help a family help their brother

My brother is kicking methadone he is also an alcholic.  He is 60 years old and very good at telling us things that get what he wants.  He says that he is having siezurs at night (we haven't seen any) and that he needs 3 - 6 beers aday to keep him level from withdrawls from the methadone.  I'm at the point that I want him to have what he needs, but not to feed any addiction.  Does  the beer help, and does he have seizure's?  What can we do to help him?

[GA Guy]

I am not condoning his drinking at all. It's a terrible addiction, just like the drugs. I will say this though...kicking methadone is hard enough to do without trying to kick alcohol abuse at the same time. It's kinda like the people on here who try to kick benzos and opiates at the same time. It's just too hard to quit one, without taking on both beasts. If I were you, I'd help him kick the methadone and then get him into some aftercare program to help him kick the alcohol. By the way..the seizures are probably coming from him stopping the alcohol..not the methadone. Seizures are common when alcoholics try to detox.

[kimmiek]

Hi, I've read on here and other places that people can have seizures from alcohol withdrawal.  I heard that you can even die from ct alcohol withdrawal.  I think you cant help an alcoholic who doesnt want help.  Have you ever heard of al-anon?  Its a 12 step program for families and loved ones of addicts, especially alocholics.  I bet it would help you to learn how detach from the emotional entanglement of being in a close relationship with an alcoholic/addict. It will help you learn to live a happy fulfilling life that doesnt revolve around your addict.  Im no expert but alot of times the co-addicts "addiction" is the addicts behavior.  I hope the best for you and your family.  I hope your bro gets the help.  Hope.

[taberry]

Methadone withdrawals are the worst! The withdrawals comes on slower but last longer than the any other withdrawal symptoms from other drugs. The anxiety and depression when detoxing from methadone are far worse than the physical symptoms, or at least for me they were.  If your brother is having seizures, he should be checked out by a physician.  I have never heard of anyone having seizures from opiate or methadone withdrawal but I have heard of people having seizures when detoxing from alcohol or drugs like xanax and valium, etc. I agree with the other poster who wrote that the seizures are most likely coming from the lack of alcohol.

[tiester]

I certainly understand your concern for us regarding our brothers addiction.  After about 30 years of dealing with him and his addiction we are very concerned with enabling him.  Yea, we've done the whole "detach in love" and he did get sober for about 10 years.  This is a relasp for him and because of his age and health we want to help him, but not enable him.  That is why I'm concerned with whether he should be drinking beer.  We have no insurance, money to pay for any medical care and am trying to help him do this "cold turkey", but at the same time we don't want him to b/s us into believing he should be drinking.  It is my sister and I doing this and I don't believe anything he says and she believes most of everything.  I just want to know the facts of kicking methadone and what he needs us to do.  I love him, but don't trust him.  

[tiester]

Just want to say thank you for any help, or information you can give us.

[notmenow!]

Your brothers alcoholism could be easily controlled with the drug Librium which would prevent any seizures he claims to be having, Most people who are addicted to alcohol or benzodiazepines will usually experience seizures in the morning as this is the time your body needs that alcohol or benzo fix. Do you notice a lot of hands trembling and the inability to hold a cup of coffee steady or does he shake? If he is shaking then he is having signs of withdrawal. Librium 50mg 3 times a day would stop all the withdrawal symptoms and then gradually reduce the amount of Librium required. Does he have a PCP, he must be on medicaid/SSI in order to afford his methadone. How many milligrams is he down to, He really should visit his doctor you go with him and explain he is alcoholic and is in need of a Librium taper, and you will hold the medication to see it is not abused. He is drinking to keep from having suffering from seizures. What is his current methadone does?
Don't let him try and use an excuse like the clinic will not allow Librium as this is not true as long as they know it is subscribed by a doctor.--------Good Luck------------NOAH

[tiester]

Thank you for all your info.  These are the latest developements - From everything we understand, he is kicking the beer/alcohol.  We feel pretty sure he is over the methadone.  My sister picked him up Sunday in Houston and took him back to Dallas.  Since then he has only had beer, but has experienced seizures one evening.  He was on a program in Houston that for some money you purchased the methadone from a clinic, so now that he is in Dallas, we have no drug options.  His thoughts are he can kick the alcohol as long as we ween him off of it.  Yesterday he had 13 cans of beer.  I know that sounds like alot, but his habit is very bad, anyway we are thinking that if we cut back one beer a day that it might work.  Some days we may have to keep him on what ever he was on the day before, but not go up.  His shaking is very bad, but he can actually talk and contributes to his recovery.  Is there anyone out there that kicked alcohol?  Can someone help us with a "formula".  Not understanding the withdrawls from alcohol it is hard for us to figure out what we need to do, any help would be appreciated!

[notmenow!]

You would get more helpful info on the alcoholism forum. Go to Forums and click on the alcoholism forum. You may find more info there as this forum is mostly for substance abuse. ---NOAH

[tiester]

thank you, I 'm new to this site and appreciate your help.  I will go there now