Forehand36

Hi All

i don't know whether i was an alcoholic or not. i did not think i was. I drank on daily basis - for probably maybe last 10 years. i really don't know myself.

never really drank a lot - maybe 2 - 3 drinks per night, until very recently, maybe last year or so, when i was having probably 5 - 6 drinks.

i realized that i was drinking too much and decided to quit. and I quit. cold turkey - 5 weeks ago. No real problem in quitting. i have not had a drop since then.

unfortunately, i have been feeling worse and worse.

i have strange sensations going through my body - some of which i can only describe as MS like symptoms. - burning sensations throughout the body, ants crawling like sensations, feels like i'm about to lose balance intermittently

i have light headed dizziness that just won't go away.
and terrible case of insomnia. averaging 3 to 4 hrs per night.


are there any of you that experienced something like this?

it has been 5 exhausting weeks for me and I am so scared of living like this for the rest of my life.

i'm 51 by the way.


Paul

DayTrader

Nothing I experienced or even have heard of. I wonder if there's isn't something going on that you need to have checked out.....? It would make sense that it could have been happening before but you, because of the drinking, may not have noticed it or attributed it to maybe overdoing it the night before.

Everyone here is going to tell you to get it checked out.....so I'll start that ball rolling myself! -- Get it checked out.

breath

I'm male, 53; heavy drinker until I went thru detox and Rehab; Rehab was okay and did it's part and I left when it was time and have been faithful to recovery thru AA and online support and study. I have had clear, clean sailing since, feeling and doing great. Most can't do it completely alone; my suggestion is you start with a doctor's visit; they'll be pleased your are sober and can help through these symptoms. Mentally, have a back up plan to prevent relapse; if you slip and try to moderate and can't, then you are a true alcoholic and Will need help. Take care and best of luck to you, hang in there!

sugarbear1

Welcome to SR!

I got sober 11 months ago. I was 50. Many of your symptoms are what I went through. These do change. Please get a doctor to check you out, though, as we damage ourselves while drinking. Be honest and tell them your honest history so they can diagnose you correctly. Hopefully, it's just early recovery. I started feeling really normal at 6 months, then things kept getting different and better. Some things would come and then leave. Our neurons are healing.

Are you working a program of recovery? I find it helps a lot.

Best wishes,

CarolD

Welcome to SR....

Another suggestion about seeing your doctor and being honest...
This might be caused by many things...and tests can be run to determine the cause Often a simple blood test can do this.

Also...here is a link about PAWS ..you may find it useful...

Post Acute Withdrawl - Relapse Prevention Specialists - TLC The Living Center

All my best as you continue your sobriety... Do keep posting with us.

.

Forehand36

HI SB1

are you really really sure that you had some of these symptoms? i'm so discouraged right now about the whole thing. i find it really difficult day to day living right now.

thanks

sugarbear1

I made it to 11 months and 51 weeks, everything changes. I feel so much better than I did at 5 weeks. We must heal. I didn't get here in 5 weeks, I never expected to be well in 5 weeks, either!

My first drink was at about 9 years of age. Drank monthly at the age of 16. Drank weekly at 18. I was drinking daily at the age of 38. I did have sober time in between. Yeah, it does change!

Alcoholism has little to do with alcohol, except that alcohol was my solution. I used it to self-medicate and to be okay with the world around me. Today, I have the steps of AA as my new solution and I have a new outlook on the world. It hasn't changed the process of healing, it has changed my mental perspective on how to deal with the world.

Stopping drinking was great. Feeling irritable, restless and discontent; that was horrible.

Start with a check-up. If you are still feeling yucky, there are programs of recovery to utilize, AA is just one of them and doesn't work for everyone.

Enjoy another sober day!

hypochondriac

Hey Paul,

Did you have any of these symptoms before you stopped drinking too? I have these strange sensations too. It's a long story but I have peripheral neuropathy caused by alcohol. I've been drinking every day for 12 years. My sister has been going through tests for MS and the symptoms are very similar. One thing she was told was not to stress about it because it makes the symptoms worse. Sounds ridiculous I know when you fear something is really up, but my symptoms too got worse with stress/anxiety. I have no idea how much of what I had was anxiety induced or real, I still don't. But giving up drinking (2 months now) has cleared up a lot of these sensations. I still get dizzy a lot though and have a problem with my right leg which does seem to get better with exercise.

There is absolutely no substitute for talking honestly with your doctor about this...do tell them how much you were drinking and for how long. It may be a long process to get any answers to your problem (waiting for a neurologist appointment may be the longest part of this ) so in the mean time try not to stress about it and do some exercise. Oh, and not drinking is the best thing you could have done for this so make sure you keep it that way. Well done on your 5 weeks!

For my part, if this is the only problem I have come out of the other side with then I'm incredibly grateful.

Welcome to SR x

F355

Hi Forehand,

I drank heavily for about ten years, and after repeated attempts at getting sober I am now on my 43rd day without alcohol.

About a week ago I had a panic attack - my first ever at age 31 - a terrifying experience that lasted all night. In the days since then I have been "wound up" with anxiety which has only started to subside some in the last day and a half.

I haven't been to a doctor yet, though I plan to, but from a lot of research that I've done online it appears that anxiety and panic attacks are common for people in early recovery. It falls under the spectrum of conditions called PAWS, which I believe someone already mentioned earlier in this thread. It might be helpful for you to Google PAWS - Alcoholism and see if you can find any descriptions of symptoms similar to yours.

I concur with sugarbear about our neurons / bodies needing to heal after years of heavy drinking. It shouldn't be too surprising that we have some health issues to deal with once we've decided to cork the bottle for good.

Best of luck to you with your condition....

T5hlP5

I was sober through AA for 6 weeks and the insomnia combined with the awful sensations ( I would feel as if my face was being separated from my brain) and the voices overwhelmed me and I drank. Coming to this site helps.

Forehand36

thanks for your replies.

it seems although my symptoms are rare for alcohol withdrawal, there may be few others that have had the same symptoms. and i should wait few more weeks for the brain to get back to normal.


i would like to ask a question regarding my insomnia - i averaged 3 - 4 hrs a night for the past 5 weeks and obviously is exhausting. i know everybody is different and i may never get another good night's sleep, but how long did it take you guys to get back to somewhat normal - say 6 hrs a night.

i'm going to try melatonin tonight - hopefully this will give me some relief.

i really don't want to take pharma sleep aids - took benzo once for three weeks and the withdrawal wasn't pleasant - to say the least.

NewHouse2012

Of course, I am in no position to give medical advice, but melatonin has worked great for me. That, and creating a very quiet and calm environment conducive to sleep. I hope you get the sleep you need as I believe it really helps with healing your body and getting you mentally and physically back on track.

rockindog

I am a wretch. I posted a few day one posts before and then took up where I left off. I saw my doc today. Vitals are good and I am on Cambral and a couple of meds for blood pressure and nervousness. I think the hard thing that I am coming to grips with is I can't drink anymore. Period. Every just one drink ends up being the better part of a fifth or more. So, one way or another, I will quit drinking. I have really started to hate the person that I am. Or, rather, the person I have become. My new day one starts today. I am hoping to return in a few days with a couple days of sobriety under my belt.

Forehand36

HI Newhouse

i took Mela last night 3mg pill. slept 5 hrs!

although slept more than the usual 3 - 4 hrs, i feel more tired and groggy than when i only slept 3 hrs. do you find this to be true for you too?

just wondering how long you have been taking Mela and how often.
Do you find yourself having to up the dosage because of body getting used to it?

are we rekplacing one drug (alcohol) with another (melatonin)?