I start rehab tomorrow.

[CJones]

As some of you may have figured out, I have a severe drinking problem. And that's on top of the Benzodiazipines I've been taking for the last 20 years. So unless they allow Internet access, I'll be gone for about a month. Wish me luck    

[Edward J Grug III]

Good luck, man!

[Russoguru]

Best of luck to you Cjones. I'm here if you ever need to PM me.

[wihogfan]

Best of luck. Glad to hear you're getting help.

[Variety of Cells]

Good luck man!

[Johnny Unusual]

Sorry I didn't catch this until now.  I hope things are going well for you there.

[stansimpson]

I'm just seeing this now too, but since it hasn't been a month yet, I guess it doesn't matter so much.

Proud of you for taking those steps. Do what you need to do to get better!

[linszoid]

Yeah, good vibes from here also.

[LucasM]

Sorry I didn't see this before.  I very rarely browse threads I've not already responded to.

Congratulations on getting the help you need.  It takes a tremendous amount of emotional strength and determination to realize that one needs inpatient help and then to arrange to get it.

The alcohol/benzo combination is so intensely addictive, I give you tremendous props for accepting that they are too difficult to get off by yourself.  Heck, benzos by themselves are so addictive most people can never get off them on their own.  A friend who is a pharmacist called a prescription to Klonopin, "a life sentence," because they are so hard to get off of and said that most pharmacists he knew felt the same way!  [That is because there is a rebound effect of increased anxiety when they wear off - and usually the shorter the 'come down' period, the more addicting.]

I hope you are proud of yourself for getting help - you certainly have earned every bit of respect you get for doing so!  You certainly have my respect.  Take care of yourself.


[If they don't allow internet access in the hospital, then the hospital is not allowing for what is a great number of people's main source of social interaction (it is for me).  It could also be helpful to uncover any possibly-not-normally-recognized drinking triggers that are present on the internet, so that one can be prepared to better deal with them when one gets out.]

[Pastor of Muppets]

Good luck.  Breaking an addiction is very difficult.

[CJones]

I'm back 

Many thanks to all who wished me well. It wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. I even slept surprisingly well without alcohol or benzo's, something I haven't done in ages. To be honest, the withdrawal from my computer was what drove me nuts. The only computers we had access to ran on Ubuntu and had most Internet functions disabled. They gave me tapered doses of Librium over the course of about 10 days. You do NOT want to detox from alcohol/benzos on your own. You can absolutely die from the withdrawal.

A friend who is a pharmacist called a prescription to Klonopin, "a life sentence," because they are so hard to get off of and said that most pharmacists he knew felt the same way!  [That is because there is a rebound effect of increased anxiety when they wear off - and usually the shorter the 'come down' period, the more addicting.]

Klonopin is indeed horrible stuff. I was on Klonopin for about two years, 10 years ago. My sister, who is a doctor, convinced me to stop taking it. It took a full month for me to get over the withdrawal. I was so nervous I almost quit my job. 

[LucasM]

Welcome back, and glad it was successful for you.

[Variety of Cells]

Welcome back!

[wihogfan]

Glad your back and doing well.