MySecretLove

When they say it peaks at 3 months.....what do they mean it peaks? I'm confused. How does it work? I will be getting worse as time goes by?
Thank you

RyanRed

Well if I were to guess it sounds like it will be at its full intensity then, and then diminish. (but from my understanding is different for everyone) I too am dealing with PAWS. It sucks! But I keep telling myself 90% is psychological, because I believe it is. But sure feels all too real sometimes.

Alcohol brainwashed us, and it will take some time for our brains to unlearn the feeling of bring drunk all the time. Our mind is so used to being under the influence, that's what it currently remembers. Now that we took that away, it needs to readjust. And it will.

But yeah it sucks. I just use it as a tool to remember I NEVER want to go through this again. That alone is almost enough for me to never want to drink again.

Stay strong! Your not alone with these very very strange feelings.

-Ryan

CarolD

I did not notice PAWS played a part in my recovery....probably because I was already 3 years sucessfully AA sober before I came on line ...
I had never heard of it....

Here is the info I found later on....

Post Acute Withdrawl - Relapse Prevention Specialists - TLC The Living Center

I did feel mentally and physically back in balance by the end of my 2nd month...
I was eating healthy.....walking often...and attending AA daily.

FT

Good point, Carol.

It doesn't much matter in the scheme of things whether you attach a descriptor to your recovery path. PAWS only means something to me as an interesting comparison to others on my path, and I wouldn't use it as a yardstick or map to base your expectations on.

Before the labels, we just didn't feel good all the time and moved on. Just like before addiction but with a different sort of vigilance.

billsaintjames

I don't put a whole lot of stock into PAWS. Often it's something that people (including myself at one point) use to say, "OK, after X amount of time, I won't feel bad anymore!" People want to have control over the situation, and have measurable, if artificial, goals, so folks put a lot of attention on it.

Personally, I think the whole idea is flimsy and there are a lot of contradictions. But, if that is what keeps you sober (it helped keep ME sober at a difficult moment a couple months ago), knock yourself out. I would just be careful to not subscribe too religiously to its "milestones", so to speak.

MySecretLove

TY for making it a little clearer for me. I feel a little jittery at times, my mind can be somewhat foggy but getting better, I will misspell or transpose during chat, I have suffered temp anxiety (lasting about 10 minutes...this happened twice) I have NO cravings... The worse for me right now is my lymph nodes are infected...the antibiotics are killing me and I'm upset that I've worked so hard to get to where I am, was feeling good and I am hit with this. I realize I want everything back to normal in 2 weeks and It's not gonna happen, so I have to remind myself of that. I would imagine all of this is normal being my mind and body are trying to get back to what It was...whatever that was (can't remember) LOL. For the most part I can't complain. I'm actually very happy to be sober. I'm probably riding that pink cloud. What I was afraid of is getting WORSE. I really didn't want to read about PAWS so that I didn't start developing symptoms because of what I've read. I feel vulnerable right now and take everything I read as TRUTH. I have read over and over that everyone's recovery is different and that makes sense to me. I want to know what's ahead...but am afraid of what I'm reading.

Kjell

Hi MSL-

I suffered from PAWS big time. Right about 6 months to 8 months sober I had all the classic symptoms (dizzyness, tiredness, couldn't think straight, and would even get light-headed and see stars if I stood up too quickly).

I've "spoken" to others here on SR who have had similiar experiences. It's gone away, for the most part, but I think my body and mind are still..., 18 months sober, figuring out how to work without the drugs and alcohol.

Hope this helps.

Kjell~

MySecretLove

Now I totally understand why addiction is called a disease...WOW is all I could say. I can see why someone would rather go back to using or get depressed with all of these problems. This is the kind of stuff that makes me go back to being angry at myself....like I was those first few days. My hope is that there is a possibility that I will not get the PAWS too bad.

allie72

Thank you for posting the link on PAWS! I was thinking something was seriously wrong with my brain! My sponsor will tell me to do something and 2 hours later I will have no idea what she told me to do. I do this with any conversation that has some meaning! I will go to my therapist and then I can't remember what the hell we talked about by the time I get home. When will it go away!! I'm a teacher and I can't be like this when school starts back!