A doctor clears up a little of the BS surrounding opiate addiction, and puts the spotlight back on a substance much more difficult to overcome: alcohol.
Posted by floridacracker at July 5, 2006 12:29 PMAll I have to say is "No lie".
Alcohol is one mean bitch, and I don't say that idly. It's killed more than a few of my friends and it just bagged the A man. There's just so much the human body can tolerate and once you exceed the envelope its just a matter of time before you crash.
Posted by: Gmac at July 5, 2006 02:46 PMthat's why every county has a detox. It amazed me to learn that cocaine withdrawal isn't deadly nor most of the drugs (excepting Barbs I guess also) but on the other hand, a chronic alky cannot just go cold turkey- the pottasium the ETOH has been burning
through steady use accumulates to deadly levels once the ouchohol has been dc'd.
We admitted an old gent to our unit once, and the jolly old guy started throwing PVCs (pre-ventricular contractions of the heart) a sure clue to ETOH withdrawal. I asked him if he drank, he said "Yep, a tea tumbler full of Old Fleischman's everynight, 2 six packs everyday." So I called his doc, who in turn ordered 2 oz. liquor as per needed.
Posted by: csason at July 5, 2006 07:32 PMSo what makes is that makes them see spiders on the wall?
Posted by: Donnah at July 6, 2006 12:32 AMthat would be the 'shakes' delerium tremens..not
a pretty site, to be sure.
I knew a man once that went thru DT's a *few* times..he recalled being jailed at least 36 times.
His wife (he married later in life) ran the detox
in Polk county for a hunnert yars
I bring him up, because not many people can say they actually had dt's..not many survive. But more interesting than that was Disneyworld gave him a lifetime pass because he loved to go stand on Mainstreet USA and do slight of hand tricks.
Folks thought he was an attraction, he thought he was an attraction, and Disney did also, hence the lifetime pass. He went at least three or more times a week up until he was in his 80's.
Teddy Lyons
Posted by: csason at July 6, 2006 06:29 PMWas she running the detox when he was going in there?
Posted by: Donnah at July 7, 2006 03:04 AMoh no...
he had been sober many years when she started there.
Mary was a grand old lady of the south, a lot of M.D.'s would call her and ask her advise.
The detox used to be a bowling alley. She told me a story of a guy who climbed up on the building and was holding onto the bowling pin (giant one) on the roof. The cops were there, and the guy wouldn't come down.
Just when the cops were getting frustrated with the guy (picture that crazy rock thrower on Andy)
Mary shows up, and says to the guy "Come down now, or I am calling Wing 'E'"
To which he promptly jumped off the building, and got in line for his Valium.
I did a rotation once through Wing E. They don't have beds. They have places on the floor where you can lock clients down using leather restraints (five point), the kind Houdini would not try.
So I guess the point is...DT's are bad, but there
are worse things that can happen ON TOP of the damn DT's.. (picture spiders on the wall, and being tied to the floor)