My apologies, Ladies, I'm glad to see such care towards hurting another's feelings, but going from emotion to logic, can ya'll (yea, I'm from the South) fathom that 20 or more people die during their first 24-48 hours in a lot of the "lesser class" facilities? Many are geared towards the level of treatment received is determined by "level of capitol or insurance" the individual has. Thats how it is down South, JB
Yeah, that's how it is anywhere. If you have insurance or funds to pay, you can get in the nice programs that really help you the proper way. If you can't pay and you go to a state or county run institutional type program, they're more or less housing you while you go through withdrawal. You don't get the same level of therapy, or preventive medication, or peer support. And that's just plain old Economic Capitalism....it'll never change. The scary thing is, if the idiots in Washington have their way and Health Insurance is made public....all of the programs will fall into a mediocre category, because they will all be funded on the same scale.
But then again, not every alcoholic needs to go to rehab to quit drinking, it's different for every person and their own unique circumstances.
You nailed it right down, Katlin. That wallet size determines if you get the "kid-glove" type-treatment or the "lower-class" type. That's what scares me about having no insurance. The local other-class rehab place where I live is like a prison camp. I went there once to see my friend, I felt like I was going into Shawshank or something. If you have $, you get what you want, if not, you get what's left. Sad. JB
Well said Sweetcheeks.
I have had two seizures from alcohol withdrawls and i am one of the lucky ones.
My concern is that you are not taking your situation seriously and please excuse me if you feel that i am sounding rude but the reality is, as has been stated here, this is a lifelong illness and given time can AND WILL take everything from you.
The harsh reality is that there may be something dark inside you have not addressed and or it could be hereditory. Either way you need professional help to get off and stay off. No social drinker needs detox or to have another to feel better, so ask yourself why your drinking?
The one addiction specialist (MD) in my town primarily uses benzodiazepines, which is a large class of drugs. I see others mentioning librium, a benzo, but when I had to go through it, I used clonazepam, which I think is stronger than librium, not sure. At the time my pdoc kept emphasizing to take Plenty of It!!! Under NO circumstances was I to go "cold turkey on beer" because it can kick-off a bad affect on bipolarism.
The one addiction specialist (MD) in my town primarily uses benzodiazepines, which is a large class of drugs. I see others mentioning librium, a benzo, but when I had to go through it, I used clonazepam, which I think is stronger than librium, not sure. At the time my pdoc kept emphasizing to take Plenty of It!!!
I totally agree with your dotor when they said not to go cold turkey off of drinking. Depending on the amount you drink, it could kill you.
Having said that, I have to say that so many alarms were going off in my head when I read that your doc actually advised you to "take plenty of it" when it comes to clonazepam. Anytime you are taking a benzo, it should alwaysbe respected, and taken exactly as prescribed on the label. I've never picked up a prescription from a pharmacy and seen the words "take plenty of it" where the directions are. Not only are benzos such as clonazepam (Klonipin) highly addictive, they can cause short term memory loss, cause your breathing to supress, and when taken in large doses they can cause blackouts.
I was prescribed .5 mg of clonazepam twice daily. On the 2nd night of my 2nd dose, this was a sunday, I apparently took way more than prescribed. I was told that due to its ability to cause short term memory loss, I forgot that I had taken it and took another, and another, and well, you get the picture. My neighbor smelled smoke and came and knocked on my door. I never answered so she came in since it was open. My apartment was filled with black smoke and I was sitting in the middle of my living room floor holding my 11 month old, watching kids movies with him. She yelled my name several times and when I didn't even look at her, she took the baby from me, took my arm, and guided us to her apartment. She caled 911, then my sister who came and got tyler. The EMT's took me to the ER because I was "zoned out". I woke up in the cardiac unit 3 days later completely oblivious as to what happened. I had absolutely no memory of what happened 3 days earlier. I was in a black out.
I found out after talking to my mom that I had taken the silverware drawer out, put it in the oven, and turned it on to 500 degrees. When asked why I did that, my response to the fireman was "I was baking a cake".
Long story short, benzos are VERY serious drugs. Please be careful when taking these. I am not a doctor, just someone who has had an awful, but very real experience with it. My advice and opinion is to take it only as prescribed, do a little research, and to NEVER exceed the maximum daily dosage. I believe that every addict deserves the chance to be given help when withdrawaling from any substance. But we have to be our own advocates and use common sense when taking our medication. I was, and due to the side effect of short term memory loss, I forgot I ever took it. Thank god for nosy neighbors LOL, and thank god noone was hurt.
Tysmom, why were you prescribed clonazepam? For alcohol withdrawal or generalized anxiety or what? The situation you described sounds horrifying, but it sounds unusual. Were you taking any other substances?
Sorry I have to jump in here...for clarification...alcohol withdrawal may cause symptoms that "mimic" certain behaviors of BiPolar Disorder. But there are no medical reports that link BiPolar Disorder onset to Alcohol withdrawal....
And any Dr. that advises you to start a benzos and "take plenty of it" needs to have his head examined and his licensure examined as well. Stopping an addiction by using another highly addictive substance is not the answer. There are many ways to detox from alcohol safely without becoming addicted to benzos. People really need to be fully informed as to what they are putting into their bodies and what those things can and will do to them most of the time.
Tysmom, why were you prescribed clonazepam? For alcohol withdrawal or generalized anxiety or what? The situation you described sounds horrifying, but it sounds unusual. Were you taking any other substances?
I was prescribed clonazepam for anxiety. Not generalized, or any other form of chronic anxiety. It was supposed to be temporary for anxiety I was having over a personal issue that was going on in my family. The "situation" wasn't really a situation so much as a side effect. I agree that it sounds unusual. Especially when I've never heard of this happening to anyone I know. But boy was I humbled when i searched the internet for any and all information available on benzos and blackouts. Turns out it's not as unusual as I thought...
oh, and no i wasn't on any other medications at the time. Or substances. I also do not drink.
Last edited by Tysmom1; 05-29-2012 at 10:14 AM.
Reason: forgot to answer a question
It sounds like you should never be prescribed benzos to self-administer. Because certain patients with chronic anxiety are prescribed benzos to be taken daily twice a day, I am surprised I have never heard of this memory loss like you experienced as forgetting you took your dose. I guess those weekly pill counters would work in your case, but I hope you never take another benzo! Your experience is so scary! Thanks for sharing it.
It sounds like you should never be prescribed benzos to self-administer. Because certain patients with chronic anxiety are prescribed benzos to be taken daily twice a day, I am surprised I have never heard of this memory loss like you experienced as forgetting you took your dose. I guess those weekly pill counters would work in your case, but I hope you never take another benzo! Your experience is so scary! Thanks for sharing it.
My ability to self administer medication has never been a problem. I said it before and I'll say it again, then I'm done explaining myself. This was a side effect from the benzos. It's not as if I took it KNOWING that I was taking more than i should. I not only forgot that I had taken my dose already, I forgot three friggin days of my life!!!
I don't need a pill counter as I don't have multiple meds to take at multiple times during the day. But they are a great idea for people that do. Pill counter or not, I still would have had the same side effect.
I had taken it in the past without incident and don't know why it had this effect this time. But as we get older our bodies change. Good example, I was never allergic to any medication, ever. Right around 35, all of a sudden I'm allergic to penicillin. So things change.
It's not a matter of NEVER taking a benzo again,so much as it is a good indication that my body has indeed changed and I need to pay attention whenever I take ANY medication. Even if I've taken it in the past, it may have negative side effects the next time.
Very true Kelly, our bodies do change. I never had a problem with latex, but after 30 plus surgeries my body has now become hypersensitive to it and developed an allergy I can't even let the stuff touch my skin or I get very bad blisters and a nasty red feverish rash.
People should always pat attention to meds they take whether they've taken them previously or not, especially if it's something you may have taken alot of previously, our bodies do change and react to the substances we put in them.
Memory loss is listed as a possible side-effect on Klonopin, Xanax, Valium, so it must be true. Did you talk to your Dr.? This could indicate something else could be going on. I guess "black-outs" and memory loss can become more frequent and severe with age and the other things that accompany aging. JB
BTW, I'm 57, and it's tough staying healthy, especially quitting substances.
Memory loss is listed as a possible side-effect on Klonopin, Xanax, Valium, so it must be true. Did you talk to your Dr.? This could indicate something else could be going on. I guess "black-outs" and memory loss can become more frequent and severe with age and the other things that accompany aging. JB
BTW, I'm 57, and it's tough staying healthy, especially quitting substances.
Hi JB! Yes I definitely talked to my doctor about it. He seems to think it was a really bad side effect that i suffered from. He has seen it before, though not much. I have since taken valium for a very short period of time (a week) and had no side effects whatsoever... who the hell knows. It's amazing what you actually find when you research it though aint it? Maybe I was having an off day, a really really really off day.
