Dear d2m,
My thoughts and prayers are with you as you start a detox.
My son has done what you are doing about four times in an effort to quit, once in rehab and otherwise, like you, cold turkey at home so I know how very unpleasant(to put it mildly) a detox is. You are fortunate to have valium etc. at your disposal.
He had enormous doses of Librium, decreasing over four days when supervised, but otherwise nothing.
I will be so relieved when I hear that you have come through this OK.
In the meantime I am wishing you the best outcome for what you are undertaking.
Chris

Dear d2m,

I was going to PM you this info as promised, but I feel I might as well post this info here as it might be informative to others.

As you know, I am in the UK (south-east England). I have been through three detoxes. Two private and one on the NHS.

The private detoxes lasted around a week. They used Librium, which is the detox sedative of choice over here. They also boosted me with Thiamine and Vitamin B (strong) complex.

It was not in the Priory, which you will have heard of, but a similar local private institution which was lovely. The rooms were like a very nice hotel, the food was in the restaurant top-class (REALLY delicious!!) and the counsellors were absolutely superb. I had wifi access, I was allowed my mobile phone, and to make calls out on the staff telephones. This is very different from the tough regime I have heard of at the Priory.

Unfortunately the counsellors were all ex-addicts themselves, and so every session they tried to help with my issues (basically low self-esteem, and failure to grieve properly for a lost relative) were also aimed at persuading me that abstinence was my only route forward throughout the rest of my life. TSM and the Baclofen treatment that I am recently interested in have convinced me otherwise. Attending AA, CA and NA were part of the programme.

I have to say that Librium works excellently as a detox medicine. Even with it though, staff would check on me throughout the night to make sure I didn't have any seizures. In my second detox I believe that I had some sort of brain trauma (a mini-stroke?) because I was asked to read something out at an AA meeting, and although reading has always been my greatest strength, I struggled so, even though I was almost off the Librium. Once I am fully sober and CURED I'll be pushing my GP to send me to a neurologist to check up on this. Something has happened there, although I am not too bad - in fact almost back to normal (although I am a committed alcoholic once again ).

Both times I stayed for the minimum time for the detox - 7 days, purely for financial reasons (I was self-funding and it costs about £500 a day). The counsellors wanted me to stay for at least two to three weeks to fully deal with my issues, and I wish I could have, because they were SO excellent at dealing with emotional stuff, absolutely superb. If anybody would like details of where this place is please PM me. I also have an acquaintance who went to a similar place (don't know quite if it was 5* like mine, but it was meant to be very nice) in Scotland, where it cost 'only' £1500 per week.

Most of the patients at this place were covered by private health insurance (Bupa covers it I know) and stayed for up to 28 days.

My third detox/rehab I had no more money, so had to go NHS. I'm no snob, I would have done that anyway, but the private place admitted you on the very day you wanted (and the levels I was drinking then, much as I am now, made me absolutely desperate.

Again, they used Librium. I was lucky, as the facility was new and very comfy - apparently the previous place was an NHS nightmare, from the mould on the walls to the rats scuttling round at night. The staff were excellent, but the other patients were mainly heroin/crack cocaine addicts. It seems that alcoholism takes a very back seat to drug addiction (probably both politically and because of the greater associated crime that comes with drug abuse) in Kent.

I stayed for nine days, which I needed by then, as the waiting list kept me out from there for almost four months, by which time I was in a terrible state. I had not been able to eat properly for months by the time I got in there, and was almost a walking skeleton. Why? Because of my drinking the excess stomach acid meant I couldn't hold food down. Alas, my GP didn't have the foresight to prescribe, or even recommend, a simple antacid which would have made the world of difference.

We heard that one girl died just days before she was due to be admitted, because the waiting list was so long

It was also a different kettle of fish from my private detox. They confiscated your mobile phone at the door (so people couldn't phone their dealers for drugs) and it was more regimental - with times to get up and go to bed. The counselling was generally lousy, although the day staff were absolutely dedicated, to a fault.

SO that is my history in detox/rehab! I may copy and paste this into a separate thread in case it helps anyone here in the UK.

Wishing you all the best d2m

D2M - you are very brave and I admire you for trying to quit Christmas Eve & Day! Be strong and I hope all is well with you. And hey - you did it!! Be careful trying to quit 100% on your own...just be careful. Good luck w/ TSM & your strong willpower.
XO

As you are in the south-east my friend, if you decide to go for rehab let me know and I will get you the details of a psychiatrist who will refer you through heath insurance to the place I went to - it is an incredible place. Some of the rooms are like a stately home!

A standard stay will be 28 days. The first five to seven you will detox, while receiving daily counselling, usually in small group, for whatever issues you may have. The counselling continues for the rest of your stay. The counsellors (one in particular) will break you down to the real core issues, and then build you back up again.

This is, of course, if you believe the issues you drink are because of things that you have to deal with, rather than issues that are constantly put upon you by others.

As I've also said, they do make you attend 12-step meetings in the evenings, which for me are no longer an option. But, had I the money I would still go for the day sessions with the counsellors, they are wonderful at what they do, and I know I still have stuff to work through, (alas it's about £300 for a day of counselling sessions).

All the best to you my friend, well done on cutting down, wonderful!