In withdrawal, need advice on tapering.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 2
In withdrawal, need advice on tapering.
Hi, new to this forum and seeking some advice. My story in brief:
Practically every evening for the last 7 years I drank anywhere between 3-10 drinks, excepting for roughly a dozen cold turkey sober breaks a few weeks or months at a time, most recently the 3 months prior to last Christmas. On none of these occasions had I ever experienced withdrawal symptoms. That changed this past Friday when I decided to merely take the day off to give my liver time to rest.
Everything was fine until I tucked in at night and was suddenly slammed with intense withdrawal symptoms; tachycardia, anxiety attacks (I have these occasionally), severe depression with "mild" suicidal thoughts, nausea, head ache, insomnia, mild sweating & chills. I was so wired and out of sorts I ended up walking around in the middle of the night for nearly 3 hours (which really helped, but was exhausting) and taking several warm showers, but didn't sleep at all.
Obviously this was a wake up call to quit permanently, but I read these symptoms could get worse and gradually weening myself off is a more effective strategy if disciplined (not an issue for me). So on Saturday as the symptoms started to pop up again I drank half a shot of vodka around 4 pm. It helped- I still had a slightly elevated heart rate, persistent nausea and anxiety, but I managed to get a good nights sleep.
However now I've read about the "kindling" effect which produces more and more intense withdrawals and drinking at all could prolong this process. It is now Monday at 1 am, 32 hrs since the shot of vodka and about 72 hrs since having 6-7 drinks, and I'm ready to go to bed but I'm feeling anxiety bubbling below the surface with the potential for another repeat of Friday night. I really want to avoid that because it was very intense and terrifying.
My question is, should I have another shot/half shot to slow things down or will that reset my withdrawal clock to 0 and risk this kindling effect?
Practically every evening for the last 7 years I drank anywhere between 3-10 drinks, excepting for roughly a dozen cold turkey sober breaks a few weeks or months at a time, most recently the 3 months prior to last Christmas. On none of these occasions had I ever experienced withdrawal symptoms. That changed this past Friday when I decided to merely take the day off to give my liver time to rest.
Everything was fine until I tucked in at night and was suddenly slammed with intense withdrawal symptoms; tachycardia, anxiety attacks (I have these occasionally), severe depression with "mild" suicidal thoughts, nausea, head ache, insomnia, mild sweating & chills. I was so wired and out of sorts I ended up walking around in the middle of the night for nearly 3 hours (which really helped, but was exhausting) and taking several warm showers, but didn't sleep at all.
Obviously this was a wake up call to quit permanently, but I read these symptoms could get worse and gradually weening myself off is a more effective strategy if disciplined (not an issue for me). So on Saturday as the symptoms started to pop up again I drank half a shot of vodka around 4 pm. It helped- I still had a slightly elevated heart rate, persistent nausea and anxiety, but I managed to get a good nights sleep.
However now I've read about the "kindling" effect which produces more and more intense withdrawals and drinking at all could prolong this process. It is now Monday at 1 am, 32 hrs since the shot of vodka and about 72 hrs since having 6-7 drinks, and I'm ready to go to bed but I'm feeling anxiety bubbling below the surface with the potential for another repeat of Friday night. I really want to avoid that because it was very intense and terrifying.
My question is, should I have another shot/half shot to slow things down or will that reset my withdrawal clock to 0 and risk this kindling effect?
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,444
Hi Beaman
I'm afraid we have a medical advice rule here that precludes us giving you advice on self medication.
Self -tapering can be dangerous - and we're all a little bit different in our situations, our addictions, and our clinical history..
Why not do the safe thing and see a Dr?
D
I'm afraid we have a medical advice rule here that precludes us giving you advice on self medication.
Self -tapering can be dangerous - and we're all a little bit different in our situations, our addictions, and our clinical history..
Why not do the safe thing and see a Dr?
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 2
I'd like to avoid drugs and even if I didn't seeing a Dr. isn't an option tonight. Just looking for the most effective/least harmful way to detox on my own. But if I can't get that kind of advice here, I'll try somewhere else. Thanks.
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
As an active alcoholic and an alcoholic in withdrawal, I was fully unqualified to give myself medical supervision for potentially deadly circumstances.
Since I've been sober, I'm much more "qualified" to get myself to my doctor whenever I have medical concerns.
Since I've been sober, I'm much more "qualified" to get myself to my doctor whenever I have medical concerns.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 204
I drank continuously for over 20 years and so i knew after studying the situation that it was going to be impossible to just quit so tapering made sense. It took me about two weeks of steadily decreasing the amount i drank until it was time to stop. The withdrawal was very nasty but i didn't have any choice but to endure it.
Matt M
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 490
The best option is certainly to see a doctor and discuss wanting to give up alcohol.
Tapering can technically work but it's a bit risky because you could still end up drinking too much and convincing yourself it's fine, or you could not drink enough and end up with dangerous withdrawals.
Tapering can technically work but it's a bit risky because you could still end up drinking too much and convincing yourself it's fine, or you could not drink enough and end up with dangerous withdrawals.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,444
as the OP has moved on I declare this thread closed.
For those new here, or those who've forgotten, this is our medical advice rule.
D
For those new here, or those who've forgotten, this is our medical advice rule.
10. Medical Advice: No Posts giving medical advice, medication advice, or psychiatric advice. Do not use the forum to give or ask for professional medical or psychiatric advice. If you are a medical professional, please remember the forums and chat are for peer support only and not to be used for distributing professional medical advice and/or using the forum to represent your professional services. Medical and Psychiatric advice includes giving a diagnosis, treatment plan, medication advice and dosage suggestions, over the counter and natural home remedies that should be approved by medical professionals. Detox can be dangerous and life threatening at times. Please consult with your physician.
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