Anxiety and withdrawal
 

Hi there.
Could somebody please tell me if they've any idea how long the anxiety effects last when withdrawing from alcohol?
I have to say, I'm not an alcoholic (don't actually like some alcohol at all!) but went through a period of heavy drinking (red wine) for about a year and a half, (I'd say roughly 30-50 units per week) a lot more than is normal for me. I was rarely drunk, and I wasn't addicted to the alcohol. I also wasn't using it as a means of coping. It was a means to unwind (I do find it hard to relax)
I first noticed the symptoms last year when I decided to get back to my normal routine. I had horrendous chest pressure and a couple of times I really thought I was going to have a heart attack. I went to my doctor who did blood tests, listened to my chest, took my blood pressure and did an ECG, everything was ok. Anyway, although I'd cut down drastically, I was still drinking, but I would get a heavy feeling in my chest if I barely drunk at all.
Over Christmas, I drank a lot more again. Never got drunk, just drank a lot more as we socialised a lot. Over this period I felt fantastic. I had no symptoms at all. Then after Christmas I decided to get to the bottom of my symptoms so decided to try to see where and how alcohol affected me.
I had no alcohol at all for 6 weeks and had anxiety symptoms on and off. Then I had 10 units over one weekend. Felt fantastic, but then 3 days later got heavy chest pressure. So, I decided to stop drinking alltogether to see if I can clear my system, so here's where I am now......
It's been 3 and a half months since I've touched a drop. My symptoms come on out of the blue and consist of a heavy feeling in my chest, and sometimes it feels like there's an air bubble trapped and it makes me want to burp. This is accompanied with back and shoulder ache. When I first tried all this last year, my symptoms were heavy to moderate. Now I'd say they were mild to moderate (most days now it's mild) but it drives me mad.
I've kept a log and it's like a pattern. I have the symptoms for 3 or 4 days, then they go for 3 of 4 days (and sometimes they dissapear for a week or more!)
Does anyone have any thoughts on this and is it possible for me to go back to a sensible drinking routine???
Does it sound like withdrawal? A bit worried that I've somehow damaged my heart but if it was heart problems wouldn't I suffer all the time, and the symptoms wouldn't go when I drink would they??
I have (and didn't have originally) no other symptoms (such as shakes, sweats, headaches, nausea etc). I have occasional palpitations, but I get these when I drink coffee or have a lot of chocolate so I have VERY little of either of these, in fact coffee I never have now.

I'd be so grateful for any input all all.
Thank you so much!!! xx

You need to consult a Dr. Just based on my experience it doesn't sound like withdrawal. It certainly wouldn't be acute withdrawal which lasts days, not months. There is post-acute withdrawal but the amount of alcy you are describing does not sound like enough to be giving you that, although everyone has varied physiological responses.
Best thing to do is see your GP and get a thorough checkup.

Thanks Hendershot. I've done just that. I'm really not that convinced it is the alcohol myself now, but who knows, it could have been a factor. Appreciate the response :0)

See a Dr. ASAP. Those are not symptoms of PAWS that I have ever heard of and at 3 months sober it is definitely not acute withdrawal.

sounds like some kind of stomach problem perhahps, do you notice it more when eating spicy food etc? it may be some kind of indigestion..?

ive had similar feelings, and its usually stomach/gastro related..

Hi Loublou and welcome.

I´ve had similar symptoms and in my case it was related to pyrosis or heartburn, but the symptoms were just like you describe. In fact it was scary and I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

It was Gastroesophageal reflux disease and I had to take medication for that.

It´s best to see what your doctor says as, but it sounds like stress, not withdrawal.

Best of luck.

:grouphug:

Hi all. Ok, an update. Went to the docs. Blood pressure is normal, heart sounds are normal. She asked me a bunch of questions and checked me over.
Now I have to have blood tests and then possibly and ECG depending on the results. The doc said I'm presenting no symptoms of heart problems, EXCEPT that I tell her about the weird feeling in my chest (like my bra stap is too tight) and then she said that worries her! I told her all about my period of heavy drinking, and that now I've stopped completely (over 4 months now) and asked if it could be in some way alcohol withdrawal. She said no. Symptoms are completely different!
I now have to wait just over 2 weeks til they can fit me in for blood tests!
The thing is....I am SURE it is related to alcohol in some way. When I drank quite a bit over the christmas period, I never got a single symptom!
Because I've not drunk for months, the symptoms are getting easier but they're still there! I read on the net somewhere (ages ago) that you can suffer from anxiety from alcohol withdrawal and that it could last between 3 and 12 months but my doc had never heard this!!! I only ever saw that one paper about this, but no one else has a clue what I'm on about.
It's so frustrating cos I'm adamant that alcohol is in some way to blame for my symptoms.
Does anyone else understand me, and is it possible that it's merely stress symptoms probably brought on by the cessation of alcohol??
I'm at my wits end now :(

Thanks for everyone's response by the way. It's much appreciated :)

ooohhh sorry, meant to say...symptoms come out of the blue. Foods don't seems to trigger them. It's a different feeling to heartburn or similar. Another way I could describe it is this.....sometimes it feels like I have a sponge inside my chest that is filled with water, sometimes it feels like my chest is full of jelly wobbling about. I know it's a pretty lame description. It's the closest to how it feels tho!!

Just let the docs do their jobs. As frustrating as it is, that's all you can do. Stress is always a possibility in these cases, but they will run all their tests and figure out if anything is wrong.

Thanks hendeshot. Yes, it's in the docs hands now I guess. Fingers crossed :)

Ask your Dr. about PAWS - post acute withdrawal syndrome - and see if you fit into that category. Other than that, I agree, let the medical professionals do their job.

Thanks for that dgillz. I've looked up PAWS. I have no symptoms like this at all....other than this feeling in my chest which I'm guessing is an anxiety symptom, which when I read up about PAWS, it does mention stress. I wonder if it's a very mild symptom of PAWS then?
If anyone here has had PAWS symptoms, is it ever possible to drink sensibly again? I don't want to offend anyone talking about drinking alcohol as I know some people really struggle, but I am interested simply because I'm not addicted to it.

Sorry for all the questions. I'd just prefer to ask people who can relate to it. I always find doctors very critical and never really answer my questions!