake up without the guilt and depression that comes every morning after drinking.

damascus1986

The state of texas paid for my detox and rehabilitation. im truely thankful. it was the easiest withdrawl i ever experinced. i went through a program called BACODA