eoghanacht

Hello, well I tried to make an appointment with the doctor yesterday (sorry if I type funny or crap, but we- my partner and I- have just had yet another row. Great support...)- and the receptionists said I would have to call at 8am on Friday (today)- to get an appointment, well I couldn't do that because of coming off the booze, so she said she would get him to call back, so I waited and waited and eventually he did, and I told him all about my drinking habit and that I needed meds to help me with the withdrawal, and he said GP's (General Practitioner's= Doctors in the UK)
-don't do that, I would have to go to a specialist rehab center, told me where it was, I told him I had been messed-about there before but he didn't really pick that up.... (I was told last year that I was on the 'Waiting List' for a 'Keyworker', but nothing ever happened).... anyway I am going to continue this later as I am feeling like F***ing *hit because of the arguement. Great.

angie9

oh hell eoghanacht thats not good for you . Im surprised that the general parcticitoners over they dont offer help for people like us. Is it the weekend over there yet? Can you ring anybody in AA or anybody that can offer you support. I no this is clishe but dont pick up the bottle its not going to achive anything. Bigg huus to you anyhting I can do like offer support via email let me know? Im a alkie ( well I can proudly say recovering now coming up five weeks YAY!! Im a 42 year old mum of 3
take care

Anna

I'm sorry you are going through this. That's a definite setback, but now you have a bit more knowledge of how the process works, so hopefully you can continue to push through and get the help you need.

As Least said, you could try calling your local AA, and you can also find support here at SR.

barb dwyer

I forwarded your post to some friends here on SR who are in the UK who might have a handle on how it works (or not) over there.

I just forwarded them to this thread -
I didn't give out any addresses or anything like that.

Just asked 'em to come over and read this.

Like many Americans ..
I'm pretty well baffled by a healthcaresystem at all
considering what we have here.
To imagine a system where care doesn't equal bankruptcy ...
is just beyond me, I'm afraid.

One thing I can offer is some support,
and to encourage you to stick with it.
the sobriety, I mean.

We're here fo you, so keep posting till you feel better.

It's what we're here for.
You're helping me stay sober.
So thank you!

eoghanacht

Okay anyway... so I went along to the Rehab place, acted nutty outside (no I don't know why, maybe just to blend in as I'm a nervous person anyway)- and then went in, was told to fill-in this huge (20 page)- form, and as I was doing so I got called by the same bloke who 'assessed' me before (when they messed me about)- and we went in this small room and he was asking me loads of questions, etc... some really personal.
At one stage I almost passed-out, I don't know why that happened, he said I could go outside for a smoke, which seemed to help (?).
Bascically he asked me what I wanted them to do for me, and I said for them to literally give me my 'life' back by helping me get through the withdrawal symptoms when I cut right down (he told me that I had cut down too much, from 2 and a half litres of strong cider a night to 2 cans of strong-ish lager (beer)...! that kind of shocked me.
more to come.

yana

You're doing the right thing, trying to get help - but the medical profession doesn't make it easy, does it? Hang in there Eog hug

marty888

Glad you are getting this help. Please stick at it. The rewards are worth it

treefrog

Hi eoghanacht. I had a similar problem with my GP when I was trying to give up the drink. They didn't seem to believe the severity of my withdrawls. I had to be really persistent. I ended up with a short course of diazapam, and 100 thiamine tablets (vitamin supplements) They did seem to help to an extent.
I too was told to cut down as oppose to going cold turkey. The trouble is having a couple leads to many more of course... A Doctor should be able to help you rather than fobbing you off. Anyway hang in there, you will be fine once you've got the meds, and an action plan sorted (ie can you go cold turkey or not?) good luck.

eoghanacht

Well.. firstly thanks to those who have posted to my other msg's. It's good to know I have some kind of support..
..so at the rehab, the guy said that he would show my responses to 'The Team' (woooo), and get back to me. Oh by the way my partner just shouted.Oh well.
.....so I guess it's just a waiting game. As usual....
I get back to the flat (apartmnt), and my partner says I am 'cranky', that I snapped at her, but I did'nt. Great. Another upset/row... maybe I'll self harm again. Oh well.

nogard

For me recovery/getting well had to come first. If you not having any luck with the doc your seeing, go see another one. Detoxing an my own at home was not a great idea, so seeing a doc and getting some help is a good idea.

Hurting ourselves or others only takes us back to where we where and makes our situation worse. Pick up the phone and talk to people, post more here, go to an AA meeting, call the local AA hotline or office.

Its about saving our lives.

I get better one day at a time

Kevin

shaun00

eoghanacht..thanks for the post.

is that a drug and alcohol support provider?...ie...ira or one of the others?

i suspect they want to see a commitment from you before they will ask your gp to prescibe meds..benzos.

Seem strange though to ask you to cut down......normally they ask you to come in every day for 2 weeks or so......just to see how commited you are.

i know......i dont agree with it either.

Can you get a hospital detox........or the sally army have free detox centres.
i know of one in *******.

What support providers do you have in your town?....do a google?

keep trying ....there is a solution to a detox in there somewhere.

SelfSeeking

how the hell do you tell someone drinking alcoholically to "cut down"?? I mean... isn't the whole point that you can't control it, and that at this point you are physically addicted? To a substance that withdrawing from can kill you? That just seems crazy... Seems like detox in hospital is where you should be. *shaking head*
I'm wishing you the best from across the pond...

Dee74

Truckers suggestions are good ones Eog - I know theres a few more Brits on the boards, I'm hoping maybe they might have more ideas and/or suggestions.

It makes me so mad when the health system lets people down - no matter what country it is.

It's hard when we're trying and still seem to get nowhere, but drinking and self harm just put us back to where we've come from Eog.

Just because other people are letting us down doesn't mean we deserve bad treatment - even from ourselves.

D

stone

Hi Eog, I believe some GPs will allow you to detox at home, or at least they used to, maybe the rules have changed.

That is bad about the rehab putting you on a waiting list and then you don't hear from them, if I was you I would consider going in and seeing the Doctor personally and making your case strongly that you need things to move quickly, the rehab centre is messing you about and ask since when don't GPs do home detox.

Maybe get in touch with you local drug and alcohol team, your Council should have one. I live in Liverpool and the website for mine is Liverpool City Council Drug and Alcohol Team, wherever you live should have one too, I would think.

Good luck.

CarolD

Please see if this link has info ...

Alcoholics Anonymous UK Newcomers

Yes...you too can stop drinking

shaun00

its becoming more and more common for doctors to not prescribe detox meds.
in my local practice they have a sign up to say just that.

in some respect its a good idea.......alcoholics and benzos can and do get in a worse state.
we all know the dangers of mixing the two.

some doctors here are still clueless...IMO...and prefer to hand over the responsibility to drug and alcohol support agency's.

Really we are spoilt here in the uk.....free detox.....free counselling...free medical.....free meds for some....
its just a matter of finding the right facilitys....and some perseverance.

NoelleR

OK, folks are probly gonna get *%&^%W#$E%’d at what I have to say, but I figured it was time for another perspective, so I guess I’ll play devil’s advocate here. So, eoghanacht, you can get ‘mad’ and all the y’all rest can get ’ticked’ too, but I figured you’ve gotten a bunch of positive support (and don’t misread this.....I give all folks working on recovery all kinds of support, but I figured it might be time for a li’ll AA (that’s Attitude Adjustment and NOT Alcoholics Anonymous). Now remember, I’m playin’ devil’s advocate here; this is just some stuff to think on.

It appears that you’ve got some of this recovery stuff bassackwards.....lol. You seem to think it’s up to you to tell others what they need to do for you in your recovery......Although it may be nice when/if others ‘do’ (the stuff we want the way we want it)for us alcoholics, but the fact remains, it’s up to us to get sober and work some kind of recovery program.

Upon speaking with a GP, you said, “...I told him all about my drinking habit and that I needed meds to help me with the withdrawal...” When I go to the doctor, I go to get his suggestions and advice, NOT to tell him what he needs to do....and then you say, “...so I went along to the Rehab place...was told to fill-in this huge (20 page)- form --- info probably for your assessment --- “...we went in this small room and he was asking me loads of questions, etc... some really personal --- that’s what they do; lots of questions to get a feel for you, and ‘personal’ questions....? Of course; recovery is a very ‘personal’ journey...when he asked you...”...he asked me what I wanted them to do for me, and I said for them to literally give me my 'life' back by helping me get through the withdrawal symptoms --- perhaps if this question comes up again, you might want to word it as you would like them to help you in your journey on getting your life back (it’s not anybody’s job to get our lives back for us; it’s ours)....”...at the rehab, the guy said that he would show my responses to 'The Team' (woooo),...” Are you being a bit facetious here? This sounds very much like a lot of the hospital/rehab/treatment centers entry assessments I’ve been a part of [unless they‘re really small, there are usually teams of folks (doctors, nurses tech‘s)]....mebbe not the same over there......?


“...I get back to the flat (apartmnt), and my partner says I am 'cranky', that I snapped at her,...” Perhaps you were and just didn’t realize it? Often in early recovery, and especially when withdrawals may be involved, we act and say things that seem to come out of the blue....and so fast that we sometimes don’t even see them coming, or going. I know I was quite cranky in my early days of recovery (having to move in with my mother to take care of her for a couple of months.....and having her push my buttons couldn’t have anything to do with it......course not............LOLOL Matter-o-fact, I’m still quite cranky at times, but then I’m an old woman, and ‘cranky’ comes with the package.
The deal with the S/O may just have to work itself out. She may take some time. If she’s anything like most ‘friends and families of’ then she’s getting to her boiling point for quite some time now. She may not be giving you the support in the way you would like her to, and perhaps she never will give you that kind of support, but for right now, it’s just gotta be you and your recovery. After all, we get sober for us, not anybody else; that’s the only way it works----with S/O’s or without; with friends or without; it’s all about us and our recovering, with or without anybody or anything else.


NoelleR

P.S. ....hey people, where did y’all get the idea that the guy at the rehab suggested he taper down.....in the OP’s second post it says, “...(he told me that I had cut down too much, from 2 and a half litres of strong cider a night to 2 cans of strong-ish lager (beer)...! that kind of shocked me....” This, to me, sounds like the rehab guy was worried about his cutting down.

allport

I am not ticked by this post just saddened by the appearance of another tough love, pull yourself together kind of post.

If the OP is still drinking he is unlikely to be able to take on board your (some excellent) points.

This is a cry for help from a person suffering right now and the most important issue I think is to keep him on board and looking for that help rather than exercising my intellect on him.

Also you have a go at people for assuming and then do the self same thing, I'm not having a go at you your posts are always interesting and well written but I feel this one is not really helpful to the OP.

And hey I might well be wrong I often am.

tommyk

Noelle... I'm with you, I'm glad you said it first because I wasn't sure if I was going to respond.

eog - I am VERY sympathetic to your situation and if there was ANYTHING I could do I would do it. PLEASE never, ever forget the horrifying trip through hell that you are taking right now - for if you forget it you are more destined to REPEAT it. Seek help, seek help humbly and graciously, do what you are told to do, and please.... do whatever is necessary to AVOID this situation in the future.

Everyone else - in my opinion it is not the responsibility of the medical profession to cater to the 'demands' of people like us who willingly & knowingly make ourselves sick, time after time, and then show up with a bad attitude wanting treatment.

The best thing the doctor can do for us is assess our situation and if we aren't in danger of dying... SEND THE PATIENT HOME TO BE SICKER THAN A DOG FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

The longer they're sick the more they might remember NOT to repeat the situation.

I have a problem seeing people WITH AN ATTITUDE coming through rehab time after time, each time smart-assing the procedures, putting down the staff, and generally carping about the treatment they are receiving (probably for free), when these same people put themselves in the position they are in. I look them all in the eye and ask them if they would rather be outside underneath a park bench. I encourage them to be honest open and willing to follow the guidelines to recovery.

Tough love, sounds cruel, but we are the only ones who can control our recovery.

I love you all... please don't pick up the first one today, just for today.

Ananda

it's a disease....

it was the people who worked with me from where i was at that lead to my being sober today...

seems to me that that is part of the disease....

i agree we are the only ones who can get to the point of recovery, its just that tough love didn't get me there or help in any way...and often peoples own frustration and confusion lead to cruelty justified as tough love.

That said..i don't get what it is that gets people sober, seems very individual and seems to vary greatly....if tough love gets a person sober I guess that is what they have to share, I just wasn't one that it worked for so i share what worked for me

EOG...please just look for what helps you along from these posts..it's different for each of us. I find the taper approach to seem to be in direct contridiction to the symptoms of this disease, but I nearly died at the end of my drinking so i know that abrupt withdrawal is not a wise decision without some reall strong help and hopefully a doctor involved adn at least on call in case things go south.

Please keep trying...its worth the effort....took me a year after i really set myself toward sobriety to actually get there (hug)