How long does it take for your body to fully recover from alcoholism? (physically)
Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 467
I have just read through this thread with interest as I am on day 11 and feeling a bit rubbish 
I feel better than I would have done with a hangover but I'm dizzy, brain dead, my whole body aches and I've got a nearly permanent headache.
I'm not sure if the headache is due to the tooth I had extracted 10 days ago or the alcohol withdrawal - it's probably a bit of both!
I'm not discouraged as I feel a hundred times better mentally than I did while I was drinking - less anxiety - though it's still there - I can just manage it better.
The main thing I'm feeling is absolutely exhausted.
I feel just as exhausted as I did when I was drinking - if not more so.
I have no idea how it feels to be "normal" as I've been drunk / stoned now for over 20 years.
I know that my 41 year old body needs some serious TLC.
My plan is to get slimmer / fitter as I feel bloated and disgusting - I'm trying to eat as clean as possible, even though I'm really craving sweets - I feel like running to the shop and buying a massive bar of chocolate or a cake - instead of the 2 bottles of wine I used to buy every day.
All I know is that my health can only improve - or at least not get any worse with abstinence - and though I'm impatient to just "feel normal" I need to accept that I have no idea what that is - and just deal with the reality I'm in for now
x
I feel better than I would have done with a hangover but I'm dizzy, brain dead, my whole body aches and I've got a nearly permanent headache.
I'm not sure if the headache is due to the tooth I had extracted 10 days ago or the alcohol withdrawal - it's probably a bit of both!
I'm not discouraged as I feel a hundred times better mentally than I did while I was drinking - less anxiety - though it's still there - I can just manage it better.
The main thing I'm feeling is absolutely exhausted.
I feel just as exhausted as I did when I was drinking - if not more so.
I have no idea how it feels to be "normal" as I've been drunk / stoned now for over 20 years.
I know that my 41 year old body needs some serious TLC.
My plan is to get slimmer / fitter as I feel bloated and disgusting - I'm trying to eat as clean as possible, even though I'm really craving sweets - I feel like running to the shop and buying a massive bar of chocolate or a cake - instead of the 2 bottles of wine I used to buy every day.
All I know is that my health can only improve - or at least not get any worse with abstinence - and though I'm impatient to just "feel normal" I need to accept that I have no idea what that is - and just deal with the reality I'm in for now
x
Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 1
Hoping for 6 months or less
About 2 years ago I noticed I became easily startled by noises or people walking by or past me out of nowhere. This was mind boggling to me because I was never easily startled like that.
Now everywhere I went was like always on the alert, hypervigilant and anxious. It was hard to look people in the eyes.
So i went to a doctor and explained my symptoms. He asked me about my history of susbstance abuse and so in a nutshell I told him that between 2006 to 2011 i had drank and did alot of drugs. Between 2012 and 14 I was binge drinking heavily on weekends and smoking weed all day everyday.
The doctor believed my symptoms were substance induced.
I didnt beleive him or maybe didnt want to.
Awhile after that visit with the doctor I decided to go sober. Within 2 weeks i felt great the symptoms had and vanished and I felt like I could breathe again. Sadly i was only sober for a month before I relapsed and the symptoms slowly returned.
I said the hell with it and continued to drink smoke weed and the occasional meth. Until a few months had gone by and the symptoms got worse. Hungover from monday to wensday. Feel ok sometimes on thursday then back to drinking on friday.
I went sober for three weeks or so but with no relief this time still anxious, irritabe, easily starled by any stupid little thing. If some one would have told me I would become like that in a couple years I would never have believed them in a million years.
This time I felt completely hopeless. I thought I would return too normal in a couple of weeks or a month but no such luck.This was in 2014 since then I have gone sober once for 2 months and just recently for almost 3 months.
I am begining to realize that Im going to need at least 6 months. But more importantly I will probabaly have to be sober for eternity.
If any one has had similar experieces with being easily startled and jumpy please share your experiences. For the past two years I have done alot of research and havent learned much from a medical or scientific standpoint as to what this jumpiness is.
All i know is I dont wish this upon anyone.
Whats even more frustrating is i dont seem to notice it in anyone else. Alhough i have met one person in a group with the same symptoms and he was a heavy drinker as well.
Now everywhere I went was like always on the alert, hypervigilant and anxious. It was hard to look people in the eyes.
So i went to a doctor and explained my symptoms. He asked me about my history of susbstance abuse and so in a nutshell I told him that between 2006 to 2011 i had drank and did alot of drugs. Between 2012 and 14 I was binge drinking heavily on weekends and smoking weed all day everyday.
The doctor believed my symptoms were substance induced.
I didnt beleive him or maybe didnt want to.
Awhile after that visit with the doctor I decided to go sober. Within 2 weeks i felt great the symptoms had and vanished and I felt like I could breathe again. Sadly i was only sober for a month before I relapsed and the symptoms slowly returned.
I said the hell with it and continued to drink smoke weed and the occasional meth. Until a few months had gone by and the symptoms got worse. Hungover from monday to wensday. Feel ok sometimes on thursday then back to drinking on friday.
I went sober for three weeks or so but with no relief this time still anxious, irritabe, easily starled by any stupid little thing. If some one would have told me I would become like that in a couple years I would never have believed them in a million years.
This time I felt completely hopeless. I thought I would return too normal in a couple of weeks or a month but no such luck.This was in 2014 since then I have gone sober once for 2 months and just recently for almost 3 months.
I am begining to realize that Im going to need at least 6 months. But more importantly I will probabaly have to be sober for eternity.
If any one has had similar experieces with being easily startled and jumpy please share your experiences. For the past two years I have done alot of research and havent learned much from a medical or scientific standpoint as to what this jumpiness is.
All i know is I dont wish this upon anyone.
Whats even more frustrating is i dont seem to notice it in anyone else. Alhough i have met one person in a group with the same symptoms and he was a heavy drinker as well.
Member
Join Date: May 2016
Location: West Coast USA
Posts: 33
Chances are you'll want to try for six months just to see where you are in all of this. The short answer, as you noted, is you probably should plan on quitting for good.
One thing you may want to read up on--I did not know about this until my last quit (successfully)--Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. It's a collection of symptoms that can pop up weeks or months after after you quit, sometimes you'll be feeling pretty good then WHAM! you start feeling poorly again, with no obvious reason. Some people think this may be the thing that sends many people back to the bottle--they feel badly and they don't know why.
Knowledge is power. Good luck!
PS. Sober since Feb 1st, battled PAWS since April 11th, still sober, symptoms diminishing.
One thing you may want to read up on--I did not know about this until my last quit (successfully)--Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. It's a collection of symptoms that can pop up weeks or months after after you quit, sometimes you'll be feeling pretty good then WHAM! you start feeling poorly again, with no obvious reason. Some people think this may be the thing that sends many people back to the bottle--they feel badly and they don't know why.
Knowledge is power. Good luck!
PS. Sober since Feb 1st, battled PAWS since April 11th, still sober, symptoms diminishing.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Pacific Coast
Posts: 785
Originally Posted by Masterofpuppets 
About 2 years ago I noticed I became easily startled by noises or people walking by or past me out of nowhere. This was mind boggling to me because I was never easily startled like that.
Now everywhere I went was like always on the alert, hypervigilant and anxious. It was hard to look people in the eyes.
So i went to a doctor and explained my symptoms. He asked me about my history of susbstance abuse and so in a nutshell I told him that between 2006 to 2011 i had drank and did alot of drugs. Between 2012 and 14 I was binge drinking heavily on weekends and smoking weed all day everyday.
The doctor believed my symptoms were substance induced.
I didnt beleive him or maybe didnt want to.
Awhile after that visit with the doctor I decided to go sober. Within 2 weeks i felt great the symptoms had and vanished and I felt like I could breathe again. Sadly i was only sober for a month before I relapsed and the symptoms slowly returned.
I said the hell with it and continued to drink smoke weed and the occasional meth. Until a few months had gone by and the symptoms got worse. Hungover from monday to wensday. Feel ok sometimes on thursday then back to drinking on friday.
I went sober for three weeks or so but with no relief this time still anxious, irritabe, easily starled by any stupid little thing. If some one would have told me I would become like that in a couple years I would never have believed them in a million years.
This time I felt completely hopeless. I thought I would return too normal in a couple of weeks or a month but no such luck.This was in 2014 since then I have gone sober once for 2 months and just recently for almost 3 months.
I am begining to realize that Im going to need at least 6 months. But more importantly I will probabaly have to be sober for eternity.
If any one has had similar experieces with being easily startled and jumpy please share your experiences. For the past two years I have done alot of research and havent learned much from a medical or scientific standpoint as to what this jumpiness is.
All i know is I dont wish this upon anyone.
Whats even more frustrating is i dont seem to notice it in anyone else. Alhough i have met one person in a group with the same symptoms and he was a heavy drinker as well.
Now everywhere I went was like always on the alert, hypervigilant and anxious. It was hard to look people in the eyes.
So i went to a doctor and explained my symptoms. He asked me about my history of susbstance abuse and so in a nutshell I told him that between 2006 to 2011 i had drank and did alot of drugs. Between 2012 and 14 I was binge drinking heavily on weekends and smoking weed all day everyday.
The doctor believed my symptoms were substance induced.
I didnt beleive him or maybe didnt want to.
Awhile after that visit with the doctor I decided to go sober. Within 2 weeks i felt great the symptoms had and vanished and I felt like I could breathe again. Sadly i was only sober for a month before I relapsed and the symptoms slowly returned.
I said the hell with it and continued to drink smoke weed and the occasional meth. Until a few months had gone by and the symptoms got worse. Hungover from monday to wensday. Feel ok sometimes on thursday then back to drinking on friday.
I went sober for three weeks or so but with no relief this time still anxious, irritabe, easily starled by any stupid little thing. If some one would have told me I would become like that in a couple years I would never have believed them in a million years.
This time I felt completely hopeless. I thought I would return too normal in a couple of weeks or a month but no such luck.This was in 2014 since then I have gone sober once for 2 months and just recently for almost 3 months.
I am begining to realize that Im going to need at least 6 months. But more importantly I will probabaly have to be sober for eternity.
If any one has had similar experieces with being easily startled and jumpy please share your experiences. For the past two years I have done alot of research and havent learned much from a medical or scientific standpoint as to what this jumpiness is.
All i know is I dont wish this upon anyone.
Whats even more frustrating is i dont seem to notice it in anyone else. Alhough i have met one person in a group with the same symptoms and he was a heavy drinker as well.
I went through the same thing where for some reason I couldn't quite grok that my withdrawals were getting worse each time. "But I always feel better within a week!," I'd say. "I don't understand why it's taking so much longer this time!"
You've established a cause-and-effect relationship between alcohol/drugs and your jumpiness symptoms, and you've established that it's taking longer with each withdrawal process for the symptoms to abate. How much more "research" do you need to do?
Good luck whatever you decide!
Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 6
Originally Posted by f911
I was drinking 1 pint vodka/day for about 5 years. It took 1 year for my blood work to return to normal. Blood pressure came down to normal in 2 weeks.
jane
jane
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Originally Posted by Baa
If you don’t mind me asking.... has alcohol affected your ability to have children?
Alcohol can certainly affect your ability to have children, both for females and males. The only way to know for sure if you had a problem related to this though would be to see a doctor.
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