KAD

One of my favorite quotes is from F. Scott Fitzgerald

"First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."

MDL

Both are central nervous system depressants.. when you stop cold turkey, your CNS and brain suddenly wake up and they are so used to being in a suppressed state your brain starts to panic.. And can cause a seizure, (usually not fatal in and of itself, and usually rare, I think), but falling/hitting head or car accident, etc...

Yes, benzos are used to taper off and slowly allow your brain to come back to a regular state in a few days.. Its basically booze in a pill form minus the drunk feeling..

Using them simultaneously is very dangerous and can be fatal. A guy from rehabv I went to died this way 2 weeks after he left.

Hawkeye13

I was a binge drinker but it had gotten up to daily most of the time.
I could put away the better part of a fifth of vodka or a couple of 6 packs of cider or beer, or easily a large bottle of wine, respectively (meaning not all of these on one day) in an evening.

I didn't go to the doctor for years during this time so I have no idea what my blood pressure was, but I do recall in detox throbbing pounding headaches and I could tell my heart rate / blood pressure was certainly elevated. I could feel my heart pounding and thought I was going to pass out or have a stroke but it was only when I went online to see if other people had symptoms like this in detox that I realized how dangerous my quitting on my own was.

I did finish the first detox myself with no support from anyone. It was very scary and I never want to go through something like that again. I wouldn't now that I know I could have had a stroke or even died from it. I think I may have had something called the "kindling effect" which is increasing symptoms for people who repeatedly withdraw from alcohol--I had binged for years so that's where I had several withdrawals though I never really quit drinking. Basically, detox symptoms get worse each time. Google it to find out more--that's how I found SR in the first place.

I've stayed stopped from that first time to today (almost 3 years now) except last summer when I got cocky and thought I could "moderate" my drinking since I felt I had it under control.

Wrong. I moderated for awhile but had to accept I was using more and more heavily and was back in the same boat within six weeks. I stopped again and my withdrawal was every bit as bad or even worse as when I had quit after the thirty years. Kindling effect again. That was when I finally learned from reading on SR that withdrawal could be deadly. Still, I finished that time alone again also being both stubborn and stupid.

So now I don't drink at all, and I feel physically and mentally much better than I have in many years. It took some time to clear the booze from my system, to normalize sleep, and to get over some of the mental stuff the alcohol use triggered like paranoia and anxiety.

Now I'm great. Give it a real and solid effort and I bet you will feel the same.
I don't miss drinking, and never want to go back--and that is something I never thought I would say, think, or feel.
I grew up drinking, and thought I couldn't live without it. Guess what--I live much better without it. Amazing.

Good luck!

Carlotta

Yes, he could prescribe librium or something similar. Take it as prescribed then commit yourself to your recovery and make a plan of action.

anattaboy

Getme, I feel your pain. I am 2 weeks into a 10 day planned taper. Felt really good the first 5 days and was sure I could do it in 7--but didn't. I still only drink two 24oz beers a day but now go with 8%ers every time. Was spacing them 8-10 hrs apart but yesterday, 3 hrs apart. Also the physical symptoms are creeping back. I'm not going to throw in the towel and get a bottle or drink all day like I used to but may need the help of some old AA buddies to white knuckle the first week or so. I won't take benzo's myself but I know they have helped many. I think for me the fault in the Tapering Method is that the Planner and Plannee are the same person so accountability gets a bit fuzzy. Don't give up trying tho..Best wishes.

KAD

Well, I've called my doctor's office to set up an appointment but his schedule is full for the week. I wanted to do this over the weekend since my kids will be away at Summer Camp. However, his nurse called to find out the nature of what I wanted to see him for and is going to check with him to see if he can squeeze me in. Fingers crossed. I wanna do this.

MDL

Good job man. Smart move. Better safe than sorry. Hopefully he is understanding. Let us know how it turns out...

Archelon

best to you with the dr and quitting

KAD

I got worked in for a 1:30 appt which is coming up shortly. I'll keep you posted.

KAD

Why was I so scared?! My doctor was much more sympathetic and talkative this time, going into the nature of alcohol and alcoholism. He prescribed Librium, for which I just dropped off the prescription. Keeping my fingers crossed (again) that it will do the trick! At any rate, I am in much better spirits now. No pun intended.

bigsombrero

The problem with tapering is that drinking actually becomes a "reward" and/or a "treatment method". We are already addicted to this stuff!

Taperers like to use fancy words like "administering a dose" and dress up the process to make it sound clinical. In fact, it's simply unsupervised drinking - nothing is different. It's a terrible way to quit, and I've never heard of it working.

In my humble opinion, those who want to taper are too scared to quit. They're not ready to drop the ball. By tapering, they convince themselves (and often, others) that they deserve a pat on the back for DRINKING! It's madness.

Sorry to be such a downer on the subject, but I absolutely agree with the OP that tapering is a fool's errand for an alcoholic.

Gonnachange

Glad the doctor visit went so well!

cl9000

Well, you can hear now that it's worked for me 6 or 7 times. It's really not a "reward," nor is it anything worth a pat on the back. It's being at a point where you're so physically dependent that withdrawals could be deadly, so you use alcohol as "medicine" to avoid withdrawals, and gradually come off of it with the goal of completely stopping. I used cheap, warm beer to do it. It was disgusting and not enjoyable or "reward"-like at all -- it was something to slow down the spikes in heart rate and horrifying anxiety.

Of course seeing the doctor is one's best bet, by far. That's why I don't want to dwell on this too much. But if you're like me, have no money for a doctor, no insurance, and are too stubborn to seek outside help, you do what you have to do to get sober. Now I'm on day 8 (or 9… not a big counting fan) and trying to get the pieces of my life back together, and I suspect that's the most important thing.

KAD

I can see your points, but I can say the only reason I chose tapering to begin with was because of the agony (and potential deadliness) of AWS. Having high blood pressure and being on 2 meds for that (and they don't seem to make a difference during AWS) made the previous withdrawal scary as hell. I sincerely did want to quit but, like you said, I'm addicted to alcohol so how can I possibly use it to end the addiction? Sounds somewhat counterintuitive. Would you tell a heroin addict, "Give yourself 5 injections today, 3 tomorrow, and then only 1"? I won't go so far as to say it has never worked for anyone. There are a couple of people who say it has. I just know, for me, it overcomplicated things to the point where, when I got fed up with it, I drank even harder.

Thepatman

Well done for seeing your doctor!! You totally rock!

Carlotta

Awesome! Why don't you join us at the Recovery Connections where we commit not to drink or drug for the next 24 hours? Before you know it, those days do add up and it is a fun way to hold ourselves accountable. http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-part-2-a.html
Make sure you don't abuse the librium and take it as prescribed and it will take care of the "shakes" and prevent seizures. I would also suggest that you read around on SR, figure out a plan/method of recovery you want to go with (I go to AA, I really like it and it worked for me) and stick to it.
Do not drink no matter what: for people like us one is too many and a thousand is not enough.

bigsombrero

Exactly. It doesn't work. We're talking about quitting drinking here, right?

Regarding the OP - sorry to come in late with guns blazing. I had withdrawal seizures so I know about the possibly deadly symptoms. I went to a detox unit and that worked, took 48 hours. Glad you saw your doctor and are getting things in order.

cl9000

Nah, we're talking about physically coming off of it. Unless you mean to say any time someone relapses, whatever method they used to withdraw before "doesn't work." Sustained recovery is a different issue and what I'm working on now.

Johnsonsober22

Cl9000

You can use an axe to cut down a tree, but if the tree still standing after 6-7 try's, maybe you should try a saw......
Careful with taking too many meds as they are just as addicting as alcohol......

KAD

I had my kids overnight last night so I have not started the Librium just yet. Didn't want to experiment with a new drug while I had them in my care. I will start taking it today, though.