sobergirl33

I’ve been drinking heavily for about 5 or 6 years, I’ve never had withdrawal symptoms before but this time I’m scared. I’m 25. I managed 3 months sober from September to December 2017 but mid December started drinking again. Been non stop ever since...vodka is my poison. It’s been 45 days and tomorrow I am vowing to stop but every morning I wake up with extreme anxiety and just want to drink again. My doctor gave me Ativan 0.5 mg but he thinks it’s just for anxiety not drinking. I can’t admit how bad I am to my family or anyone else. They know I drink but don’t realize the extent of it. I’m drinking about 3/4 of a bottle of vodka a day..I’m worried about my health because I feel like crap every day no energy and so anxious until I drink...

Any advice on how to pull out of a binge this bad?? I recently came home from abroad so I’m unemployed and living with my parents. I feel so ashamed and hopeless. I know to achieve my goals of getting back into school and getting a job I need to give up alcohol. I’ve never been to AA and am nervous about going because I have social anxiety. I know alcohol withdrawal is really dangerous but I’m hoping with the ativan I can manage it descretly at home..

Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

Numblady

Ugh. Lost my post!! Bottom line I am not sure but wanted to send you kind thoughts.

2muchpain

With the amount of alcohol you've been drinking, I'd go to an ER room and get checked out. That's a lot of vodka. I know what you mean about extreme anxiety after drinking for a long time. The ativan will probably help some but your having difficulty quitting drinking even with the ativan sounds you really should seek medical help. At the least, be honest with your doctor.
I know you don't want anybody to know just how bad your drinking, but trust me, if your family doesn't know yet, they will find out eventually. Can only hide that level of drinking for so long. Believe me, your much better off dealing with it now rather than later. Take care. John

2muchpain

Frankly, admitting yourself into a detox center where you can be medically supervised would be a really good idea. Tough to do I know. John

Dee74

Hi sobergirl

if you're concerned, maybe you need to push past the fear and embarrassment and to go back to your dr (or to another one) and be honest about how much you've been drinking and for how long, and get some advice.

Doctors can't help if they don't know the story, and I or anyone else here can't give guarantees on whether your withdrawal will be OK or not.

We simply don't know.

D

sobergirl33

Thank you for the advice.. I know this is serious but just to clarify I haven’t been drinking this much vodka for a full 5 years, just for a bit over a month...before this relapse I drank heavily but not this much. I had a sort of crisis while I was away from Canada and to deal I just kept drinking...finally I got home and it was easy to keep self medicating with alcohol. I don’t even have the option to check into detox because I have no insurance and to get into something like that or even see a psychologist here in Canada there is a huge wait list...I am sincerely hoping I can get through this at home and if it goes bad I will go to the ER but I’m hoping that won’t happen

sobergirl33

Any advice on how you guys overcame this and got support? I think I will be okay physically but mentally not so much...

Behappy1

Lots of water, Gatorade, oj, chicken noodle soup and crackers, toast. When I was in a binge I didn’t eat much @ all or drink anything that was nutritious. Lots of sleep, showers, baths with Epsom salts helped too. The first step is putting down the liquor. I was a vodka drinker too. It can be nasty to get off of. I drank a 1/5 a day, but i was the weaker 42 proof. I could do the same amount in the hard stuff, but it wasn’t pretty. Keep pushing the fluids and eat what you can to get this poison pushed out of your system.

Dee74

I appreciate the no money thing and the difficulties you have in seeing a p=doc doctor right now, but you know you can get into trouble even tho you've only been drinking at this level for a month, right?

If in doubt, get professional medical help.
Your health is a really bad thing to lose.

As for staying sober, I really threw myself into this community -I posted and read here everything and when I needed help I asked for it. I looked at what others were doing to stay sober and I made my own way from there.

If you're not seeing a dr, try and make tomorrow a day one - no booze in the house and no going out for more.

D

Behappy1

As far as support beyond the detox? Read, read and read some more here. Some choose smart, aa, AVRT, some do naltrexone, campral, Antabuse, vivitrol, some simply use SR.

doggonecarl

You came here in 2017 with the desire to quit, but stated:

Here you are still drinking. Perhaps it is time to stop being skeptical and start being open minded about the options you have that can literally save your life.

Zebra1275

Any advice on how you guys overcame this and got support? I think I will be okay physically but mentally not so much...

Some good advice on the mental part.

I'm more concerned about the physical part, detoxing can be dangerous.

if it goes bad I will go to the ER

How about seeing a Doctor before, not after? There is an old saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

I went to an immediate care center a couple of times (slow learner, here) to get help with a medical detox. Both times they asked me some questions, checked my vital signs, and gave me a prescription to help with the anxiety and withdrawals. Both times I was in and out of there within a couple of hours. It was no big deal and it did give me some peace of mind, which in itself, is worth something.

Ironhorse1

I’m not sure where you live in Canada, but where I live (BC), medical detox has is covered, you just have to pay a few dollars a day for the medication they give you. It’s cheaper than drinking! Rehab isn’t covered, but short term detox is.

icoi87

I used to take benzos for my hangover anxiety, too. It’s a really scary thought because the two things are quite dangerous together. Please be careful, and if you haven’t already, see your doctor and be honest with them.

This community is a really great resource, I also do A.A, and have heard from people here that smart and AVRT are good programs.

Komplex

I was in a similar cylcle until last week. For me I had to break down and ask for help. Admitting my defeat was terrifying and humiliating, but it worked out great. Since then I’ve seen my dr, gotten 5 sober days, and created a plan to stay. Is there anyone you can reach out to?

Ken0331

I agree with the others here, you're likely to need professional medical help detoxing from drinking that much daily, even just for 45 days this binge.

Getting honest with the doctors is a good first start. They aren't going to judge you. You'll be asked some very frank questions. Give some very honest answers. Believe me, you won't be the first person the doctors have seen who need help detoxing. You might be one of the few who came in voluntarily. Often times they see us when it gets so bad it's not by choice.

Arpeggioh

Here in Michigan, 28 day inpatient rehab is terribly expensive...but a grant paid for my five-day stay at a detox center, and it saved my life. I so hope that something like that is an option for you; it's just enough to get safely started. I know from vodka...I wish you health and hope.

soupcon

How are you doing now?

ChloeRose63

You need to let your parents know and get to a medical detox. This is nothing to take lightly. You can not do this alone. Get past the anxiety and get some help now.
Let us know how you are doing.

tomsteve

for me it started with the gift of desperation- i became willing to do whatever necessary. it was that or kill myself, and that would have occured by a self inflicted bottle wound, which are slow, miserable deaths.
then i went to AA. i knew there were people there that had gained victory over alcohol. i wanted THAT and didnt care about anything else.
i got the big book real quick and started reading it. i went to meetings, read the big book, prayed like crazy( i didnt have a religious God nor did i want one- just something not of this world i was praying to. ), didnt drink even when my ass was falling off, repeat.
eventually the obsession left just as promised. eventually the mental mayhem started clearing up just as promised. those promises were all promised if i followed some simple suggestions- if i got into action.