https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_hallucinosis

My sister has had a problem with alcoholism for some time. She got a DWI over a year ago. She lost her job after playing the points + FMLA game too much (because of her drinking).

It’s gotten to the point where she constantly has the shakes and is now experiencing audio hallucinations. Maybe visual that she’s not communicating well, but definately audio. She hears music from a disconnected radio in a room. She thinks it’s supernatural in origin.

I even went over with all kinds of high tech recording, ghost hunting equipment, sensors everything. It was all negative for that stuff. I did multiple experiements trying to prove to her this including her recording what she thought she heard and me recording at the same time. Both recordings were just background static. Except she swears she hears it on hers. I understand she thinks it’s real, but it’s absolutely advanced withdrawl. She is in denial. She’s been trying to be clean but in denial of the symptoms and how dangerous her current conditions are.

Does anyone have experience themselves or friends / family dealing with this? How to approach or convince them to seek treatment before it kills her. Anything to give them outside of a hospital ride?

Edit -

Thank you for all the kind responses. meow-hug

Edit 2 -

I went to go check on her, give her a care package and maybe try to convince her to go to the hospital. The first thing before I said anything was “I think you’re right. I’m hallucinating. I’m sorry.”

Her tremors were down but still there. She said she was starting to visibly hallucinate and trying to understand what the triggers were. She declined to go to the hospital still, but it’s a step in the right direction with her able to start thinking critically about it and acknowledging her condition.

Thank you all again. rat-salute-2

  • Barx [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    13·
    5 months ago

    With those symptoms I strongly recommend going to a hospital or at minimum getting a telehealth visit from a doctor. Tremors and hallucinations may indicate some very serious and harmful withdrawal symptoms that need to be managed by a doctor with carefully-controlled drug dosages as the other commenter mentioned.

    Also while I am not recommending giving her alcohol, it sounds to me like this is a cold turkey situation, yes? Tapering is usually safer if carefully planned and, if it is at all possible, done in a controlled environment like a clinical detox context (in which case they might also just use carefully-controlled drugs). Please consider asking doctors about this as well or at least providing them with a history of her drinking, quitting strategy, time of last drink, and recent and current symptoms. See if they have any thoughts. Ideally get a few opinions. This is something that is very difficult to evaluate remotely.

    Also, overall, thank you for doing your best. Quitting an addictive substance usually takes several attempts, meaning several failures and then trying again. It is difficult on everyone involved. I just want to mention this in case there is a relapse, which is not necessarily unlikely if she doesn’t get proper treatment.

    And sorry you have to deal with this. I’m sure it’s really difficult and scary.

    • Evilphd666 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      2·
      5 months ago

      Thank you. She’s declining hospital atm but she’s at a point where she’s acknowledging what’s going on as she’s had some time to evaluate and started to have visual hallucinations. I’ve been encouraging her to document things. Don’t think she has been, but at least she’s seeing it from an analytical point of view now.

      • Barx [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        2·
        5 months ago

        I’m glad it sounds like the symptoms might be improving a bit! I would still say that if there is any way to get a doctor involved, the better. Even just asking questions over the phone. When a person is hallucinating they may also need someone to make medical decisions on their behalf, though I don’t know if that would mean you would have that power. Basically, there’s a version of this that is not particularly dangerous and a version that is dangerous and it can be hard to tell the difference unless you’re already pretty familiar with it. If you can get some indication one way or the other from a medical professional that will take some weight off your shoulders.

        Information like the time between quitting drinking and the symptoms starting is important info for the doctor or nurse to know as it can help differentiate the more serious situation from others and even without knowing the symptoms still make me concerned.

        You can call a nurse and get free advice here: https://www.ahn.org/appointments/nurse-line

        Or even call a specific hotline like this: https://nationalrehabhotline.org/alcohol/withdrawal/