Vertigo and alcohol withdrawal
 

HI just joined tonight as i would like to get some opinions on alcohol withdrawal and quitting in general...so to sum it up im 24 living i Ireland(a drunken irish man who knew??)so basically ive been drinking since i was about 14 or 15 it started with me and my older bother and friends every weekend we would buy beer and hang out..i wasnet a big drinker at first i would usually vomit after 3 to 4 beers ..as i got older around 16 or 17 towards the end of secondary education i would drink a shoulder bottle of vodka(half bottle) 2 nights of the week then drink beer on the weekend as usual..then once i turned 18 i was working in a bar and i drank a lot always went out etc ..so ive had many experiences over the years being arrested embarrssing myself around people and i guess people always new i was a bit of a dipso..in recent years i coudl no longer be happy with a 6 pack or even a 8 pack at home i would buy 12 and drink them all sometimes more..i always suffered with hangovers vomiting headache the usual...but about 2 years ago one day after a bad binge drinking weekend i thought i was having a heart attack ..turns out it was a panic attack and every since that day ive had panic attack/anxiety after days of drinking but they usually passed a day or so later ...my father passed away last year and i had been the last person in the family house until 2 weeks ago when i moved out..so i have been stressed and a little depressed aswell to be fair ..but last weekend i was out with friends from thursday through till the following monday drinking ..so tuesday i had the usual panic anxiety ..over the days before i had noticed i was dizzy at times for no reason but it would pass until yesterday i was out with friends i hadnt drank in 4 days and had panned on cutting down etc when all of a sudden the dizziness appeared again and it was so much worse after walking a few foot i would almost fall over and faint ..this happened several times and i got a frind to drive me home i thought i would just sleep and id be ok but when i woke up the same thing i couldent walk at all without getting dizzy and feeling faint ...so i went to a doctor and i explained about my panic etc ..then my new symptoms he told me its vertigo and gave me pills for 2 weeks but he assured me its nothing to do with alcohol ??? so i took the pill yesterday and again today and i did feel better but i decided i would walk around to the local shop literally 5 minutes away and i was just as bad as yesterday i could barely stand up people must have thought i was drunk i was sweating and grabbing on to things and stopping in the middle of the street cos i was so unstable ...is this an alcohol withdrawal symptom will this pass with the tablets ??im so shook up about this right now its the worst thing ive ever experienced im afraid to leave the house..i dont plan on drinking anymore after this for sure ..just curious has anyone else experienced this will it pass ?? cheers everyone ..sorry if there is spelling errors i just typed this all in one swoop

Welcome to SR Chan. :) I hope you stay with us - even after the dizziness issue is resolved. This is a wonderful place that got me sober after a lifetime of drinking.

I haven't had a vertigo issue, so can't really help with that. Maybe others will have experience. I'm glad you saw your doctor - but maybe you need to let him know how bad it's become. Very glad you are here seeking a healthy new life. You can do it.

I had bad vertigo, like that... but I had astronomical blood pressure.

If you're concerned about this, or think the Dr may be wrong, a second opinion is probably a good idea.

I do remember that my blood pressure spiked dangerously when I was detoxing. My head was a little 'swimmy' but I wasn't unstable. I hope you get yourself checked out again Chan.

I had this too - I remember getting in the shower and having to get back out as I felt I was going to faint. It does pass. I'm wondering if you have a medical condition on top eg inner ear infection? I would definitely go back to the Doctor's and get checked out. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about :)

I didn't have it that bad but I sometimes I'd sort of reel or stagger, and then steady myself. I never had to grab onto things. I never actually fell or came close to falling. But I thought it was odd that I felt dizzy. It was something new to me. I read it could be part of PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) so I never worried about it. And now it's gone.

Yours sounds kinda severe though... not sure what that's about, but stay in touch with your doctor! Just to be safe.

I don't have any advice for you about your medical condition other than to suggest you get your arse right back to your doctor and tell your Dr exactly what you wrote here, for starters.
To me, this is more interesting. What are you doing about this? This doesn't sound too committed to me, and I think you can do much better. What sort of plan do you have to accomplish this? Are you ready to make a plan about quitting alcohol for good?

I, too, had dizziness when I first quit drinking. It subsided after about a week. Hope you decide to quit for good even if the dizziness goes away. And yes, dizziness is usually caused by high blood pressure.

I am not sure about it being nothing to do with alcohol. I don't want to contradict medical advice but I had a doctor tell me that alcohol doesn't cause nerve damage as I was going through tests for peripheral neuropathy which turned out to be definitely caused by alcohol. .. maybe it would be worth getting some specialist help. I did a google search and there seems to be a lot in your area:

http://www.svhf.ie/AlcoholTreatmentServices.html
Alcohol & Drugs Services - Coolmine Therapeutic Community

A lot of alcohol addiction agencies have doctors on staff who are used to dealing with this sort of thing and can advise you how best to move forwards. They'll also have group sessions and one on one support.

I had vertigo bad when I was drinking but it cleared up when I got sober. I hope yours does too x

If things don't improve in a day or two on the vertigo pills I'd definitely get to the doctor and demand further tests. I really don't want to frighten you but issues to do with balance can have other serious causes. It could also be the alcohol of course but if it persists and flares up at random like this I would advise you not to ignore it.

Either way I agree with the others, use this episode to fuel a re-think on your alcohol issues. Keep us posted.

Thank you everybody for the replies i still feel pretty much the same today i must mention i did get my blood pressure checked and it was fine but the doctor i went to was a late night doc and not my regular one so i will be going there first thing tommorrow..Freshstart57 you may be right i guess as much as i want to quit drinking i also feel like im going to loose my social life etc but i am going to seek further help thanks for the links hypochondriac i will keep posting as things unfold i just cannot wait to feel normal again this vertigo is the worst thing ive ever experienced in my life

I used to get severe anxiety attacks after drinking and some dizziness but not like you describe. I also used pills to help...now that I have been sober over a year, the anxiety is gone too...I don't need either.

Good luck!

So did you find out what was actually causing the Vertigo and did it get better? I swear I have the exact same thing. I drank 6 Beers to 1 bottle of Vodka per day for 1 year, except when I was too sick id take 2-3 days break. Then one day I was walking back home from the store and everything started spinning so I went in an alley and had to hold on to the wall and sit down eventually. It wasnt alcohol withdrawal in the classic sense but something different. However after I drank 3 Beers there was 0 diziness left. The next day I woke up to go to the bathroom and after a few steps it felt like I was carrying a backpack full of rocks and everything was spinning wildly. I was barely able to take a leak then I collapsed on the floor. I had to crawl on my knees back to bed and everything would spin from left to right like on a ship, but really intense. Also I was sweating, fingers were tingling and I vomited a few times. I just layed in bed all day and the heavy feeling and vertigo was unbearable, the worst thing ive ever felt. I drank lots of tea and the next day it was better. That was the event that lead me to quit drinking. Now 14 days sober and a ton of tests at the hospital, and im STILL dizzy. I can walk around without collapsing but something feels very wrong. Ive taken a few breaks before from alcohol but ive never felt like this, especially after 2 weeks sober. Doctor couldnt figure out what it is, he thinks its Psychosomatic. I feel pretty good though psychologically it feels physical. Heavy pressure in my head and chest and the extreme vertigo...

If he gave you pills for vertigo and they're not working then the doc must be wrong.
I'd push for a blood test. Alcohol robs your body of essentials and usually comes with poor diet so it can show you if your deficient in something that is causing the symptoms.

Psychosomatic????!!! Rubbish.

This type of extreme dizziness / lack of balance can be due to numerous things, including withdrawals, very low blood sugar, blood pressure (low 0R high, Meniere's disease, etc etc). I've experienced it many times. Yeah, get thee to a good doctor, and if it continues, go back or find another doctor.

Yes yes and YES. The hangovers turn into withdrawals and. IMO, when that happens sh-t gets real. Real fast.

I had the hold onto the walls dizziness for about the last 2 years. It would get so unbearable I could barely leave the house some days. Also had the shower dizziness. And I can unequivocally state that for me, ALL OF IT WAS DUE TO ALCOHOL. What is wrong with doctors ? I swear sometimes they just want to prescribe meds. Uggggh. It really chaps my hide.

All of my physical maladies either drastically improved or were completely obliterated in sobriety.

Just stay sober and sit back and watch.

Be well dear one.

Well my blood pressure was fairly normal, 130/81. Also they found nothing wrong with my blood (They took 3 vials) I have no idea what they tested for though. Ive had Tinnitus for some weeks especially after quitting and thought that might be related with the dizyness, but a special nose/ear doctor found nothing except that my ears needed cleaning xD
Its strange because walking makes it better, sitting and lying down worse. While I was drinking regulary it was the other way around. Anyways im staying sober until this gets better (Hopefully forever)

Over 20 Days in, and still get a bit of lightheadedness, I had my blood pressure all checked out and everything was fine, also wasn't put on any meds for alcohol withdrawal, so according to my Dr withdrawing cold turkey was a safe option for myself.

But the problem with that is when the body swings in terms of blood sugar/blood pressure/cravings etc etc I have nothing to balance it up, just have to go with the flow, but I guess that's just the body adjusting to sober life.

Seeing a Dr is a must, who knows how extreme things can get without getting checked out first! :)

I had vertigo too. Hopefully it will go soon. Lots of different things plagued me at first, but they soon disappeared.

9 days after I quit drinking I had those same exact feelings which turned out to be my first panic attack...I had no idea as I have never been an anxious person but it felt like a nightmare