Originally Posted by cncinc
Thank you for your feedback.
Shaking has really quieted down. Its my hands and fingers, the mouse would click at the wrong time, I'd double type letters. But not anymore. Yes I am only a few days into recovery. Eating soup was impossile. Thanksgiving dinner was tough.
What can I expect of the worse few days ahead?
I'll look up delerium tremens. Are there warning signs before an onset? Is there some way to tell when you're past the high risk period?
Also, I've discussed triggers with a smoker friend of mine. You know, get in the car, smoke, eat a meal, smoke, morning coffee, smoke. I first started noticing my triggers when I sat down to watch Thanksgiving day football without a beer. I think it helps me.
On the up-side (besides not drinking) I'm full of energy, sleep through the night insted of waking up every hour, and no longer snore.
Thanks again
Delirium tremens (DT) is a potentially fatal form of ethanol (alcohol) withdrawal. Symptoms of ethanol withdrawal and DT have been recognized for hundreds of years, but the debate over their etiology continued into the 1950s. The work of Victor and Adams as well as Isbell finally demonstrated the symptoms related to ethanol abstinence.
Symptoms may begin a few hours after the cessation of ethanol, but may not peak until 48-72 hours. Emergency physicians must recognize that the presenting symptoms may not be severe and identify those at risk for developing DT. For patients in DT, early recognition and therapy are necessary to prevent significant morbidity and death.
Pathophysiology: DT is caused by the direct effect that ethanol has on the benzodiazepine-GABAa-chloride receptor complex. Persistent effects of ethanol lead to the down-regulation of the receptor complex. When ethanol is withdrawn, a functional decrease in the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA is seen. This results in an unopposed increase in sympathetic activity with a resultant increase in plasma and urinary catecholamines. Ethanol also acts as an N-methyl D-aspartate receptor antagonist. Withdrawal of ethanol leads to increased activity of these excitatory neural receptors.
Now,....I didnt mean to freak you out or anything,....not everyone gets the DT's. Alot of high school kids will joke with their friends the morning after drinking when their hands are shaking and say something like "Dude !!.....Look!! I got the DT's, man" Well,....that aint the DT's. I dont know how the little shakes got labeled that, but its wrong. DT's are sleeplessness, depression, Auditory and visual hallucinations,.....many recovering addicts will hear some form of symphany music, hear knocks at the door that arent there, see fuzzy spiders or rats, see things move,.....my sponsor tells horror stories of seeing evil clowns poking out of his bedroom walls and screaming at him. I know I heard things alright. Music in the middle of the night. I heard children outside my window playing at 3am. I saw a black panther in my apartment, little spiders shot out of my shower head at me, and all this coupled with UNCONTROLLABLE shaking. My heart rate was so fast and hard I couldnt breath. Absolutely the most horrific time in my life. If you get them depends on how much you drank and how often,....along with your bodies chemical makeup. Bottom line is,...you never know if you WILL get them. But once you do get them,....left untreated the fatallity rate is upwards of 70%. So if you were a daily drinker of ALOT of drinks,.....I'd go to a doctor pronto. Good luck