Rather than continue with my original discussion regarding my daughter in laws mother, I thought I'd start a new discussion.
Some of the regulars on this forum will remember the problems I had regarding this discussion.
New members can follow the thread from my previous discussion SECRET DRINKER.
Well, two months after I persuaded my DIL to visit her mother before she died, the situation couldn't be more different.
She left hospital a week ago and is now back home!! She is having daily phsiotherapy and four care workers daily. She went out to the shops with one for the first time in about four months.
She was obviously detoxed in hospital and has accepted she can never drink again. She has amazed all the medical staff, and is called miracle women by her consultant.
From being just over 4 st she now weighs 7 st. From being tube fed, she can now eat smaller regular meals.
After all the support and advice I received from this forum, I just wanted to let you guys know the progress she's made. She has certainly defied all odds.
yep, things are going well, had both boys over Easter hols. Knackering but good. Still have sleep problems. Four hours a night is good..
went to gp and asked for different sleeping tablets. Take 5mg nitrazapam, but they no longer work. I've got used to them! He wouldn't prescribe anything else, even though I told him I'd had had milk and whisky twice. Don't want to go there again.
The Alan Carr book didn't really do much for me. I think it's because at the end of the day it's down to me, and me alone, if I drink to excess again. A book won't make any difference. But that's just me. It's obviously helped a great many people, you included.
That's great news, Vickylou! Please extend my congratulations to her on overcoming such huge health problems and leaping away from death's door!
There's a book called How Not to Die that I've been reading lately, written by a vegan doctor. It's been pivotal in helping me make some dietary changes for the better. In one part of the book he mentions a study that showed kiwi fruit can help one sleep better and longer, if you have a couple before bedtime. Maybe worth checking into! I've certainly run into nights where sleep is difficult, so I'm going to test it out myself.
A nice ending to the story. It is amazing how people will recover, if they have a want and a reason to.
I never told you my reasoning for mentioning, calling the hospital to let the mum know that the daughter was coming. You said good idea, she likes to make an effort and look presentable. I was concerned that the mum might think that there was nothing left to live for and she might just switch off and succumb to her condition. Once she knew the daughter and kids were coming, that gave her a purpose and a reason to fight.
I know from my own experience, it is easy to make that decision and the human body/mind is immensely capable of either fighting or throwing the towel in. People quite often need a strong reason to carry own and beat the odds and it is very easy to say what for, why bother?
It's uplifting to hear that someone is striding forward and making so much progress with their afflictions. We sometimes just hear so much bad that it brings a welcome smile to my face to hear some genuine good happening.
I am with my daughter and youngest grandson at the moment and just looked at my phone. She asked if she could read the discussion.
she has asked if I will thank people for their concern and good wishes. She was amazed that people I've never met would be interested in her mum.
She read your posts, particularly the one about the mortuary and said OMG the blokes a genius!! Thank him so much, it certainly worked it did give mum hope and something to fight for.
She will be on medication for life which is a small price to pay after total organ failure. Unbelievable when you consider she was given less than 24 hours to live.
The nicest thing to happen, is when I took the youngest grandson to see her. After nearly 4 months of not seeing her he ran to her and gave her a cuddle. He's 15 months old and had seen his grandma nearly every day. Nice ending
JulieAnne, yes long may it continue. She's been told in no uncertain terms by her consultant that one drink would probably kill her.
My DIL has also said if she drinks again that's it. She's not prepared to put the whole family through the ordeal again and she'd end up dying a sad, painful and lonely death. A bit dramatic, but understandable.
She'd be an ideal candidate for Campral. As she will not be drinking, but once she gets better, alcohol may come calling. It did for me, I went a year without alcohol after coming out of hospital, wasn't interested and didn't feel up to much, but once I was fully fit, the want kicked in again.
You get used to the medication, I take mine at night, just before bed, so it's through my system by the time I wake up. When I first took it, it used to make me a bit moody and sleepy, so I stopped taking it during the day. The body is used to it now and it doesn't bother me anymore.
Hi, sleep is so important isn't it?! Since I swapped to Mertrazapine (antidepressant) I have been sleeping so much better.....not great but much better! I swapped to this as they are SSRN's and I discovered, after years and years of being on them, that the SSRI's had caused my alcohol cravings to develop (I was practically a non drinker before). I don't know if you are on medication like this but worth a try. X
Exactly my thoughts. You won't be surprised that when my DIL asked the consultant for campral, prior to her discharge, he'd not heard of it!! She made him look into it, as like you, I relapsed before taking campral.
Unfortunately he informed her the next day, that her liver wouldn't be able to cope with it!, neither would her kidneys! DIL informed him that it's not metabolised (not sure that's the right word) or affects the liver. Long disagreement which resulted in the consultant suggesting referral to ARC. She's now looking at online pharmacies or seeing a dr privately for a prescription.
Totally ridiculous, when you and I both know how well campral works when taken properly.
Utter dribble, but no more than I would expect. Your DiL is correct:
Metabolism
Acamprosate does not undergo metabolism.
Elimination
After oral dosing of 2 x 333 mg of CAMPRAL®, the terminal half-life ranges from approximately 20 - 33 hours. Following oral administration of CAMPRAL®, the major route of excretion is via the kidneys as acamprosate.
Yes, it is ridiculous, but doctors and consultants seem to have some sort of tunnel vision. It seems to be an ongoing fight with them. I'm helping somone in the liver forum at the moment, who is going through a similar thing and surprisingly, it is her mother as well. She was getting no information at all and was totally lost. Why people should have to turn to a forum like this, to be told what is going on and how to deal with it, is beyond me.