My RH was given Valium, is this normal?
 

I'm not sure if you would class my husband as recovering or not (he's been sober four days now) but he went for his medical today. I'm worried that there is something seriously wrong has he has had a pain in his left side, nausea and vomiting for months now.

So his doctor is running tests and he has been given Valium to calm him down a bit. He has a history with alcohol, smoking, some drugs and his best friend thinks he has a addictive personality.

I'm one foot out the door and I suppose I shouldn't care, but I still do. I can't help wondering if Valium is a good idea. Has anyone else experienced this?

When my XAH was detoxing whether at home or at the hospital he always took valium to calm him so he didn't have a seizure.

My xah was also given Valium each time he detoxed.

Thanks everyone. I just hope he doesn't get addicted to it.

There's me showing that I still care. One second I hope he does get addicted and then the next I hope he's okay.

I'm the same way about his health. All symptoms point to him having something seriously wrong.

Yes, this seems to be common. My A was given valium by the Dr. when he detoxed at home.

yes, books there is something very seriously wrong with him, alcoholism is a progressive disease it won't stand still for long. You don't have to feel like you have to apologize for anything I still care about my XAH as well.

sorry dupe

So glad he is under the care of a doctor.

Valium is addcitive, and pretty hard to come off of.

As long as he doesn't take it too long he will be fine.

You get to care!!! Just be sure you are taking care of you too.

Even when my step-mom was ill with cancer I don't think I felt like my emotions were so screwed up. Everyday at work I feel like crying my eyes out at the hopeless of the situation.

Part of me wants there to be something wrong with him, so its an easy out for my children and I (I'm horrible aren't I?). I just want an out for me and my children, away from his craziness.

i work in a rehab facility and any kind of benzodiazepine (valium, clonopin, ativan, etc) is almost always given to people for withdrawing from alcohol, and it is major in keeping them from having a seizure. valium in itself is actually very low in addictive quality, unlike opiates, and since it is being given under the care of a doctor, the doctor will be able to taper him off of the valium to avoid him becoming addicted to its effects.
rest assured, im sure his doctor has years of medical training, is experienced in working with addicts/alcoholics and will be able to curb the possibility of him picking up valium as a drug of choice. and i'm sure you could talk to the doctor if you had any concerns. hope this helps! =)

My wife was given a drug in the same category and has been using it under the care of a doctor going on two years. So far it has not become a problem and seems to be contributing to her ability to stay sober.

But, as always, it is one day at a time with an addict/alcoholic. And, in what was one of the more ironic moments of our life together in the last ten years, a while back as I was completely losing my **** for no good reason she walked over to me, stuffed a pill in my mouth, and walked away. It only happened once but her point was made in a very tangible way.

Take care,

Cyranoak

He is an ACTIVE alcoholic, not in detox, and benzos mixed with alcohol are a deadly combination.

Unless this is a medically-supervised detox, I think the doctor is inappropriately giving an addictive narcotic to an active addict.

I would continue to view your AH as someone in active addiction (back pain and vomiting, by the way, could be related to opiate abuse which is very hard to detect). And I would prepare for more chaos.

Do what is best for your children and you.

Thanks EnglishGarden. That's my thoughts too! My daycare phoned to say she is feeling sick and can I keep the kids home tomorrow. I definitely will be staying home tomorrow with them, instead of going to work. Just don't trust the AH at all with them.

Most detox units will use ativan for a very short period of time during the initial detox. Benzos act on the same part of the brain as alcohol and that is why alcohol and benzos of any kind are a big no no medically and why alcoholics LOVE benzos. A drink plus a benzo turns that drink into more like the effects of 3 drinks and if you take 3 benzos on top of 5 drinks you get to go soaring up the heights into oblivion and usually a black out opportunity.

Any active alcoholics should only be given benzos under direct supervision and that is the opinion of most progressive detox units.

Keep a real close on this situation....

Yeah, I was given Valium also. No bid deal.

My ex was given ativan for detox. He also was taking benzos and I can attest to how dangerous that is for him and how scary it was for me to watch. Spent many nights awake while the meds did their work, making sure that he was still conscious. Problem was, where I live, they closed the detox facility and to go to the ER, the doctors would tell him to go home, drink till he could get to the walk in clinic to get some ativan.

No, it's not pretty to see and as hard as it is on the addict, from my perspective, it is hard watching someone you love go through this. But, you learn to take care of yourself, to get through it, because the addict can't help you. I was so grateful for the support I got from my Al-Anon group as some members had walked that path. That lessened the fears and loneliness......