If someone is suffering severe withdrawal i.e. dt's, delusions, seizures sometimes it's necessary.

Yes, to treat the withdrawal symptoms I hear

I have been sedated in the past but that will be of little reassurance to you. The medical staff treating your brother are the only ones who know the whys and wherefores of his current condition.

I am sorry you are going through this distress.

I agree with the others. The DR's are the ones to ask. And you should. When the patient cant' be his/ her own advocate its up to their loved ones. I had to advocate for my children when they've been sick. Its different but the same in that you need to question the DRs who are treating him.
Good luck and maybe you should try an Alanon meeting? They can help you be healthy.

I think that anyone who is any position of self harm probably has to be taken care of one way or another so that they are safe. It's not pretty, and it probably seems a bit over the top, but it's probably for the best.

I wish your brother gets well and that you take care of yourself too.

try getting the telephone number to Al Anon and calling to talk to them....they deal with the families of alcoholics better than us...

Whenever family members reach out on this board-I feel so much empathy for what they are going through....devasting.

Sonya-I am so sorry you have to sit there and wonder. I know if you ask the doctor if it is normal-he or she will probably walk you through the steps of what behaviors and conditions need this response. It is not normal abnormal-it is protocol I would guess if someone is trying to harm themselves by pulling their iv's out.

I was in the ER out of control, pulled out my iv and was next onto my catheter..I was put in restraints. I remember very little but I know they did the right thing-I could have ruined my bladder.

Your brother is probably going through multiple issues and like others have said-is having severe withdrawals, delusions from that and fever, and fear. It is scary to be so out of it and not know what is going on. When we feel so out of control like that we fight-and he needs to be protected from himself in this reaction.

I hope he gets through this and is able to be stabilized and out of restraints. No one likes to do this-and I can imagine how horrible it is to watch. If it helps, he probably won't remember most of this.

But the thing is-you will. Go to al-anon. I put my family through hell and they got support through this network.

Keep us posted, ok?

Thank you so much everyone. Coming from a family with a history of alcoholism, we're familiar with a lot but being sedated and restrained was new and it was really hard to watch. He did need it...absolutely. I just wasn't sure if this was the protocol these days. Since he is totally out of it, I wanted to make sure that if this wasn't normal that we did/said something about it.

You are right - watching this is so hard. My brother has one of the kindest hearts of anyone I know and this disease is taking over. He's been in the ICU and sedated for 7 days. I went to see him this afternoon. He got pneumonia and is now has been on a ventilator for 3 days.

More than anything, we just want to make sure to ask the right questions since he can't. We've been in very close contact with the Dr's but there is limited information online regarding detox sedation. I came to this site years ago as I have terrible anxiety that is not controlled with medicine and just like before, this community of people is so kind and helpful. Thank you!

Sonya-ask your doctors what meds he is on.

When I was detoxing-I received Librium, which hits similar centers of the brain as alcohol (also addicting but prevents seizures). I am guessing he is being given this but I have no idea. He is also completely out of it I would guess because of pneumonia. Resting is ok-it is our bodies way of healing.

Again though-ask doctor what meds he is on-they should have that info right there available. It is probably being fed through the iv-but again, ask.

xo

If he's been sedated for 7 days, than he's already through the dangerous period of 3-5 days.

Maybe you could talk with the Social Worker in ICU.

I was a Chemical Dependency RN at a psychiatric hospital for many years. There is hospital policy with protocols in place for situations like this. Seems to me they did what was necessary at the time, to stop your brother from hurting himself or anyone else.

They should be communicating more with you. God Bless and I hope your brother can be weaned off the meds soon!

whoops......

I meant "weaned off the ventilator soon"

I will pray for you and him. You dont realize it, but you help us by posting this ordeal here. Once we get away from everyday drinking the disease seems to not be as bad.

But it is. Clearly because this man is in the hospital and in a world of a mess. I hope that he finds the way out.

The thing about this disease is that we are nice great ppl but when it comes to alcohol we have no power whatsoever.

Get in touch with a local AA and ask for a 12 STEP . see if they can go see him in the hospital.

I will pray.

1is2

Thanks very much everyone. Unfortunately my brother passed away on Saturday.

I hope my post shows any of you that have an addiction how much this hurts your families as well.

My brother was the kindest, sweetest most loving person I've ever known. He never drank in front of us, but when he was home, he'd hole himself up in his room and drink straight vodka...a ton of it.

We often checked in with him to make sure he was okay, but he never felt he could open up to us about this which is what makes this so hard.

Please PLEASE take care of yourself. My brother was only 28 years old and leaves behind a family that is beyond devastated and missing him dearly.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I lost my sister to alcoholism --difficult to deal with because we saw it happening and in the end could do nothing to stop it.

Thinking of you and your family as you deal with this.

I am so very sorry to hear the sad news. It is an awful illness and yet among alcoholics I know (and I know a lot) the death of one of us causes such shock and surprise. That's an indication to me of how delusional the mindset of people like me can be.

I don't know if you have been to Al-Anon but if you need some help in coping with your loss there would be a lot of support there from people with similar experience.

Thank you for your message, it is not lost on me.