Please help !!!!

[StuckinLA]

Please help !!!!

Did you try reading the posts, desp? Maybe the part about lorezapam and being under the care of a doctor wasn't clear enough...

[StuckinLA]

Please help !!!!

Oh, wow, OK. Well, desp, you know I teach English... So if you'd like some help we can work on using context clues to read for the meaning of a piece of writing. Just PM me if you want to set up some tutoring times.

[COSGringo]

Please help !!!!

Always wanted to get over to India. I have some friends over there that have worked for me.

Let me know desp, we could meet up. Just a guess that's where you are at.

StuckinLA- need some quick lecciones de Espanol. Got any ideas? Can't stand that Rosetta mess.

[COSGringo]

Please help !!!!

Oh and sorry DW.

Back to the point. That's a lot of booze. I was close to that at one point but I think one bottle would have done.

I was doing that with pills and not bac.

It can be done outside of inside treatment I believe. He has to want it. Do it slowly but it depends how long he was at that level and such.

Sorry dropping in and out of forums and felt I should jump in here since I am not sleeping and I missed desp.

So bac will help, he best not drop to zero alc quickly is my guess. He might need benzos if he is really going to stop cold quickly. That needs a doc.

I am sure I will get heck for this since I am just jumping in here and have not read the whole novel. Just know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

My life is much better and it can be for all.

[DesperateWife]

Please help !!!!

I was going to post something last night but I fell asleep. This has been a nightmare for multiple reasons and I don't know where to start. My husband went to the hospital to detox since he had been drinking such huge quantities and I was afraid he would have a bad withdrawal syndrome and seizures. I felt very uncomfortable detoxing at home, big mistake! He stayed 2 days inn the hospital and the psychiatrist gve him Zxprexa 2.5mg, Lorazepam 1mg and Baclofen 5mg daily. He was sleeping a lot and a little confused at different times so I decided to check on the meds to see what could be doing this. I panicked when I read the horror stories about people stopping Zyprexa. I didn't sleep for a whole week freaking out not knowing to stop it cold turkey or what to do. We finally decided to stop it abruptly after 2 weeks on the freaking medication. Thank God nothing happened, i.e., meaning he didn't have a psychotic episode from withdrawing from that medication. At this point he had increased the Bac to 10mg 3 times per day. He had been AL free for 2 weeks and then he began drinking at the same amount prior to the detox . The next step was to decrease the Lorazepam since at this point he had been taking it for 3 weeks. He decreased it from 1mg to .5mg for 3 days then to .25mg and is still on this dose. The drinking has continued the same and he's had severe anxiety and racing thoughts. The question here is: is it from stopping the zyprexa or from decreasing the Lorazepam?? Both of us have spoken with Dr L several times but he feels this is from the alcohol. I've spoken to 2 other psychiatrists who have written books on stopping antipsychotics and they said it would be unlikely from the zyprexa but I don't know. When you read blogs about people stopping zyprexa even after a brief period it freaks you out.

On the other hand, I think we dropped the Lorazepam too quickly and this could be what is causing this at this point.

He is currently on 50mg of Bac. Last night he woke up at 2:00 am and I gave him 10mg of Bac, since he was to increase to 70mg this week. Still waiting for him to get up and was thinking of giving him 20mg in am, 15mg afternoon and 20mg evening(total of 65mg if we count last night's dose of 10mg). I want to go slow right now since I don't know what's causing these symptoms. I was also thinking of increasing the Lorazepam back to .5mg for a couple of days and see if he felt better.

I am soooo angry at this freaking psychiatrist for giving him zyprexa and lorazepam. Had he not been on the zyprexa I would have had him stop the lorazepam within 2 weeks but I postponed discontinuing the lorazepam for another week in order to be able to discern any withdrawals from the zyprexa. In either case I am not sure if what he's going through is from the zyprexa or the lorazepam. He said he felt something similar years ago when he stopped the xanax cold turkey and then of course had a seizure. The other time he said felt something similar was when he tried to stop AL cold turkey. Trying to recall but I think he had been given a Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. He took it for 2 weeks and stopped it. Two weeks or 1 month later he had a seizure.

A neurologist started him on topamax. He took it for 2 years and drank more while on the topa. As I've read more about this I feel it wasn't the topa but the effect of abruptly stopping the SSRI. Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like that could have messed up his neurotransmitters.

Once again after 2 years on the topa he stopped it abruptly and by God's miracle he didn't have a seizure, however, his AL consumption increased.

I then read about naltrexone and he started taking it. It somewhat helped but then he started missing doses and of course the AL intake increased even more than before.

I wonder if all these drugs have screwed up his neurotransmitters/receptors and there won't be any turning back. I am terrified for him.

I wish someone with some experience with stopping these meds could assist with information as to their own experience and how they managed the withdrawals and if they are doing better now, hopefully, that's the case.

I am also wondering if any one would be willing to speak with him by phone. He is unable to concentrate long enough to write about what he's feeling and he does not want to tell me so that I don't worry. He keeps asking me if others have experienced similar symptoms.

We truly need someone who has gone through this to be able to give us some feedback. The doctors I've spoken to don't know much about taking people off meds or if these symptoms are withdrawal from the meds or what have you.

My husband is havng a really difficult time and would greatly benefit by speaking with someone.

We don't know where to go from here. We need help.

Thank you for caring and for any assistance you can give us.

[DesperateWife]

Please help !!!!

Earlier this morning I wrote that,however, since then other events have occurred which seem to clear up the picture, somewhat. I decided to up the dose of the Bac from 50mg to 65mg. When he woke up this morning I gave him 20mg and he continued to sleep for several hours. Woke up and ad some AL (don't know how much) and fell asleep until early evening. When he woke up he was totally fine, no difficulties with his speech or thoughts. I have come to the conclusion he was not having a psychotic episode from withdrawing from the zyprexa. Probably from AL intake.

He did not want to take the 20mg of Bac so I gave him 10mg in order to give him another 10mg in a couple of hours. However,he started drinking and fell asleep. I am waiting another hour to wake him up and give him 20mg. Tomorrow will increase it to 70mg if we can.
I am hoping this will decrease his anxiety and decrease the drinking. I really want to start tapering the lorazepam. He has now been on this for nearly 1 month although he is only taking .25mg.
If anyone has stopped this med I would certainly appreciate your input.

Also, do you think he'll decrease the AL soon?????

Sorry for bugging you with so many questions but you have all gone through this and are more knowledgeable than most docs.

Big hugs to all of you

[Greg]

Please help !!!!

I'm neither a doctor nor a seasoned baclofen user, but if I had to bet money on the cause of these problems, my money would go on the lorazepam. I would have also said alcohol, except that you said your husband was drinking around the same amount when the symptoms started. Benzodiazepines like lorazepam are well known for causing a wide variety of unusually serious withdrawal symptoms in some people, even after fairly short periods of daily use. Lorazepam is a short-acting benzo too, which makes it more likely to cause withdrawal problems. I have experienced various unnerving symptoms while decreasing and trying to get off alprazolam (Xanax), which is another short-acting benzo.

Zyprexa is a long-acting antipsychotic and the 2.5 mg dose is only low compared to what is used in most patients (up to 20 mg per day). This doesn't mean that some withdrawals from it are not possible, but I just don't think it is the likely culprit in this case, given the short period of use and the fact that it would slowly get out of a person's system. Benzos have a reputation for causing problems in a fairly short period compared to most other classes of medications.

Nobody truly knows how permanently drugs can change receptors or neurotransmitter function, but an educated guess is that most of the time their function returns to normal eventually, quicker in those cases of short periods of medication use. I would also guess that GABA-A receptors (the type benzos affect) take longer to normalize than other types, simply due to the greater number of reports of long-term and serious withdrawal from benzos. Alcohol works via GABA-A receptors too, although it also affects a number of other ones.

Best wishes to you and your husband.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Please help !!!!

Hi, DW.

Against my better judgement, I am going to weigh in on this. Please keep in mind that what I am about to write is going to be met with harsh criticism from the person who posts as "benzo control board/desperados/baclofan". All three of those names are used by the same person with a grudge against me personally and an agenda related to benzodiazapenes. I would politely suggest that you could weigh the two posts (mine and the others) based on this fact:
I am sober because I took baclofen up to indifference.
I do not use, abuse, or take regularly any other medications or supplements, except a multivitamin and cholesterol medication. Despite the troll-ish insinuations and accusations made by benzo/desperados/baclofan. It's true.

So. To the point:

Benzos have a very clear role in helping people abstain from alcohol. They are the most widely prescribed medication in this country, not because they are over prescribed but because they are generally safe and (here's the point) extremely effective.
Furthermore, used in combination with baclofen they are very, very helpful. They mitigate the side effects, which can be devastating if the person isn't sleeping. They are absolutely the only tool that is effective in alcohol withdrawal. (Well, baclofen is too. But that's a whole different story.)

There is no question that they can be habit-forming, nor that they can be abused. They can absolutely be habit-forming and can (of course) be abused.

The question I would pose to you is this:

Is it worth it to take the chance that your husband may have to taper off of a benzo (lorazepam) later, if he can conquer his addiction to alcohol (and perhaps addiction in general) with baclofen?

One last note:
About three months after I became effortlessly sober my husband, also an alcoholic, decided to try baclofen. He had a panic attack that took us to the doctor, almost resulted in the loss of his j

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Please help !!!!

Oh. More to the point:

Might not be the best idea to withdraw from yet another thing when he's already got a really head-spinning combination of things going on in his brain chemistry.

And I'd also reconsider going up on the baclofen until you're sure he's in a relatively comfortable place. It is a miraculous medication, but it's not always an easy one to take. Just my thoughts on the matter, though. I'm sure you guys will be able to navigate through this.

Again, hang in there. I hope you guys have the same result we have had.

[Greg]

Please help !!!!

I also think benzos have a place in modern medicine, and sometimes you have to weigh up the pros and cons of using them. I am not strictly anti-benzo, just cautious about daily use for years, as you can get some serious withdrawal symptoms when stopping or reducing them. I still use Xanax for sleep occasionally, but not at the same time as drinking of course. I have never felt a craving for either Xanax or Valium, or any need to increase the dose.

On the other hand, if someone wants to use them to get high or bombed out, or does enjoy the effects a lot, then that type of use can lead to more severe dependence, and sometimes bizarre behaviour by the person while they are intoxicated.

[spacebebe01]

Please help !!!!

I wasnt going to come in on this, but I keep on coming back to it, it all looks such a mess. Did you ask the psychiatrist why he gave your husband the Zyprexa, there must have been a reason, these types of anti psychotics are used at low doses to help calm and stabalise and Im thinking this is what he was wanting your husband to take it for, maybe it was working and thats why your husband returned to drinking heavy after stopping taking it. Also benzo's are the standard detox med, they do a get lot of bad press and some of it may be deserve but they are very effective. I dont understand tho why a psychiatrist would prescribe bac 5mg on a detox, was bac part of his treatmant plan? My concern now is your husband probably isnt in the best of health to begin with, he has been on and off and up and down strong medications, including alcohol, he needs to see a doctor, and get this sorted properly, is he on board with this, what does he want, why are you having to give him his meds and he isnt taking them himself. Also is he eating and drinking fluids apart from alcohol because that is a real biggie that he needs to do. xx

ps also some vitamins and milk thistle would be useful for him and may help him start getting better

[DesperateWife]

Please help !!!!

Thanks for your input. You have no idea how much I appreciate your thoughts and just being able to get things into perspective.
I will give you the update first. So today e were trying to bump his bac up to 70mg. He took 20mg in am, 20mg in afternoon and will be taking 30mg in a while. He also took his .25mg of lorazepam in am. He has barely drank anything today and has no anxiety. He is totally coherent and calm.

I have noticed that every time we increase his bac he does great for 2 days and then he starts drinking more around the 3rd-4th day after increasing the dose. Anyone else has experienced this?

Also, for the first time in weeks he wants to create his own account here and be able to ask questions to all of you and write about his own experience.

Today was the best day we've had in weeks. I can't thank all of you enough for your support. I know we have a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction.

I never lost fath in bac. I knew that this was our last chance but I also understand that it will be a bumpy ride till he gets there.

Ne/Neva: I agree that benzos are necessary medically at different times and in specific situations. I am just concerned about the addictive properties and that was the reason I wanted to wean him off it asap. On the other hand, I did not want him to have severe anxiety and withdrawals from weaning off too quickly, reason for not decreasing the lorazepam any further for now. As a matter of fact, I even thought of increasing the lorazepam to .5mg to see if it would decrease the anxiety. Today, however, has shown me that the anxiety provoking issue here is the excess alcohol intake and not the meds causing this. I am glad we decided to go up on the bac instead of on the lorazepam. However, we will not decrease the lorazepam for now.No need to add anymore confounding factors.

Space: the psychiatrist gave him the zyprexa when he was in detox, to prevent a psychotic episode due to the withdrawal and as a tranquilizer. Just so that you know, the latest Guidelines in the treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal state that Antipsychotics have not shown to be effective and may decrease the seizure threshold. Two reasons not to use them!! He had never used the bac so he just did the 5mg because I persuaded him to continue on that dose since I had given it to my husband the day before and it had stopped his binge frenzy lunatic AL episode. He did it because I pushed him into agreeing to it He is eating and he definitely wants to stop drinking. I give him the bac cause he is sometimes so confused I don't want him taking wrong dosages and having the same SE's that many people on this forum have had to go through due to getting confused with when and how many they took.

Greg: thanks for your input.Last night,when I wrote this, I also thought it was the benzos but today i know it was the alcohol intake that created this anxiety. How can I be so sure? The benzo dose is the same yet the alcohol has dramatically decreased today and he's had no anxiety today. I hope that his neurotransmitters and receptors will go back to normal at some point and there won't be any long term damge.

Cos: he is not stopping the alcohol cold turkey at this point. He will have to do it gradually with the bac. For now, he is not going back to detox, especially not after seeing his response today. Just to let you know, I did think we had to do this detox all over again and it was causing me anxiety!!! But I agree, he should not stop alcohol cold turkey and I feel he wont have to do so considering todays turn of events. BTW, thanks for dropping in!

So overall I am very happy today.

[Nelz]

Please help !!!!

DesperateWife;1380456 wrote: Thanks for your input. You have no idea how much I appreciate your thoughts and just being able to get things into perspective.
I will give you the update first. So today e were trying to bump his bac up to 70mg. He took 20mg in am, 20mg in afternoon and will be taking 30mg in a while. He also took his .25mg of lorazepam in am. He has barely drank anything today and has no anxiety. He is totally coherent and calm.

I have noticed that every time we increase his bac he does great for 2 days and then he starts drinking more around the 3rd-4th day after increasing the dose. Anyone else has experienced this?

Also, for the first time in weeks he wants to create his own account here and be able to ask questions to all of you and write about his own experience.

Today was the best day we've had in weeks. I can't thank all of you enough for your support. I know we have a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction.

I never lost fath in bac. I knew that this was our last chance but I also understand that it will be a bumpy ride till he gets there.

Ne/Neva: I agree that benzos are necessary medically at different times and in specific situations. I am just concerned about the addictive properties and that was the reason I wanted to wean him off it asap. On the other hand, I did not want him to have severe anxiety and withdrawals from weaning off too quickly, reason for not decreasing the lorazepam any further for now. As a matter of fact, I even thought of increasing the lorazepam to .5mg to see if it would decrease the anxiety. Today, however, has shown me that the anxiety provoking issue here is the excess alcohol intake and not the meds causing this. I am glad we decided to go up on the bac instead of on the lorazepam. However, we will not decrease the lorazepam for now.No need to add anymore confounding factors.

Space: the psychiatrist gave him the zyprexa when he was in detox, to prevent a psychotic episode due to the withdrawal and as a tranquilizer. Just so that you know, the latest Guidelines in the treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal state that Antipsychotics have not shown to be effective and may decrease the seizure threshold. Two reasons not to use them!! He had never used the bac so he just did the 5mg because I persuaded him to continue on that dose since I had given it to my husband the day before and it had stopped his binge frenzy lunatic AL episode. He did it because I pushed him into agreeing to it He is eating and he definitely wants to stop drinking. I give him the bac cause he is sometimes so confused I don't want him taking wrong dosages and having the same SE's that many people on this forum have had to go through due to getting confused with when and how many they took.

Greg: thanks for your input.Last night,when I wrote this, I also thought it was the benzos but today i know it was the alcohol intake that created this anxiety. How can I be so sure? The benzo dose is the same yet the alcohol has dramatically decreased today and he's had no anxiety today. I hope that his neurotransmitters and receptors will go back to normal at some point and there won't be any long term damge.

Cos: he is not stopping the alcohol cold turkey at this point. He will have to do it gradually with the bac. For now, he is not going back to detox, especially not after seeing his response today. Just to let you know, I did think we had to do this detox all over again and it was causing me anxiety!!! But I agree, he should not stop alcohol cold turkey and I feel he wont have to do so considering todays turn of events. BTW, thanks for dropping in!

So overall I am very happy today.

Good to hear, I think him getting his own account is a Wonderful idea!!

[spacebebe01]

Please help !!!!

DesperateWife;1380456 wrote:

Also, for the first time in weeks he wants to create his own account here and be able to ask questions to all of you and write about his own experience.

So overall I am very happy today.

That is very good to hear, what a turn around