how can i safely taper off vodka?

[helpmetaperoff]

I dont have insurance right now so i cant do what everyone advices and check myself into a detox center. i take 2mg klonipin a night for panic disorder and insomnia. this dosage has never changed the 15 years i have been on it. 1 1/2 years ago i had some really bad things happen in my life and as soon as i got home from work at night i would start drinking straight vodka and take my klonipin. i would continue to drink until i passed out. unfortunately i have allowed this to continue nightly for the last 1 1/2 years. i have been going through 3-4 half gallons of vodka a week. i have had the shakes 3 times and numerous black outs. I deceided on sunday this week that i was tired of waking up with bruises and not knowing where they came from so i deceided i was quitting vodka. so monday night i took my kolonipin and went to bed. 5 hrs later i was shaking heart racing and legs twitching. i got up..made one drink(a 6 ox glass filled with ice-so about 3 oz's of vodka)-i was probably sound asleep in 20 minutes. sleep was restless but still i was able to sleep. monday night i didnt let myself have a drink until right before bed-took my pill had the same sized drink and was able to sleep-a little nervous yesterday but slept pretty good. last night i did the exact same thing-this time i slept all night and i woke up today feeling really good. my question is when can i safely lower the amount of my drink without having a seizure or the shakes.people have me scared to death that i cant do this on my own but i believe i can as last nigt being proof to me. sorry this is so lengthy but i really need your guys help. can someone recommend a safe tapering schedule for me? thanks so much..

 

[TheLoveBandit]

SUPPORT to BDD to TDS....

 

[Jabberwocky]

There may be a medically oriented detox in your community. An emergency department near you may be able to refer you to one. In fact if you are having seizures, hallucinations, or other similar stuff from coming off alcohol an emergency department of a hospital is a good place to go.

A taper is doable for some people but I'm not advising you to do that. I'll send to The Dark Side for taper advice and emotional support if you are interested. We can move to another forum if that doesn't work. Have you responded to your BL confirmation email so you can post in most of the BL forums?

Support---------------------------------->TDS

 

[blahman8000]

If you insist on tapering, you should switch to beer. It's a lot more difficult to be successful when you're drinking hard stuff. Switch to beer and reduce your intake by the day.

I'd advise that you seek medical assistance, though. It will be a lot less painful and much more safe this way.

 

[psychopath]

Detoxing from alcohol is one of the few withdrawals that you can actually DIE from. So, if you show up to a hospital in acute withdrawal, they ARE BOUND BY LAW to take you. You will have an enormous bill after the fact, but they will not turn you away.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Detoxing from alcohol is one of the few withdrawals that you can actually DIE from. So, if you show up to a hospital in acute withdrawal, they ARE BOUND BY LAW to take you. You will have an enormous bill after the fact, but they will not turn you away.

^^^^^^

Yes, you can die from alcohol withdrawal. I had an alcoholic uncle have a heart attack & when he was in the hospital, obviously he wasnt drinking & he was shaking severely from withdrawals. I never ever saw someone shaking that bad. The nurses gave him something to relax & calm down.

Fast forward several months after & he still smokes & drinks like theres no tomorrow. I guess no matter what happens to some people, they just dont quit.

 

[fifleman]

There is no such thing as tapering off alcohol. You sound pretty deep in alcoholism and sounds like your body is quite dependent on it. I would visit a detox facility or the hospital as soon as you're ready. I would imagine they'd keep you at least a few days.

Do not try to stop at home. As mentioned by others, you can die from alcohol withdrawal.

 

[beagleboy]

If you insist on tapering, you should switch to beer. It's a lot more difficult to be successful when you're drinking hard stuff. Switch to beer and reduce your intake by the day.

This is good advice in my experience. In fact, I switched to beer about 4 days ago after 1 year drinking 12 to 24 shots of cheap Vodka a day. When I try to go cold turkey, I get delerious and my body hurts very bad.

As mentioned by others, you can die from alcohol withdrawal.

Have confidence in a taper that you can do at home.
When I do a home taper, I drink 6 shots of vodka spread out from when I get up until I go to bed (8am to 10pm). I repeat this schedule for 3 days and it is very comfortable for me. At the end of the 3 day taper I feel MUCH better. I currently weigh 235 lbs and am a 30 yo. white male. I play tennis, ride a mountain bike aggresively every day and try to eat whole foods.

Some of the alc. w/d, dt effects I feel are racing hearbeat, nervousness, edgy, irritable, lethargic etc. I usually do the taper and then continue to drink, but alot less. Probaly 6 to 12 shots of Vodka a day. I am currently tracking my alcohol intake and doing more to eat up my time during thre day so I dont resort to drinking to pass the time.

If you are super skinny from malnutrition due to drinking, eat alot (at least 2000 calories a day). Also you should defineatly start taking a multi vitamin.

I have had success with taking a alcohol succession drug presribed by a Dr.. Its called Camprell. It reduces the cravings for alc. I dont think there will be any problems taking it with Klonopin.
The drug named Antabuse will make you sick if you drink alc with it. Literally puke and feel terrible.

I have checked myself into a psyche ward a few times when I was losing it due to alc. The psychitraists will give you a psychotropic/ anitpsychotic pill like seroqoul or risperdol or geodone or an antihistimine like benadril. Some nice dr's will give you Xanax or Valium for 3 to 5 days for a proper medicaly supervised detox, but dont count on getting narcotics as most medical staff will identify you as a drug addict the moment you open your mouth.

 

[laCster]

i would recommend kicking the booze and going with gabapentin/lyrica and/or klonopin or valium

 

[beagleboy]

You need to exercise also. Your body is in bad shape from the alc.
Its the start of summer where I am, and I wish I had worked out more during the winter instead of drinking all day.

Join a sports league at the YMCA.
Just go out walking. Walk out your front door and go explore a part of your city/town etc that you never have before. It will eat up an hour or more a day.

 

[beagleboy]

If you dont mind answering me, "are you a female or a male, and what are the bad things that happend to you"? Me or someone else might have had the same trouble and recovered from it.

 

[Legerity]

There's no reason why an alcohol taper is impossible; I couldn't say which method is best but find whatever approach works best for you. Either way it would be recommended to have medical supervision whether you decide to stop everything altogether or to gradually reduce your consumption. Do keep us updated!

 

[SA]

Let me re-read that for some...

I dont have insurance right now so i cant do what everyone advices and check myself into a detox center. i take 2mg klonipin a night for panic disorder and insomnia. this dosage has never changed the 15 years i have been on it. 1 1/2 years ago i had some really bad things happen in my life and as soon as i got home from work at night i would start drinking straight vodka and take my klonipin. i would continue to drink until i passed out. unfortunately i have allowed this to continue nightly for the last 1 1/2 years. i have been going through 3-4 half gallons of vodka a week. i have had the shakes 3 times and numerous black outs. I deceided on sunday this week that i was tired of waking up with bruises and not knowing where they came from so i deceided i was quitting vodka. so monday night i took my kolonipin and went to bed. 5 hrs later i was shaking heart racing and legs twitching. i got up..made one drink(a 6 ox glass filled with ice-so about 3 oz's of vodka)-i was probably sound asleep in 20 minutes. sleep was restless but still i was able to sleep. monday night i didnt let myself have a drink until right before bed-took my pill had the same sized drink and was able to sleep-a little nervous yesterday but slept pretty good. last night i did the exact same thing-this time i slept all night and i woke up today feeling really good. my question is when can i safely lower the amount of my drink without having a seizure or the shakes.people have me scared to death that i cant do this on my own but i believe i can as last nigt being proof to me. sorry this is so lengthy but i really need your guys help. can someone recommend a safe tapering schedule for me? thanks so much..

"this time i slept all night and i woke up today feeling really good"

"i woke up today feeling really good"

Did you all miss the OP's effort and instead go for the doom scenario right off the bat? How come y'all don't do that for any of the non-government-sanctioned (illegal) drugs? You're playing right into their own game, is what you are doing.

You are doing everything right as you should be, helpmetaperoff. The only help you may need, from what I can gather from your progress, is with the k-pins. Pick up some valerian and melatonin. The former is more potent in extract -> capsule -> pill form, in that order. The latter is almost always in pill form. You'd be hard pressed to overdose on either, so I would begin with two of each (based on 500mg-valerian and 3mg-melatonin).

Drink lots of clear fluids (read: water) during awake hours. The more, the merrier the recovery (i.e. quicker). Supplement with plain, cheap-ass yogurt. None of that fancy crap. Want to get fancy? Look up a local supplier of kefir. Half a cup of that a day and your guts will love you forever.

Stay safe!

P.S Bluelight... you should really consider renaming TDS. This person, for instance, was looking for some insight - some light - and not some help to get even more depressed than as is. Get with the times, BL, already! You are shunning addicts by the wayside just like the mainstream world does. Where is the HR in that?!

 

[KiNo]

Librium is what i was given but any benzo should do. If supervised I'm told its not too bad (I suppose how far on you are. Monitoring your blood preasure is what usually is done as well. But as said.. I've seen it done with just Benzos and a few other easy to get hold of meds. Good luck. I took a shit load of benzos and after a few days It was more or less over with not alot that I remembered but that was me and it was beer.