Benzos Benzos for Alcohol withdrawal

[Z Y G G Y]

Does anyone know what kind and what dose of benzo do they give alcoholics in detox?

Let's say someone drinks almost a liter of vodka per day for months, a year at least.

What would they do for them at the hospital detox?

Any related info appreciated.

 

[Detection]

AFOAF just did an alcohol withdrawal and after a shed load of begging from the docs not to send him to A&E he prescribed him 3 x 5mg Diazepam, which was then increased to 10MG 3 times a day over the course of a week, reduced back to 5mg then to 2mg

Then nothing, made appointments with mental health people to try get a longer more permenant script as DIazepam is the only thing that stops AFOAF (SWIM) wanting anymore alcohol.

3rd party sources as presently being used to keep off the drink and after 9 weeks its working

 

[Skelu]

In many countries the basic rule is that only Chlordiazepoxide (25mg 1-3day) is given to alcoholics. If you are delirious you might get diazepam (as well as anti-psychotics) until you fall asleep (in hospital). These days they tend to use Quetiapine and Mirtazapine where I live. Chlordiazepoxide is often added to the regime to be only used for a little while.

 

[Detection]

Yea Im in the UK, and the Doc was determined I was not getting a home detox, but I persuaded him eventually, took a friggin week if not longer before I could even sleep without nightmares and waking up every 2 minutes, alcohol withdrawls is a nasty thing, I wish you all the luck in the world, but Any benzo will help

 

[Z Y G G Y]

Cuz I don't know what to do here.

I already made a thread about this a while ago.

This is a family friend who is an alcoholic. He was drinking almost a liter of vodka per day. We went with my step dad and got him last night so he is now staying at our house instead of alone in a basement.

We gave him some xanax, 0.75mg at a time. He got it before he went to sleep and was able to sleep the whole night without any alcohol.

We called his doctor and will ask him to script valium or another benzo. But I want to make sure he gets enough.

We have been able to get him some ambien also. But what we got is definitely not enough.

He was shaking this morning so my step dad, after my interference, gave him some alcohol. I knew how dangerous alcohol w/d can be so I forced my SD to give the guy alcohol.

He doesn't want to go to the hospital.

Any ideas? How can I help without getting the hospital involved. I will call an ambulance if I have to. What meds to ask the doctor for?

 

[welshmick]

In the UK.

I drank a bottle of vodka a day for a month.

I ended up in hospital.

Given 40mg Diazepan a day for 2 days, then 30mg for a day then sent home.

Now get 8mg a day, but I have a few beers most nights.

Vitamin B & Thiamine were also prescribed, but I dont take no more.
Also get Fortisip drinks - all minerals & vitamins.

 

[e12dsm]

im in a similar perdicament as your friend. yesterday my w/ds from not having any vodka were getting so bad that i my dad had to go out and buy me some, which held me over for a bit but around 6 hours later they started to come back, fortunately by then he had already filled his xanax script, so he gave me 1mg so i could get some sleep, and surprisingly it worked great. i thought it would more or less just take the edge off but i slept for about 8 hours. im still trying to find a detox to get into. but im hoping that with a mg or 2 a day i will be able to do it at home. Most places these days in the states use Librium or Phenobarbital, but when i lived in Arizona some of the places used Valium. If you can try talking your buddy into getting into treatment, i know where he is coming from by not wanting to go, because im feeling the same way right now, no one every locks be locked up and confineded, but it is really the best way to go. best of luck!

 

[Z Y G G Y]

At disposal will be:
60 5mg pills=300mg. So maybe give him 40 for 2 days, then 30 for 2 days then decrease.
and many 2mg xanax. Supplement with xanax if he can't sleep. I know xanax helps with sleep.
So maybe give him like 2mg xanax before bed.

I don't want him to keep drinking cuz he'll die.

Is ambien a good idea? Trazadone?

I'll also have been giving him vitamin D, B complex, tyrosine and tryptophan and chicken soup with home made noodles. Plus made him a drink from cooked fruits so he gets hydrated.

He says he already feels better. Of course, he was in a basement all by himself and hasn't eaten much for the last 2 weeks. He says he can beat this on his own. But we have already done this once, last years. He did detox and then ddn't drink for a couple months, then started again and now is in the same mess as last year. So now we need something more drastical.

I can do the detox myself at home with the meds his doctor gives him plus the food I make is a million times better than hospital food and the vitamins and supplements I give him.

He has about 2 years before he can retire and get the full retirement money. Early retirement is would only be like 80% so he wants to work until he gets the full amount. But I know that if he goes back to his old life he would start drinking again. And his job is on the line because he has been taking time off cuz of drinking and its not the first time so they are getting really tired of it. Luckily he has a friend, a high positioned manager that got the job partially due to him so she keeps him on the payroll. So luckily that means he has health insurance.

I want him to go to salvation army and do their program. He can work there until retirement and they rehabilitate alcoholics. He's not sure. But wants to get better. How do I persuade him that he can't do it on his own. He thinks he can, but I know he'll just start drinking again once he's alone.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

im in a similar perdicament as your friend. yesterday my w/ds from not having any vodka were getting so bad that i my dad had to go out and buy me some, which held me over for a bit but around 6 hours later they started to come back, fortunately by then he had already filled his xanax script, so he gave me 1mg so i could get some sleep, and surprisingly it worked great. i thought it would more or less just take the edge off but i slept for about 8 hours. im still trying to find a detox to get into. but im hoping that with a mg or 2 a day i will be able to do it at home. Most places these days in the states use Librium or Phenobarbital, but when i lived in Arizona some of the places used Valium. If you can try talking your buddy into getting into treatment, i know where he is coming from by not wanting to go, because im feeling the same way right now, no one every locks be locked up and confineded, but it is really the best way to go. best of luck!

His thing with the hospital is that all he will get there is meds and a room and shitty food. He can get the meds here and we live in a house kinda in the woods by a lake, so its like a vacation for him. He won't get that at a hospital.

But even after the physical symptoms are over, there still are cravings. He needs something that will help him stop wanting to drink.

You know what I mean, PAWS and depression due to guilt over his family being across the ocean and him not being able to help. Depression and PAWS IMO will be a guarantee that he'll go back to drinking within the next few months.

 

[kokaino]

The benzos used for alcohol detox are oxazepam, diazepam, or chlordiazepoxide. I know in Germany they have 50 mg oxazepam tablets that are for alcohol withdrawal. In Russia and a few other Eastern European countries, phenazepam is used for alcohol detox.

 

[Deadhead420]

In rehab, they gave me diazapam 10mg 3 maybe 4 times a day then tapered me down after a couple days. Don't remember the exactly tapering schedule. They also gave some people phenobarbital. I think mostly for people coming off benzos but I think it's also used for alcohol.

 

[mrflowers00]

they give you either librium or valium

 

[mrflowers00]

25mg of librium 3 to 4x a day 10mg of valium 3 to 4x a day

 

[baschoen]

Dude get him into an outpatient treatment center where a certified physitian can manage his medication. Theyre not going to let him suffer. They will prescribe the right amount of benzo for a short period of time. 40mg sounds like an unecessarily large amount of valium for alcohol withdrawals... people who i was in treatment with were given like 10mgs a day at most and decreased slowly. Get some advice from a doctor please. I know what its like to not want to go to treatment, but once I did it my medications were managed much better and I learned a ton about how to be sober and live a better more fulfilling life. I use drugs once in a while but not all day every day like I used to...

 

[baschoen]

His thing with the hospital is that all he will get there is meds and a room and shitty food. He can get the meds here and we live in a house kinda in the woods by a lake, so its like a vacation for him. He won't get that at a hospital.

But even after the physical symptoms are over, there still are cravings. He needs something that will help him stop wanting to drink.

You know what I mean, PAWS and depression due to guilt over his family being across the ocean and him not being able to help. Depression and PAWS IMO will be a guarantee that he'll go back to drinking within the next few months.

If you are worried about him going back to drinking you are going to have to get him to go to treatment and or start going to AA meetings. I would recommend doing some type of treatment/rehab program. He can do outpatient, I did. There is no other way to stop drinking/using other than to change your behavior and you can't do that on your own. The people in treatment and in the rooms of AA will help him with this as well as accepting the mistakes he made in the past and moving on with his life.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

Dude get him into an outpatient treatment center where a certified physitian can manage his medication. Theyre not going to let him suffer. They will prescribe the right amount of benzo for a short period of time. 40mg sounds like an unecessarily large amount of valium for alcohol withdrawals... people who i was in treatment with were given like 10mgs a day at most and decreased slowly. Get some advice from a doctor please. I know what its like to not want to go to treatment, but once I did it my medications were managed much better and I learned a ton about how to be sober and live a better more fulfilling life. I use drugs once in a while but not all day every day like I used to...

I don't know how much clearer I can make this: HE DOESN'T WANT TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL!

I told him that I'll find him a place. He thinks he can stop on his own. So while I hate playing doctor I don't want this guy to die cuz he will.

My stepdad wanted to take all his alcohol away and just make him suffer through the w/d. At least he understands now that after drinking almost a liter of vodka a day you can die from w/d.

We called his reguralr doctor and he said to take him into a detox then rehab. But he totally refused. We aren't gonna put him out on the street or let him die at home. Plus he lives like 1.5 hour away from us so its not like we can check on him daily.

My ideal thing for him would be to first go into detox, then rehab then salvation army for 6 months. Like his doctor said.

He has only been here for 2-3 days now but I am hammering these ideas into his head.

He thinks he can quit on his own and doesn't need detox or rehab and especially not salvation army.

I keep telling him that you either go there or you die. Cuz he can't function normally on his own and his whole family is across the ocean. He can either have 20 nice years on retirement or can be five feet under before he even retires in a year. He can work for salvation army until he can get his retirement funds.

But I think in a few more days we'll get him to sign himself in and do what he needs to. I am trying to use every argument with the guy but like many addicts he thinks he can do it on his own.

So I am just asking about meds because I don't have a doctor to talk to. I would give him into the hands of a good doctor right away but he refuses.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

If you are worried about him going back to drinking you are going to have to get him to go to treatment and or start going to AA meetings. I would recommend doing some type of treatment/rehab program. He can do outpatient, I did. There is no other way to stop drinking/using other than to change your behavior and you can't do that on your own. The people in treatment and in the rooms of AA will help him with this as well as accepting the mistakes he made in the past and moving on with his life.

Also, all these meds are his scripts.

He just needs to understand how crucial rehabilitation is. He thinks that after getting through the physical symptoms he'll stop drinking.

He has been to detox last year so he knows that by using benzos he can get off alcohol.

But I need a few more days to make him understand that what's in your head is just as important as the physical part. He doesn't understand that.

That strong will to stop drinking might not always be enough to stop.

Thanks for responding. I really appreciate it.

25mg of librium 3 to 4x a day 10mg of valium 3 to 4x a day

He has a valium script, 300mg total.

So should he take 40mg once a day or should he take 4 doses of 10mg? Do that for 2 days then keep decreasing the dose every 2 days?

His hands are shaking and he's in bad shape. I just want him to be able to not use alcohol and not be in danger of a seizure and be able to eat and do stuff.

I am an opiate addict myself (on methadone) and don't have any experience with alcohol w/d whatsoever or benzos w/d for that matter, just know not to take benzos for more than 2 weeks. That's why I ask, so that he has something to go by if he still decides not to go inpatient.

 

[MrRoot]

Zyggy, I cant say more than that I really appreciate in what lenghts and stress you will put yourself when helping that poor fella. You are a kindhearted person and I wish that there would be more people like you.

 

[e12dsm]

^^^ i totally agree. it takes a lot to deal with and try and help a friend/loved one. It says a lot about someones character when they go to great lengths and make sacrafices to do w.e it takes to see that someone gets help. i commend you for it, because there are unfortunately not too many people of that character in this world anymore.
if you can do it safely, and properly monitor the drugs you administer him. a proper Taper is vital. Try not to overdue the ammount of benzo's you are giving him, try and give him the least ammount you can each time in the begining to the weening process will be easier. Most detoxs that are good try to do the same thing, people will always say they are in more pain or discomfort then the really are just to get more drugs, but it prolongs their pain in the long run. If u can check his BP, heartrate, and temperatue every 4 hours or so. They are some of the best ways to medical check someone w/d serverity. Its tough, because he isnt willing to go to the hospital, so your obviously going to have to make due at home. but atleast thats better then him doing it by himself without any medical/medication assistance.
i know he is trying to keep his job, and a leave of abcense is in the cards for him right now, but if you can some how persuade him to get treatment, i suggest Outpatient at the very least, and seeing a doctor to try and get a perscription of antabuse, or any other type of anti-drink or craving suppresant medication. AA is also neverrrr a bad idea, i have been attending AA/NA meetings for years, and even though im not clean at the moment ive had period where i have been and a big reason for it was 12step programs, and the empathy, identification, and fellowship you get there.
And lastly if you can convince him to get into an inpatient rehab, i would suggest The Salvation Army, ive been to dozensss of High Dollar rehabs when i had insurance, and the Salvation army ARC(adult rehabilitation Center) were by far the rest. doesnt cost a penny to stay there, way better food then most rehabs, work therapy, 12 step meetings everynight, all sorts of educational class's on addiction, and much more. They are all a bit different but most run on the same conceptual principles. Ive been to the Phoenix, Jersey City, and Newark ones. They are a bit tough at first when u are trying to transition, but once u get used to the schedule and get a good lil job at the facility, it really is an amazingg place. all the friends i made at the one in Phoenix are still sober to this day. im actually considering going back out to phoenix if my brother is willing to fly me out. but of course like the good addict i am i wanna do it on my own lol but my track history shows me that i dont usually do well when its "my way."
Good Luck to you and your friend, you are hopefully saving his life, and remind him that if he doesnt do this he can forget about his full or 80% pention, because odds are he will die before he ever see's it. God Forbid

 

[georgejungle]

Sober over 20 years

Get him or yourself to an AA meeting, they will have some very good advice about detox and beyond. Regardless of what anyone thinks about AA, it's the best cure for a drunk known to man, good luck, I've been where you are at, where he is at, and know AA has kept me sober since 1986, from everything! Say what you want but It Works, seek help from those X drunks, they have some good stuff.