Thread: Alcohol Withdraw...WITHDRAW, ALCOHOL!!!

Kit, have you tried any recovery groups? I found I was playing russian roulette and LOSING more and more and absolutely always losing everytime with alcohol. My best friend became my worst enemy, alcoholism destroyed ALOT for me but recovery IS possible I haven't drank in years....and you know you gotta be careful honey you can't withdraw from heavy alcohol without some sort of medical help I personally went into seizures and dt's you do need help if you're really heavy into it...hit me up and chat Ill stop back soon! Prayers for you!

Originally Posted by kitwarelotus

I just posted this in another thread. I've got to get dressed and get busy, so I will repost my message here.

Hi Mason, guess you're they guy who is working this forum. Your story made me cry. What we do to children is a crime!

Anyway, I'm putting you on notice. I need help. My drug of choice is alcohol - it's a terrible task master and a worse lover. I've been trying to stop for many years. Tried group rehab sessions - what a crock!

Tried individual therapy sessions; ok if you can afford it. Now that's a crazy cycle! You have a nice job that pays all the bills. You start drinking alone too much, because you're lonely. How's that working out? It's getting you later for work.

At risk of losing your job, you drink more to numb yourself. That action gets you deeper in crap with the boss, no matter how hard you try to hide it.

Then, one day, you sleep in too late and you're met by the boss at the door. You're given 10 minutes to get your stuff and say goodbye to your workmates, friends you've had for 12 years.

POOF! Your therapy sessions, the ones you've tried so hard to keep, and work through the program with, is gone. Kapoot.

So, here I am - again. No job, no money, no friends. Nothing. Then today, I find this forum. It looks like there may be something here that can help.

Well, that's where I'm at. I need help. I need a friend - no, friends.

Thanks for starting this forum. I'll try to come often; no promises. I have learned you don't have a life when you're drinking. You stay hypnotized with the bottle until you find something else that is stronger. I'm counting on this forum's strength. At least, as long as I have electricity. No idea how long I get to stay in my apartment. Another gift from my wicked master.

You're so right, babydoll. Quitting cold turkey is NOT the way to do it. Ya'll remember Amy Winehouse? Well, she died alone in her bed because she decided to quit cold turkey cuz she was fed up. She was so tiny, I guess the stress got to her. The family says she wanted to quit and went cold turkey for 3 weeks before she died. So sad.



Family said doctors told Amy to gradually reduce her alcohol drinking and to avoid bingeing at all costs. Amy told him she couldn’t do that. It was all or nothing, and she gave up completely... The shock of giving up, after everything she had been through over a bad few years, was just too much for her to take.



If you want to quit - do it the right way. Head to the hospital and tell them you need help now. Do it! And come back here so we can give you a group cyber-hug.


On second thought, here's your hug now...

mcd you are super cool!!! hugs xx00xx00 to you too!!!! love the positive vibes!!!

yea i was soooo sad when amy winehouse died, another artist another tragedy another loss to addiction that could have been prevented!

to the best of my knowledge tho im not a doctor or expert is the only true deadly withdrawal drugs are alcohol and benzos. the other ones you FEEL like you're gonna die but you're not! I should post this cool withdrawal formula here below, it's not from a doctor it's from a dude named thomas who is also an addict and did his research if you will on what worked for him and then shared it. I think it's pretty darn close on what someone needs to be more comfortable, but I'm with you mcd if you are boozing at all with your addiction the hospital or medical detox is really the ONLY safe option!

peace!!!

THOMAS RECIPE

If you can't take time off to detox, I recommend you follow a taper regimen using your drug of choice or suitable alternate -- the slower the taper, the better.

For the Recipe, You'll need:

1. Valium (or another benzodiazepine such as Klonopin, Librium, Ativan or Xanax). Of these, Valium and Klonopin are best suited for tapering since they come in tablet form. Librium is also an excellent detox benzo, but comes in capsules, making it hard to taper the dose. Ativan or Xanax should only be used if you can't get one of the others.

2. Imodium (over the counter, any drug or grocery store).

3. L-Tyrosine (500 mg caps) from the health food store.

4. Strong wide-spectrum mineral supplement with at least 100% RDA of Zinc, Phosphorus, Copper, Magnesium and Potassium (you may not find the potassium in the same supplement).

5. Vitamin B6 caps.

6. Access to hot baths or a Jacuzzi (or hot showers if that's all that's available).

How to use the recipe:

Start the vitamin/mineral supplement right away (or the first day you can keep it down), preferably with food. Potassium early in the detox is important to help relieve RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). Bananas are a good source of potassium if you can't find a supplement for it.

Begin your detox with regular doses of Valium (or alternate benzo). Start with a dose high enough to produce sleep. Before you use any benzo, make sure you're aware of how often it can be safely taken. Different benzos have different dosing schedules. Taper your Valium dosage down after each day. The goal is to get through day 4, after which the worst WD symptoms will subside. You shouldn't need the Valium after day 4 or 5.

During detox, hit the hot bath or Jacuzzi as often as you need to for muscle aches. Don't underestimate the effectiveness of hot soaks. Spend the entire time, if necessary, in a hot bath. This simple method will alleviate what is for many the worst opiate WD symptom.

Use the Imodium aggressively to stop the runs. Take as much as you need, as often as you need it. Don't take it, however, if you don't need it.

At the end of the fourth day, you should be waking up from the Valium and experiencing the beginnings of the opiate WD malaise. Upon rising (empty stomach), take the L-Tyrosine. Try 2000 mgs, and scale up or down, depending on how you feel. You can take up to 4,000 mgs. Take the L-Tyrosine with B6 to help absorption. Wait about one hour before eating breakfast. The L-Tyrosine will give you a surge of physical and mental energy that will help counteract the malaise. You may continue to take it each morning for as long as it helps. If you find it gives you the "coffee jitters," consider lowering the dosage or discontinuing it altogether. Occasionally, L-Tyrosine can cause the runs. Unlike the runs from opiate WD, however, this effect of L-Tyrosine is mild and normally does not return after the first hour. Lowering the dosage may help.

Continue to take the vitamin/mineral supplement with breakfast.

As soon as you can force yourself to, get some mild exercise such as walking, cycling, swimming, etc. This will be hard at first, but will make you feel considerably better.

Thomas"

If you're physically dependent on alcohol, drugs, or medication, that means you body needs that substance in order to function properly. Your body has been conditioned, over time, to require it. Any sudden removal will literally cause your body to stop working correctly and can cause devastating side effects.

Drugs like Xanax and Valium, benzodiazepines, can kill if one tries to withdraw too fast or inappropriately. If you’ve taken benzodiazepines – tranquilizers - for any length of time, you’ll need medical supervision to make sure you don’t have life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. It can take up to six months to properly stop this type of medication when it has been abused.

Opiates are not commonly deadly when quit cold turkey, but there are exceptions to every rule. Methadone, a replacement for heroin, is one of those exceptions. If it is taken in high doses for a long time, withdrawal can cause seizures, heart problems, and breathing difficulties.

Improperly completing a rapid-detox program can also cause death. These popular methods quickly rid the body of the drug, but negative side effects are common, since these methods don’t address the patient’s physical dependence on the drug.

Both alcohol and benzodiazepine drugs have been known to cause fatal side effects during withdrawal. These most often include blood pressure spikes leading to stroke and/or heart attack, and Grand Mal seizures — often combined. While other drugs can cause incredibly unpleasant symptoms during withdrawal, they are rarely fatal.

There are ways to make withdrawal easier, though. With serious drug or alcohol problems, a medical detox may be advised to make sure you don’t suffer through symptoms that could end up killing or seriously injuring you.

Once you’re past the worst of it, you could try replacing your electrolytes, eating complex carbohydrates to make sure you don’t develop hypoglycemia as a side effect of withdrawal, and taking vitamin B, which helps heal cells, like the nerves that are damaged by drug or alcohol abuse.

When alcohol or drugs have virtually consumed your life and you come to the conclusion that it’s time to purge them from your system, the temptation is to do it yourself.

While this may seem like a harmless home remedy, certainly one that won’t cost you anything, in fact, the practice is not only not very effective, it is also a bad idea that can prove dangerous – even fatal, in some instances.

Sudden alcohol cessation can cause hallucinations, convulsions, and even heart seizure that may ultimately result in death.

Anyone with a serious dependency on alcohol should never even consider going “cold turkey” at home.

Detoxification from alcohol detox is a two-phase process. The first phase occurs over a period of a few days. This initial period is the most dangerous and can prove fatal. The second and longer phase of alcohol detox occurs over months, as the brain slowly begins to regulate and resume normal functioning. There may be lingering symptoms during the second phase of alcohol.

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Bottom line: PLEASE GET HELP - Don't try to detox without medical supervision! It's just not worth the risk.

One thing you can do, however, is to decrease your consumption GRADUALLY. A slow, steady decrease of your drug of choice will ALWAYS be a good idea. Just remember, if you "fall off the wagon", just try again.

"ONE DAY AT A TIME", might mean one hour at a time, for a while, or one minute at a time. Forgive yourself if you backtrack - trying to quit, working toward that goal, is NEVER a failure. In the end, it'll all be so worth it.

DISCLAIMER:

ATTN: Any posts by members to this board (Unless Specifically Recognized as a Certified MD by SoberandRecoveryhotline.com) is NOT to be treated as medical advise. Seek IMMEDIATE medical attention for any professional advise.

Don't know where to go...not sure I trust anybody anymore.

It's been about 4 days since I had my last drink. The shakes come on right away, still got them.

My heart keeps racing, beating weird like. Can't explian it. And one minute I'm cold, the next I'm burning up.

Am I in trouble? How long will I feel this way?

Don't tell me to go to the hospital. I have no insurance now that I got fired. Living out of my car to save money. No place to go.

Can somebody give me a straight answer?

I'm in a Starbucks. Trying to look normal. Will check back later unless they kick me out.

Originally Posted by kitwarelotus

My heart keeps racing, beating weird like. Can't explian it. And one minute I'm cold, the next I'm burning up.

Am I in trouble? How long will I feel this way?

Don't tell me to go to the hospital. I have no insurance now that I got fired. Living out of my car to save money. No place to go.

Can somebody give me a straight answer?

Kit, Honey,

You're experiencing DT's - Delirium tremens. They usually show up about now, if it's been 2-3 days since your last drink, but can come about as long as a week later. You've never experienced DT's? Its peak intensity is usually four to five days after the last drink.

Honey, you need help... NOW!

Are you experiencing breathing issues? DT's commonly cause dangerous shifts in your breathing, your circulation and your temperature control, as you mentioned.
Are you feeling dehydrated? DT's can cause your heart to race dangerously or can cause your blood pressure to increase dramatically, and it can cause dangerous dehydration. The DT's are actually reducing blood flow to your brain, honey.

PLEASE, PLEASE SEEK HELP NOW!

It sounds like your symptoms are scaring you. Please seek help.

Symptoms can include confusion, disorientation, stupor or loss of consciousness, nervous or angry behavior, irrational beliefs, soaking sweats, sleep disturbances and hallucinations. You really cannot afford to sit in a Starbuck's, waiting for an answer... Get medical help now. Please.

~4tRACY520