Jennifer is a thirty-seven-year-old customer service manager who has been ingesting alcohol in an irresponsible and hazardous manner since she and her live-in boyfriend discontinued their relationship. In truth, for the past six months she has been drinking very nearly one-and-a-half bottles of wine every night, and on the weekends she also has been drinking more than a few bottles of beer all the way through the day. In a word, Jennifer has been drinking so excessively and abusively that it's a miracle that she hasn't suffered from alcohol poisoning.
After feeling depressed because she was starting to forget about the importance of her health, Jennifer finally told herself that enough is enough, that it’s time to quit the self pity act, that it’s time to stop the abusive drinking, and time to make a new start with her life. So the following Saturday morning at 10:30 AM, she came to a decision that she would quit drinking suddenly and completely without preparation or planning.
When She Stopped Drinking She Felt Awful, She Was Extremely Moody and Nervous, Her Head Was Throbbing, She Started to Sweat Profusely, She Had Absolutely No Appetite, and She Vomited a Number of Times
When Jennifer stopped drinking, she figured that she would most likely be tempted to take a couple of drinks, but she never pictured that she would feel so horrific. More to the point, roughly an hour-and-a-half after she stopped drinking, she vomited several times, she was extremely nervous and moody, her head was throbbing, she had absolutely no appetite, and she started to perspire profusely.
When she called her best pal and informed her that she had stopped drinking and that after a few hours she without any warning started to experience flu-like symptoms, Monica, her best friend, told Jennifer to call her physician and discuss what was going on.
She Admits to Her Physician That She Has Been Drinking In a Hazardous and Irresponsible Manner, That She Just Tried to Quit Drinking, and That She is Experiencing Terribly Unpleasant Flu-Like Symptoms
So Jennifer called her family doctor, informed him that she has been drinking in an excessive and abusive manner for a number of months and that when she tried to suddenly quit drinking earlier in the day, within a few hours she felt as if she had the most unpleasant flu-like symptoms that she had ever suffered through.
Her medical practitioner told her that she may be going through symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and that she should have a friend or family member drive her to the emergency room as soon as humanly possible.
As soon as Jennifer got off the phone, she got a friend to take 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.
Obviously her healthcare professional had called ahead and informed the emergency room personnel to expect Jennifer because when she got to the hospital, she was met by a nurse and a paramedic who without hesitation asked her to get in the wheelchair they had with them. After getting transferred to the emergency room and undergoing two or three essential tests, it was validated that Jennifer was in truth experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms and was in need of alcohol detox.
An emergency room healthcare practitioner gave her some medications to address her flu-like symptoms and also administered some meds to help eliminate the alcohol that was still in her blood.
An Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Physician Explains That She is Addicted to Alcohol and Then Goes Over What Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms and Alcohol Dependency Stages Are
After two or three hours, Jennifer was taken from the ER and transported to the recovery room. After she was in recovery for about three hours, Doctor Brosky, a drug and alcohol abuse specialist, came to visit her. He took quite a bit of time and explained in laymen’s language that Jennifer had experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms when she quit drinking because she had become alcohol dependent.
He then stated that with continuous and heavy drinking, the drinker’s brain steadily adapts to the alcohol so that it can process things in a "routine" way. When the person then abruptly refrains from consuming alcohol, as one would expect, the brain takes action by bringing forth alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Not only this, but her healthcare professional also clearly explained the various alcoholism stages that a person who is alcohol dependent usually goes through as the disease progressively gets worse.
It is Established that Jennifer is in the First Stage of Alcohol Addiction and She Obtains a Favorable Projection For a Complete Recovery if She Gets the Alcohol Dependency Rehab She Needs
Fortunately for Jennifer, it was confirmed that she was in the earliest stage of alcohol addiction and, as a consequence, she received a favorable diagnosis for a complete recovery if she gets the alcohol rehabilitation she requires.
Jennifer told the physician that she will do whatever it takes to get sober and to reclaim her health. She also mentioned that she has an exceptional hospitalization insurance plan that will probably pay for most of the costs needed for rehabilitation. It was clear to see that Jennifer was very pleased with her encouraging medical forecast and felt at ease knowing that she will be able to get the alcohol dependency rehabilitation she needs so that she can begin the road to recovery. After Jennifer talked to her family doctor, one thing was clear: addressing her disease and wanting to pursue the healthiest route was positive for her self esteem but it also augmented the commitment in her relationships and in her friendships.
Jesse had an exceptionally difficult time maintaining a job. To be sure, due to her languor and lack of incentive, she was jobless far more regularly than she was in work. And when she did get a job, she had a very difficult time getting to work when her shift started, she typically got less than great performance evaluations, and she called off sick so consistently that she regularly got fired two or three weeks after she began working. To no one’s surprise, one of the effects of Jesse’s less than positive work history was the fact that she was just about flat broke almost on an everyday basis.
In spite of Jesse’s irresponsible employment record and financial negligence, on the other hand, in some way she made it her business to drink in an irresponsible and excessive manner on an everyday basis. Not surprisingly, her hazardous drinking also resulted in a host of marital difficulties through the years.
Based on her irresponsible and excessive drinking, it came as no big jolt when Jesse got arrested for a fifth DUI. When she went before the court, the magistrate clearly stated to Jesse that her alcohol-related conduct was awful and, as a consequence, he was going to sentence Jesse to spend ten months in the city jail.
Time While Locked Up In Jail To Reflect On The Negative Effects of Excessive and Hazardous Drinking
During her time behind bars, Jesse was required to learn more about alcohol facts, about the damaging effects of irresponsible and excessive drinking, and she was required to get alcohol therapy. The judge emphasized the fact that unless Jesse gets professional alcohol counseling and learns how to live a life of abstinence, she will most probably be spending a lot more time placed behind bars.
Jesse stated that she grasped what the judge was asserting but she still proclaimed that placement in the city jail was not the most productive verdict. The judge disagreed and stated that it was his responsibility to keep alcoholics off the streets who drink and drive and who get arrested for one or more DWIs. To give credibility to this perspective, the magistrate quoted some honored, highly researched alcohol statistics that underlined some of the destructive effects that are correlated with abusive drinking.
Although Jesse comprehended that she drank in a hazardous manner, she never felt that she was a person who was dependent on alcohol. So it was quite a shock when Jesse started to experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal just about four hours after going to jail.
To treat her alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe and secure manner, Jesse was taken by ambulance to a rehab facility for alcohol detox and then returned to the municipal jail. While locked up in jail Jesse was given a mental health appraisal for her depression and received alcohol counseling but since she received this rehab as something that was forced upon her, she failed to take ownership of her abusive drinking.
When her time in jail was finished, the magistrate without wavering announced to Jesse that she would be under rigorous scrutiny and would be mandated to take random urine alcohol tests.
Jessie’s Hazardous Drinking Prevents Her From Living in an Adult and Accountable Manner
After hearing how Jesse failed to take ownership of her drinking circumstances and how she unwillingly followed the therapy procedures while in the local jail, the judge knew that it was just a matter of time before he would be seeing Jesse once again in court about her abusive drinking behavior. As the judge reflected on Jesse’s situation, he couldn’t help but think about how some people never use their brain and discover how to live in an accountable and mature manner.