SIB

I definitely had the pink cloud thing going on early, first week or two but now - wow - the past 2-3 weeks has been more ups and downs than a roller coaster. And I am thinking PAWS because everything is going great! There is no doom and gloom but I sure feel like crap and in the dumps, then I can wake up tomorrow and be on the uppity, then down again! It sucks!

August252015

Have you read this? Super early when Dee shared it early on in my sobriety -
I identified with pretty much all of this, and yes, at 68 days and much longer, continued to heal thru many of the symptoms of the syndrome
https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/

Hope it helps and glad you are 68 days sober!

JeffreyAK

PAWS symptoms can show up for a couple years, so 68 days is still very early. For me, I got occasional symptoms a year in, though by then they were rare.

SIB

Thank you I will read that

BullDog777

I'm somewhat skeptical about "PAWS". The way they describe it at times, it can go from very generalized symptoms to very very acute specific issues that seem to have more to do with chemical withdrawal.

I think it should just be called ESS (early sobriety sucks).

When I got clean from pills like 10 years ago, I had what was called "protracted withdrawal syndrome" That is something that happens when you're coming off a long addiction to something like benzos...not really the same thing as alcohol withdrawal but it feels very similar, and the way it's different is it's VERY protracted. Some benzo withdrawal symptoms have been known to last well over a year.

So, for me...once I got out of the "dangerous" medical stage from booze withdrawal, I figured s#it was just gonna suck till my body stopped craving it.

What it ended up being like was an 18 month long roller coaster. If that's PAWS, i guess i had it. I'm just careful not to define myself with too many labels.

Things will be up and down for awhile. It's just how our bodies work. Things ebb and flow.

Just try to take it one day at a time and make things as simple as humanly possible.

RecklessEric

Yeah, I'm not convinced by the PAWS thing either.
I reckon when we get clean/sober, we sometimes get freaked when negative emotions come along which we used to bury in drink/drugs.

But regardless, sounds like you're having a difficult time. Please reach out when you need to and thinking of you.

ScottFromWI

I like your terminology Bulldog. Indeed PAWS is not a diagnosable condition from either a medical or psychological perspective. It is a term that is used in the recovery community, but the closest thing to a definition i've ever seen is "symptoms experienced by some individuals who are addicted to alcohol or certain drugs after a prolonged period of withdrawal"

That's not to discount the fact that some in recovery do indeed have many uncomfortable symptoms - even after prolonged abstinence. But there is no "cure" for something that is not diagnosable in the first place.

One can however actively seek help for things that might be causing the symptoms. For example, anxiety and depression are very common in those in recovery - and both of them can indeed manifest as what some might also call "PAWS" (fatigue, tiredness, headaches, apathy, etc ) - and you can treat both of those conditions.

Bottom line, whether PAWS is "real" or not really doesn't matter so much. Actively addressing the symptoms to make sure there is not a physical or psychological cause is important.

It's also important to remember that sometimes life simply has ups and downs. Not every day is going to be a pink cloud day - we get sick, we get depressed, we have bad thigns happen around us...that's unfortunately just a regular old part of life. There doesn't always have to be a medical reason behind it ;-)