# I want to stop drinking - tell me about detox **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704 "2016-03-02T03:58:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/81 "2016-03-14T07:17:37Z")
Sorry it had to be this painful, **Smapti**. Be well. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/82 "2016-03-14T07:24:48Z")
That sucks. You’re doing the right thing, just not in the way you hoped. Good luck and you can do it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/83 "2016-03-14T12:22:03Z")
Stay strong and get well soon. We’re all rooting for you. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/84 "2016-03-14T12:26:36Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Stay strong and get well soon. We’re all rooting for you. Second this. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/85 "2016-03-14T12:39:45Z")
And thirded, as well as thanks to Dr. **Qadgop** and the other SMEs. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/86 "2016-03-14T14:13:42Z")
I am sure by now you have limited access to the outside world, but when you do get a chance to see this, we are rooting for you. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/87 "2016-03-14T14:19:26Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I am sure by now you have limited access to the outside world, but when you do get a chance to see this, we are rooting for you. Word. Get well Smapti…and I say this as probably the one in a hundred here that actaully agrees with most of what you say (or at least can “get” what you are saying). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/88 "2016-03-14T14:28:06Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I am sure by now you have limited access to the outside world, but when you do get a chance to see this, we are rooting for you. Right. Have been going through this with my brother for years, I’ve seen how tough it is. Hope you’re back soon, Smapti. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/89 "2016-03-14T14:32:01Z")
The path to your sobriety is now a different one, but the goal is still the same. You can do it, man. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/90 "2016-03-14T15:17:42Z")
I’m in an intensive care ward at the local hospital. SS far they’ve given me a couple doses of ativan, several litres of saline and dextrose and other stuff, and I’ve got a bunch of pills to take after breakfast. Pretty lucid right now but having trouble sleeping without getting paranoid and hearing things. They’ve let me keep my phone and my mother is bringing me a charger. They’re thinking the worst is probably two or three days ahead. This is a Catholic hospital, but I told them I don’t need to see a priest and they didn’t push it. Scared but hopeful. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/91 "2016-03-14T15:27:09Z")
Let me throw this out. And I am certainly NOT a doctor or a lawyer or a detox expert. My limited understanding of such scenarios is that they can/most likely will give you all sorts of “drugs”. And probably for good reason. A side effect of many of these drugs is you are NOT thinking straight. PLEASE make sure you have someone around to check on you should you decide that cranking up the BBQ grill in the living room is a good idea 🙂 But seriously, some of those drugs they give you will make you not think straight or have serious side effects when you “get off” them. Be careful and find someone to keep an eye on you. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/92 "2016-03-14T16:53:01Z")
Seems like you’re in the right place to get appropriately treated. Follow their plan, get de-toxed, and then work with them for your post-discharge care plan. You’ll be okay. I’ve de-toxed a ton of patients who have done well. And I’ve been de-toxed myself and did not too badly in the subsequent decades. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/93 "2016-03-14T17:46:42Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > They’ve let me keep my phone and my mother is bringing me a charger. I filled out a Satisfaction Survey after I spent a few days in the cardiac unit last year. My single suggestion for improvements was to have a bunch of loaner chargers available for patients to use. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/94 "2016-03-14T19:05:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I filled out a Satisfaction Survey after I spent a few days in the cardiac unit last year. > > My single suggestion for improvements was to have a bunch of loaner chargers available for patients to use. What a great suggestion! Many patients seemed to forget about their chargers and needed someone to go to their home and get it for them. I don’t know why it seemed like such a common thing to forget. Would anyone here know why? Anyway, someone would usually go to their home and get their charger for them. However, it seemed to me that most every detox center had a firm rule that no one was permitted to use a phone untill they had been there for at least a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/95 "2016-03-14T19:28:34Z")
Because they were distracted by that heart attack thing. I wonder why that would be? One would think they would plan ahead! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/96 "2016-03-14T19:28:50Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > Getting medical supervision is the way to go. > > Frankly, what you describe scares me. When I detoxed I felt like shit for three days\*, slept for two or three and was foggy for a while. I drank heavily, like 18 to 24 beers a day. My symptoms.were not as bad as yours. > > When I detoxed the first time I was in a month long treatment center. The docs had me on some meds, I don’t remember what they were. There were lots of bp checks, etc. > > The second time, which worked, I slept for a couple days. No medical supervision which was stupid but I was at a halfway house with lots of people around. > > It is awesome that you want to detox. I do have agentle suggestion though. You need a plan for what you are going to do after you detox. Whether it is A.A., church, therapy, or a combination of things you need to figure out how to stay sober. Detoxing is hard. Staying sober is much, much harder for most folks. > > Feel free to pm me and I will offer what help I can. > > Slee > > - Well, I felt like shit for about a month. However after about three days I could sorta kinda function. I believe one of the main reasons for having doctors present at detox centers is to make the process less difficult - less painful anyway. But Slee is definitely correct in that staying sober is much more difficult than detox. Detox was a joy - a real blessing and completely pain free thanks to the medical help. A 12 step program is definitely a big help and highly recommended. But I wouldn’t think of it as a primary resource. I would think of it more as a secondary resource. In order to stay sober, I would think the most important resource is some kind of supervised program consisting of several components. These usually include regular exercise and relaxation/meditation sessions, regular group therapy discussions. regular one-on-one therapy with a licensed therapist, good healthy food, regular scheduled sleep. There are a few other components but it’s been 25 years since I went through that and I just don’t remember what all the other components were. But there were more. If you can’t afford going to some big fancy treatment center, that may even be for the best. The best treatment centers I have found are run by charitable organizations. I’m not Catholic. But in my city there is a wonderful treatment center run by The Catholic Charities and they’ve been doing this for years and have a great deal of experience. If you want to find a good treatment center, one suggestion might be to contact some Catholic Charities org in your city (or any other religion) and ask them for help. The overall primary support is a Treatment Center that is often “in-patient” treatment for a time, followed by “out-patient” treatment for a longer time. The length of time required for each of these depends on the individual and their history. In my case, the “in-patient” portion was for 3 months and the “out-patient” portion was for one year. If you tell this to anyone and they groan, “Oh no. I have to spend a whole year in treatment”? I would think their prospects are not great. Most people who succeed tend to think of treatment as a joyful experience that celebrates getting clean and learning how to stay clean. I have found that people who tend to stay clean have the following primary attributes: 1. First and foremost, they have a “burning desire” to get clean and stay clean. Without such a desire, prospects are just not good. That “burning desire” usually means they will do whatever it takes to get clean and stay clean" - one day at a time - of course. 2. They freely acknowledge this is something they cannot do alone and they need the help of someone else - call it a “Higher Power” or just one or more people they can meet with on a regular basis. 3. In house detox followed by in-house treatment for a time, followed by out-patient treatment for a longer time. Please just remember this: If you want to get clean and stay clean, you can do it. The one major requirement is that you want to get clean and stay clean. You can do it. Good luck. If you want to ask me anything, you are most welcome to send me a PM. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/97 "2016-03-14T19:51:55Z")
Best wishes, **Smapti**. I’m joining the chorus rooting for you. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/98 "2016-03-14T21:32:19Z")
Best wishes, Smapti. As awful as it is, this can be the start of a really good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/99 "2016-03-14T21:43:25Z")
So far, so good. I’m just slightly past 24 hours from my last drink. The twitching and spasms stopped after they started me on librium, though I’m starting to experience some excessive sweating and I’ve got another checkup in about an hour. My room is private and quiet and has a TV, and the food is descent despite my being restricted to a low-sodoum low-fat diet - scrambled eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast, chicken soup and Asian chicken salad for lunch. Will update intermittently based on how I’m feeling and my ability to type (the IV machine freaks out if I don’t keep my arm straight.) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704/100 "2016-03-14T22:26:07Z")
Librium is a great starter drug to be on. It’ll help take the edge off of you withdrawal, but the pill itself isn’t addicting pretty much at all. Just make sure the hospital has the USA Network 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-stop-drinking-tell-me-about-detox/747704.md?page=6)