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What is your drink of choice? You can get better bro, being sober sucks but it’s the best thing you can ever do for yourself and your loved ones

I drank a liter of bourbon a day (equivalent to over half a handle) for three years. Tried to stop but the compulsion to drink was far too over-coming. As a former heavy alcoholic who had to spend 10 grueling days in the ICU for severe alcohol withdrawal, I am sadly all too familiar with midazolam (Versed-the strongest benzodiazepine there is that can ONLY be administered in an intensive care setting).I was given 10mg (max dose) every 15-30 minutes for days and quickly built a tolerance. The doctor chose not to put me on the versed infusion as the max infusion is only 5mg/hr and I obviously required much more than that. They then administered phenobarbital 65mg every 30 minutes and in total the doctor was absolutely baffled by how much I required. One of the ICU nurses told me that she had an ICU patient who was given a single dose of 65mg phenobarbital and slept for 16 hours and then left the next day feeling great. Unfortunately for me, I wish that was the case. In total the head ICU doctor/med school professor in a major city said I was given 1.5 grams (I was given 600mg in a single day and 500mg the next and less in and less as my withdrawals began to subside). Yet, nothing seemed to sedate me. He even put me on PRECEDEX (“an alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonist indicated for: Sedation of initially intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients during treatment in an intensive care setting”-Don’t worry, I had to look it up myself, after he administered it to me). Fortunately, I didn’t need to be intubated. Even on max infusion it barely sedated me; however, unlike versed and phenobarbital, it did sedate me enough where I actually was able to sleep for 3 hours a night. Only needed it for the last two days/nights then all was better. Normally, they rarely discharge patients directly from the ICU, but in my case, even being on PRECEDEX the night before, I was allowed to go home just hours after the infusion was turned off as the doctor was fully aware of my unusually high tolerance. By day 8 I wanted so badly to get out of the hospital that I tried to pretend I was “good to go.” The head ICU doctor called my bluff and told me that the amount of phenobarbital and versed i required was enough to put three elephants 🐘 🐘🐘 whom weren’t still in active withdrawal in a coma. My partner was convinced that they kept me there to make me a “case study” in some medical journal as to why nothing could sedate me enough to get sleep. Fortunately, however, by day 10 i was good to go and only needed a Librium 25mg taper for 4-5 days. Then all was better. ⚠️Alcohol is literally the worst drug there is. It destroys all your organs, especially your liver, pancreas, kidneys, and brain. Unlike opiates, alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures and actually kill you if left untreated. Having to be put in the ICU was a wake up call and although it was tough, quitting drinking was the best decision I ever made!

As a former heavy alcoholic who had to spend 10 grueling days in the ICU for alcohol withdrawal, I am sadly all too familiar with midazolam (Versed). I was administered 10mg (max dose) every 15-30 minutes and quickly built a tolerance. The doctor chose not to put me on the versed infusion as max infusion was only 5mg/hr and I apparently required much more than that. They then administered phenobarbital 65mg every 30 minutes and in total the doctor was baffled by how much I required. In total he said I was given 1.5 grams (I was given 600mg in a single day and 500mg the next and less in and less as my withdrawals began to subside). Nothing seemed to sedate me. He even put me on PRECEDEX (“an alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonist indicated for: Sedation of initially intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients during treatment in an intensive care setting”-I had to look it up myself when he administered it to me). Fortunately, I’m young enough (35 y.o) that I didn’t need to be intubated. Even on max infusion it barely sedated me…unlike versed and phenobarbital, it did sedate me enough where I actually was able to sleep for 3-4 hours a night. Only needed it for the last two nights then all was better. Left the ICU with a Librium 25mg taper for 4-5 days. Then all was better. ⚠️Alcohol is literally the worst drug there is. It destroys all your organs, especially your liver, pancreas, kidneys, and brain. Unlike opiates, alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures and actually kill you if left untreated. Having to be put in the ICU was a wake up call and although it was tough, quitting drinking was the best decision I ever made! 😊😊