Help
 

Hi,
I have recently admitted to alcoholism(after 20yrs of heavy drinking)
I am having some pretty nasty withdrawls during the day. I have told my physician and asked for something to help with withdrawls and he would not give me anything but suggested I see a psychiatrist. Well it took me 2 weeks to get into see one and he also told me he would not give me anything for withdrawls until I went through a 72hr medcially supervised detox.
My whole point of asking for medication was to help me with withdrawls WHILE I detox. I would really rather do this on a outpatient basis but cannot seem to find support to do this. Any suggestions ANYONE. Please I cant
do this much longer
J

Hi Jay,

Welcome to SR.

You have talked to your dr who sent you to a psychiatrist who will not give you medication until after 3 days in a supervised detox. If you don't want to do what the psychiatrist suggested, I guess you can go two ways. You can try to find another dr who will give you medication or you can do it on your own. I hope you hang in there. I know it's hard, but it is so worth it. I, myself, didn't take med while going through withdrawl, so I can't really offer you any more help.

Anna

Hi Jay,
Withdrawal from alcohol abuse can be very dangerous.
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/withd.../aa000125a.htm

In some cases. a medical detox may be the difference between life and death.
Are you still drinking right now? How do you function during the day? Do you work? My experience after the worst of my binges was usually 72 to 96 hours of total physical discomfort. No sleep, no appetite, painful skin, etc.
I would certainly get a different opinion from a different physician. I fail to see how a psychiatrist could have helped you with physical withdrawal symptoms. You'll find plenty of support here. Keep posting. There is a fine life after physical withdrawal from alcohol.

help
 

Thanks for the input. Yes,I work. And it's getting very difficult to perform.
I have ok days(tolerable) and days when I just feel like im going insane.
Maybe I'll try another Dr. I may just try and do it cold but two people have told me they would not advise this in my current condition.
J

Without knowing how much you consume jay, I just gotta say: Be careful.
Your first line of defense here has to be self preservation at all cost. When you get to the point that you drink to ease the pain from yesterday's consumption, something is going to happen. Please be honest with those around you that may be able to help.
Keep posting jay.

Jay,

I didn't mean to sound like I was suggesting you detox on your own. I was merely saying that if you don't go to another dr, there isn't much else you could do. Dan is absolutely right about the dangers of withdrawl. Good luck and let us know how you make out. We're here to offer any support we can.

Love, Anna

Thanks for all the input.
How much I consume Dan varies. It's about a fifth of gin every two to three days.
And Thanks Anna,I just kinda feel like I am on my own at this point. The bummer is as soon as I told my Dr. about the problem unfortunately his whole attitude changed and
treated me like I was scum. Im thankfull I found this site.
J

welcome!
 

Hi Jay and welcome to SR! I feel ya on the doctor thing! Been there afew times myself.Are there any detox facilitys in your area that you can check out? There should also be a number for alcoholics anonymous in your phone book that you can call and someone who has been thru what you are going thru will be happy to help you and give you some suggestions.I am pullin for you..prayers :angel2: Trish

Cool jay! About your doctor, that's unfortunate and bloody criminal almost. These people swear an oath to help us heal don't they? Many still don't see that alcoholism is a disease I guess.
For what it's worth my friend, my intake in the end was off the chart compared to you. Find someone who can advise you without judging you, and trust that whatever discomfort you will go through will, in the end, be worth your freedom.

Dan,Trish,
Thanks so much. It helps just writing these things. I find myself fighting back tears at the moment. Yes there is a detox place pretty close. And
yes Ive got the number for AA in my area but for some reason Im stalling on making the calls. I think Im just scared to keep getting dissapointed by trying.
J

Fear is a good thing at this point jay.
And so are tears. You may not have had a good restful sleep in a long time. It's really insidious what booze will do to us. AA is a place to go sit for an hour or so and listen to others who know exactly what you are feeling. I had a very LARGE fear inside me when I finally walked into a meeting. But it helped.
There are many other avenues for recovery jay. AA is but one of them. Try to focus on cleansing your body now. Three or four days should bring you positive results. Do get medical attention if you feel any danger. It all starts with not drinking today. I feel you can do that.
Welcome here.
And peace of mind to you.

Jayzuma, not much time here but I wanted to welcome you and give you hope. We are all of us in the same boat (maybe in different places, but they can shift REAL fast) so hang in here with SR.

More later,
Gianna

I know those calls are really hard to make..I encourage you to pick up the phone..there is so much help for you on the other end!

Thanks everyone so much. I did send an email to a recovery center I found very close to my house. WWW.comebacktreatment.com Anyone heard of it? This website is pretty amazing. I find it hard to believe that so many people are willing to help a complete stranger.Im not going to stop trying thanks to all your posts. I will try and wait a little longer to see if I can find someone who will help me with the withdrawls. And if I cant I'll do it alone. Im afraid to drink and afraid not to. What a dilema---J

I have been there in the same dilema 6 months ago.At the time i didnt think I could go 5 min! 6 months later I am here to tell you I surrendered to the detox and than a support group and my life is so different.There is a miracle for you!

Jayzuma, Just wanted to say welcome. Make that call Jayzuma face to face contact with people in the same situation is very healing. My thoughts & prayers are with you.


Your Sister In Recovery
Janet aka True Blue

Just remember what has been suggested jay. You're at the point now where you drink to overcome the symptoms brought about by drinking. Something will break soon. Keep posting.

I've been looking around on this site reading all kinds of peoples stories. Seeing peoples advice to others,seeing other peoples pain and on a few occasions some people who still need to learn a little compassion. For some reason today I have found this website and been on a emotional yo-yo all day. From Sorrow to anger that I've let this happen to hope to depression,just all over the place. Through all this emotional trama I realize I still have the same problem. Regardless of how emotional I get. I just feel liek Im screwed. Dan, the body is already breaking. It's just starting to fall apart in many different areas. Mentally and physically. I have to keep starting over
mentally. I have choices. I can keep drinking and die,I can stop drinking and die,I can stop drinking and survive(would think this would be the wise choice)
I could try this on my own,I could enter a rehab center and survive or die.
But at this point I have to do something and it has to be fairly quickly.
I keep bouncing back and forth with which road I want to take. I fear them all but at the same time I welcome them all. Bla,Bla,Bla
Does this help? Writing I mean. I dont think I've ever been so depressed
---J

Hi Jay,
Welcome to SR! You'll find a great deal of support. If you decide to detox on your own, make sure you keep yourself well hydrated, take multi-vitamins to help with the night muscle spasms, and try to eat small meals. As mentioned the worst of the physical withdrawel lasts 3-4 day's. Sleeping takes time, but I found melatonin, a natural supplement really did help a bunch.

Signs to get to the ER:

Heart palpatations.
Fainting
Extreme vomitting.
Blurred vision and dizziness.

I'm sorry you got the cold shoulder from the doc, but unfortunatly most just don't understand our disease, as they think we should have enough self will to avoid getting ourself into this situation which runs our life. I'd look for another doc. Glad your hear.

Writing helps to be sure. Sounds like your mind is racing miles a minute. Reading a lot of posts here may contribute to that. Like you've discovered, there's the good, the bad and the ugly here... What I would like to suggest again though, very humbly, is that you don't drink today. Just for today. It's like 2 p.m where you are now. When you're done work, do something different. Just try to avoid a situation that involves drinking. Don't know if you've got a comp at home, but a bunch of people get together here friday evenings. Check out the "Chat and online meetings" forum. I promise you that you can not drink today, one hour at a time.
Keep posting jay. You don't have to suffer any longer than you have to. The immediate withdrawal from alcohol abuse is a finite thing for most alcoholics. The pain will go away. But you have to stop drinking for the healing to begin.