whiskeyman

hey everyone

i have poked around here for awhile now but now is time to get more involved.

i have only been a drinker for about three years but the last year progressed to everyday. I have had a few attempts at quitting, one time making it almost a month with hep of diazapam.

I am one of those guys that doesnt need a reason to drink, good day, bad day, children bugging me, gotta grocery shop, gotta work, suns out, bed time, stubbed my toe, etc.

i have a great ex wife and a partner and two great kids.
but the booze caught up with me and quickly.

i decided on July 10th enuf is enuf and waanted to be clean for them (and me). so instead of going to the dr and telling him tht i fell off the wagon again i decided i can do this, i can live thru the shakes and sweats.

the main problem i had was telling everyone a different sobriety date. It got to the point where i couldnt rememeber who i told what to and that just led to more booze as the anxiety was overwhelming.

i stopped drinking July 10th and made it three days, yes with shakes and sweats but the was about it until the fourth nite went i woke up in te middle of the night with terrible chest pains and huge electric jolts that would wake me everytime i would try and fall asleep so much so i thought they werer going to be seizures. i woke my partner at 5 am and told him i think we should go to the dr or the hospital. he asked why and i told him that i had been drinking, he actually thought i was clean for almost a month but far from it. alcoholics are the master liars.

we went to the dr for diazepam and my heart was racing so fast he thought i should go to the ER. while there they fast tracked me as i was having my shocks. they gave me some intravenous valium and made me stay overnight. no seizures thank HP but could have been close.

i beg everyone who even considers going cold turkey to fess up to someone and let them know you need help. i thought if i made it past day three i was almost in the clear. NOPE.

Please do not risk it. and if you truly want your desire for alcohol to be gone go thru something like this and see all the support that comes your way, you will not feel alone anymore.

i came clean to my x, my partner, my neighbour, my best friend, all who i had lied to in the past week just to hide the fact that i told them all different dates. my head was swimming with lies. i finally get the one principle that AA is based n complete honest. i turned out to be someone i was not.

i always resisted a treatment centre suggestion thinking i could do it myself, but have now learned i cannot and need help to figure out how to live differently.

But my biggest warning to everyone is to please dont go cold turkey. it is true that they say you can DIE. and i didnt want to die and i dont want you too either. get some help no matter how hard it is to tell some.

catallus

Hey whiskeyman,

That's so true, people have died from detoxing on their own. It's best to go to a detox where trained staff can monitor the process and administer medication if need be. Sometimes it's too much of a shock on the system.

ajangel

I 100% agree. I have been to ER twice trying to do it on my own. I thought I was going to die. This last time, I am almost certain I had 2 seizures in my sleep. Each detox is worse. I am on day 7 and even last night I woke up with tremors and heart palpitations. If I could have afforded it, I would have gone in a 30 day detox. I am glad to hear you are ok love. Stay strong.

sobermax

Recently done this myself - many of the symptome you describe. It took a week before I started feeling physically ok again. Chances are you're through the worst of it though. Nice work mate.

silly

It's so true. Our fear of admitting our missteps keep us from doing what's best and sometimes that can mean almost killing ourselves. I remember once while trying to self detox I went into the kitchen for some water, my partner still fast asleep, and I dropped to the floor. My body just stopped working. I was near passed out with a spinning head and chills like I'd never felt before. So afraid of upsetting my partner, I pulled myself off the floor after several minutes and back to bed. I'm so thankful that I didn't sentence myself to death that day... I don't remember if I'd come clean about my alcoholism yet or if I was "out" but still drinking in secret. Regardless, I was too ashamed to admit what I was going through. Withdrawal is cruel and it does not discriminate. You're 100% right. Do not do it alone.

Dee74

I'm sorry you had to go through that whiskeyman, but I'm glad you're ok
And yeah, it's great advice - nothing is more important than our health and our life.

D

whiskeyman

well, feeling alot better today, day 9. still have he shakes abit but not as bad. mentally feeling alot better and the drive to succeed to great. i have never made it this far in a few years. but i am not going to let myself or other down this time.

i still commit to warning PLEASE DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY, no matter what, if you feel you have to, grab and friend like i did for support and go to see the dr for help in getting thru it.

ttqttfg

I'm sure it's different for everyone. I've had no problems, so far, quitting cold turkey 107 days ago. Obviously if anything came or comes up I'll go see a doctor.