i AM an alcoholic

[fanta]

hey so ive been drinking past 3 years, wake up have a can of larger, have about 2 at dinner time, have 8 at night, i drink in morning toget rid of the shakes,sweats and belly cramps, im deciding on quiting today, cold turkey, no drink atall my girlfriend has had enough and so have i, im going to doctors tonight, ive done some reading on the net, and librium seems to be good to take the edge off the withdrawl symptoms, after i explain my situation to the gp can i ask to go on librium?

many thanks for reading x

[Baggs]

Hi Fanta,
Well done for admitting you have a problem. Yep Librium will help but there's no totally painless way. Stopping is one thing, staying stopped is another so maybe consider AA. Good luck.
Baggs.

[nomorepanic]

Hi fanta

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[littleredhen]

Hi Fanta

Well done on recognising the problems and congratulations on deciding to do something about it. I have very close experience of what you may be going through right now and it's a brave and brilliant step.

Yes, good idea to get yourself to the doctors as it's not always recommended to do a DIY detox. Tip for today - try drinking coca cola or lucozade as you will get sugar cravings and may misread that as alcohol craving.

I would STRONGLY recommend you go to a local AA group. Don't be put off by the god stuff - it goes much beyond that, and it's just a word they use to describe something. I would strongly urge you to call AA now and speak to someone to help you through the first day or two. Remember, one day at a time. You don't have to aim to give up booze - you are just aiming to not have an alcoholic drink TODAY. Hopefully tomorrow, you will do the same.

I would also recommend that your girlfriend looks up AlAnon. They are the support group for friends and family of alcoholics. She will get a lot of help and advice on dealing with her own issues and reactions around your drinking and also on helping her to cope while you detox and become 'clean and serene'.

Oh, I so wish you all the love and luck as you start this journey. The going may get tough, but take all the advice and help and support you can and the end result will be worth it.

:hugs: great big hugs to you.

LRH

[fanta]

if i ask my gp to prescribe me librium will he? i went to docs bout year ago and she said just cut down and i cant, ive tried just cant do it i think i have to cut it out completley prob forever, and i think librium will help dull the withdrawll part

[littleredhen]

if i ask my gp to prescribe me librium will he? i went to docs bout year ago and she said just cut down and i cant, ive tried just cant do it i think i have to cut it out completley prob forever, and i think librium will help dull the withdrawll part

I don't know the answer to that as it will be between you and your doctor. I should think he will though as I think it's fairly standard to prescribe it.

[Baggs]

If you told your doc that you are an alcoholic and if your doc told you to cut down then your doc is a fool. Whether such a fool will give you librium is anyone's guess. I would change docs immediately.
Baggs.

[mikewales]

He may do, go in and be honest about how much you drink and how often, and that you have tried cutting down, and can't. He will be able to suggest the best course of action for you.

[fanta]

sorry i forgot to mention i changed docs, i moved so i had to

[purplesky]

I'd definitely say you need some support to stop drinking. We drink for different underlying reasons, but the end result is alcohol dependence however we try to think of it.

Like many other things on this forum I can relate to you, having been alcohol dependent for about 12 years until 4 years ago, when I really wanted to stop..a trip to the doctors and Citalopram helped me greatly, but that was me.

Definitely go to the doctors, and maybe consider taking someone if there is someone who you trust and knows about this. It helps if like me (and others) you tend to appear better than you are when confronted with a doctor..this needs complete honesty to enable you to get the assistance and support you sound like you might need.

Good luck :)

[eight days a week]

I've only got a couple of minutes right now but will try to write more later.

You should never, ever quit drinking cold turkey if you are physically dependent. It can kill you or leave you with irreversible brain damage. Google 'alcohol withdrawal' and 'delirium tremens'.

Of course some people have managed to do it, but the risks are ridiculous.

I ended up the same way myself (drinking all day and physically dependent and unable to cut down) after a nervous breakdown where the doctor wouldn't give me diazepam, so have been through the system and know a lot about it.

You need Librium to quit drinking abruptly, as others have said. It greatly reduces withdrawal symptoms and the risk of fits/brain damage or even death.

I think it'll depend on your GP if he gives you a prescription for a home detox as you need huge amounts of librium, compliance is not as high as an inpatient detox (where you can't obviously be tempted to drink!) and they usually need to send a nurse to check on you once a day.

You may be referred to your local alcohol service - but get in touch with them by yourself anyway. That's what happened to me and I ended up in an NHS detox unit a few months later.

I've met people who got a librium detox just in a regular NHS hospital. I guess you wouldn't have to wait weeks or months for that (?), I also guess you just get yourself along to A&E, tell them you've quit drinking cold turkey and show them your withdrawal symptoms and they'd have to treat you.

The detox (using librium) is the easy bit, unfortunately, the hard bit is staying stopped. You can use AA for support, but I'd recommend much more than that, as AA themselves admit that their long-term abstinence success rate is just 5%.

I'd recommend joining this forum straight away and asking for advice:

www.mywayout.org (http://www.mywayout.org)

Also on there is a medicines section with medications that can help you either to stay stopped or just drink a little (moderate). The founders of AA themselves predicted a day when medicines would be available. Ironically they are now available, but the medical profession isn't using them in most cases, they still tell people just to go to AA!!!

So, please, as soon as possible:

1) look up your local alcohol service on the internet and contact them
2) see your GP and beg for help/a detox
3) join that specialist forum where you will get all the support you need

Good luck to you, and I've actually managed to write most of what I wanted to, but any questions please post them here and I'll try to get back to you :)

[purplesky]

Great advice there eightdaysaweek. :)

I totally agree, you do need to get into the system to get real help and that might just be through a local alcohol service who have all the relevant experience and connections. Doctors can be a bit hit and miss as you have already experienced.

Good luck :)