Alcohol Withdrawal

[WithDraw]

Hi!

I am currently going through very harsh alcohol withdrawal and the anxiety that I’m experiencing on top of my pre existing anxiety condition is brutal. Wondering if anyone can share their experience

Cheers

[Lilly18]

Hi there,

Congratulations on deciding to stop drinking. I went through withdrawal 16months ago, it was quite smooth for me which was a releif. I did however take an anti anxiety to get me through.

I saw my gp on about day 3 for a check up. Are you seeing your gp while you withdraw? Sorry I'm not much help but wanted to say good on you! ☺

[geoff]

Hello WithDraw, welcome to the forums.

Withdrawal from alcohol if you drink it heavily for a long time, is going to cause you problems when you stop or seriously cut back on how much you drink.

There could be a chance that you have a seizure, either once you stop or when drinking heavily or you can imagine things that aren't there which are the DT's, symptoms such as shaking, confusion and hallucinations.

As you may have anxiety, there is a good chance depression is going to follow, because now you have lost the thrill of getting drunk.

There will be withdrawal, a feeling of doom, hopelessness, low self-worth, may cry often and have great difficulty concentrating, sleeping and not eating.

The doctor may also give you anti-seizure meds and antipsychotics, along with other drugs, but I would like to know if you are doing this all by yourself or getting help, this will let me know a little more about you, and believe me I'm really sorry, but let's go this together.

Please get back to me.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[WithDraw]

Thanks for the reply guys, much appreciated.

I am a heavy binge drinker, but haven’t drank in a few months. However, I went hard for about 6 days easily consuming about 35 standard drinks daily or more for 6 days. This was over Christmas and NY’s. I’m usually familiar with the week if takes to get my brain back but time has been the hardest, even with the help of benzos to sleep. And beta blockers for a racing heart. I think I’m past the danger of having DTs/seizure for this withdrawal but my body and mind are wrecked.

What you say here is perfect:

“There will be withdrawal, a feeling of doom, hopelessness, low self-worth, may cry often and have great difficulty concentrating, sleeping and not eating”

I can hardly string a sentence together, I feel like I’m losing sanity, crying at everything. The simplest of tasks are hard. Terror is how it feels in my head. I’ve done this while looking after a terminally ill mother and the regret I feel is immense.

Every small things is overwhelming and I feel very guilty because it’s all self imposed.

I will need to look into rehab/counselling to keep this withdrawal the last one I have.

Thank you so much for your replies.

[WithDraw]

And the inability to deal with watching my mums failing health has put me into anticipatory grief mode which is also messing with my head and preventing me from being able to care for her without losing it every 5 minutes. Hellish.

[Skary Bill]

Mate, It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate right now and I just wanted to post in support.

I'm no expert with any of this, so I won't pretend to be. But I have a couple of thoughts I'd like to share.

I think that taking responsibility for your journey is admirable and important. But I'd urge you not to invest too much energy into guilt and regret. It's what you do today and tomorrow that will count the most.

It sounds like you have a lot of strength. But it's ok to be a bit vulnerable too. Make sure you give yourself an opportunity to have a really good cry. At least once. I think sometimes we make the mistake of always trying to harden up when there is some emotional energy in there that is better to acknowledge.

Bill.

[geoff]

Hello WoithDraw, thanks for your reply.

I'm sorry for what you have had to cope with and apologise for your sick mother but I do totally understand your reason.

You know that once you’ve decided you want to stop, overcoming this hurdle is about as hard as it gets because if there comes a time when you need to drink overrides you to stop, it’s time for help.

Many people agree or disagree on whether being a binge drinker is an alcoholic or not, my view is that they still fall within this category because it's the addiction that draws them towards alcohol.

Your doctor can prescribe medication which will help you stop drinking, but this will only work if that's your intention, this will stop the cravings, which I have tried before.

Going to rehab can be good or be a time when you abstain but once you come out, you'll meet up with your old friends or the situation at home may not have changed, so the temptation may still be there.

Rehab will address this problem once you're in there and advise that you continue counselling.

People will tell you what their best approach to alcohol is, but everyone is different and everyone is at a different stage, so what's right for someone else isn't necessarily right for you and please remember, what was right for you yesterday isn't necessarily right for you today.

Hope to hear back from you.

Geoff.

[Puppy_Longstockings]

Hi there,

This is my first post, and I'm not really yet sure of how to 'inject' myself into the thread.. so I'm just replying to the first post. I am a 48 year old woman with a partner and kids, and I've abused alcohol now for two years after a significant life crisis.

Today I am 15 days sober after a detox at home. I knew what to do as I had been in to a rehab facility in the middle of last year. My sobriety lasted three months but I relapsed late last year. It was my first admission in to rehab and my first real attempt at abstinence after recognizing I needed help 6 months earlier.

The first week was tough, but now my physical symptoms have (mostly) lapsed I'm feeling okay. There are two significant things that are holding my focus this time around : they are sleep, and health/diet. Only in the last five or so days do I have my sleep regulated (ie. 7-8 solid hours a night) and it's REALLY helped me keep on track. It allows me to the harness the gorgeousness that is clarity and energy - two things that became alien having lived in a constant state of either hangover or intoxication. I've also been strongly working on feeding myself healthy foods and exercising daily, and it's all working! I'm losing weight, my skin has improved and I'm feeling strong! I know they say not to substitute alcohol for other obsessive tendencies, but I'm allowing myself an obsession over health and wellbeing for now. Whatever gets me over the line I suppose.

So WithDraw, I really recommend setting a sleep time and wake time for each day and sticking to it, allowing you a minimum of 7 hours a night. Also you could read "We we Sleep' by Matthew Walker - it's a well-written, accessible book that will help you make some decisions around such things. Fantastic read. I also recommend daily exercise and feeding rituals. I'd be lying if I said it is easy. It isn't. I've had awful levels of anxiety, depression and irritability. But yesterday, for example, I grabbed my dog after work and walker with her on the beach. It really shifted the mood.

Good luck WithDraw. It's a better world on the other side 🙂

[geoff]

Hello WithDraw, my absolute apologies for the spelling mistake of your avatar and would like to know how you are going, if that's alright.

Hello Puppy, thanks for your comment, and to detox at home isn't easy to do but you have, that takes an awful amount of strength to do this, and what you have planned to do, eat, sleep, health and well being is your great way to abstain, well done.

Sometimes it's not quite that easy for other people to do, the intent is there, but not the strength, its something we have to strive for if we want sobriety.

Best wishes.

Geoff.