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delayed withdrawal or just anxiety

Old 01-20-2013, 07:05 AM
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delayed withdrawal or just anxiety

I quit drinking a couple of weeks and I had no withdrawal symptoms for over a week. The last three days I have a ton of anxiety, bad mood, and I can't sleep at all. The first week and a half I never felt better. Is this possible or am I experiencing anxiety not connected to withdrawal?
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Old 01-20-2013, 07:25 AM
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Welcome Caboblanco, and congratulations on your sober time!

For me, I had a lot of mood swings for a while after I quit drinking. In my early stages of recovery, my mantra was "If I don't like the mood I am in, just wait 5 minutes because it will probably change by then"

One of the things I found to be quite helpful in my recovery was reading about and understanding PAWS:
PAWS « Digital Dharma

What also helped me when I went through the mood swings was convincing myself that they were an indication that I was healing.

If you are very concerned about this, you should speak with your doctor or other health care professional.
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Old 01-20-2013, 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by caboblanco View Post
I quit drinking a couple of weeks and I had no withdrawal symptoms for over a week. The last three days I have a ton of anxiety, bad mood, and I can't sleep at all. The first week and a half I never felt better. Is this possible or am I experiencing anxiety not connected to withdrawal?

You will read your story in past posts here many, many times.

The truth is, if you want to know why you started drinking in the first place, just quit drinking. The thoughts/feeling/emotions all come back

I discovered that I was a deeply flawed person well before I picked up my first drink. The drink/drugs was my medication... the solution to my problem.

If I was to remain sober/clean I had to address my flaws. I found the treatment in the program of Alcoholic Anonymous.

I wish you the best.

Bob R
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Old 01-20-2013, 10:13 AM
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Hi Capoblanco,

Your symptoms are absolutely normal for people in early recovery. They occur while your brain and body are repairing themselves and returning to their normal balance. There are also the issues that Bob R mentioned, exaggerated even more by the changes going on with your brain chemistry.

His suggestion for a cure is also right on. AA isn't magic: it requires acceptance, willingness and work on your part. But if you do the work, you'll come out the far side with skills and self-understanding that you will get nowhere else.

Regarding physicians, search for one who is accustomed to working with addicts. Most doctors know far less about addiction than they think they do, and they can really mess us up by prescribing the wrong meds for our condition. Check with a local treatment center or google your doc to find out exactly what his or her credentials are.
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Old 01-20-2013, 11:54 AM
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I have met many good doctors IN AA.
All the best.

Bob R
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Old 01-20-2013, 12:54 PM
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Doctor have been a slippery place for me. I have found that with some of them, total honesty with them only changed their perception of me to a negative one.

There was one doctor however, that helped me with a methadone taper, which I tell you, is not easy, even going slow... But I did it and will never take that crap again.

I'm currently 10 days off of Vicodin and I too was doing pretty well, but yesterday, I felt like crap most of the day, flu-like symptoms, headache, just a generally bad feeling..Really tired.

I agree that it's definitely our bodies trying so hard to find the right balance of chemicals, hormones etc..

Give it time and be sure to take care of yourself. Vitamins, lots of water, exercise if you can.

Congrats on your time too!!!
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Old 01-20-2013, 06:54 PM
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months into sobreity i spoke to a doctor about similier problems his first idea was perhaps it was alcohol withdrawel. I said this many months out? no way!! he said entirely possible! that being said it did however get better.
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