Frequent Detoxing - Is this just how it works?
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Denver
Posts: 4
Frequent Detoxing - Is this just how it works?
I've read a fair amount on detoxing, so I understand the basics, but nothing I've read has addressed what has been going on with my brother. I'm curious if anyone has more info or experience with this. He's in an inpatient program right now, so I'm looking more to understand than I am to take any direct action.
My brother and my parents speak in almost solely about his addiction in terms of detoxing. It makes sense to me because it is a big initial hurdle in recovery. But, I'm not understanding what's happening because the detoxing happens so frequently. He has done at-home detox (with medications from a doctor), detox facility stays, detoxing at a hospital when he had an underlying health threat like pancreatitis, but more and more frequently he does what I'll call ER detox, where he goes to the ER, gets a prescription for Tranxene, and goes home.
I had to take him to the ER during the last episode (my first experience with this) to get a Tranxene prescription and found out he had been there two weeks prior to get a Tranxene prescription. They said he had been there eight times in total.
Is this just how detoxing works? Based on what I've been told by him or my parents, he's detoxed (either in a facility, hospital, or at home with a prescription) on average once or twice per month for the last two years. Is this just how recovery starts for some people? I guess I'm kind of proud that he's willing to keep going through withdrawal, but I haven't really come across this in my reading about alcoholism.
Also, the one time I took time to the ER where he had just been to get Tranxene two weeks before, his blood alcohol was 0.394. Can detoxing start while there is still that much alcohol in one's system? Overall I'm just a little confused. None of what I've read about detoxing seems to fit into the situation I'm seeing. And, whether it's good or bad, I do get some sense of relief and control from understanding what's going on.
My brother and my parents speak in almost solely about his addiction in terms of detoxing. It makes sense to me because it is a big initial hurdle in recovery. But, I'm not understanding what's happening because the detoxing happens so frequently. He has done at-home detox (with medications from a doctor), detox facility stays, detoxing at a hospital when he had an underlying health threat like pancreatitis, but more and more frequently he does what I'll call ER detox, where he goes to the ER, gets a prescription for Tranxene, and goes home.
I had to take him to the ER during the last episode (my first experience with this) to get a Tranxene prescription and found out he had been there two weeks prior to get a Tranxene prescription. They said he had been there eight times in total.
Is this just how detoxing works? Based on what I've been told by him or my parents, he's detoxed (either in a facility, hospital, or at home with a prescription) on average once or twice per month for the last two years. Is this just how recovery starts for some people? I guess I'm kind of proud that he's willing to keep going through withdrawal, but I haven't really come across this in my reading about alcoholism.
Also, the one time I took time to the ER where he had just been to get Tranxene two weeks before, his blood alcohol was 0.394. Can detoxing start while there is still that much alcohol in one's system? Overall I'm just a little confused. None of what I've read about detoxing seems to fit into the situation I'm seeing. And, whether it's good or bad, I do get some sense of relief and control from understanding what's going on.
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
Detoxing just means getting the alcohol out of your system. It CAN be highly dangerous without medical supervision--it is possible to detox safely from many drugs by going "cold turkey"--withdrawal from heroin is notoriously difficult and painful but rarely fatal. Withdrawal from alcohol has a much higher mortality rate.
I detoxed at home, very carefully, tapering down my intake over a few days. From what I hear that is rarely successful. Guess I was lucky.
Detoxing is ONLY the beginning, though, and for most people it's much easier to detox than it is to stay sober over the long term.
So yeah, your brother's multiple detoxes aren't that unusual.
I detoxed at home, very carefully, tapering down my intake over a few days. From what I hear that is rarely successful. Guess I was lucky.
Detoxing is ONLY the beginning, though, and for most people it's much easier to detox than it is to stay sober over the long term.
So yeah, your brother's multiple detoxes aren't that unusual.
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Denver
Posts: 4
Makes sense. Hopefully the skills he learns during his inpatient care can help him. As you say, long-term sobriety is the end goal here, and regardless of how many physical detoxes that takes, it's just part of what gets him there.
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