# Alcoholics: detox must be done under medical supervision **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440 "2019-07-03T05:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/1 "2019-07-03T05:42:40Z")
I found that out in a very painful way. It was the worst experience of my life. I wasn’t the worst drunk… my standard dosage was two beers in the late afternoon, followed by half a bottle of whisky. This knocked me out to start again the next day. I had tried to fight my addiction but being sober meant feelings of anxiety, dread, and that something terrible was going to happen. And I didn’t sleep. Try eight hours of lying in bed knowing that you didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of even feeling drowsy. Eight hours of thinking, thinking, thinking… and then getting up feeling like crap. I once went three days without sleep. I needed help, why I didn’t reach out and why alcoholics face difficulties by downing a glass of booze is touched upon here: [link](http://www.cleanandsoberlive.com/why-do-alcoholics-drink/) My wife was scheduled to return from an extended trip where she was helping sick elderly relatives. The day before I looked in the fridge and there was one can of beer left. I had finished up the whisky the night before. I drank the beer and said that’s it, I’m quitting. I didn’t sleep that night. No surprise. But in the morning I felt unwell which got worse throughout the day. It wasn’t a headache or nausea but a full body malaise that eventually affected my thinking and limb coordination. By the time my wife arrived in the late afternoon I was in bad shape. I asked her to help me to the bathroom where I collapsed on the floor, unable to move. Off I go in the ambulance to Emergency. The ER doctor said what I did was very dangerous. I spent nine days in hospital. I won’t go into the details of my recovery but after three weeks I was in surprisingly good shape and feeling good about myself. I was lucky. This page - [Link](https://hams.cc/taper/) has a good description of why the alcoholic’s body can crash when they suddenly quit. It’s about three quarters of the way down in the section “What causes alcohol withdrawal?” Talk to your family doctor if you have one, or search for alcohol detox in your city. But don’t quit cold turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/2 "2019-07-03T06:40:55Z")
Yikes, was this delirium tremens? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/3 "2019-07-03T11:07:48Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I found that out in a very painful way. It was the worst experience of my life. > > \ > > Talk to your family doctor if you have one, or search for alcohol detox in your city. But don’t quit cold turkey. Good, good advice. I experienced this when I helped a girlfriend detox. The first night she tried to go without alcohol, I had to take her to the hospital. Her heart was racing, she was uncomfortable and unable to focus on anything. She would alternately be belligerent and crying out for help, completely irrational. It was scary. She stayed there 3 days and then was able to come home. Sadly, she stayed sober just a couple of weeks before relapsing; our relationship ended soon after. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/4 "2019-07-03T11:19:32Z")
I know someone who’s husband died from this very thing. The marriage was on the rocks over his drinking, after yet another huge argument, she stormed off and he withdrew and swore to himself he’d stop. Tried to do it all alone, cold turkey. Like you, he didn’t feel he was ‘the worst drunk’, so…I don’t know what he was thinking! He died a horrible death and it gutted his wife to lose him like that. Glad you’re okay! ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/5 "2019-07-03T13:45:22Z")
OP, could you clarify: when you said half a bottle, was that a fifth? A quart? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/6 "2019-07-03T14:12:17Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Yikes, was this delirium tremens? No, didn’t get that. However I had developed a mild tremor in my hands and face when sober. This was one of the reasons I drank… after a couple of beers it went away. Conversely, this was one of the reasons I wanted to quit - I didn’t want to go out in public with shaking hands and twitching face. > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > OP, could you clarify: when you said half a bottle, was that a fifth? A quart? In Canada a “bottle” is 750 ml - about 25.4 oz. It was called a “26” before metric conversion here. I was drinking about ten 1.5 oz shots a day. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/7 "2019-07-03T15:22:08Z")
One of the problems I’ve noticed with alcoholics is a tendency to compare themselves - i.e. “I’m not the worst drunk.” And that can create all sorts of havoc because it really doesn’t matter if someone else drinks more than you - it matters how your body is handling it. My sister used the “I’m not as bad as everyone else” to justify drinking herself to liver damage. But its one of the many examples of addicts brains not really working. Yeah, detox under care. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/8 "2019-07-04T02:51:40Z")
The withdrawal symptoms K364 described were pretty much exactly what I was experiencing when I made the idiotic move of trying to quit cold turkey instead of going to medical detox; and the further “remedy” I tried of having a beer in the middle of the day cost me my job. Under medical supervision, with proper nutrition, vitamin supplements, and something a bit like Ativan, my symptoms began abating about the end of the second day. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/9 "2019-07-04T03:06:25Z")
Isn’t that level of consumption awfully expensive? I don’t drink, but it never looked like a cheap hobby to me. Start planning how to reward yourself with the savings. StG ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/10 "2019-07-04T04:24:52Z")
I was not the worst drinker, either. But drinking was making my life unmanageable. Try to get support. Many people have a hard time staying away. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/11 "2019-07-04T09:53:38Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Isn’t that level of consumption awfully expensive? I don’t drink, but it never looked like a cheap hobby to me. It can be… but there are some remarkably cheap sources of alcohol out there. Back when I worked at a clinic specializing in people with addictions we had a guy whose alcohol of choice was _isopropyl_. Yep, he drank rubbing alcohol. VERY cheap. Also very not recommended. But any alcoholic capable of holding down a job at some level (like **Cuckoorex** until he was caught drinking on the job) will have enough money to buy something cheap in the methanol category. If you aren’t choosy you can get remarkably drunk on a very small amount of money. Even with “sin taxes” in my area there are varieties of vodka that cost less than soda, as an example. Personally, I think they’re barely fit as lighter fluid, but then I’m not an alcoholic and care more about the taste than getting drunk on the rare occasions I drink. I’m no authority on wine, but I’m guessing there are some cheap offerings in that category as well, not to mention the cheapest mass-production beers out there. Once helped clean out the home of someone who fell down a flight of stairs and died of a head injury. We filled up the back of my pickup truck from bed to the level of the cab roof _three times_ hauling just the beer cans off to the recycling center. But he didn’t have a drinking problem, oh no… (yeah, maybe it was a garbage-removal problem. Uh-huh.) All cheap, mass-produced beer types. It was about quantity, not quality. I’m sure there are exceptions, but while an alcoholic might appreciate the top shelf quality stuff, when it gets to the point they’re warding off the shakes they’ll happily drink the bottom shelf, too. And, by the way, if you’re ever in a place that sells alcoholic beverages you’ll find there’s a reason for those terms - the expensive, fancy stuff really is higher up in the display and the gallon jugs of wine and vodka literally are on the bottom shelves. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/12 "2019-07-04T17:39:48Z")
Expensive, yes, especially if you were like me, spending at least $8 a day on beer, just drinking at home, usually much more if I went out to be “social”. I estimated, having looked at just a month’s consumption, that I drank the equivalent of a car payment every month. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/13 "2019-07-04T18:07:47Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Isn’t that level of consumption awfully expensive? I don’t drink, but it never looked like a cheap hobby to me. > > Start planning how to reward yourself with the savings. > > StG Yes, close to $700 a month. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/14 "2019-07-05T02:34:27Z")
Many alcoholics tell themselves they can’t be alcoholic because they only drink the “good” (more expensive) stuff. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/15 "2019-07-05T06:14:02Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > One of the problems I’ve noticed with alcoholics is a tendency to compare themselves - i.e. “I’m not the worst drunk.” And that can create all sorts of havoc because it really doesn’t matter if someone else drinks more than you - it matters how your body is handling it. My sister used the “I’m not as bad as everyone else” to justify drinking herself to liver damage. > > But its one of the many examples of addicts brains not really working. > > Yeah, detox under care. There are definitely “levels” of how far gone an alcoholic can be. My brother and I are both ex-drunks. I held down a job, only drank at night (getting wasted, of course). I never drank at work, or drove drunk, or got into any legal trouble. I wasn’t the worst drunk. My brother would drink anytime, anywhere. He got into all sorts of trouble - several DUIs and other arrests. Sometimes he would go for long periods of waking up, reaching for a bottle, and drinking until he passed out again, rinsing and repeating. He was the worst drunk. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/16 "2019-07-05T13:23:04Z")
Alcohol is one of a very small number of drugs whose withdrawal can kill you (the others are benzos and methadone, under certain circumstances). ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/17 "2019-07-05T13:33:41Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Isn’t that level of consumption awfully expensive? I don’t drink, but it never looked like a cheap hobby to me. > > Start planning how to reward yourself with the savings. > > StG If you give a hardcore drunk a bottle of expensive stuff over here, they’ll sell it off ASAP and go buy a bunch of denatured alcohol. And yeah, never try to go cold turkey if you have an alcohol addiction. Go to a clinic and detox under medical supervision. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/18 "2019-07-05T15:44:38Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Alcohol is one of a very small number of drugs whose withdrawal can kill you (the others are benzos and methadone, under certain circumstances). Actually, methadone and other opioid withdrawal is rarely fatal. Feels like hell, may make one suicidal, but the withdrawal itself is NOT deadly unless other comorbidities exist. Barbiturate withdrawal can kill. QtM, detoxer of many folks from MANY substances. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/19 "2019-07-05T17:31:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > QtM, detoxer of many folks from MANY substances. Question for you: why is alcohol withdrawal different? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440/20 "2019-07-05T17:41:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Question for you: why is alcohol withdrawal different? different from what, precisely? It’s pretty typical for withdrawal from alcohol, after all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholics-detox-must-be-done-under-medical-supervision/836440.md?page=2)