Alcohol detox on librium

Pat. I am a little confused

Kaiser? Private healthcare scheme?

CD?

Are you drinking too much alcohol? That is my area of expertise

10mg of librium just doesn't seem to be helping

As Paul stated to the OP, 10mg is no where near enough if you are a regular heavy drinker.

Without knowing your history, I would not know where to start to advise you of quantitys required.

Who prescribed you the Librium, or is it off prescription?

Both time I have home detoxed, I have used diazepam, which uses lower quantities. The hospital did detox me once with Librium but did not tell me. I recently found the leaflet that goes with the Librium and it indicates a higher dose. But I am not going to recommend it to you, because I don't know your situation.

I drink between 12 and 16 units a day starting usually at 4 a.m. in the morning and ending at 8 pm at night. I had to go home from work today because the nausea and anxiety was just too great. I've already been in the ER before and if I do it again my wife is going to leave me. Had an appointment with a psychiatrist and she wanted me to check into the ER but I feel like they always want that. I want to just taper but it is just so hard especially will try to do it at work I don't want to be a danger to myself or anyone else

Ah right, America. Um, slightly different to the UK. How much Librium did she prescribe, I bet it was for anxiety, which will be a much lower dose. You need greater amounts to deal with alcohol withdrawal.

Librium is different to diazepam, but has the same effect and I have to take, 15mg morning, noon, evening and 10mg before bed when coming off of alcohol. Done right, you should feel little effect from coming off the alcohol, done wrong, you will go through cold turkey and that is deeply unpleasant.

Personally, I'd keep drinking, until tomorrow and go find help for withdrawal, your anxiety quatitys are not enough. If you have to go back to the alcohol, stop taking the Librium, they don't mix.

If you manage to get enough Librium to home detox, you need to take a couple of days off work, for your first two detox days.

 

Thank you. I'm just so scared and don't want to lose my wife. She just doesn't understand because she hasn't been through it.

Sorry, not very good with matrimonial advice, I have enough trouble with my own wife.

Hi..I'm not the one to ask really as I'm not by any means an expert...hopefully Paul Turner will reply to you as he is an expert. I just collected my Librium script from the chemist a couple of hours ago & my plan is to drink nothing after round 4pm this afternoon & then start taking Librium from very early tomorrow morning..

Personally I'd drink until 8:00pm or if it were me, until 10:00pm.

Withdawal symptoms can kick in after 8 hours. If you stop drinking at 4:00pm, you will probably get a very troubled sleep, as your body wakes you up asking for alcohol.

The detox seems to be getting worse

It will, you don't have the quantity required to do a detox. You should carry on drinking, until you are able to obtain the required amount and guidance as how to use it.

Please seek professional advice.

This will happen..it happened me once...u need  to be given enoug librium and be told exactly how to take it..I took it once too soon after drinking because I had been badly advised to just stop drinking & start on librium immediately..I felt dreadful..I'm also about to start librium again..was going to stop drinking at round 4pm but have decided from advice here I'm  going to stop round 7 or 8 pm & start librium very early tomo morning..hopefully Paul Turner will commet here later as he is an expert in the business..just make sure u get medical advice..the time I felt it wasn't working for me I ended up going to A&E in hosp as I was so scared..they explained that I hadn't been prescribed enough & that I should have waited longer after drinking etc but as I say I had been badly advised..wish me luck too as I'm hoping to stop the booze this evening & I have the librium script for tomo...what a curse this alcohol is, i hate it and it gets such a grip on me

"campral are a placebo"

Absolute rubbish, you don't know what you are talking about. Your grammar is awful as well.

I don't think this forum is about people's grammar etc..it's about how people feel and how they want to get support from others who have been in similar situations....I was very surprised to see a reply telling someone that what they said was 'absolute rubbish'..and when your are in the middle of addiction do u really care about your grammar?? People need to help and support each other...

Well, their statement about Campral, was rubbish. And other people read this forum and I have no wish for them to think that it is a placebo. A statement was made, with nothing to back it up. You seem to be missing the whole point, Campral is a great help to many people trying to control alcohol consumption. The grammar comment was a sideshow, concentrate on the subject that matters.

listen i know every thing i need to know about Alcoholism oh and thanks for the warm welcome im not im not going to get nasty,    those days are over,   i was Just saying Camparel did nothing for me and i googled it it came straight from the horses mouth  its all in the mind any way happy sober days one day at a time aye

i'm a new comer to this forum i was just try work out how use it sorry about the grammar but thats least of my problems at the moment

RHGB doesn't mince his words but he's a good member of this forum and helps a lot of people. I think his concern was that people who may get benefit from Campral could see what you said and be put off trying it.

The truth is that, for those it works for, Campral is very very good. Unfortunately, this appears to be only about 30% of people. People should definitely try it if they wish to reduce their cravings but shouldn't feel like failures if it doesn't help them.

Hi Paul,  it wasn't working for me so  i googled it, its a calcium tablet and people on the comments  told me it was a placebo im new to this site thanks for the advice i never meant to be a party pooper forgive my pun and as for my grammar thats least of my problems at the mo

Well, plainly you don't know enough about the medications for alcoholism. Yet you felt confident enough to state in your first message that it is a placebo.

This is what it actually does:

"Acamprosate has a structure similar to chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) that are found in the brain, such as gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). These neurotransmitters act by sending inhibitory messages to the brain, and acamprosate is thought to act by enhancing their inhibitory effects. It is also thought to oppose the action of certain amino-acids that send excitatory messages to the brain. These actions in the brain help to reduce your cravings for alcohol."

Of course, it doesn't work for everybody and also it takes a 'want' to give up alcohol, it like other medications is not a 'magic' pill.

If you had posted, 'I tried Campral and it didn't work for me', you would have got a very different response. It needs to be taken with the right frame of mind and someone wanting it to succeed. It should be taken with counselling, but unfortunately there are not many who really understand alcohol addiction and how to break the psychological connection, which is so much stronger than the physical addiction.

And Paul is right, I am fairly straight talking, but if you were to look through my past posts to some that have come on here seeking help, you will see fairly lengthy considered replies offering a lot of help and advice, based on my own previous struggle with alcohol.

Don't worry about your grammar.  I think RHGB got defensive because Campral works for him...and then when defensiveness comes around people can be flippit to going right for the attack.

That is not a typical response from RHGB or anyone else on this forum.

I mispell all the time and it is NOT an issue.  

Your drinking seems very similar to mine and probably many others here...that stop for a period of time...and then drink again.

Same for me...I had 8 years....drank again and for the last 2 years...I can not get that feeling of wanting to be sober back...even thou I WANT to be sober..when things pop up...that are stressful, or happy or sad...drinking is the first thing that comes to mind.

Its alot of work NOT to drink.

Keep posting ok...

Freedom of speech is ok and if Campral  did not work for you - that is fine - something will.  This is a really good site and welcome - lots of fantastic info here.  I am quite new and have found it unbelievably helpful to the point I now have ONE small glass of wine as a nightcap and have for the last few weeks.  That is a first for me.  I only have managed Monday to Thursday previously and could not wait for Fri/Sat/Sunday for a full bottle of red to help me sleep.  This time around, I have not done this, even my hubster is impressed.  Only trouble is I am a walking Zombie with very little sleep but I love it when I wake in the early hours and DON'T have that awful knotted anxiety feeling in my stomach along with sweating and loud heartbeat due to drinking and anxiety (through disgust with myself).  I love the feeling so much and have not had any withdrawals.  I may be tired but I feel much better.  I put this move forward down to this site as it has never happened before.  So stay with us and we will all share with each other.  Lots you can do.

G.

thanks missy iv no choice this time i nearly died 3wk ago i had complicated my diabetes type 1 with the wine i had my bloods done as iv not had them done for ages good job an on call doc  later that day came with a letter  get to A&E asap give me a letter which stated my sodium levels was 123 i no newt about sodium i at come off google i was waiting for my head explode my kidneys fail go in a coma and die any way i got Librium off me doc on NHS as iv had pay ptivate b4 they just wouldnt give them me they like gold any way im 19 days sober approx but im not counting this it cracks me up what was i counting to my nx relapse and of course missy my 1st detox i lasted 14 month and it never left my mind good luck love hope you master it one day  xxx

OMG...the last time I was in hospital (4 weeks today)...my sodium was critically low....so they placed me on the stroke ward (instead of their normal detox ward).

We have to realize that usually people that have gone THIS far in their drinking....can very possibly DIE the next time we drink.

Seriously, I wish you the best too...keep posting...getting it out helps.

ok Sir, I'm gonna give them another try once i'v finished my Librium guess i have to admit to myself  i don't know everything, but., i'm open to Advice. I thought I didn't need AA after 6 months into my first 14month Sobriety bye God was i wrong

Good grief Misssy, how absolutely terrifying was that for you.   It makes me shiver.  This is all new to me even though I have been drinking for EVER; I have never looked into it like this - just finished the glass and poured another.  Something this time told me to research deeply - viz this forum - and I am learning every single day. 

The problem I think gwen is it seems to NOT be terrifying for me....I think it is because the hospital keeps saving me and I have this thought process that they will ALWAYS save me.

This is NOT a true or healthy thought process.  I know a few people who have died from alcohol...and I think probably because they didn't go to the hospital.

Last time I tried NOT to go....but I really did feel like I was dying so I called...if I hadn't of called (because it gets embarassing after 5 or 6 times going in for alcohol)...but if I hadn't I could be not here today.

I do know the danger I am in..and I DO need to take that more seriously.

 

Your honesty is humbling.  You sure tell it like it is and I admire you.

My younger sister died from alcohol poisening  - she had an ulcer for a while but continued to drink wine and her fave tipple, brandy.  She was not looking after herself food wise - just wanted to drink daily.  She used to take her husband's anti-inflammatory tablets for the ulcer pain which was a HUGE mistake. 

She died alone in bed one morning after phoning her husband at work to say she did not feel too well and he said he would be home later to check on her.  When he got home she was gone - she had got sepsis and all her organs failed due to peritonitis.  Up until that morning she was a funtioning alcoholic enjoying life.

Scary stuff, she knew she was dicing with death but the pull of booze is just the devil itself so there is no way I can judge her - just miss her.

Bless you Misssy x

hmm...losing a sister to alcoholism has got to be scary.

One more reason for all reading to take this devil seriously.

When did she die? How old was she?

What was her name?

Did she have any kids?

Her poor husband finding her...that must be devestating. I have never come across a body and I don't want to...and I don't want anyone to come across mine.

I have too much left to do on this earth...but even saying all this does not keep me sober...I am sober for now....and reading these stories everyday...and to continue what i am doing (the next right things).  I have a chance that your sister no longer has.

God...bless you.

 

Yes you certainly have a chance so grab it tight.  Her name was Gill and she was 52; she died 4 years ago. 

She had an adopted daughter that she was made to give up when she had her at 16: she never got over that and I think that is why she turned to drink - like we all do - to block out stuff we don't like.

Well it is 6.30pm here and I have put the dinner on and for some reason tonight I am missing a bottle of wine.  I would dearly like to swig one now, eat dinner, have another and go to bed for a full night's sleep (what flipping bliss that would be instead of my measly 2 hours).  It would be so easy to do it - and then I would do it again tomorrow night - and then it would be 'here we go again.'

So I am going to distract myself, in fact I am on my computer with a coffee and a chocolate bar which is nicely taking the crave away.

God this crap is awful aint it.  We can do it.

G.

Gill was 52.  I'm 52.  I know as I get older alcohol reaks more and more havoc.

Great that you had coffee and chocolate.  Are you drinking coffee too close to your bed time and maybe that is why your not sleeping well?

I read some where that I shouldn't have coffee for at least  6 hours before bed.  I still do not follow that rule.

AND IT IS BETTER THAN DRINKING.

Thats very sad that your sister was forced to give up a child (your niece).

I am not in agreement with we drink because of harsh things.  I truly believe that i was an alcoholic when I was born...And that as soon as I introduced alcohol I was a goner.

Yes, alot of bad things have happened to me and I have caused alot of bad things to happen...BUT...all the bad things that happened to me involved ALCOHOL.  That's just me and my thoughts.

And even if something happened to me bad (like my grandfather possibly molesting me)....before I drank...that is not why I drank.

I drank because I liked the escape..the feeling.

No longer is it fun....No longer do I drink to get a buzz...I drink to escape...and then I drink because i can't stop

Hi everyone I am new to this forum. So I am detoxing at home off of alcohol. I already had hallucinations and am past that part and onto the shakes and aftermath. I know I should have went to the hospital, but I waited it out and went to my Doctor. He put me on Librium and Naltrexone. Has anyone had any success with the Naltrexone for alcohol cravings? I quit drinking for a year and ended up binge drinking over Thanksgiving into December. 

Hi, I didn’t really have cravings with my Librium detox but I am also taking acamprosate which helps keep the correct chemical balance in the brain. I also find AA meetings helpful to meet similar people who understand us and if nothing else to focus me for an hour.

Keep going - a life with normal anxiety levels beats a drink every day.

Good luck!