Originally Posted by
willthiswork 
Hello all, I was just curious as to how long after quitting the drink do you start to see improvements in your memory, cognition, and verbal memory abilities? And to what extent those abilities have been impaired with you? I used to be a very articulate and witty person but have noticed lately that I can't seem to grasp abstract ideas. When in conversation I find myself constantly having to "regroup" just to understand what the person is saying so that I can respond. Though when I do, I can't seem to link a coherent sentence together. I can't hold onto one thought for more than a second without it being obstructed by something. It's like putting in a vhs and the black screen comes up, you know what you're expecting to see, but how long it will be is unknown. I drank heavily for 7 years and was sober for 5 months. I started drinking again (3 months ago) and never noticed any of these symptoms prior to my sobriety/continuation. I would just like to know if anyone else has had these same issues and if so, how long after you quit did you see improvements if any? Also, I have since stopped (3 weeks) and am adamant about that so I don't need any lectures, just objective, experience oriented info. Thanks so much.
the first 4-6 weeks i was sober, it really took alot effort to verbalize a sentence that made much sense. my short term memory was incredibly bad, and it took a long time for it to come back.
i also had an incredibly difficult time writing and really couldn't type a paragraph that didn't have every other word mispelled or words simply out of place. the writing was so bad, i waited 5-6 months to join this place after i got sober even though i had been reading it for months.
I have almost a year now, and while the verbal skills are back to normal, the writing is still a work in progress.
hope that helps.