Originally Posted by
ChrisClark 
Hello,
I have been a very frequent and heavy binger for about 5 years now. I landed myself in the hospital about 15 months ago on my birthday by drinking for 6 days in a row. During that time, I did not sleep much, vomitted a bunch, and on the 6th day I drank heavy for 24 hours straight. After I finally stopped, my heartbeat became very weird, i was very shaky, i had trouble speaking, i had tingling and numbness going through my whole body, i had extreme anxiety and panic, and i felt dizzy and terrified. I had to call 911 and go to the hospital. They didn't really do anything for me except blood work which came back normal. This event changed my body completely.
Ever since this episode, I have felt completely messed up (for the past 15 months). I continued to drink heavy (stupidly) and my daily symptoms for the past 15 months have included severe anxiety, bad paranoia (not about anything specific, just with being around people in general..not being able to look at people..it is the worst at places like malls), tingling through face/arms/legs, and intense feeling of lightning or energy flowing through my body (very uncomfortable), shakiness, real bad nightmares, i wake up multiple times through the night, my vision seems off because my environment seems to be wavering slightly...almost like a vertigo or dizzy sensation, my heartbeat is frequently very fast, i get twitches in my eye, jaw pain, dry mouth, amongst others. The worst symptoms are the lightning feeling through my body, the tingling/numbness, the anxiety, and the paranoia (because they cause the most discomfort and inconvenience in my daily life). Stressful situations or getting behind on sleep intensely magnifies all these symptoms.
So as you can see, I have been suffering A LOT on a daily basis for 15 months. Usually the worst is 2-3 days after a bender. I finally have decided that I am done with feeling this way and have resolved to stop drinking completely. However, it has been 14 days since I last drank and I still have all the symptoms...I am going to persevere but at this point I am really worried about permanent damage and wondering if I am going to feel like this forever. If anyone can relate to these symptoms (please be specific about which symptoms you get) and can give me an estimate about when they will go away...if ever...I would greatly appreciate it.
I am terrified that I may have peripheral neuropathy since the tingling in my legs and face is fairly constant. I have read online that that is permanent, irreversible nerve damage that can be caused by the toxic effects of alcohol. So what I ask of you all:
1. Has anyone experienced this whole host of symptoms? I know a lot of these are common withdrawal symptoms but please be specific if you have gotten them all comprehensively (or at least close)
2. Will these symptoms go away if I stay abstinent? How long do I have to wait? Will they go away completely with continued abstience or am I stuck with some of these symptoms for life?
3. Does anyone have experience with the tingling/numbness, heavy anxiety and paranoia, and the lightning feeling...and also has experience with stopping drinking and those symptoms persisting for some time? If so, how long did it take for them to go away? Did they ever go away completely?
4. I am very worried that I did permanent damage from that one heavy bender. I feel very foolish for continuing to binge for 15 months after that event (having a few more close calls in the meantime) but it is easy to ignore the problem (as you all know too well).
5. Will I ever be able to drink in very strict moderation way down the road (say in about a year?).
6. Are there any supplements or other advice you can give to get over the symptoms quicker?
Any other comments or advice would be greatly appreciated. I do not want my life quality to stay terribly degraded. I can't stand feeling these things on a daily basis.
Thanks for your help!!!!!!