Who has had alcohol withdrawal seizures?
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 852
Originally Posted by laurie6781 
I did not know how fatal withdrawal could be when I made the decision that 'enough was enough' that I was going to die no matter what and I wanted to die sober.
Once my BAC dropped to .38 I went into seizures in the waiting room of the ER. They spent all day working on me. I would seizure long enough that my heart would stop, they would get my heart started and within a short time I would start to seizure again.
This went on from approximately 8 in the morning until 4:28 pm when after almost a 1/2 hour of trying to get my heart started AGAIN, the ER doctor called it and was writing the TOD on my chart, and .............................. my heart started on its own.
I can never STRESS enough how dangerous detox from alcohol can be, and always that a person check with their doctor or go to an ER and not try to do it 'cold turkey' on their own.
Yes, maybe my case was a 'severe' one because I drank so hard and long, however, I have seen others go into seizures with lower BAC than I had.
In my mind, having seen so many problems arise in those trying to 'cold turkey' over these many years, I can only say once again, DO NOT TRY TO COLD TURKEY, go see your Dr or go to the ER.
J M H O
Love and hugs,
Once my BAC dropped to .38 I went into seizures in the waiting room of the ER. They spent all day working on me. I would seizure long enough that my heart would stop, they would get my heart started and within a short time I would start to seizure again.
This went on from approximately 8 in the morning until 4:28 pm when after almost a 1/2 hour of trying to get my heart started AGAIN, the ER doctor called it and was writing the TOD on my chart, and .............................. my heart started on its own.
I can never STRESS enough how dangerous detox from alcohol can be, and always that a person check with their doctor or go to an ER and not try to do it 'cold turkey' on their own.
Yes, maybe my case was a 'severe' one because I drank so hard and long, however, I have seen others go into seizures with lower BAC than I had.
In my mind, having seen so many problems arise in those trying to 'cold turkey' over these many years, I can only say once again, DO NOT TRY TO COLD TURKEY, go see your Dr or go to the ER.
J M H O
Love and hugs,
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,445
I always hold up Lauries story as an example of how dangerous this stuff is and how many people underestimate that danger.
I know of several folks here who have had withdrawal experiences *while drinking*.
D
I know of several folks here who have had withdrawal experiences *while drinking*.
D
Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Probably my living room. Maybe my bedroom if I'm feeling lazy
Posts: 1,085
I think it's also important to recognize that seizures are not the only major withdrawal symptom.
I never had a seizure. I never had the shakes. But I had major organ failure and aspiration.
If you are a heavy drinker like I was and are trying to quit without medical supervision, just because you don't have a seizure doesn't mean you're in the clear.
Detox, like the effects of alcohol in general, can vary from person to person. That's why it's so important to get medical help.
I never had a seizure. I never had the shakes. But I had major organ failure and aspiration.
If you are a heavy drinker like I was and are trying to quit without medical supervision, just because you don't have a seizure doesn't mean you're in the clear.
Detox, like the effects of alcohol in general, can vary from person to person. That's why it's so important to get medical help.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 852
Originally Posted by Taking5
What Dee said. I had withdrawal symptoms on my 7th drink of the day. If you are walking around for days on end with a BAC of .4 you can definitely go into a seizure at .20 BAC.
Pa**ot Momma
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 149
I have had not had a seizure but put myself in the hospital 18months ago with hallucinations I thought were real.....I should have learned but it has taken one more trip to the er to figure out I just can't drink. I am lucky I didn't have one as I was super twitchy.
Bern
Bern
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Iowa
Posts: 88
This is a great post..scares the **** out of me. I had noticed my withdrawals worsening after my last binge and I'm sure seizures would be next..This thread is more mental ammunition to not pick up that first drink!!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 19
The main thing after a hard long drinking session is to take it easy... slow recovery is the thing. If you do cold turkey, your body goes into a shock since there is no alcohol in the blood.
This is what the doctors have told me every time I have had one. Every single seizure that I have had have been after going cold turkey. Everyone has different bodies and they react different ways. My body went to utter shock and after a night and day of being ill and shaking and sweating and throwing up constantly, it just called it quits.
It is not a nice trip in the ambulance being actually sober, but the reason being there is still alcohol and the medical staff know you are an alcoholic. I work in finance. I make **** loads of money, but lying there on the bed, nurses giving you benzos so you would not collapse or have another seizure makes you feel like zero. I was so ashamed I started to cry. I envy people who don't drink or have full control over it.
I have quit(ish) drinking in my own way which was just to slowly but surely lower the alcohol intake. Of course I can have a beer watching football. I know it is dangerous, but I try my best to keep it to one and try to hang out with people who do not hit the bottle hard.
My tolerance got so high that I could just about drink all day every without even feeling drunk until wee hours.
When you realize that you need to have few drinks to feel okay every morning... You know you have a problem... I used to have a glass of wine before even brushing my teeth. It is a tough road. The more people you tell about your problems the more it helps. It was a big step for me to tell my best friends and family that I go to AA because I can not handle my drinking or that I just can drink so much that I end up in the hospital. All of them said you are a brave man for admitting that you have a problem and we will help you in any way.
Hard spirits are the worse because they burn slower and the risk of a seizure is bigger going cold turkey because the alcohol level goes from high to low very quickly. If you drink beer or wine it kind of stays on mid level, depending how much you drink of course, but you know what I mean. For me it was 5 bottles of wine, every day, during the course of the day, for about 8 years. Every day... plus the parties and all the weekends with hard stuff.
The doctors also told me that the risk of having a seizure goes higher every time. I have had three. Two of them home and one on the street during the day after actually going to AA. All of them happened after I did not have a drink all day.
Also alcoholism causes very serious damage on the nerves and joints. If you feel that your joints in your hands or legs hurt in different positions, it is a sign that you might have seizure and you need to take it very seriously. I have had this feeling on my legs and wrists every single time I have had one.
There are loads of organic medicines which helps on these kind of issues and can be cheaply purchased. They will help with the recovery. I take 10 different vitamins every day, and they actually do help.
I will write the brands later on when I get home. They can all be purchased from all the natural stores. Just in case somebody wants to give them a try.
Sorry for the long rant...
This is what the doctors have told me every time I have had one. Every single seizure that I have had have been after going cold turkey. Everyone has different bodies and they react different ways. My body went to utter shock and after a night and day of being ill and shaking and sweating and throwing up constantly, it just called it quits.
It is not a nice trip in the ambulance being actually sober, but the reason being there is still alcohol and the medical staff know you are an alcoholic. I work in finance. I make **** loads of money, but lying there on the bed, nurses giving you benzos so you would not collapse or have another seizure makes you feel like zero. I was so ashamed I started to cry. I envy people who don't drink or have full control over it.
I have quit(ish) drinking in my own way which was just to slowly but surely lower the alcohol intake. Of course I can have a beer watching football. I know it is dangerous, but I try my best to keep it to one and try to hang out with people who do not hit the bottle hard.
My tolerance got so high that I could just about drink all day every without even feeling drunk until wee hours.
When you realize that you need to have few drinks to feel okay every morning... You know you have a problem... I used to have a glass of wine before even brushing my teeth. It is a tough road. The more people you tell about your problems the more it helps. It was a big step for me to tell my best friends and family that I go to AA because I can not handle my drinking or that I just can drink so much that I end up in the hospital. All of them said you are a brave man for admitting that you have a problem and we will help you in any way.
Hard spirits are the worse because they burn slower and the risk of a seizure is bigger going cold turkey because the alcohol level goes from high to low very quickly. If you drink beer or wine it kind of stays on mid level, depending how much you drink of course, but you know what I mean. For me it was 5 bottles of wine, every day, during the course of the day, for about 8 years. Every day... plus the parties and all the weekends with hard stuff.
The doctors also told me that the risk of having a seizure goes higher every time. I have had three. Two of them home and one on the street during the day after actually going to AA. All of them happened after I did not have a drink all day.
Also alcoholism causes very serious damage on the nerves and joints. If you feel that your joints in your hands or legs hurt in different positions, it is a sign that you might have seizure and you need to take it very seriously. I have had this feeling on my legs and wrists every single time I have had one.
There are loads of organic medicines which helps on these kind of issues and can be cheaply purchased. They will help with the recovery. I take 10 different vitamins every day, and they actually do help.
I will write the brands later on when I get home. They can all be purchased from all the natural stores. Just in case somebody wants to give them a try.
Sorry for the long rant...
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Europe
Posts: 440
I just had one today, just a few hours ago... in inpatient detox.
Thought I was through the worst of the withdrawals. Shortly after I was admitted, I made a simple app on my watch that shows the number of hours since my last drink.
Why? Because I've had seizures from withdrawals before, and from what I've read and from experience the risk is highest around the 72 hour mark, so I was regularly checking for it to pass the 'expected risk timeframe' for maybe the most dangerous withdrawal symptom of them all: seizures.
However, this time it was approaching 300 hours when it happened (12 days), so I thought I was well out of the woods. Then 'bam', while playing chess with one of the therapists I seized. Woke up confused in my room around half an hour later along with three of the staff.
Consequently, a nurse called a doctor on call at the nearest hospital, and it was concluded to up my benzo dose and do a slower taper. The first few days I had horrible anxiety, but it has slowly gotten better. With no warning signs, I suddenly had an episode, like I mentioned, 12 days in.
Other than that, the day has been fine. This morning I went on a shopping trip with a couple others in here. I felt okay. Had an alright time, socializing at a cafè (I have social anxiety so I can have a hard time with that). Going into a seizure was not a thing I was worried about.
Every time I've seized I've either been 1) in a detox facility, 2) at the hospital or 3) in an ER waiting room. Luckily. With this episode I'm up to 5 total. The last time in detox I had four, one pretty serious one. I was pretty delirious after that. Confused, felt like the days were a mix of a dream and reality... It took me a while to get back to a normal state of mind.
Ugh, I seriously hope I've learned after this. Can I just stop lapsing, which just leads to telling myself how stupid I am to get back into that friggin' vicious circle yet again?
So yeah, I strongly agree with the others who say withdrawing from alcohol is dangerous. Especially if the intake has been prolonged and heavy. Take precautions. Seek medical help. Don't do it alone.
... and I just realized I revived a 3 year old thread. I just did a google search and it brought me here. Felt like I had to jot this down and share my experience. And to remember.
Thought I was through the worst of the withdrawals. Shortly after I was admitted, I made a simple app on my watch that shows the number of hours since my last drink.
Why? Because I've had seizures from withdrawals before, and from what I've read and from experience the risk is highest around the 72 hour mark, so I was regularly checking for it to pass the 'expected risk timeframe' for maybe the most dangerous withdrawal symptom of them all: seizures.
However, this time it was approaching 300 hours when it happened (12 days), so I thought I was well out of the woods. Then 'bam', while playing chess with one of the therapists I seized. Woke up confused in my room around half an hour later along with three of the staff.
Consequently, a nurse called a doctor on call at the nearest hospital, and it was concluded to up my benzo dose and do a slower taper. The first few days I had horrible anxiety, but it has slowly gotten better. With no warning signs, I suddenly had an episode, like I mentioned, 12 days in.
Other than that, the day has been fine. This morning I went on a shopping trip with a couple others in here. I felt okay. Had an alright time, socializing at a cafè (I have social anxiety so I can have a hard time with that). Going into a seizure was not a thing I was worried about.
Every time I've seized I've either been 1) in a detox facility, 2) at the hospital or 3) in an ER waiting room. Luckily. With this episode I'm up to 5 total. The last time in detox I had four, one pretty serious one. I was pretty delirious after that. Confused, felt like the days were a mix of a dream and reality... It took me a while to get back to a normal state of mind.
Ugh, I seriously hope I've learned after this. Can I just stop lapsing, which just leads to telling myself how stupid I am to get back into that friggin' vicious circle yet again?
So yeah, I strongly agree with the others who say withdrawing from alcohol is dangerous. Especially if the intake has been prolonged and heavy. Take precautions. Seek medical help. Don't do it alone.
... and I just realized I revived a 3 year old thread. I just did a google search and it brought me here. Felt like I had to jot this down and share my experience. And to remember.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: OZ
Posts: 2,055
Polaroid & PhoenixJ, I don't want to scare you but the reality of death from a seizure is very real and possible. I lost my brother to a seizure.
To anyone, that is planning to withdraw or is withdrawing see your Doctors.
To anyone, that is planning to withdraw or is withdrawing see your Doctors.
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