Andante

I still struggle a lot with the aphasia thing, and curiously, it seems to show up most when I'm trying to write a post here on SR. I can get all tangled up in trying to write even the simplest post (like this one!).

I'm still a little shaky too, which I notice most when I try to do something requiring fine motor control. I still can't print, write, or type smoothly or accurately (thank goodness for the backspace key!).

Obviously there's a really wide gamut of susceptibility to PAWS depending on lots of factors that aren't well understood. Heck, even the existence of post-acute withdrawal itself isn't well understood, as many of these posts attest.

Hawkeye13

I agree Andante--the good news is, the further out in my sobriety I get
the more improvement I have seen.
I also had the fine motor control problems writing like you are describing.

The good news is, it is getting better and better so take heart

graced333

Thank you for this thread. It has given me such hope and comfort.

entropy1964

Hi Matt

I have experienced PAWS for sure....but kind of the run of the mill stuff. I never realized that so many serious physical ailments could be attributed to it. That must have been awful. I'm glad you're starting to get on track. It reminds me a bit of fiber myalgia in that it's such an umbrella term, hard to diagnose and treat, and different for everyone.

KrisDB

Excellent thread. Congrats on making it through!

Open question--at what point do people recall turning the corner on PAWS? Was it noticeable? Or slow and steady? What was the key thing that showed it abating? Those have been my questions--I know ALL about how it comes on; mostly interested in how it ends!

shortstop81

Question for everyone: has anyone else experienced Hyperacusis during their PAWS?

It's a common symptom for me, but I don't hear much about it from others.

zjw

for me it was just a gradual decline of it. problems from PAWS became fewer and further between. I had many turning points along the way however. IE points in time where i noticed hey wow i havent really suffered from this problem or that problem in a while or Oh wow i'm coping with these issues better lately etc.. Or gosh I was happy for a few days in a row amazing.

zjw

maybe I've had this to some degree but never likened it to a disorder myself. I have a busy loud house hold and it just rattles my nerves non stop.

its not uncommon for me to put my hands on my head and kinda tremble thinking make it stop to all the disturbing noises and sounds etc.. And before anyone tells me to run off to a therapist or see my doctor keep in mind i have 6 kids 2 dogs its a loud and busy household i never get a break.

ScottFromWI

That is correct. PAWS is not a disorder/disease, it's simply a collection of symptoms commonly found in those who have withdrawn from drugs, and those symptoms occur AFTER acute withdrawal.

JeffreyAK

For me it was slow and steady, but with milestones along the way. Insomnia went away and I was able to sleep through the night about 6 weeks in. I was able to think clearly after 2-3 months. My energy level was really low for many months after I quit drinking - couldn't summon the energy to exercise, took naps at lunch in my office - but it started to come back about 10 months in. The last part was mostly anxiety over new situations, particularly ones where I was worried I might be tempted to drink. That was gone by about 18 months in.

If people have really severe symptoms, I think seeing a doctor would be a good idea. Other things can go on that aren't "PAWS", particularly related to nutrition, vitamin intake and levels, liver enzymes, and possibly underlying dual-diagnosis issues. I'm not sure there's anything to be done about PAWS except to wait it out, but other issues can possibly be treated.

BMunchausen

Greetings PAWS warriors. Just bumping this thread to see how people are feeling these days. It has been a rough stretch for me. After a period where I seemed to be inching ever closer to normality, my symptoms have come back with a vengeance. I am once again contending with dizziness and brain fog and a whole gamut of physical anxiety issues - tightness in the back of the head, tightness in the chest, foggy vision, occasional "zaps," etc etc etc. I say physical anxiety because I am not mentally or emotionally anxious. Its not that I am anxious or fearful and this sparks the symptoms. If anything it is the opposite. The symptoms overwhelm me and then I become anxious about my health, fearful that I will never get over this etc. I have felt terribly demoralized the last week or so. People have written about PAWS "peaking" and I am hoping that this is what it is. I am right about 7 months so it would map onto the timelines that I have read about. Any words of encouragement or stories of triumph over PAWS would be greatly appreciated. I am feeling pretty low.

Andante

Hi B: been there, done that -- and not just kinda sorta, but almost exactly. All the symptoms you describe are pretty much precisely as I experienced them, including the "tightness in the back of the head," which I had not heard anyone share about before. I also have the same sense of anxious thoughts and emotions being driven by physical symptoms rather than the reverse.

See my post earlier in this thread about my learning to detach from the emotional component of PAWS; specifically, the demoralization and the pervasive feeling that I'll never get over it. Believe me when I say I know how difficult it is, but like anything else worth achieving (sobriety itself, say), it's worth making the effort.

In my case, improvements have been incremental and non-linear -- and yes, going through those periods when it seems to be getting worse instead of better are tough -- but here, as you requested, is official, honest, unqualified reassurance that IT DOES GET BETTER!

Hang in there!

hpdw

Its my understanding that heavy drinking affects the autonomic nervous system causing a huge range of symptoms . If you have underlying emotional , mental health issues such as panic disorder, ,generalised anxiety disorder ( GAD) ,depression , etc etc , then see your doctor .

Here is an extended list of what can happen when anxiety is extreme . As I say see your doctor if concerned .

LONG list of anxiety symptoms

oldsoul1122

Thomas thank you! I've been googling burning mouth, tongue painful/shooting spots on scalp, others on the list and now I know why. Great list...a keeper.

gleefan

It gets better!

I've had an anxiety disorder my whole life & some equilibrium issues. I've never been particularly comfortable moving through space. As a kid, I didn't drink, but I didn't like roller coasters, etc.

Hangovers always made my discomfort with motion worse. Five years ago when I was still drinking my husband and I took our kids to Disney. My youngest was small enough at that time that he didn't want to go on any rides, and I was able to avoid going on them!

It didn't get better at first when I stopped drinking, though. I was one of those people who felt lousy even though I was sober. I dug into the 12 steps to find relief from my toxic thinking, but I felt dull, had little motivation, and was exhausted. Plus my anxiety was at an all time high.

With time I have found I have more good days than bad. At 7 months sober, I was still very uncomfortable.

I've been sober for a little over 2 years. Last week I brought the kids back to Disney. Not only did I go on all of the rides, I enjoyed them. I suspect it's a combination of factors, and an important one is that my brain is healing from alcohol abuse.

Keep up the good work, and keep sharing your experiences!!

Dee74

Welcome BMunchausen

D

Hawkeye13

Yes, it did seem to peak for me at 6-7 months also, with some smaller surges after but gradually fading.

Just don't drink. That resets the clock, or at least part way.

After a year, I really forgot most of the PAWS symptoms until my relapse.
If I'd stayed sober, I would never have had to endure them again.

Glad you are here Baron

KrisDB

Hang in there friend. I quit 2/1/16, started noticing PAWS symptoms April 11th (creeping anxiety), the rest of April was basically a nightmare punctuated with periods of calm (no in-between) finally got a little professional help (script for gabapentin) with the symptoms which evened out the bumps, but did not eliminate the symptoms. May 13th, joined a health club and started going twice a day, running on the treadmill for an hour at a time.

Today, doing MUCH MUCH better. Of all the things I've done to get through this, exercise has been by far the most effective. I've had days with no symptoms at all, and these were also the days where I had an exceptionally good workout at the gym. Overall, I've noticed my symptoms are clearly tapering off, compared to last month this time.

It is true--it will get BETTER. Just hang on. If possible, you may find exercise useful, if for no other reason than it gives you something to DO, versus sitting around waiting to get better. Some people think exercise can accelerate recovery, especially for the brain, as exercise has a dramatic effect on brain chemistry. (Having said all that--I'm not a doctor! It would be very wise to get competent medical advice before starting up an exercise program.)

By way of background--functional alcoholic, nightly drinker, five + years duration, basic six pack or bottle of wine. Didn't get into much trouble, but I damn near wrecked my brain (that's how my PAWS has felt.) No desire to drink now. The idea creeps me out (PAWS is good for B-mod.)

Best wishes--you will get through this and you will feel WONDERFUL when you do.

redmerc

This thread should become sticky, Im at 6.5 months and its been a non-linear battle from ground zero; improving constantly.

I think the problem with the lack of PAWS information is 4-fold:

1. I don’t think we would want to discourage people from abstaining.
   
2. Its very symptomatically unique.
   
3. Its has a large age/history/health/predisposition variability spread.
   
4. Its very difficult to interpret/quantify the above into written word.

Again as per the original poster its important to document to help others thru the same hell we have all been thru. As I believe most of the PAWS is anxiety, and like many others the anxiety stems from the symptoms.

PAWS is perceptive based as per Andante posts Im acutely aware of my being (Anxious-type excitable hypothalamic predisposition) and any changes kick off my hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) response, and further intensifying symptoms and delaying my healing.

Personally as per Malmute100 posts my withdrawal was akin to Benzo’s (although I have never swallowed a pill) including fibromyalgic pain, twitching, tremor, fatigue, sleep disorder, negative ruminating usually expressed as health anxiety very intense and difficult to control.

Advice that helped me snagged from this; and other sites:

• If your going thru hell, keep going!
• Use sleep aids (as much REM as possible, helps anxiety but less sws = pain)
• Don’t mentally exert yourself and expend energy required for healing
• Document what you did on a given day (so you can gauge how you felt that day vs today usually a month apart) and visualize the trend
• Meditate (as I could feel my anxiety and not act upon it, helped with the Obsessive thoughts) brain.fm very good
• Exercise
• Eat well
• Try not to be overwhelmed by the symptoms (yeah right!!)
• Avoid all drugs
• Its all windows and waves remember that!!

Good luck and peace be with you.

NightBird

I am so grateful for this post.

I, too, have suffered many of the psychological and cognitive symptoms of paws. However, I have continually suffered physical symptoms on and off.

I am sober one year from alcohol. I drank for 30 years; the last five, everyday all day long.

I still suffer a myriad of physical-type symptoms such as:

1. All over body pins and needles sensation. This comes and goes. Not as often as before.

2. Feeling of tightness across front of neck, almost like I have a tight collar. Hardly ever feel this now.

3. Jaw ache. Comes and goes.

4. Dizziness and unbalanced feeling on some days.

5. Days of sheer physical exhaustion.

6. One month of leg weakness like walking thru concrete. (Thought I was dying)

7. Flu-like body pain that comes on suddenly, lasts a couple days and then go aways until the next bout. This is happening less often.

8. Waking up feeling hungover that lasts all day and sometimes into the next.

9. Vision seems foggy. This comes and goes.

10. Extreme fatigue that comes and goes. Happens less often now and is less severe.

There are many more, but these are the worst and last one day to several days for now when they do hit me.

Yes, I have been to a doctor and see a drug and alcohol counsellor. Basically told this is just the way it is. Some people suffer more symptoms and for longer than others. We are all unique in the way we recover.

Since, I am only into one year of sobriety, I expect that these symptoms will continue for some time. However, they are happening less and less and I am having longer periods of feeling good in between.

I, too, never crave alcohol. I tapered slowly with beer over a period of several months and it was easy to step off for me. The acute withdrawal was done with no medication at home. I would not recommend this to anyone else. It just worked for me.

I do meditation and restorative yoga and also listen to sleep and anxiety hypnosis videos on YouTube every night. This is what helps me deal with my symptoms the most, other than walking or swimming.

I just take it day by day, being ever grateful for being alive and knowing my body and brain ARE healing, albeit slowly at times. Acceptance is key when you have checked out medically and practice healthful eating, exercise, good sleep hygiene, and psychological support.

Keep going everyone. You can do it!