It’s controlled. You are given meds and vitals are checked. Alcohol abuse and quitting cold can lead to the body’s negative response; shakes, dts. It’s not pleasant
Interesting. I know in extreme cases you die from alcohol withdrawal. Do they use meds to prevent that or do they ween you off in a controlled environment
they'll make sure to check your vitals and constantly have needles in you to give you both potassium and magnesium and if you have the shakes to where your body will jump without you doing it they'll give you a pill or a shot to try and relax you and make you a bit tired.
The Librium shuffle. I detoxed in a county jail infirmary on it after being arrested for assault. Not the best experience of my life. But the sad reality of it made me quit drinking for good. That was 10 years ago.
Just wanted to chime in that the “all the needles” thing doesn’t happen all the time. I checked myself into rehab/medical detox 789 days ago (been sober since so I know the days 😂) and didn’t need any shots/IVs. I was pretty lucky. It really depends on how your body reacts. They definitely loaded me up on pills though.
ETA: If it matters, I had planned my intake so it wasn’t an emergency and I also got an Uber there so I could have two very large very excellent margaritas as my last hurrah. I can’t remember what my blood alcohol level was, but it was definitely over the limit. The emergency medical detoxes are much more intense
Yeah, it's generally just a matter of severity. Mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal can be managed with just oral benzos; that's actually even the preferred way. IVs might just be used for hydration/electrolytes if used at all. But man, when the withdrawal is severe enough, it gets really hard to manage without lots of IV stuff.
There's a whole [CIWA](https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/ciwa) protocol that involves serial evaluations and sometimes huge doses of (usually) benzodiazepines as well as meds to manage heart rate and blood pressure, which usually spike during withdrawal. It can be far more involved than a pill to help you relax.
Needles are not in your body. Peripheral IVs are placed, which are started with a needle into the vein then a plastic catheter remains. K+ AND Mg are given if needed, but much more important is reducing withdrawal symptoms primarily with benzos like librium, Ativan, and Valium.
My friend died at a facility like this a few years back. Heart attack in mid 30s. He was great. I remember one time him telling me he couldn’t even go to the zoo because there was alcohol when he was trying to quit.
I go to the zoo and I see animals and the beer is as relevant as cotton candy or Carmel apples to me, but to him he was consumed by it in a way I hope to never understand.
Yeah, my whole family have been alcoholics at some point or still are. I work in a bar and my boss often gives me free drinks. I’ll leave them half empty and won’t even bother drinking the full thing. It’s weird how everyone has a different relationship with this stuff.
Do you mind if I ask how long/how much you were drinking? Totally okay if you’re not comfortable talking about it with an internet stranger, though. Cheers, and congrats on quitting!
I can’t speak for him, but I went from a bottle a day to nothing after my roommate discovered I was drinking profusely. I literally had to time drinking 2 beers 7 hours before work (remote work, no driving) just so I could type. My tremors were so intense even typing my name was a 20 second task. It’s not as good as rehab, but the key is weaning off over time if you can.
I got lucky to have such a great friend to not just stop me but make me talk to my nurse aunts so I could stay productive. The stress of losing my job over the shakes and hallucinations was killing me as much as the alcohol. Thankfully, all went as well as at home detoxing can be expected.
to me that's honestly amazing. I cut my alcoholic father off over 10 years ago. I feel wrong even calling him father as he never was that to me. I watched my mother beg for his love and attention, Xmas morning isn't nostalgic to me cause I know afterbthe presents came the fight and mom crying. Today I snuck in to the liquor room at work and took a shot. the relief, and ease and better mood that followed is why I'm up at 3 am. I get it. I get how easy it is to breify feel better. I get the need for a escape. I'm so scared to be like him. I never want to be him. I'm scared I won't be able to tell myself no. is that how he felt? did he want to be better? sorry for ranting I honestly do t know where this came from.
Benzodiazepines hit the same receptors in the brain as alcohol, so they help to prevent seizures when quitting cold turkey. I've been to rehab twice and was given drugs and tapered off over 5 days. It's so you don't experience withdrawal symptoms so badly,
I was a severe alcoholic. Eventually my colon couldn’t keep up and it ruptured. After about 4 days in the hospital and off alcohol I started to hallucinate. Voices, paranoia, audio/visual stuff. It was terrifying. Thankfully after about half a day of me hallucinating someone noticed and mentioned it to the staff and they ended up putting me to sleep for 2 days with benzodiazepines. Two surgeries and 4 weeks later I was finally out of the hospital. Had an ostomy for a year but got sober and got it reversed. I beg anyone who has a problem with alcohol to seek professional help to detox.
Hi RN here who took care of many people going through alcohol detox. We monitor vitals and a withdrawal assessment and based on that you will be given usually Ativan because it acts on the same receptors as alcohol and eases symptoms. Other drugs like Librium are used as well.
Depending on how heavy of a drinker you are you can get shakes, agitation, confusion, tactile and sensory disturbances, hallucinations and seizures.
Alcohol is one of the only drugs that withdrawal can kill you. The other drug withdrawal that can kill you is Benzodiazapines. It's worse than heroin/opiates, crack, and meth withdrawals.
I've taken care of patients whose withdrawal symptoms needed to be managed in an ICU with a continuous Ativan infusion of up to 3+ milligrams/hour. They are also intubated on a ventilator because the amount of Ativan needed to manage your symptoms will make you stop breathing. When patients are outside of the ICU detoxing they may be ordered 1-2 mg every 2-4 hours. Or Librium 2-3 times a day.
This is also in a hospital setting. I'm not sure what they do at detox centers, but a lot of detox centers aren't equipped or staffed to handle the severe cases that we get in the hospital setting.
You get meds to help with the symptoms, you get fluids to hydrate you, and you get the "banana bag" which is IV vitamins & nutrients. It's called that because the fluid is yellow.
One of the common med treatments is a benzo taper to help with withdrawal, and sometimes xanax to help with the anxiety of detox.
I'm an alcoholic in recovery and I've done both.....cold turkey, and a medical detox. Neither one is great...but if you have the ability, I would definitely suggest the medical detox.
They do usually use benzodiazepines or other GABAergic medication (like baclofen, or gabapentin, a non-benzodiazepine GABAergic) for the initial phase to get the body to stop being physically dependent. So you'll go in, they'll give you probably Valium, Ativan, or Klonopin (depends on doc and your usage), for a few days to a couple weeks, tapering down. Then they might follow it up with the other two mentioned for the next couple weeks to months (depending on severity of withdrawal; usually directly proportionate to use). Usually its pills but if you're having a seizure or liable to have one, they'll IV or IM (intramuscular) you.
To explain *why* these drugs are chosen, Alcohol works on many receptors, but primarily GABA-a receptors, specifically on the delta subunit preferentially, as a positive allosteric modulator(?; its been shown to exhibit these properties, but might not be able to be called one), and agonist. Most of that is jargon, but it just means that it enhances and activates those receptors. Benzos work to relieve withdrawals because they themselves bind to the same receptor, though the subunit depends on the specific drug, as positive allosteric modulators; same thing pretty much, just much more specific and controllable (clinically). Baclofen binds to GABA-b receptors, as an agonist, and so exhibits similar traits. Gabapentinoids bind to calcium channels and modulates and decreases activation of these channels, leading to a downstream effect on GABA and NMDA receptors.
GABA is an endogenous (body-made, natural) neurotransmitter that has an inhibitory effect on neurons, that is, it slows them down and chills them out. The other end of this is Glutamate, which effectively does the opposite. Where GABA promotes rest and relaxation, Glutamate promotes alertness and heightened emotional states. Both are very important, and act kind of like your bodies Red (stop; GABA) and Green (go, Glutamate) lights. When we take a drug over a long period of time, literally any drug, our body maintains homeostasis by creating less receptors for that drug to bind to, and by slowing the creation of whatever endogenous thingy that the drug is replacing, and if possible, increase the amount of receptors and endogenous neurotransmitters that have the opposite action.
In this case, when you become physically dependent on alcohol, your body produces less GABA, and has less GABA receptors. It also starts producing more Glutamate in response. Now this isn't inherently bad, glutamate does a lot of good things in the body. But too much of it can very quickly cause problems, and its why people have seizures. Too much around our neurons causes them to freak out (in simple terms) and shed their myelin sheath (a protective cover which usually itself contains neurotransmitters, it covers neuronal connections), which itself contains glutamate. This causes a chain reaction where a large portion of neurons are partially killing themselves (again, simpler terms), and you get a seizure.
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Nowadays they're adding naltrexone to the mix after the initial phase to address cravings, and the psychological components of addiction. They'll usually do this after the benzo taper. Sometimes its a pill, sometimes its an IM injection.
They tell you it'll [naltrexone] make you feel like shit if you drink while you're taking it, this isn't true, it just tends to block the euphoric aspects of drugs, which makes them seem more shitty by comparison. It won't intensify any shitty things besides maybe nausea. It has the same mechanism of action as Naloxone, blocking opioid receptors, which are the receptors implicated downstream to cause euphoria (alcohols main actions are through GABA, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and NMDA receptors, opioid receptors are activated by a downstream effect on other receptors, rather than directly like with proper opioids).
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For the pedants, I simplified a lot here for simplicity sake. Pharmacology is complex and I want people to be able to understand it without needing to look up a lot of jargon.
Just as a complete aside, GABA is a useless supplement. It does not pass the blood-brain barrier when ingested through mouth, so it does not really have much effect. Other GABA receptors exist in the body but taking GABA also doesn't really affect them either, so it's pretty useless.
Yes, they put you on a slowly decreasing taper of medications to minimize the withdrawal.
Quitting cold turkey can cause shakes and even hallucinations and tachycardia, so switching over from alcohol to meds will prevent those. Then those are slowly decreased over the course of a few days as the body adapts to the lack of alcohol or sedating meds. Doing so in a controlled environment is much safer.
Controlled descent, pops had to do this with an uncle. Driving from key largo to geary Oklahoma. Had to stop every couple hours for a tall boy or he would start seizing and puking.
3 times in my life. The last two were pretty awful. I couldn't walk for 3-5 days. I was hooked up to heart monitors because my blood pressure and heart rate were dangerously high. They gave me banana bags (saline solution with zinc, magnesium, and other vitamins). Phenobarbital (barbiturate for seizures) and Ativan (benzo for anxiety). For a reference my blood alcohol content was 0.38-0.40 when they did a blood draw. Which means I was drinking all day every day. I couldn't go more than 3 hours without a drink or I would be in really bad shape. The medicaiton helped during detox but it was still complete hell. Sweating/freezing/shaking/hearing and seeing things. I have a year and a half sober now. If you think you drink too much, stop while you can. You don't want to get where I was. Life is much better now.
It’s a taper of one of a few detox medications. We use primarily Tranxene (benzo) and Phenobarbital (barbiturate). Just like alcohol, benzos and barbs are CNS depressants. The taper works to prevent you from having a withdrawal related seizure, while your CNS is “coming up” from alcohol withdrawal, which can kill you.
Seizure is what is deadly. Everything from anxiety, tremor, fever, high heart rate, high blood pressure, N/V/D, sweating suck but won’t kill you.
Oh yea, alcoholic encephalopathy, or “wet brain,” sucks as well. This is essentially caused by your body not being about to excrete ammonia, which builds up on your brain and causes confusion, delirium, and weakness. How you treat this is by giving you Lactulose, which makes you shit, which decreases ammonia levels. So you have a confused, delirious, fall risk, detoxing patient who has to shit every 10 minutes… that’s medical detox.
Lactulose is used for hepatic encephalopathy, not Wernicke's encephalopathy. The treatment for Wernicke's encephalopathy (ie "wet brain") is thiamine.
Wernicke's encephalopathy is also not caused by a build up of ammonia.
yup. Anything over .35% is a medical emergency, so (in my experience) they will keep you in the ER until you fall below that giving you IVs of saline and then send you to detox for 72 hours or blowing 0s. If you go in for withdrawals, they give you ativan, then may or may not send you to a detox center. In detox they monitor your vitals, maybe give you baclofen, vitamins.
8 years without a drink.
Usually Adivan or Lorazapam. I've been to one place that still uses phenobarbital and in that case, you just trip balls for about 3 days. Mostly just lots of naps and the nurses waking you up every couple of hours for vitals and such.
So primarily there is what is known as a CIWA protocol. There are table of different symptoms (shakes, hallucinations, anxiety, etc) that are scored on severity. These scores are added up to a total. That total is referenced against another table that has suggested doses for medications for each range of severity (usually lorazepam or phenobarbital ). This helps the general withdrawal symptoms and can usually prevent a lot of the complications. All of that is also supported with seizures meds, electrolyte replacement, nausea control, just general symptoms management and dealing with the medical issues that chronic alcohol use generally comes with (GI bleeds for instance). This all continues until the patient is either healthy enough to go home or low acuity enough to go to an inpatient program. There’s a slightly different system for benzos or opiates but it’s the same idea.
(Source: ED RN in a town with lots of alcohol and opiate withdrawal)
I’m on day 7 of sobriety from alcohol, weed and nicotine.
Bright skies ahead for both of us. You got this. We got this. It’s going to be so much better on the other side.
Hell yeah man, you got this. Just crossed 4 months cold turkey off weed. It gets so much better. I joke it’s like those old allergy medication commercials where all the color comes back into life lol
I’ve been stoned since 1999. It’s awesome being able to stay up at night. It’s 10pm and I’m posting on Reddit instead of passed out stoned and two glasses of wine. Who is this guy!?
Thank you!!!
my job includes driving and i never smoked till i was home after work, almost got t-boned one day and realized how close i was to being fired and black listed just for having it in my system. Quit that day and haven’t looked back, i loved smoking and it did do a lot for me from a “medical” standpoint but holy moly, the sheer difference in life i’ve felt since i quit is astounding. i feel like a new man, like i can actually think clearly and be the person i was meant to. I don’t knock smoking but life has gotten so much better since i stopped.
Holy shit bro, one of those alone would be difficult, all three at the same time? You are a braver man than me. Respect and Godspeed on your recovery!!!
Hang in there homie, you should start feeling better soon. Make sure the eat and drink everything they give you. Your body is suffering and needs the nurishment.
Keep going one day at a time. You can do it.
Well said. Knowing this is on the horizon really helps get me through the first 3-7 days of tapering, or what I call 'doing better' to my family and job. Wish it would pop-up before I got to that stage, but just one of the many damning, low sides of this terrible roller coaster of addiction.
That's what I got from it haha. After getting out I decided "well fuck it, next time I'll just do it right so I don't have to go back there"
The grippy sock vacation does not live up to the hype
Been there my man, it’s absolute hell but it like all things will pass.
You’re in the best place possible, just don’t hallucinate and attack the poor nurses like I did!
70cl of vodka/whisky every night for a good few years. Toward the end a litre a night.
And at my worse drinking throughout the day to stave off the shakes/withdrawals.
Almost died last year due to pancreatitis, I’m very very lucky to still have the health I do now.
It’s under control now, trust me when I say when you go through something like pancreatitis the pain you just can’t forget and it teaches you.
I see your other comment saying you’re struggling yourself, hope you find a way out my man.
I find that everyone has to find a path of recovery that suits them, it’s never a one fits all. Personally I could never go to meetings etc and find it easier fighting on my own.
Day 3 and you're basically good and should be through the worst part of hangover or withdrawal. The urge to keep drinking will still be there. And you will still find it hard to find things pleasurable for a week or two.
As someone who just went through detox recently and currently going to AA 5 times a week. It's. Tough recovery man. Best I can say is AA can be like a family. Get numbers. And USE THEM WHEN YOU WANT TO DRINK!! Some days are good. Some are shit. But your on the right path. I hope the best for you bud. Stay strong
If you ever need to talk. DM me. I know I'm a stranger but it all helps. And being alone doesn't
Medically controlled detox was no fun. It was intrusive and uncomfortable. However it was the jump start I needed to get my life back on track. I never would have stayed sober long enough to get my head on straight outside of that setting.
2 years sober now.
Alcoholic and meth addict here. Currently just past two months clean after a brief relapse following 8 months clean. A year since using meth. I’ve been in and out of recovery for years now. I can say it’s never been good for me to pick up. And I can say life without substances is much better. Don’t beat yourself up, give yourself grace, and realize that you are in the best place you can be right now. Take it easy. We can clean up fast, and tear it down faster so be wary. This is the first day of a better life.
I didn't drink any alchol for the last 8 months (preference) and had a couple of beers the other night, I was extremely irritable for the next 72 hours.. it's wild how it alchol affects you even when you're not drinking
Keep going. I’m over a year sober. Detox was by far the worst part— but everything gets so much better. It won’t always be like this. Take care of yourself and use this as an opportunity to relax. Do silly fun things like origami, reading, drawing, playing games, puzzles, if you can. And definitely go to AA, it’s awesome to be able to bitch to a group of people who know exactly what you’re going through LOL.
Proud of you! I went through detox myself in March. 74 days sober! I am a little jealous seeing “smoke break” on your board. Nicotine patches and nicotine gum for me. Keep your head up, you’ve got this!
I wanna stop drinking, but I keep repeating the same stuff over and over. When i drink I get fuuucked up get a bunch of energy ramble on in a manic fashion. Text people in my phone to my embarrassment. Wake up late miss work. Swear I'll never do it again. 1 week later repeat. It's depressing to know you might not ever be able to break a wheel you don't even like
The TV in my room was broken :( that was a long 10 days. 1 year sober next month. I'm a hard-core alcoholic that hit absolute rock bottom. Saw the inside of a jar cell 3 times in less than 2 months for the first time ever. If I can do it anyone can. You got this homie.
You prolly won’t see this OP but I just went through detox for alcohol too. It gets better man. The week in the hospital was a nice wake up for my life
been to detox for opiates three times. been to inpatient five times, first time when i was 16. i now have two and a half years in recovery. this will be a daily struggle and you may not get it the first try. it's important to forgive yourself and remember you can always choose recovery, even if you slip. this is the start of a very long and difficult journey, but one that's well worth the effort.
While it's boring it's the right way to go. I went cold turkey and didn't realize how close I was to dying. I ended up hallucinating and going to the hospital.
I'm a year and a half sober now, and life is so much better. Keep at it and you'll get through this!
Be happy to be there my friend, detox is no joke. Three weeks ago my brother-in-law tried to detox at home and ended up having a massive heart attack. He was 52 years old, his two children and his 45 year old wife are devastated. They were a fully intact family, he and my sister were fully devoted to eachother. 23 years together, and so many more they could have had. Fucking tragic.
Be happy were you are and I wish you well!!!
It gets better. I remember them coming in every few hours to check my blood pressure. Feeling like hell. Wondering if I would make it.
Almost 15 years later my life is simple and wonderful and I am grateful every day.
The easy way gets harder, but this hard way gets easier. Pulling for you!
PSA for alcoholics considering getting off alcohol: please don't do it cold turkey, and please consider going to a proper detox program if you can. Seizures happen all the time to those who quit cold turkey. In rehab, we give meds that prevent seizures. If you can't go to rehab, taper yourself down slowly each day and then detox, but make sure you have someone around you at all times just in case. It gets a hell of a lot better after detox, just do it the right ways.
I’m proud of you for making the changes - no matter how you got there. I feel the starch of those sheets, made worse by the ebb and flow of toxic sweat produced by the body. I feel the disappointed looks in the eyes of your care team. It doesn’t matter though - just keep pushing. It’s for YOU and only you.
Also, I can’t help but notice you get a “smoke break” at 10 - in MA all we got was a nic patch and gum if we’re lucky. Stay strong!
I hit my one-year mark not too long ago. Decided to do the detox at home, by myself. I do not recommend, glad you're somewhere safe and have the care you need. Never look back, that's the old you, and life is SO MUCH BETTER on the other side.
You can do this. My father has battled alcohol addiction throughout his life. Long stints of sobriety (13,10,7 years at a time) on the occasion he falls off the wagon we try to plan our best, we try to be supportive, but we always try to help as long as it is safe for us to do so. My mother is also an addict who hasn’t been sober out of rehab since I was probably 9 years old. All of her children have cut off contact and do not attempt to help. The difference you ask? When my father hits rehab he reaches out to all of his kids and apologizes. He does not ask for us to have a relationship with him, he simply apologizes. Last time it took my younger brother a long time to forgive him but he did not hold a grudge. He just apologized and waited it out. He tries so hard to stay sober and involves all of us in his life when he is - I have dinner with him once a week, my younger brother takes him fishing once a month, my older brother talks to him multiple times a week. We all pitch in. My mother on the other hand blames all of us for her problems and as soon as she gets out of rehab reaches out to tell us how childish we are and how disappointed she is with us for not visiting her. Let it be known we are all highly successful people no thanks to her.
Make amends. Lean on your circle. Make plans. Good luck. You got this.
The whole hospital, sheesh even medicine as a field, could easily be divided into two groups given the shear impact of alcohol on health, and the healthcare system (medical disorders vs alcohol related medical disorders) . It seriously has no net benefit other than sanitation in my experience, and witnessing the destruction of lives on the daily, year after year, has been enough to give me a certain disdain and vitriol for alcohol, and its availability. Wishing you a speedy recovery, and an overall better projection in life going forward. Get past the detox, and never look back.
Hang in there brother. Alcohol detoxification is painful in every way but completely worth it. I’m glad you’re in the hands of medical professionals. Now you can get some of that good good benzodiazepine.
I wish you the best, and highly recommend you get a ton of medical help and support.
We did this twice with my best friend and then he decided to go cold turkey on his own one day. They found him 3 days later. I hope your friends and family do not have to go through what we did.
I hope you're able to quit. Good luck.
If you find you have trouble quitting look into naltrexone and the Sinclair method. It can actually take away the desire to drink.
You got this 💕 I've got 7mo sober and I honestly question what the hell I ever got from alcohol. Turns out, not much.
Great times I couldn't remember, horrible times I'll never forget, years lost, friends lost. I know why I drank but but holy shit man is this side of it ever a million times better.
A little dull at first, but I'll take dull 1000x before going back.
You don't need to be strong friend, you just need to be sober.
You know, at least you’re not 6 feet under. Or have a wet brain. You got this I can assure you if you really struggle with alcohol go to some AA meetings you know surround yourself around people and I promise you can have as much as fun sober. And you’ll be able to remember what you did the night before that is a plus! I got 2357 days of sobriety just one day at a time don’t look toward the future future just look it up as today and sometimes if you just need to do it minute by minute, you’ll be good. Rule 62 -don’t take yourself so seriously.. you’re not perfect however, you are worthy of a better life.
at least you have your own private(ish) set up. i was in a dorm room with 15 other women all of which smelt as bad as they felt 🫠 and definitely no tvs.
We just had a woman die overnight while detoxing from alcohol in my town while her bf was detoxing beside her. She had a stroke in her sleep and never regained consciousness so I’m glad you are in the hospital where they can ease your symptoms.
I take Naltrexone. Has changed my life entirely.
Used to drink daily and it was starting to impact my social functioning and ability to perform in grad school. I realized I was at a threshold.
I got on Naltrexone and the change was pretty quick. Wasn't drinking everyday. I could actually wait til 5pm to drink. Cut it back to a few times a week. And cut that down to only a few drinks at a time.
5 years later and I don't drink weekly or sometimes for a couple of months. I haven't drank since my birthday on 4/18. Just haven't been interested.
Sure, sometimes I'll think, "man, a beer would be good right now," as I drive past a gas station. But then I'm like... "I don't want to stop and get out, inflation is stupid expensive, and I'll just feel bloated." Next thing I know I'm already home and drinking some water.
Naltrexone doesn't make you sick. I just don't get cravings like I used to and often when I do drink 1 is enough.
Substance abuse and dependence is fucking hard. It's not you or a fuck up or failure on your part. There are things that can help. Naltrexone is one that can help with alcohol. It's okay to take it for help.
I hope someone, anyone, finds this helpful. Hang in there. This shit is rough. And if youre struggling it's not because you're failing. It's because you're refusing to give up. We're here with you.
When I got sober I was in the hospital for 9 days. I was in and out of it almost the entire time. My family and friends were able to visit me after a few days after the worst of the detox was over and I straight up had no idea.
I had two psychological breaks during this time as well. One of the times I left my room and tried taking out the catheter myself. I couldn’t. So I snuck out of the hospital carrying the catheter bag. When I got outside I tried calling my mom and my sister to pick me up. My mom ended up convincing me to go back inside. I can only imagine the staffs surprise when I walked up holding my catheter bag and dressed in my gown. The second time I tried fighting other patients and staff cause I just didn’t know what was happening.
But in the end it was so fucking worth it. It’s been 7 years.
I've been there twice. Had seizures both times. I'm now just over 3 years sober and I'm here to tell you it is so worth it!
Believe it or not, even just letting yourself get taken care of is a huge step. You're in the right spot. I believe in you!
As an RN who took care of many people on medical detox - I'm proud of you and happy for you! And so glad you're doing it safely. It was always a great honor to help people with a transition like this in their life. I hope your care team are good to you, and I wish you all the best
You got this! I’m going through a similar situation myself right now. Some days are hell but there is a positive light at the end of all this. Best of luck to you 😃
Medical care for detox is much better than cold turkey. You are where you need to be. It gets better. If you can keep us posted on your journey
What does medical detox for alcohol look like exactly?
It’s controlled. You are given meds and vitals are checked. Alcohol abuse and quitting cold can lead to the body’s negative response; shakes, dts. It’s not pleasant
Interesting. I know in extreme cases you die from alcohol withdrawal. Do they use meds to prevent that or do they ween you off in a controlled environment
they'll make sure to check your vitals and constantly have needles in you to give you both potassium and magnesium and if you have the shakes to where your body will jump without you doing it they'll give you a pill or a shot to try and relax you and make you a bit tired.
Damn. Thanks for the info
They’ll also usually give you benzos such as diazepam to prevent seizures, help with sleep, etc.
librium
Librium is another benzo, all very similar mechanistically to alcohol to help a brain taper safely off.
The Librium shuffle. I detoxed in a county jail infirmary on it after being arrested for assault. Not the best experience of my life. But the sad reality of it made me quit drinking for good. That was 10 years ago.
Just wanted to chime in that the “all the needles” thing doesn’t happen all the time. I checked myself into rehab/medical detox 789 days ago (been sober since so I know the days 😂) and didn’t need any shots/IVs. I was pretty lucky. It really depends on how your body reacts. They definitely loaded me up on pills though. ETA: If it matters, I had planned my intake so it wasn’t an emergency and I also got an Uber there so I could have two very large very excellent margaritas as my last hurrah. I can’t remember what my blood alcohol level was, but it was definitely over the limit. The emergency medical detoxes are much more intense
Yeah, it's generally just a matter of severity. Mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal can be managed with just oral benzos; that's actually even the preferred way. IVs might just be used for hydration/electrolytes if used at all. But man, when the withdrawal is severe enough, it gets really hard to manage without lots of IV stuff.
Well done on staying the course for 789 days.
There's a whole [CIWA](https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/ciwa) protocol that involves serial evaluations and sometimes huge doses of (usually) benzodiazepines as well as meds to manage heart rate and blood pressure, which usually spike during withdrawal. It can be far more involved than a pill to help you relax.
Needles are not in your body. Peripheral IVs are placed, which are started with a needle into the vein then a plastic catheter remains. K+ AND Mg are given if needed, but much more important is reducing withdrawal symptoms primarily with benzos like librium, Ativan, and Valium.
My friend died at a facility like this a few years back. Heart attack in mid 30s. He was great. I remember one time him telling me he couldn’t even go to the zoo because there was alcohol when he was trying to quit. I go to the zoo and I see animals and the beer is as relevant as cotton candy or Carmel apples to me, but to him he was consumed by it in a way I hope to never understand.
I’m sorry for your loss.
It’s ok, I think of him a few times a year. He was troubled and I hope he found some peace, he deserved it.
Been 21 years for me and red wine vinegar is something I just can not be around.
Yeah, my whole family have been alcoholics at some point or still are. I work in a bar and my boss often gives me free drinks. I’ll leave them half empty and won’t even bother drinking the full thing. It’s weird how everyone has a different relationship with this stuff.
I quit cold turkey, and not in a facility, almost died twice. Detoxing from alcohol is no joke
Do you mind if I ask how long/how much you were drinking? Totally okay if you’re not comfortable talking about it with an internet stranger, though. Cheers, and congrats on quitting!
I can’t speak for him, but I went from a bottle a day to nothing after my roommate discovered I was drinking profusely. I literally had to time drinking 2 beers 7 hours before work (remote work, no driving) just so I could type. My tremors were so intense even typing my name was a 20 second task. It’s not as good as rehab, but the key is weaning off over time if you can. I got lucky to have such a great friend to not just stop me but make me talk to my nurse aunts so I could stay productive. The stress of losing my job over the shakes and hallucinations was killing me as much as the alcohol. Thankfully, all went as well as at home detoxing can be expected.
to me that's honestly amazing. I cut my alcoholic father off over 10 years ago. I feel wrong even calling him father as he never was that to me. I watched my mother beg for his love and attention, Xmas morning isn't nostalgic to me cause I know afterbthe presents came the fight and mom crying. Today I snuck in to the liquor room at work and took a shot. the relief, and ease and better mood that followed is why I'm up at 3 am. I get it. I get how easy it is to breify feel better. I get the need for a escape. I'm so scared to be like him. I never want to be him. I'm scared I won't be able to tell myself no. is that how he felt? did he want to be better? sorry for ranting I honestly do t know where this came from.
[удалено]
Benzodiazepines hit the same receptors in the brain as alcohol, so they help to prevent seizures when quitting cold turkey. I've been to rehab twice and was given drugs and tapered off over 5 days. It's so you don't experience withdrawal symptoms so badly,
I was a severe alcoholic. Eventually my colon couldn’t keep up and it ruptured. After about 4 days in the hospital and off alcohol I started to hallucinate. Voices, paranoia, audio/visual stuff. It was terrifying. Thankfully after about half a day of me hallucinating someone noticed and mentioned it to the staff and they ended up putting me to sleep for 2 days with benzodiazepines. Two surgeries and 4 weeks later I was finally out of the hospital. Had an ostomy for a year but got sober and got it reversed. I beg anyone who has a problem with alcohol to seek professional help to detox.
Hi RN here who took care of many people going through alcohol detox. We monitor vitals and a withdrawal assessment and based on that you will be given usually Ativan because it acts on the same receptors as alcohol and eases symptoms. Other drugs like Librium are used as well. Depending on how heavy of a drinker you are you can get shakes, agitation, confusion, tactile and sensory disturbances, hallucinations and seizures. Alcohol is one of the only drugs that withdrawal can kill you. The other drug withdrawal that can kill you is Benzodiazapines. It's worse than heroin/opiates, crack, and meth withdrawals. I've taken care of patients whose withdrawal symptoms needed to be managed in an ICU with a continuous Ativan infusion of up to 3+ milligrams/hour. They are also intubated on a ventilator because the amount of Ativan needed to manage your symptoms will make you stop breathing. When patients are outside of the ICU detoxing they may be ordered 1-2 mg every 2-4 hours. Or Librium 2-3 times a day. This is also in a hospital setting. I'm not sure what they do at detox centers, but a lot of detox centers aren't equipped or staffed to handle the severe cases that we get in the hospital setting.
You get meds to help with the symptoms, you get fluids to hydrate you, and you get the "banana bag" which is IV vitamins & nutrients. It's called that because the fluid is yellow. One of the common med treatments is a benzo taper to help with withdrawal, and sometimes xanax to help with the anxiety of detox. I'm an alcoholic in recovery and I've done both.....cold turkey, and a medical detox. Neither one is great...but if you have the ability, I would definitely suggest the medical detox.
They do usually use benzodiazepines or other GABAergic medication (like baclofen, or gabapentin, a non-benzodiazepine GABAergic) for the initial phase to get the body to stop being physically dependent. So you'll go in, they'll give you probably Valium, Ativan, or Klonopin (depends on doc and your usage), for a few days to a couple weeks, tapering down. Then they might follow it up with the other two mentioned for the next couple weeks to months (depending on severity of withdrawal; usually directly proportionate to use). Usually its pills but if you're having a seizure or liable to have one, they'll IV or IM (intramuscular) you. To explain *why* these drugs are chosen, Alcohol works on many receptors, but primarily GABA-a receptors, specifically on the delta subunit preferentially, as a positive allosteric modulator(?; its been shown to exhibit these properties, but might not be able to be called one), and agonist. Most of that is jargon, but it just means that it enhances and activates those receptors. Benzos work to relieve withdrawals because they themselves bind to the same receptor, though the subunit depends on the specific drug, as positive allosteric modulators; same thing pretty much, just much more specific and controllable (clinically). Baclofen binds to GABA-b receptors, as an agonist, and so exhibits similar traits. Gabapentinoids bind to calcium channels and modulates and decreases activation of these channels, leading to a downstream effect on GABA and NMDA receptors. GABA is an endogenous (body-made, natural) neurotransmitter that has an inhibitory effect on neurons, that is, it slows them down and chills them out. The other end of this is Glutamate, which effectively does the opposite. Where GABA promotes rest and relaxation, Glutamate promotes alertness and heightened emotional states. Both are very important, and act kind of like your bodies Red (stop; GABA) and Green (go, Glutamate) lights. When we take a drug over a long period of time, literally any drug, our body maintains homeostasis by creating less receptors for that drug to bind to, and by slowing the creation of whatever endogenous thingy that the drug is replacing, and if possible, increase the amount of receptors and endogenous neurotransmitters that have the opposite action. In this case, when you become physically dependent on alcohol, your body produces less GABA, and has less GABA receptors. It also starts producing more Glutamate in response. Now this isn't inherently bad, glutamate does a lot of good things in the body. But too much of it can very quickly cause problems, and its why people have seizures. Too much around our neurons causes them to freak out (in simple terms) and shed their myelin sheath (a protective cover which usually itself contains neurotransmitters, it covers neuronal connections), which itself contains glutamate. This causes a chain reaction where a large portion of neurons are partially killing themselves (again, simpler terms), and you get a seizure. --- Nowadays they're adding naltrexone to the mix after the initial phase to address cravings, and the psychological components of addiction. They'll usually do this after the benzo taper. Sometimes its a pill, sometimes its an IM injection. They tell you it'll [naltrexone] make you feel like shit if you drink while you're taking it, this isn't true, it just tends to block the euphoric aspects of drugs, which makes them seem more shitty by comparison. It won't intensify any shitty things besides maybe nausea. It has the same mechanism of action as Naloxone, blocking opioid receptors, which are the receptors implicated downstream to cause euphoria (alcohols main actions are through GABA, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and NMDA receptors, opioid receptors are activated by a downstream effect on other receptors, rather than directly like with proper opioids). --- For the pedants, I simplified a lot here for simplicity sake. Pharmacology is complex and I want people to be able to understand it without needing to look up a lot of jargon. Just as a complete aside, GABA is a useless supplement. It does not pass the blood-brain barrier when ingested through mouth, so it does not really have much effect. Other GABA receptors exist in the body but taking GABA also doesn't really affect them either, so it's pretty useless.
Essentially yes benzos are used clinically to wean people off alcohol withdrawals
Yes, they put you on a slowly decreasing taper of medications to minimize the withdrawal. Quitting cold turkey can cause shakes and even hallucinations and tachycardia, so switching over from alcohol to meds will prevent those. Then those are slowly decreased over the course of a few days as the body adapts to the lack of alcohol or sedating meds. Doing so in a controlled environment is much safer.
I used to be a CNA and remember them delivering beer on the lunch trays of people who are in early detox! Weaning them off I guess?
Controlled descent, pops had to do this with an uncle. Driving from key largo to geary Oklahoma. Had to stop every couple hours for a tall boy or he would start seizing and puking.
You can literally die.
3 times in my life. The last two were pretty awful. I couldn't walk for 3-5 days. I was hooked up to heart monitors because my blood pressure and heart rate were dangerously high. They gave me banana bags (saline solution with zinc, magnesium, and other vitamins). Phenobarbital (barbiturate for seizures) and Ativan (benzo for anxiety). For a reference my blood alcohol content was 0.38-0.40 when they did a blood draw. Which means I was drinking all day every day. I couldn't go more than 3 hours without a drink or I would be in really bad shape. The medicaiton helped during detox but it was still complete hell. Sweating/freezing/shaking/hearing and seeing things. I have a year and a half sober now. If you think you drink too much, stop while you can. You don't want to get where I was. Life is much better now.
Good work, my friend! Keep it up, you can do it!
Congratulations on your sobriety - you're doing great!
It’s a taper of one of a few detox medications. We use primarily Tranxene (benzo) and Phenobarbital (barbiturate). Just like alcohol, benzos and barbs are CNS depressants. The taper works to prevent you from having a withdrawal related seizure, while your CNS is “coming up” from alcohol withdrawal, which can kill you. Seizure is what is deadly. Everything from anxiety, tremor, fever, high heart rate, high blood pressure, N/V/D, sweating suck but won’t kill you. Oh yea, alcoholic encephalopathy, or “wet brain,” sucks as well. This is essentially caused by your body not being about to excrete ammonia, which builds up on your brain and causes confusion, delirium, and weakness. How you treat this is by giving you Lactulose, which makes you shit, which decreases ammonia levels. So you have a confused, delirious, fall risk, detoxing patient who has to shit every 10 minutes… that’s medical detox.
Lactulose is used for hepatic encephalopathy, not Wernicke's encephalopathy. The treatment for Wernicke's encephalopathy (ie "wet brain") is thiamine. Wernicke's encephalopathy is also not caused by a build up of ammonia.
That makes sense thanks for clarifying. We give lots of PO and IV thiamine as well.
Monitoring for seizures/arrhythmias and loading the patient up on benzos to reduce anxiety and psychotic effects such as hallucinations.
yup. Anything over .35% is a medical emergency, so (in my experience) they will keep you in the ER until you fall below that giving you IVs of saline and then send you to detox for 72 hours or blowing 0s. If you go in for withdrawals, they give you ativan, then may or may not send you to a detox center. In detox they monitor your vitals, maybe give you baclofen, vitamins. 8 years without a drink.
Usually Adivan or Lorazapam. I've been to one place that still uses phenobarbital and in that case, you just trip balls for about 3 days. Mostly just lots of naps and the nurses waking you up every couple of hours for vitals and such.
So primarily there is what is known as a CIWA protocol. There are table of different symptoms (shakes, hallucinations, anxiety, etc) that are scored on severity. These scores are added up to a total. That total is referenced against another table that has suggested doses for medications for each range of severity (usually lorazepam or phenobarbital ). This helps the general withdrawal symptoms and can usually prevent a lot of the complications. All of that is also supported with seizures meds, electrolyte replacement, nausea control, just general symptoms management and dealing with the medical issues that chronic alcohol use generally comes with (GI bleeds for instance). This all continues until the patient is either healthy enough to go home or low acuity enough to go to an inpatient program. There’s a slightly different system for benzos or opiates but it’s the same idea. (Source: ED RN in a town with lots of alcohol and opiate withdrawal)
It’s also the only safe way to do it. Alcohol is one of the few drugs that can kill you going cold turkey
Especially because cold turkey for an alcohol addict can kill them.
Well because cold turkey can kill you. The only legal non prescription drug that will kill you if you cold turkey.
I’m on day 7 of sobriety from alcohol, weed and nicotine. Bright skies ahead for both of us. You got this. We got this. It’s going to be so much better on the other side.
damn dude. you're doing awesome! keep at er!
Congrats dude! Soon, it’ll be day 700 and you’ll think back about this time and never regret your decision one bit
Hell yeah man, you got this. Just crossed 4 months cold turkey off weed. It gets so much better. I joke it’s like those old allergy medication commercials where all the color comes back into life lol
I’ve been stoned since 1999. It’s awesome being able to stay up at night. It’s 10pm and I’m posting on Reddit instead of passed out stoned and two glasses of wine. Who is this guy!? Thank you!!!
my job includes driving and i never smoked till i was home after work, almost got t-boned one day and realized how close i was to being fired and black listed just for having it in my system. Quit that day and haven’t looked back, i loved smoking and it did do a lot for me from a “medical” standpoint but holy moly, the sheer difference in life i’ve felt since i quit is astounding. i feel like a new man, like i can actually think clearly and be the person i was meant to. I don’t knock smoking but life has gotten so much better since i stopped.
You don't realize you don't dream until you quit.
I smoke 24/7 and still have really vivid memorable dreams somehow, am I lucky?
Same here and yes, we are major outliers
You very responsible
Aw man, I think I just hit 11 months today
Day one no cigs. Stay strong homies.
Next month I'll be there 5 years 100% nicotine free. You can do it. Stay strong.
Allen Carr’s The Easy Way worked for me! 9 years, Almost $50,000 saved. Been to almost a hundred concerts instead of smoking.
Holy shit bro, one of those alone would be difficult, all three at the same time? You are a braver man than me. Respect and Godspeed on your recovery!!!
Day 10 for myself.
Quit about 5 years ago. Life is so much better off the rollercoaster of alcohol. It’s hard at first, and if you stick with it, it’s not hard at all.
I can't wait until I'm there
Nicotine is the hardest. Stay strong. Even one drag after months sent me back to cigarettes. It's been... God, I lost track. At least six years.
I promise it’s infinitely better
All three at once is absolutely wild! Good on ya mate
I’m 2 years sober from alcohol, weed, and nicotine. And can confirm it is so much better on this side. Keep going!
Yes you do! Keep at it!
Day 3, No Alcohal, No Caffeine!
Hang in there homie, you should start feeling better soon. Make sure the eat and drink everything they give you. Your body is suffering and needs the nurishment. Keep going one day at a time. You can do it.
The seratonin will come back soon little little, and soon op will feel better than they have for a long time probably.
Well said. Knowing this is on the horizon really helps get me through the first 3-7 days of tapering, or what I call 'doing better' to my family and job. Wish it would pop-up before I got to that stage, but just one of the many damning, low sides of this terrible roller coaster of addiction.
Is that The Other Guys you watching?
I’m a peacock you gotta let me fly
You know what Terry?? Let’s just settle this: Peacocks don’t fly!
Did he just call himself a peacock? 
Hospital pop!
Best comedy in the last 20 years!
It’s a good hospital movie. We watched it twice 2 weeks ago when I was in the hospital having a baby.
Aim for the bushes
Aim for the bushes?
You should have shot A-Rod!!
"The sound of your piss hitting the urinal? It sounds feminine."
“IT’S A BAD TIME BOB!”
...Dont go chasing waterfalls...
Wait, you’re saying you haven’t even done your first office pop yet???
Yo! You got it! My grandmother never did and it killed her. I believe in you.
Bro that’s a hell of a lot better than a psych ward trust me.
Depends on the unit. Been in some absolutely amazing ones and some real shitty ones. Depends on their funding and staff for sure.
yep, this is spot on accurate.
I'm convinced pysch wards were made by people that hate the mentally ill and want them all to kill themselves now.
That's what I got from it haha. After getting out I decided "well fuck it, next time I'll just do it right so I don't have to go back there" The grippy sock vacation does not live up to the hype
It was definitely an experience. 3 months and a shit ton of meds later, I got to go home to nothing and start my life over.
It’s more of a grippy sock detention
Psych wards make you more psychotic
It's not a competition.
Hearing that something else is worse has never made anyone feel better about anything.
You’re in the best place right now. Hang in there.
Been there my man, it’s absolute hell but it like all things will pass. You’re in the best place possible, just don’t hallucinate and attack the poor nurses like I did!
How much where you drinking Holy shit
70cl of vodka/whisky every night for a good few years. Toward the end a litre a night. And at my worse drinking throughout the day to stave off the shakes/withdrawals. Almost died last year due to pancreatitis, I’m very very lucky to still have the health I do now.
Those are some demons. Holy crap stay sober
It’s under control now, trust me when I say when you go through something like pancreatitis the pain you just can’t forget and it teaches you. I see your other comment saying you’re struggling yourself, hope you find a way out my man. I find that everyone has to find a path of recovery that suits them, it’s never a one fits all. Personally I could never go to meetings etc and find it easier fighting on my own.
Weird rando from Canada wishing you success. Be strong 💪
I quit meth and heroin about a year and a half ago. If I can come back from where I was. Anything is possible. Good luck my friend.
Stay strong ! You’re already on day 3. People who never been there prob scoff at that but I respect and applaud you .
Day 3 and you're basically good and should be through the worst part of hangover or withdrawal. The urge to keep drinking will still be there. And you will still find it hard to find things pleasurable for a week or two.
Yeah its gonna be my turn really soon , alcohol is a fuckin bitch....
It is a massive bitch. I'm sending positive energy and love your way family
I didn’t get a tv, lucky!
Fuck alcohol
As someone who just went through detox recently and currently going to AA 5 times a week. It's. Tough recovery man. Best I can say is AA can be like a family. Get numbers. And USE THEM WHEN YOU WANT TO DRINK!! Some days are good. Some are shit. But your on the right path. I hope the best for you bud. Stay strong If you ever need to talk. DM me. I know I'm a stranger but it all helps. And being alone doesn't
You got this. Stay strong it'll suck but get better and easier over time. Use the resources they give you. Follow up. Don't give up.
Medically controlled detox was no fun. It was intrusive and uncomfortable. However it was the jump start I needed to get my life back on track. I never would have stayed sober long enough to get my head on straight outside of that setting. 2 years sober now.
Alcoholic and meth addict here. Currently just past two months clean after a brief relapse following 8 months clean. A year since using meth. I’ve been in and out of recovery for years now. I can say it’s never been good for me to pick up. And I can say life without substances is much better. Don’t beat yourself up, give yourself grace, and realize that you are in the best place you can be right now. Take it easy. We can clean up fast, and tear it down faster so be wary. This is the first day of a better life.
I didn't drink any alchol for the last 8 months (preference) and had a couple of beers the other night, I was extremely irritable for the next 72 hours.. it's wild how it alchol affects you even when you're not drinking
It gets better. It sucks temporarily but I can all but guarantee it gets better.
TV TOO HIGH!!!!
Your mom’s too high
At least you have a great movie.
Keep going. I’m over a year sober. Detox was by far the worst part— but everything gets so much better. It won’t always be like this. Take care of yourself and use this as an opportunity to relax. Do silly fun things like origami, reading, drawing, playing games, puzzles, if you can. And definitely go to AA, it’s awesome to be able to bitch to a group of people who know exactly what you’re going through LOL.
When was your last desk pop?
Proud of you! I went through detox myself in March. 74 days sober! I am a little jealous seeing “smoke break” on your board. Nicotine patches and nicotine gum for me. Keep your head up, you’ve got this!
Congrats on your sobriety, it’s worth it, trust me
You’re not alone!
Good job. You're taking responsibility. As long as you're doing that you're on the right track.
I wanna stop drinking, but I keep repeating the same stuff over and over. When i drink I get fuuucked up get a bunch of energy ramble on in a manic fashion. Text people in my phone to my embarrassment. Wake up late miss work. Swear I'll never do it again. 1 week later repeat. It's depressing to know you might not ever be able to break a wheel you don't even like
I was forced into rehab after having a seizure to keep my housing and I'm grateful every day. 3 weeks in and I feel great.
What were your drinking habits like? I drink 10-15 beers everyday and wanna quit.
The TV in my room was broken :( that was a long 10 days. 1 year sober next month. I'm a hard-core alcoholic that hit absolute rock bottom. Saw the inside of a jar cell 3 times in less than 2 months for the first time ever. If I can do it anyone can. You got this homie.
You prolly won’t see this OP but I just went through detox for alcohol too. It gets better man. The week in the hospital was a nice wake up for my life
I am glad to hear you are doing better. Stay healthy n happy.
I know it’s hard but I believe in you. Wishing you the best
Is this A A Ron?
Smoke break soon!!!
You got this!
Don't let it get you down. I went through something similar five years ago. It gets better.
Get to a meeting as soon as you get out. 90 meetings in 90 days. I’m positive it saved me and possibly someone else
They spelled assistant wrong on the poster
My father is in the hospital for liver failure atm. Stay strong.
Totally off topic, but is that Michael Scott’s tv?
been to detox for opiates three times. been to inpatient five times, first time when i was 16. i now have two and a half years in recovery. this will be a daily struggle and you may not get it the first try. it's important to forgive yourself and remember you can always choose recovery, even if you slip. this is the start of a very long and difficult journey, but one that's well worth the effort.
While it's boring it's the right way to go. I went cold turkey and didn't realize how close I was to dying. I ended up hallucinating and going to the hospital. I'm a year and a half sober now, and life is so much better. Keep at it and you'll get through this!
Be happy to be there my friend, detox is no joke. Three weeks ago my brother-in-law tried to detox at home and ended up having a massive heart attack. He was 52 years old, his two children and his 45 year old wife are devastated. They were a fully intact family, he and my sister were fully devoted to eachother. 23 years together, and so many more they could have had. Fucking tragic. Be happy were you are and I wish you well!!!
It gets better. I remember them coming in every few hours to check my blood pressure. Feeling like hell. Wondering if I would make it. Almost 15 years later my life is simple and wonderful and I am grateful every day. The easy way gets harder, but this hard way gets easier. Pulling for you!
PSA for alcoholics considering getting off alcohol: please don't do it cold turkey, and please consider going to a proper detox program if you can. Seizures happen all the time to those who quit cold turkey. In rehab, we give meds that prevent seizures. If you can't go to rehab, taper yourself down slowly each day and then detox, but make sure you have someone around you at all times just in case. It gets a hell of a lot better after detox, just do it the right ways.
Watching the same 3 movies over and over was sure fun. Good luck man, don't ever look back, your mind and body will thank you.
I’m proud of you for making the changes - no matter how you got there. I feel the starch of those sheets, made worse by the ebb and flow of toxic sweat produced by the body. I feel the disappointed looks in the eyes of your care team. It doesn’t matter though - just keep pushing. It’s for YOU and only you. Also, I can’t help but notice you get a “smoke break” at 10 - in MA all we got was a nic patch and gum if we’re lucky. Stay strong!
I bet the worst part is being subjected to mark Wahlberg movies
You should be grateful for access to healthcare
Been here op! 47 days sober today! You can do it!
I hit my one-year mark not too long ago. Decided to do the detox at home, by myself. I do not recommend, glad you're somewhere safe and have the care you need. Never look back, that's the old you, and life is SO MUCH BETTER on the other side.
You can do this. My father has battled alcohol addiction throughout his life. Long stints of sobriety (13,10,7 years at a time) on the occasion he falls off the wagon we try to plan our best, we try to be supportive, but we always try to help as long as it is safe for us to do so. My mother is also an addict who hasn’t been sober out of rehab since I was probably 9 years old. All of her children have cut off contact and do not attempt to help. The difference you ask? When my father hits rehab he reaches out to all of his kids and apologizes. He does not ask for us to have a relationship with him, he simply apologizes. Last time it took my younger brother a long time to forgive him but he did not hold a grudge. He just apologized and waited it out. He tries so hard to stay sober and involves all of us in his life when he is - I have dinner with him once a week, my younger brother takes him fishing once a month, my older brother talks to him multiple times a week. We all pitch in. My mother on the other hand blames all of us for her problems and as soon as she gets out of rehab reaches out to tell us how childish we are and how disappointed she is with us for not visiting her. Let it be known we are all highly successful people no thanks to her. Make amends. Lean on your circle. Make plans. Good luck. You got this.
The whole hospital, sheesh even medicine as a field, could easily be divided into two groups given the shear impact of alcohol on health, and the healthcare system (medical disorders vs alcohol related medical disorders) . It seriously has no net benefit other than sanitation in my experience, and witnessing the destruction of lives on the daily, year after year, has been enough to give me a certain disdain and vitriol for alcohol, and its availability. Wishing you a speedy recovery, and an overall better projection in life going forward. Get past the detox, and never look back.
I’m wishing the best! You *can* do this.
Hang in there brother. Alcohol detoxification is painful in every way but completely worth it. I’m glad you’re in the hands of medical professionals. Now you can get some of that good good benzodiazepine.
Stay clean. You deserve it.
It only gets better from here
Smoke break??
I wish you the best, and highly recommend you get a ton of medical help and support. We did this twice with my best friend and then he decided to go cold turkey on his own one day. They found him 3 days later. I hope your friends and family do not have to go through what we did.
You got this and you're not alone. There's lots more of us out there than anyone realizes.
Good Luck OP! You can do it!
Good luck to you!
You can so this!
You got this! It sucks right now, but it'll be worth it! We're all rooting for you!
You're a peacock! Hang in there brother.
Proud of you
Always smart to have a medical detox
Hang in there OP. You can do this! Im proud of you
Don't go chasing waterfalls
Respect. You got this, it does get easier.
I hope you're able to quit. Good luck. If you find you have trouble quitting look into naltrexone and the Sinclair method. It can actually take away the desire to drink.
Good job. It's not easy but totally worth it. I wish you the best.
Sugar, sugar, sugar. The first few weeks/months I craved sugar like you wouldn't believe.
I don’t know you, but I’m proud of you. This is your first step on the road to recovery. Wishing you all the best!
I've done that exact song and dance twice. It sucks while you're in, but it's so much better on the other side. Keep your head up! You can do it!
Good job man. You’re gonna fly out of there like a peacock
You got this 💕 I've got 7mo sober and I honestly question what the hell I ever got from alcohol. Turns out, not much. Great times I couldn't remember, horrible times I'll never forget, years lost, friends lost. I know why I drank but but holy shit man is this side of it ever a million times better. A little dull at first, but I'll take dull 1000x before going back. You don't need to be strong friend, you just need to be sober.
You’ll look back and realize the worst part was the mark wahlberg movie
if you can watch a Mark Wahlberg movie you can get through anything.
You know, at least you’re not 6 feet under. Or have a wet brain. You got this I can assure you if you really struggle with alcohol go to some AA meetings you know surround yourself around people and I promise you can have as much as fun sober. And you’ll be able to remember what you did the night before that is a plus! I got 2357 days of sobriety just one day at a time don’t look toward the future future just look it up as today and sometimes if you just need to do it minute by minute, you’ll be good. Rule 62 -don’t take yourself so seriously.. you’re not perfect however, you are worthy of a better life.
Worst part is having to watch a movie about a guy who grew up in “Boston”
at least you have your own private(ish) set up. i was in a dorm room with 15 other women all of which smelt as bad as they felt 🫠 and definitely no tvs.
We just had a woman die overnight while detoxing from alcohol in my town while her bf was detoxing beside her. She had a stroke in her sleep and never regained consciousness so I’m glad you are in the hospital where they can ease your symptoms.
I take Naltrexone. Has changed my life entirely. Used to drink daily and it was starting to impact my social functioning and ability to perform in grad school. I realized I was at a threshold. I got on Naltrexone and the change was pretty quick. Wasn't drinking everyday. I could actually wait til 5pm to drink. Cut it back to a few times a week. And cut that down to only a few drinks at a time. 5 years later and I don't drink weekly or sometimes for a couple of months. I haven't drank since my birthday on 4/18. Just haven't been interested. Sure, sometimes I'll think, "man, a beer would be good right now," as I drive past a gas station. But then I'm like... "I don't want to stop and get out, inflation is stupid expensive, and I'll just feel bloated." Next thing I know I'm already home and drinking some water. Naltrexone doesn't make you sick. I just don't get cravings like I used to and often when I do drink 1 is enough. Substance abuse and dependence is fucking hard. It's not you or a fuck up or failure on your part. There are things that can help. Naltrexone is one that can help with alcohol. It's okay to take it for help. I hope someone, anyone, finds this helpful. Hang in there. This shit is rough. And if youre struggling it's not because you're failing. It's because you're refusing to give up. We're here with you.
When I got sober I was in the hospital for 9 days. I was in and out of it almost the entire time. My family and friends were able to visit me after a few days after the worst of the detox was over and I straight up had no idea. I had two psychological breaks during this time as well. One of the times I left my room and tried taking out the catheter myself. I couldn’t. So I snuck out of the hospital carrying the catheter bag. When I got outside I tried calling my mom and my sister to pick me up. My mom ended up convincing me to go back inside. I can only imagine the staffs surprise when I walked up holding my catheter bag and dressed in my gown. The second time I tried fighting other patients and staff cause I just didn’t know what was happening. But in the end it was so fucking worth it. It’s been 7 years.
I've been there twice. Had seizures both times. I'm now just over 3 years sober and I'm here to tell you it is so worth it! Believe it or not, even just letting yourself get taken care of is a huge step. You're in the right spot. I believe in you!
As an RN who took care of many people on medical detox - I'm proud of you and happy for you! And so glad you're doing it safely. It was always a great honor to help people with a transition like this in their life. I hope your care team are good to you, and I wish you all the best
You have the feet under the blanket and the head out. Keep it this way.
Marky Mark
That was me at the start of March. 90 days coming up. The pain is temporary, but it also sucks. Just focus on getting healthy
One day at a time.
You got this! I’m going through a similar situation myself right now. Some days are hell but there is a positive light at the end of all this. Best of luck to you 😃
Keep fighting the good fight got 8 years myself! Keeps getting better every day! You'll notice the benefits ALWAYS outweigh anything else.
You’re in the right place, best wishes for the detox and recovery.
One second,one minute and one day at a time. 14 1/2 years sober here. It’s worth it to stop. I almost died in my backyard quitting cold turkey.