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Dunno about acupuncture for booze, but it's been used successfully to get heroin addicts clean: it's the basis for the "black box" treatment that Eric Clapton credits with saving his life. In this treatment, acupuncture is used to stimulate production of your body's natural opioids, which keep you from having horrible withdrawal sickness while the unnatural opiates flush out of your body.
I don't know if there's a similar process for alcohol, though: opiates are an odd thing because the human brain is hardwaired to respond to them, and there's a one-to-one correspondence between the drug and a natural chemical our bodies create. I don't think there's the same correspondence with alcohol—but there might be some similar treatment. It's worth investigating, anyway...
...especially given that the standard medical protocol for in-patient alcohol withdrawal is pretty gnarly-looking. My wife D, who is a nurse, used to work on a unit that routinely handled the "Ativan protocol"—i.e., alcohol detox. The treatment consists, in most cases, of mild doses of anti-anxietals, anti-convulsives, vitamins, fluids and a lot of sitting around waiting.
The process takes about a week: the worst is generally over after the first three days. I've heard a few horror stories about the Ativan protocol, some involving the words "five-point leather restraints," but for most people it is a rough godsend. I'm not going to pretend it's not extremely difficult and uncomfortable, but for some people it is their last best chance to start getting well.
I'm not trying to scare you any more than you're scared already. Just... just tread lightly, is all. Listen to your people—sounds like they've got the right attitude—and if you think that detox is gonna be a necessary step, take heart. You've shown enormous guts just getting as far as you have, Stoat: you can handle a week in Ativan Boot camp, if that's what it takes.
Love, peace, and courage, my brother. |
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