Originally Posted by
julesonya 
Ok so I am wanting to quit alcohol, but I used the internet to do searches and now I am worried immensely about withdrawal. I do not want to go to a doctor as I don't want this in my health record (does that show up??) I have been drinking heavily for about 2 1/2 yrs. I have had a few sober days but pretty much every day. I live alone and am giving myself anxiety over having DTs and dying by myself. Am I at risk for DTs? I know I have damaged my body. For the first time in my life I have hypertension- I used to have borderline low BP. My urine smells weird, but no blood, and I pretty much have constant diarrhea (TMI Maybe). Oh the sweats, whoa. I haven't had a drink since 10pm last night. My stomach is bloated but I was able to keep food in me today. Do I taper? Cold turkey? Thanks in advance
Hi there JS, others have said it better than I ever could. See your doctor first. I did the cold turkey thing. I would not recommend that. You can die. I really didn't know how lucky I was to come out the other side alive. I am not sure what you consider as heavy drinking? You can check out my thread, a sort of journal from day one of what I went through. I can tell you this, the convulsions/seizures are no laughing matter. You can suffer mini/mild strokes. Heart attacks are also possible. I didn't know this at the time. Rather go get the meds if you want to go this way. And never ever do it alone.
I did think of tapering, but by then I was already in the CT, so it wasn't really an option. I think tapering is just prolonging the inevitable. No-one can tell you what you're at risk of. Whether you will get some or all of the symptoms depends on your makeup, drinking habits etc. Have a squiz at this link, it might give you some insight and convince you that the symptoms of withdrawal are no joke. It also has info on tapering, like I said earlier, I was already into CT when I found it.
http://www.hamsnetwork.org/taper/
Be safe and be strong.
Cheers,
ZAB