Should I go to the doctor?

[nuttynutskin]

I'm on day 7 of my in home detox since having alcohol poisoning using .5mgs of ativan 3 times a day, a bunch of vitamins, water, and more food now that I'm actually hungry. Today since it was Sunday and I didn't have anything to do I decided to see if I could go off the ativan. I managed until about 10pm and took one and 3 ibuprofens because my anxiety was too bad. Problem is I only have 3 ativans left and I'm still having somewhat bad tremors, tracers, and my equilibrium is fucked up. I'm wondering if I should try to get in to see a doctor tomorrow and/or if they'll even do anything. I'm not sure if I'll be in very good shape if I go completely off the ativan without anything else and the last thing I want to do is end up back in the hospital. At this point I've been so many times I doubt they'd do anything anyways.

I should also mention I already take .5mgs of clonazepam twice a day. (My normal prescription for GAD.)

 

[aihfl]

It's difficult to dispense advice in your situation. The "normal" advice would be to see a doctor, but I've been in your situation and I know that you're unlikely to get meaningful help from the hospital outside of stabilizing your immediate physical condition. Your combined daily dose of Ativan and Klonopin is the equivalent of about 4mg of Ativan, which is a pretty healthy dose. Ativan does fuck with your equilibrium more than other benzos IME but the other symptoms you described are characteristic of GABAergic withdrawals. What have your eating habits been like? Last time I was admitted to the hospital I could barely stand and it was because my potassium levels were so low it was bordering on cardiac arrest territory. If you haven't been eating (I used to not eat for literally weeks when on a bender) that could also have something to do with it.

I saw on your other thread that you're having difficulty finding an in-network psychiatrist. Is looking in another area within easy driving distance a possibility? Not that seeing an addiction psychiatrist is a guarantee that they're any good, but that may be the best place to start. That said, if things get bad, as much as going to hospital may suck, it would be the prudent thing to do.