DT004NEVERAGAIN

First i would just like to start of with a little about me. I'm a 23 year old electrician from Alberta Canada. I have had a severe drinking problem since i was 19, where i would drink up to 5 liters of beer a day or more. my worst binge ever was drinking 2 x 750ml bottles of tequila in one day and night. I have gone through terrible alcohol withdrawals 4 times now all within the last year, first time in Dec 2011, July 2012, Aug 2012, Oct 2012. let me tell you they are not fun but i will get to that i a second. When i first started drinking i felt like a million bucks felt like i owned the world. i had little to no hangovers even after binging heavily, id wake up go to work all the time just itching to go home so i could binge again. although some days i would wake up with i call the "Sugary Feeling" a feeling of excitement or excesses energy that is not pleasent at all, but i would brush it off go to work come home feeling like **** and start drinking again bad feeling gone i would continue to drink the rest of the night. Little did i know that that so called SUGARY FEELING was just a warning sign of worse things to come. so 3 and a half years of no consequence drinking finally caught up to me on Dec 26 2011, that when the withdrawal symptoms hit me. as i said i've gone through them 4 times now and each time was basically similar to the next. i will talk about my latest withdrawal. The feeling hits you like a ton of bricks one minute you're fine then boom... "light headed paranoid anxious Sugary feeling some one is tearing into my brain could have stroke at any time" then it proceeds to get worse symptoms worsen over next few hours and new ones emerge audible hallucinations seagulls calling, people calling my name, then tactile hallucinations slightest brush causes my body to jump...., then the worst ones lying in my bed trying to sleep suffering from insomnia start to fall asleep but immediately snap back awake to cats and dogs and other animals in my room coming in and out of view then people terrible disfigured people... then the dreams once i finally fall asleep cannot tell if i am awake or not. dreams and reality begin to blend. I call for my mom i think i see her approaching from the hallway she gets closer closer wait that IS NOT MY MOM!!!!! a terrible burned and disfigured lady enters my room..... my dad wakes me up as i was yelling and screaming in my sleep. I'm backkk finally i'm safe....

Day3..
i wake up feeling better but still not 100 percent still paranoid of dying and feeling hyper active and jumpy but better none the less. i head to work for what is a terrible day. come home and immediately go to bed, more nightmares awaiting me.

Day 4.. feeling 90% better hoping that day 5 will be 100% gonna go to AA as soon as possible I have made it i survived... i will never go through that again NEVER NEVER.. i've been to hell 4 times and came back!!! 5th time i may not be so lucky.


sorry for the bad grammar i have been typing fast needed to get this of my chest and warn all of you to stop drinking you don't want this YOU DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THIS!!!!!

427

Appreciate you telling your story. Sounds awful. I'm a "fan" of tequila as well, and can drink at least 2/3 (if not more) of a 1/5 bottle, myself. Never had severe withdrawal, and hope I never do. I was here for 2 weeks w/o drinking and basically suffered from insomnia and some fogginess. I'm back out and beating myself up a little right now, but I do realize it could be a whole lot worse. Nevertheless, got to get my booty into a meeting and get the ball rolling. Your post helps Thank you, and I wish you the very best as well!

2granddaughters

Your story sounds like mine. I have not had to have a drink for almost 24 yrs in AA.

All the best to you.

Bob R (from near Windsor, ON)

CarolD

As long as you don't drink....there will be no time 5 for you..

Welcome to our recovery community...

DT004NEVERAGAIN

Thank you to everyone for the nice comments . I hope my post will help save at least one person from going through what i have at my young age!

DT004NEVERAGAIN

thanks!

2granddaughters

DT, I found that strength had little to do with recovery, I had to surrender to AA... to quit fighting.

All the best.

Bob R

behindblueyes

This is exactly what I went through. The faces and hallucinations.. Afraid to sleep because you may die for no apparent reason. You would think we would learn after the first or second time. So scary. Please don't do this to yourself! This last time I only drank one night and was back in full blown dt's after sobriety for months. NOT worth it!

dSober

I'm very happy for you DT004NEVERAGAIN. I'm happy you got to this point so early in life, happy you know AA is the answer, and happy you found this place. I'll assume you have or will get a sponsor and work the steps; the cornerstone of AA's success.

Yeah, DTs suck, big time! Really scary part is that's not the worst thing coming if you don't stop. Not by a long shot.

dSober

Don't worry 427, just keep drinking you will. I had many 1/2 gal. 80 proof days. Guess what happens after you do that for a while and stop. And even that's just the tip of the iceberg for we alcoholics.

Better idea: Just stop, right now. Go to meetings, work the program and keep coming back; there and here.

BTW, love your Wile E. Coyote avatar :-)

dSober

You were correct to fear dying Behindblueyes. Alcohol withdrawl CAN KILL YOU due to seizure. That's not pretty. It's put me in the hospital more times than once.