A few questions

[sobervic]

I'm not the type who drinks daily. In fact, I rarely drink if I'm by myself as I have little desire to do so. In social situations, I do drink heavily (12-15 drinks) since I have a hard time stopping once I begin. Recently, I've been partying often with friends, so I've been doing this 1-2 times per week on average and as much as 3-4 days straight some weeks.

A few weeks ago, I decided to get serious about weightlifting again, so I cut out alcohol completely. While I never thought I had any addiction problems, I seem to be experiencing some withdrawal symptoms. I've been tired, mentally-slow, somewhat depressed, and I've been getting headaches. Does this sound accurate? How long should I expect this to last?

Thanks!

[shaun00]

hi and welcome.

since we are all different it would be wise to discuss this with your g.p/doctor.

[Dee74]

Hi sobervic

Welcome to SR

I agree with trucker - if you still feel rundown etc now after a few weeks, your doctor is a good port of call

D

[TMC1]

Sobervic, i feel your pain, right now. I'm on day 2 and a half of no booze, and i'm in pretty bad shape, weak, achy, feel like i want to lay in bed all day, and i've got the chills and anxiety. I don't really have much of a desire to drink right now, because i know it'll just put off the inevitable, the cycle beginning again. From what i've read it should take a few days up to a couple of weeks.
I know in the past how bad i'd feel like after a 2 or 3 day Vegas trip, we'll my past two months has been one long Vegas trip at home that needed to end. And now i just have to wait it out..Good luck buddy

[ElegantlyWasted]

I'll third that. Doc's opinion is best. A lot of variables come into play, many of which you
haven't mentioned. A good doc will know the right
questions to ask you. If you started a very heavy work out routine it could just be metabolic adjustment; but best check w a doc.

[Anna]

Lots of good advice here, and I hope you feel better soon.

[sobervic]

Originally Posted by TMC1

Sobervic, i feel your pain, right now. I'm on day 2 and a half of no booze, and i'm in pretty bad shape, weak, achy, feel like i want to lay in bed all day, and i've got the chills and anxiety. I don't really have much of a desire to drink right now, because i know it'll just put off the inevitable, the cycle beginning again. From what i've read it should take a few days up to a couple of weeks.
I know in the past how bad i'd feel like after a 2 or 3 day Vegas trip, we'll my past two months has been one long Vegas trip at home that needed to end. And now i just have to wait it out..Good luck buddy

Thanks man. I can relate to this. Keep at it.

It seemed like there was always something going on during the past 3-4 months. I guess this is partially because a group of friends will make future plans to drink while drinking (ex: let's go on a road trip next weekend). This led to me drinking every weekend Thurs-Sat for many weeks straight.

I eventually grew tired of doing nothing but drinking every weekend, so I decided to stop. I also stumbled across some alcohol addiction sites which opened my eyes a bit. I pictured an alcoholic as being someone who sits at home with a bottle of whiskey every night, but it seems like many start out down that road the same way I am. It's hard to realize it while younger since you see many other people going out and getting drunk so you never figure it to be a problem until it has become a necessity in your life.

I was just surprised to feel the withdrawal symptoms. I tend to avoid the doctor and I may have made my symptoms sound a bit worse than they are, so I'll see how it goes the next few weeks.

Thanks