stuart

Hi

I have always been a heavy drinker I drink around 2 bottles of red wine a day and it is creeping up to 3.
For around 2 years now I hve been suffering during the day with really bad nervousness. Shaky. Emabrrassed around people, lump in throat and my heart feels like it is going to jump out of my chest.
Has anybody else experienced this?

doorknob

Yep. It's your body withdrawing from the effects of the alcohol. The only way to make it go away is to drink more alcohol, which is temporary and only makes your body more dependent, or quit drinking and ride out the withdrawal completely (you might want to see a doctor first depending on how severe your symptoms are). Here is a thread you can read on withdrawal experiences:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

Hang in there!

DK

CarolD

Welcome to our SR Alcoholism Forum

Are you also taking meds for anxiety?
They can be dangerous if mixed with alcohol.

Anyway....if you are interested in quitting drinking...
I strongly suggest you see a doctor
and be honest about your heavy consumption
along with discussing how best to quit safely.

Good to see a new member

stuart

Wonder why it happened all of a sudden 2 years ago? Will I be able to drink again following my detox without experiencing next day anxiety?

vegibean

stuart, I can really relate to all of that. Drinking USED to not affect me like that and when I quit drinking the first time and my fellow alcoholics told me to give it a week and said that I would finally sleep through the night, the nightmares would stop, the anxiety would go away, the shakes, all that........THEY WERE RIGHT!!!!! I drank again and ended up putting myself into a long term treatment center. I couldn't do it on my own and it was the best thing I have ever done for myself. That alcohol is just bad juju for us after a while. We are no longer like "normal" people when it comes to drinking.

If you drink again, my guess is that it will be just a matter of time before you are right back to where you are now. You can try to control it but you may find in time that it's just not working for you any more.

I wish you the best with whatever it is that you choose for yourself. It took me several years of "research" to finally decide that I need to stop and learn to live my life differently.

vegibean

Yeah, and the doctor thing. Check out your area for a local detox unit. I have done it and so many others. You'll be safe.

CarolD

It's called progression ...and it's called alcoholism.
I suggest you read up on alcoholism and then
decide what you want or need to do.

I know I can't drink safely again and it's a
relief to have found a way to enjoy a sober life.

You too can find a better healthier life.

stuart

Guess that the party is over
Gonna be a hard journey as only first day and I could do with a glass

CarolD

If you won't discuss this with your doctor
please read the link DK gave you in his post.

It's really dangerous to try to de tox alone
due to the ammount your drinking.
Be both sober and safe...

stuart

I will Carol

Tazman53

Stuart I used to get really anxious every day about 12:30 which was 1/2 hour before I started my daily drinking, I would even become irratable if I went beyond 1PM without a drink.

I am an alcoholic, this was my disease screaming for more booze. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, it never gets better, it always gets worse if we are drinking. An alcoholic can not have a drink for 10 years and then start to drink again, within a week it is as if they never stopped drinking in the first place.

If you are going to stop then you really should see a doctor and be totally honest about your drinking, withdrawal from alcohol can and does kill in cases where people should have been medically detoxed.

One other thing to keep in mind, every detox is worse then the last one.

If you are an alcoholic like I am the best way to deal with the disease is to not drink.

stuart

With me its more the physical effects - they last all day until I have had a couple of glasses.

CarolD

Yes....we know....

Many of us have been on that misery-go-round too.
You drink pass out...wake...feel crappy...drink again...feel better
Repeate Repeate Repeat.

Most alcoholics die before they learn how to break
that endless cycle.

Don't be one who dies.

stuart

To be honest I was amazed at how it makes me feel. How nervous I become around people. Used to be so confident. I pput it down to aanxiety disorder and my doc put me on pills which I stopped as theuy made me worse - I even asked her if it could be the drink!

vegibean

True, true, true!!!! Many mornings started off for me with wine from the night before or cracking a can of beer open so I could function. That sucked!!!! I know I got to a point where drinking wasn't fun at all but if I didn't I'd feel horrible. What a vicious circle

nandm

Welcome to SR!:ghug3

least

Yes, if you detox and then start drinking again it's only a matter of time before you get that 'next day' anxiety when your body is screaming for its depressant alcohol. But if you detox and don't start drinking again you'll never have to go thru the shakes and other nasty effects of withdrawal.

It seemed to take me forever to learn that the withdrawals just got worse and worse with each time. Finally just stayed sober one day at a time and now am on 37 days sober! It's worth it! I never want to go thru withdrawals again. Never!

:ghug3

bostonluv

This happened to me also Stuart. I had quit drinking for a month long fast about 15 months ago. I was becoming increasingly nervous around people before that but hadn't made the alcohol connection at all. I had attributed my anxiety to work stress and to chronic neck pain that was making me shy away. I noticed however, that during the fast (no alcohol) that I had "come back to life" so to speak. When I made the connection I was not pleased to say the least because before the fast I had been drinking more in the evenings to help ease my neck pain. I fully planned to continue drinking after my fast was finished. Even my friends said, hey your neck is all better now after I would down a few drinks. Now I know what "addiction is circular" means. I still get shy when my neck acts up but it's not the same. My alcoholism had just progressed and was causing more trouble than it was helping.

Stobert

It probably happened at that point because that's when you became physically addicted to alcohol, that's what happened to me. As for being able to drink after detox without anxiety, for me the answer was yes, but not for long.

Kellye C

For me I got to the point where you were are, drinking with daily physical withdrawal symptoms and managed to white knuckle it for 6 weeks without a drink. When I started to drink again it was like I hadn't quit and it quickly continued it progression. Within the next 5 months I could not go longer than about 3 hours without some sort of alcohol in my system without those symptoms starting to kick in plus my liver started hurting all the time and my kidneys had started to shut down. I was bloated and had a sick color to me. My entire drinking time start to finish was 3.5 years so it didn't take long to almost kill myself.

I echo those who suggest reading the sticky and better yet, seeing a doctor and seeking out a meeting if you're open to that.

Best to you!
Kellye