Jennifer is a thirty-year-old benefits coordinator who has been consuming alcohol in an abusive and irresponsible manner since her fiancée and she decided to discontinue their relationship. In actual fact, for the past four months she has been drinking very nearly two bottles of wine every night, and on the weekends she also has been drinking a number mixed drinks during the day. In a word, Jennifer has been drinking so excessively that it's a miracle that she hasn't suffered from alcohol poisoning.
After feeling down in the dumps because she was beginning to ignore her health, Jennifer finally told herself that enough is enough, that it’s time to quit the self pity routine, that it’s time to stop the abusive and irresponsible drinking, and time to make a new start with her life. So the following Saturday morning at 9:30 AM, she came to a decision that she would quit drinking cold turkey.
When She Attempted to Stop Drinking She Felt Terrible, She Had Absolutely No Appetite, She Vomited a Number of Times, She Was Extremely Moody and Tense, She Started to Sweat Profusely, and Her Head Was Pounding
When Jennifer quit drinking, she reasoned that she would quite possibly be tempted to ”steal” a few drinks, but she never imagined that she would feel so horrific. More directly, about an hour-and-a-half after she stopped drinking, she was extremely restless and moody, she started to perspire profusely, her head was aching, she vomited numerous times, and she had absolutely no appetite.
When she called her best buddy and told her that she had quit drinking and that after a few hours she without any warning started to have flu-like symptoms, Wendy, her best pal, told Jennifer to call her physician and tell him what she was experiencing.
She Admits to Her Healthcare Professional That She Has Been Drinking In a Hazardous and Abusive Manner, That She Just Tried to Stop Drinking, and That She is Suffering Through Terribly Painful Flu-Like Symptoms
So Jennifer called her physician, told him that she has been drinking in an irresponsible and hazardous manner for quite a few months and that when she attempted to suddenly quit drinking earlier in the day, within a few hours she felt as if she had the nastiest flu-like symptoms that she had ever suffered through.
Her doctor told her that she may be suffering from symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and that she should have a friend or neighbor drive her to the emergency room ASAP.
As soon as Jennifer got off the phone, she got a family member to drive her to the emergency room. Interestingly, all the way to the hospital, as sick as Jennifer felt, the only thing she could think about was whether or not she might be an alcoholic.
It appears that her healthcare practitioner had called ahead and informed the emergency room medical team to expect Jennifer because when she got to the hospital, she was met by two emergency room workers who promptly asked her to lie down on the portable bed they had with them. After getting wheeled to the emergency room and undergoing a few important tests, it was substantiated that Jennifer was in fact suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms and was in need of alcohol detoxification.
An emergency room doctor administered some drugs to lessen her flu-like symptoms and also administered some meds to help get rid of the alcohol that was still in her circulation system.
An Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction Physician Goes Over the Fact That She is Alcohol Dependent and Then Goes Over What Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms and Alcohol Dependency Stages Are
After a couple of hours, Jennifer was removed from the emergency room and wheeled to the recovery room. After she was in recovery for about three-and-a-half hours, Doctor Anderson, a substance abuse and chemical dependency specialist, came to see her. He took plenty of time and explained in laymen’s language that Jennifer had experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms when she quit drinking due to the fact that she had become dependent on alcohol.
He then elucidated the fact that with repeated and excessive drinking, the person’s brain in a step-by-step fashion adapts to the alcohol in order to carry out tasks and operations in a "normal" manner. When the individual then all at once refrains from drinking alcohol, it can be stressed, the brain reacts by giving rise to alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Moreover, her healthcare practitioner also clearly explained the different alcoholism stages that an alcoholic typically goes through as the disease gradually gets worse.
It is Determined that Jennifer is in the Earliest Stage of Alcohol Dependency and She Obtains a Good Projection For a Complete Recovery if She Gets the Alcoholism Rehabilitation She Needs
Fortunately for Jennifer, it was discovered that she was in the first stage of alcohol addiction and, consequently, she received a favorable prognosis for a total recovery if she obtains the alcohol treatment she needs.
Jennifer told the healthcare practitioner that she will do whatever it takes to get sober and to get back her health and her life. She also stated that she has a first class hospitalization policy that will almost certainly pay for most, if not all, of the costs needed for rehab. It was clear to see that Jennifer was extremely pleased with her optimistic prognosis and felt at ease knowing that she will be able to get the alcoholism therapy she needs so that she can begin the road to recovery.
