Alcohol user disorder??

Thanks

am seeing her for lunch today. New tapas restaurant has just opened and she texted me to say she'd booked a table without asking me! . Was going to say I'd got my grandson so couldn't make it, but thought what the hell go for it. Will post later the outcome

Oh VickylouI hope it goes well..I guess really it's as to whether she will be in complete denial as the others have suggested .I have a friend who confronted me a few months ago.I think she was suspicious as we were in recovery together a long time ago and I never speak to her about alcohol We have both been sober for long periods but at different times .Anyway when she brought the subject I told her I had a couple of drinks occasionally but she just kept questioning as to why and what solace did i find in it so it got a bit heavy .I found it very confrontational and went into complete denial .She never sees me have a drink so I can avoid the subject .I have never told her about the nalmefene just because I feel I can't and know it would be criticised

Am sure it will be easier for you with your mate as you will both be having a supp so it might (might ? ) soften it .You know what you are going to do because you care so much and also you know so so much of how it feels especially that desolate feeling of swigging a bottle in a loo ! You are offering her a lifeline ..bless you xx

Hi Robin 

It did not go well at all, but ended up better.

i arrived at restaurant to find Julie (not real name) sitting at our table with a bottle of prosecco chilling and an almost empty prosecco bottle on the table.

i didn't say anything to begin with, just poured myself a glass. Ordered starters and whilst waiting I said "what's with the two bottles, you're knocking it back a bit these days aren't you?" She just said she was enjoying it as it made her feel better and helped her to sleep. Had starters then started talking and she was getting louder and flirting with the waiter. We both speak Spanish so luckily the other diners who by now were looking our way couldn't understand what she was saying.

after we finished eating I just (probably as I'd had two glasses) said i don't want to offend you, but I think you're drinking too much and also it's becoming a problem. As we all expected she said she hadn't a problem and could stop if she wanted to.

she then said she wanted liqueurs and called the waiter over. Must have been my lucky day as he said i think you've had enough madam, there have been complaints from other diners. She then stormed out and muggins was left with the bill. To my horror it included 4 gin and tonics she'd had before I arrived. I paid up, apologised and left, totally embarrassed and went to find her. Knew she would be in a wine bar and eventually found her. Totally wasted and buying drinks for everyone. Managed with help to get her to the taxi who refused to take her. I ended up getting my son to collect us and we went back to mine. Won't go into the gory details of vomit and bodily functions, but it was horrible. Rightly or wrongly I phoned her husband .

He came, we checked her bag, full of receipts for booze, and neat vodka in a water bottle. He'd asked her loads of times if she'd been drinking, but as I said to him we can be quite clever at hiding bottles and lying.

we have the same gp and I managed to get her an appointment tomorrow morning. Her husband will go with her, and if necessary get her into private rehab, his idea not mine.

shes now home in bed, husband just phoned to thank me and he had found 18 empty litre bottles of vodka. He will let me know tomorrow how she gets on. I've told him not to be surprised if she refuses to go or admit it's not just a one off.

unfortunately, he thinks two or three days off the booze and she'll be ok. Ended up telling him my story with AUD. he just wants it swept under the carpet without people knowing.

will post back tomorrow with update. He was reluctant to tell her gp, but when I explained about the dangers in sudden withdrawal he agreed.

OMG you were so right Vickylou..Thank goodness you hung on in there ..What a pal .I suppose it's just a matter of wait and see now...I do feel for your mate but she is lucky she has got a good friend in you ...it must have given you the horrors by the sound of what you say 😶x

It did nat, it was horrible seeing her like that. I said earlier I was embarrassed, that's just me being selfish. what the fxxk that's nothing compared to what she's got coming. Been there, got the tshirt etc.

Intrigued by the ages of the regulars on here, you don't have to answer, but I'm 55, how about you. Think you're a lot younger

Ha ha bloody hell I wish! 😥.65 is me oops no I.m 66 had another one of those birthday things in Jan lol .It's funny as we can only make our minds up by what we read ..I thought you were prob mid 30's but realise not now as you just told me plus you rarely have 8 yr old grandsons when your thirty something 😄😄😅

Yep you know the hard road your friend is on now ..I wonder what turning she will take .We.ve all been there , my ex used to ask me why I kept going back in the boxing ring for more ..that was when he felt like Mr high and mighty , the rest of the time he wanted me as a drinking partner at any cost . He went out of the door along with booze many yrs ago....trouble is the booze snuck it's crafty way back in recent yrs but am dealing with it ! I feel so blessed to have found this forum abd such a great bunch of people x

"Intrigued by the ages of the regulars on here"

Well, I remember you calling me a mere baby (by PM) when you found out that I was four years younger. Paul has stated his age on the forum and he is about the same age as me, 51. Joanna mentioned her age (in a PM), so I can't mention it, other than to say she is a youngster.

I think you will find that there are quite a number who are older than you. But I was always taught that it was rude to ask a lady her age.

'Ha ha bloody hell I wish! 😥.65 is me oops no I.m 66 had another one of those birthday things in Jan lol'

Look on the bright side. A free bus pass, free dental care, free prescriprions, your old age pension and your winter fuel allowance.

When you get to 75, you'll even get a free TV licence.

I'm no lady, you should know that by now!

I am interested in how long people have suffered with AUD. my worst period was in my late 20smwith three kids under 5.

Off topic but have you heard of a tablet called RU21? Paper fairy texted me about it. It was on This Morning a couple of weeks ago. I googled it and it just seemed to be a load of strange ingredients. Supposed to be very good for AUD? Am sure she is taking it and is doing really well. Someone else I know is convinced milk thistle is fantastic. I'm very sceptical about these sort of 'tablets', but then that is just me.

Just looked at RU 21, it is a hangover supplement, made up of vitamins. AKA snake oil.

Milk Thistle has not been shown in any clinical trials to help with AUD or repairing of the liver. There have been one or two cases where it may have helped with certain specific conditions of cirrhosis.

The fact that no hospitals or related enviroments give this to patients gives an indication of its efficiency. Generally, thiamine, vitamin B compound strong and folic acid are the prescribed vitamins to help people suffering with alcohol problems.

When you are in hospital, they will generally give you Pabrinex vitamins and to make sure you don't suffer problems with it, they will give it to you IM instead of IV and it is painfull.

Thanks Robin. For an intelligent person in a very high powered job, he had little knowledge of aud. Their image of the perfect couple who've got the lot seemed more important to him! He wanted to know if she would be ok to attend a function on Saturday night and he'd make sure she only had a few drinks, yes I know unbelievable. Will let you know how today goes.

Thanks for that info. Thank goodness I don't get hangovers these days and no hair of the dog needed. Nothing is worth feeling like that again, for me anyway. You seem to be doing very well with the occasional drink. I admit I'd often like another after a couple of glasses of wine, but then remember how that crept up.

Hi Robin 

I got a phone call at 5.30am this morning from my mates husband. She was demanding alcohol. She said her room was full of monsters and she was hearing voices. He said she was shaking so much she couldn't hold a glass, even with both hands.

I told him to give her a small drink k as she was in serious withdrawal which can be fatal. He said I was being ridiculous suggesting more drink. I made him googol alcohol withdrawal if he didn't believe me. Got him to give her a small one which would help until she got Librium from her gp.

I am so angry about what happened with the gp. It was a locum who couldn't speak English very well and her husband had difficulty understanding him. After a lot of pardons and questions her husband managed to just about understand him. I wish he had asked to be seen by another partner at the surgery. This so called 'doctor' refused to give her any medication as she had drunk alcohol in the last 48 hours, despite her husband saying he would give it to her. Her husband said (after I'd told him about tapering) he would have to keep giving alcohol to her in small doses due to the danger and possible fatality of going cold turkey. The dr said that it's quite common and well known that cold turkey is an excuse for alcoholics to get more alcohol!!!

Absolutely unbelievable! He never made any suggestions about arcs eitherI so wish he had taken my offer to go with them as no way was he right, she needs medication.

The doctor gave her a list of AA meetings nearby and make an appointment with her usual dr when he comes back in three weeks.

'Got him to give her a small one which would help until she got Librium from her gp.'

You've been lucky with your GP. Most will not hand out benzos. My GP was reluctant to give them to me, even though I had spent nearly two months in hospital with liver failure and a brain haemorrhage partially cause by my alcohol consumption.

These days, most GPs will not touch patients with alcohol problems. Better to tell them that you are a heroin user. (that last bit was sarcasm, with a hint of truth).

I got mine in Spain, although they're tightening up now, cause of brexit! I was  more annoyed that this locum said tapering was an excuse for alcoholics to get another drink. Paul said he'd been forced to tell a patient to have a drink, rather than go cold turkey.

well she's now in the hands of our local A&E as she fainted apparently, then started fitting. Husband phoned for an ambulance which took her to A&E. No wonder the NHS is in a mess, a weeks supply of Librium would be far more cost effective than emergencey ambulance to an already overcrowded and understaffed A&E.

If my memory serves me right, did you have a detox whilst you were in hospital? although you didn't know much about it. Maybe she'll be lucky and get some medication, who knows, luck of the drawer

Don't get me started on alcohol versus drug addiction treatments  available and funding, ,I'd be here all day.

the 'system' bends over backwards for drug addicts, AUD sufferers get almost nothing

'If my memory serves me right, did you have a detox whilst you were in hospital? although you didn't know much about it. Maybe she'll be lucky and get some medication, who knows, luck of the drawer'

They did detox me with Librium, I found that out from reading my hospital records. To be honest, I don't think I needed detoxing at that time. It was only when I went a bit mental back in about August 2015 and broke my golden rule of never before lunch that I got into difficulty and had to detox.

When I was in A&E last year for the blackouts (not to do with alcohol), the junior doctor had my records (i.e. alcohol) and started doing an ascites check on me - I know what they are doing from my long stay in hospital and I almost said, WTF are you doing. Then she was on about detoxing me with Librium.

They will happily pump you full of Librium in hospital, without a thought. Lots of paperwork if you die in hospital and they have to put you in the mortuary - yes most hospitals have one.

Things like diazepam cost pennies  because the patent has run out. If a chemist could just sell you a pack without a prescription, it would be way less than a fiver.

She's discharged herself from hospital by saying she feels guilty taking up a bed when the hospital is overcrowded and understaffed at the moment!!

Hi Vickylou. Have just been reading all the posts regarding your friend. Its a good job your friend and her husband have got you to advise them. Once again 'The system' lets AUD sufferers down.

Well done you x

Yes I am so young compared to you lot 😳😇 x