My husband is in the hospital right now going through acute alcohol
withdrawal. Starting the night before last he began having paranoid
delusions and thinks the hospital staff are trying to poison him or are
trying to give him pills to turn him into a slave. When I call him he
questions me to make sure I'm really his wife and demands I come and
get him, which I couldn't do even if I wanted because he's on a 72
psych hold.

Will he get through this or could he remain like this? Monday he had a
seizure, which they believe was due to his drinking, but he seemed
"normal" otherwise, right up until Tuesday night when the
hehallucinations and paranoia started. The doctor said that his mental
deterioration is due to the alcohol withdrawl and that it will pass.

On 21-Apr-2005, "dreamspinner3" <dreamspinner3@gmx.net> wrote:

> My husband is in the hospital right now going through acute alcohol
> withdrawal. Starting the night before last he began having paranoid
> delusions and thinks the hospital staff are trying to poison him or are
> trying to give him pills to turn him into a slave. When I call him he
> questions me to make sure I'm really his wife and demands I come and
> get him, which I couldn't do even if I wanted because he's on a 72
> psych hold.

> Will he get through this or could he remain like this?

Yes to the first. Possibly to the second. Chances are though his paranoia
will only last a couple of days (at least his delusions anyway). In my
experience it's a very common symptom of withdrawals.

> Monday he had a
> seizure, which they believe was due to his drinking, but he seemed
> "normal" otherwise, right up until Tuesday night when the
> hehallucinations and paranoia started. The doctor said that his mental
> deterioration is due to the alcohol withdrawal and that it will pass.

What kind of doctor are you talking about? An alcohol/addiction specialist?
Or just an ER doc or family physician? Beware: Not all doctors are
"created equal."

What are you really asking? Will his condition improve overall? I'd love
to be able to give you assurances that things will get better, but.... No
one (and I mean no one) can give you that sort of guarantee.

If he continues to drink his mental deterioration will undoubtedly get much
worse (possibly even become permanent) and the seizures could come more
frequently. But if he stops and stays stopped things will improve
drastically. Remember people can and do get sober every day - and many are
as bad off or worse than your husband.

Talk to the hospital's social worker. Get as much information as you can.
And keep talking to others about what's going on!

Good luck.


--
NutSo

A GP from our family clinic is in charge of his care because he had a
seizure on Monday, fell down, and broke some bones in his face when his
head hit the pavement. Right now he's in the hospital because of that
but they are going to keep him to treat his depression and alcohol
addication.

What I was asking is if the paranoia and delusions would pass. I have
never seen him that way before. I know the ulitmate outcome rests in
my husband's hands and that only he can decide whether or not to get
help and continue getting help for his problems.

"dreamspinner3" <dreamspinner3@gmx.net> wrote in message
news:1114104770.361767.11810@l41g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
> My husband is in the hospital right now going through acute alcohol
> withdrawal. Starting the night before last he began having
> paranoid
> delusions and thinks the hospital staff are trying to poison him or
> are
> trying to give him pills to turn him into a slave. When I call him
> he
> questions me to make sure I'm really his wife and demands I come
> and
> get him, which I couldn't do even if I wanted because he's on a 72
> psych hold.
>
> Will he get through this or could he remain like this? Monday he
> had a
> seizure, which they believe was due to his drinking, but he seemed
> "normal" otherwise, right up until Tuesday night when the
> hehallucinations and paranoia started. The doctor said that his
> mental
> deterioration is due to the alcohol withdrawl and that it will
> pass.
>

Dreamspinner! Great to see you here again, even if in adverse
circumstances.

I have no answers regarding your husband, but do hope next time you
call in here, it's to tell us that things are going much better for
you.

Bob

<NutSoFast@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:P7S9e.349$C42.4@okepread06...
>
> On 21-Apr-2005, "dreamspinner3" <dreamspinner3@gmx.net> wrote:
>
>> My husband is in the hospital right now going through acute
>> alcohol
>> withdrawal. Starting the night before last he began having
>> paranoid
>> delusions and thinks the hospital staff are trying to poison him
>> or are
>> trying to give him pills to turn him into a slave. When I call
>> him he
>> questions me to make sure I'm really his wife and demands I come
>> and
>> get him, which I couldn't do even if I wanted because he's on a 72
>> psych hold.
>
>> Will he get through this or could he remain like this?
>
> Yes to the first. Possibly to the second. Chances are though his
> paranoia
> will only last a couple of days (at least his delusions anyway).
> In my
> experience it's a very common symptom of withdrawals.
>
>> Monday he had a
>> seizure, which they believe was due to his drinking, but he seemed
>> "normal" otherwise, right up until Tuesday night when the
>> hehallucinations and paranoia started. The doctor said that his
>> mental
>> deterioration is due to the alcohol withdrawal and that it will
>> pass.
>
> What kind of doctor are you talking about? An alcohol/addiction
> specialist?
> Or just an ER doc or family physician? Beware: Not all doctors are
> "created equal."
>
> What are you really asking? Will his condition improve overall?
> I'd love
> to be able to give you assurances that things will get better,
> but.... No
> one (and I mean no one) can give you that sort of guarantee.
>
> If he continues to drink his mental deterioration will undoubtedly
> get much
> worse (possibly even become permanent) and the seizures could come
> more
> frequently. But if he stops and stays stopped things will improve
> drastically.

"but.... No
one (and I mean no one) can give you that sort of guarantee."

Bob

>Remember people can and do get sober every day - and many are
> as bad off or worse than your husband.
>
> Talk to the hospital's social worker. Get as much information as
> you can.
> And keep talking to others about what's going on!
>
> Good luck.
>
>
> --
> NutSo

On 21-Apr-2005, "dreamspinner3" <dreamspinner3@gmx.net> wrote:

> A GP from our family clinic is in charge of his care because he had a
> seizure on Monday, fell down, and broke some bones in his face when his
> head hit the pavement. Right now he's in the hospital because of that
> but they are going to keep him to treat his depression and alcohol
> addication.
>
> What I was asking is if the paranoia and delusions would pass. I have
> never seen him that way before. I know the ultimate outcome rests in
> my husband's hands and that only he can decide whether or not to get
> help and continue getting help for his problems.

Now I am not a doctor, nor am I an expert in the field. But if he's
seizing, his alcoholism is (obviously) fairly acute. All I can really say
is that you'll just have to wait it out. If you pray, pray. If not, find
support from others.

Chances are, once he's detoxed, he'll return to "normal" without any
permanent damage. But the fact is alcoholics sometimes do damage themselves
irreparably. "Wet Brain" is one such concern.

The good news though is physically, alcoholics tend to heal quickly.

Hang in there...

--
NutSo

Yes, it is very acute. In all our years together I've never seen him
go through anything like this during periods where he was sober.

NutSoF...@hotmail.com wrote:

> Now I am not a doctor, nor am I an expert in the field. But if he's
> seizing, his alcoholism is (obviously) fairly acute.

On 21-Apr-2005, "dreamspinner3" <dreamspinner3@gmx.net> wrote:

> Yes, it is very acute. In all our years together I've never seen him
> go through anything like this during periods where he was sober.

Yeah, I can sympathize....

I thought my brother was going to die this past winter. Every weekend for a
month he ended up in the ER with seizures. I'm amazed that he's able to go
on like he does. The guy's 6'1" and 140lbs (maybe). Twenty yrs ago the
docs diagnosed cirrhosis and gave him 6 mos. to live. It got him sober -
but only occasionally. And never more than a year or two.

He's given up now, I think. And so he doesn't even bother to "waste any
time" trying to stop. Hopefully your man's had enough. The thing is all
you or I can do is watch... and wait.



---
NutSo

dreamspinner3 wrote:
> My husband is in the hospital right now going through acute alcohol
> withdrawal. Starting the night before last he began having paranoid
> delusions and thinks the hospital staff are trying to poison him or
are
> trying to give him pills to turn him into a slave. When I call him
he
> questions me to make sure I'm really his wife and demands I come and
> get him, which I couldn't do even if I wanted because he's on a 72
> psych hold.
>
> Will he get through this or could he remain like this? Monday he had
a
> seizure, which they believe was due to his drinking, but he seemed
> "normal" otherwise, right up until Tuesday night when the
> hehallucinations and paranoia started. The doctor said that his
mental
> deterioration is due to the alcohol withdrawl and that it will pass.

Have you heard of "DTs," aka 'delirium tremens?" That is what is
going on with your husband. It is the most severe form of alcohol
withdrawl, affecting about 5% of withdrawing alcoholics. It seems that
some alcoholics are just succeptible, others can drink more and never
have DTs. Most folks with DTs recover, but there are no absolutes. If
your husband resumes drinking, this is likely to happen again when he
stops. He can only play so many times before he loses. This is serious
bussiness.

Yes, I have heard of the DTs, but I had no idea just how bad they
really were. Witnessing them first-hand is very frightening and
disturbing.