The Panic Was Returning
After an hour, they finally got me on to the bed. They kept telling me relax, but I was so agitated. I kept sitting up, and twice, I pulled out the line from my arm because of the shakes.Around 10:00 in the morning, they gave me a drink of water to see if I could keep it down. It stayed down! The retching had stopped. The problem was the panic was returning. The nurses were now getting really fed up with me trying to get up and messing up my drip feed, because I was supposed to lie still. I pleaded for them to give me something, anything to calm me down.
The doctor came and gave me two small capsules in a cup. He watched as I took them but he had to hold the cup to give me some water to wash them down, because if I had tried to hold the cup there would have been water splashed everywhere.
Like a Stupified Zombie
They left me for about half an hour for the Librium to take effect, and he came back to me with a nurse. "Kevin," he said. "We're going to do an EKG on you now that you are a bit calmer." The nurse unbuttoned my shirt and put sticky pads all over me. I don't remember how long it took, but soon the wires were off and the machine was wheeled away.The rest of the time is somewhat of a daze: the Librium was by now having a real impact on me. They changed the IV bag twice over I think two days. I was able to rest now finally, but not sleep. I just laid there like a stupified zombie. I do remember asking a nurse will I be able to phone someone to pick me up? I need to phone my family. The nurse said, "You are not going anywhere."
Hospital life became routine for me, and with the Librium, I finally got my first night of restful sleep. I started to feel normal again, and my appetite shot through the roof and boy was I craving food, I was ordering double helpings of everything at meal times.
Thiamine and Vitamin B
The medication cart came around one day, and I noticed I only got one capsule. Slowly it dwindled from 3 doses of one capsule a day down to 2 doses per day and finally one capsule at night.Then one afternoon the med cart came around as usual, but this time it was only three Thiamine pills and a vitamin B in a cup. What's this? I asked. "You're on vitamins now," she said "You're off the Librium."
The doctor came to see me on his rounds again and said, "I'm going to discharge you now, but before you go you need your medication pack."
Insanely Stupid
Librium? I asked.He laughed, "No, your vitamin pack, Thiamine and Vitamin B compound. It's what we give to alcoholics. Good luck and don't ever do this again, please."
Still in a daze from all the Librium, I managed to get a taxi and paid the driver as soon as I got home after retrieving my wallet. But ever so calm sitting in my chair, I still keep getting overwhelmed with emotion [on] how insanely stupid I was.
— Kevin
Seek Medical Attention
Not everyone who stops drinking experiences withdrawal symptoms as extreme as Kevin's. Not everyone is given benzodiazepines, such as Librium, to get through the withdrawal process.The problem is that no one knows until they quit, how severe their withdrawal symptoms will be. If you are a longtime drinker or a heavy drinker, and you plan to quit, consult with your healthcare provider or seek treatment from a professional detoxification facility.
