Sober for 25 days...still have bad symptoms!
I binged heavy 4-7 nights a week for about 6 or 7 years. There were many periods of months where I was drinking heavy 7 days a week. I finally landed myself in the hospital after a week long binge that included not much sleep, vomiting, and 24 hours straight of drinking on the final day. Ever since then I have been getting symptoms that include:
-Lightning feeling running throughout my body
-Severe anxiety
-Paranoia (not about anything in particular...just in general..hard to be in public or interact with people sometimes)
-Tingling (pins and needles) through face/arms/legs
-Dry mouth
-Jaw pain
-Waking up many times throughout the night
-Really vivid nightmares
-Visual field seems to be moving around/spinning a bit
-Dizziness
-Shakiness
The above symptoms started after the hospitalization (which was in October of 2007). I continued to binge after the hospitalization and almost ended up in the hospital at least another 5 times since then. After 2 close calls last month in December, I decided I needed to quit for good.
The last time I drank was on new years eve so today is day 25 of being completely sober. I have not even had one drink in 25 days. However, my symptoms continue. I still feel the lightning/energy feeling flowing throughout my body, I get the jaw pain, I get pretty bad anxiety, I get the paranoia, I feel weakness/shakiness, and I still feel the pins and needles. I had made another post where people claimed I should feel better over a period of weeks but I still am getting these symptoms. I am very worried that they are permanent or could be related to something besides alcohol (although they started after I landed myself in the hospital). Stress intensifies all these symptoms immensely.
Can people please assure me that:
1. These symptoms are all indeed most likely due to alcohol withdrawal
2. That they will eventually go away (it would be helpful if you have personal experience in which you still had these types of symptoms after 25 days but eventually they went away with continued abstinence)
I am going to continue to stay sober but my morale is pretty low because I have been sober for weeks and the symptoms persist. I am very worried that they may not be completely related to the alcohol withdrawal. I am also very worried that they may never go away and that I will always feel like this.
Please help...