softparody

I'm a 26yr old female, binge drinker for 2 years. I went through severe DT's & was hospitalized for detox in January & hospitalized for withdrawals in March when I relapsed. It didn't take much alcohol to start the withdrawals.
I have now been sober 2 months & am having a lot of trouble not relapsing due to a lot of unbearable stress.
Question: While being sober this long, how much drinking do you think it would take, to send me into withdrawals again? I believe my system is extremely susceptible, which worries me a lot. I understand it is a good kind of being scared- that will keep me sober. But It's always preferable to be prepared & knowledgeable about something this serious. Can anyone give me their insight on time-frames & alcohol consumption to cause withdrawals. (I do mean the shakes: ).

Dee74

Hi softparody - welcome

I moved your thread cos you posted in our suboxone & methadone forum.

The short answer is - noone knows - everyone's different.

I honestly believe the only really safe amount of alcohol for people like us is nil, none and nada.

What kind of support have you got - a good support network can really help when we feel overwhelmed.

I'm not sure what kind of stress this is, but don't drink over it.
It's possible to deal with stress and not drink - millions of people do it

Drinking's not a solution - it just makes more problems, softparody.

D

Grungehead

The answer is easy...ONE.

Because one is too many and 1,000 is not enough.

Honestly I don't know, each time I've relapsed the withdrawals have been different. But if you drink that first one you will find out.

Carlotta

Why are you focusing about potential withdrawals after a relapse yet to come?
Are you subconsciously setting yourself up for a binge?
What method/program do you use if any?
Last but not least, withdrawals are always different. You might get none, get bad ones, get the DTs or even be one of the unfortunates who die from the DTs (1-5 percent WITH hospital treatment).

Mirage74

I don't know, Softparody, it sounds like you might be planning your next episode of drinking in a way to avoid withdrawals. Like Dee and Grunge said, the best way to ensure no more withdrawals is to not drink at all.

artsoul

Hi Softparody -

Welcome and congratulations on your 2 months sober! I'm sorry you're going through a difficult time; early sobriety is pretty stressful all by itself. Is there a way you can reduce some of the stress? I tend to get overwhelmed myself, so I understand, but I've found that when I faced the real issue (instead of drinking it away), I was eventually able to find solutions.

I'm glad you're here - getting support makes all the difference.....

bigsombrero

You've been hospitalized twice this year already with alcohol-related issues...and now you want to know how much boozing you can get away with to avoid withdrawls?

The writing is on the wall, plain as day. Alcoholism is a terrible addiction and makes even the craziest ideas seem sane. It goes without saying that you should not drink a drop, and I would also recommend you speak with a councelor or sober ally in your life pronto. Good luck.

bigsombrero

I would like to add that it took me THREE trips to the hospital before I figured it out. I had life threatening seizures. The next one could kill me. Getting sober is the only permanent answer. This disease will take your life away, do not give this addiction a foot hold.

softparody

I definitely think it's been a misconception that I am planning to drink, or wanting to see how much I can get away with. I can completely see why some of you could interpret that.
I am in Intensive Dual Diagnosis Treatment. I do see a doctor & therapist regularly. I am currently taking Antabuse & I know the side effects that can have, if combined with alcohol.
I more or less, came here to ask "If I mess up & down some alcohol, would I be at risk? could it happen that rapidly?" It sounds like a silly question, but I do have terrible anxiety about it, basically every day.
Casual drinks every now and then, is NOT an idea I want to flirt with, even if I can "get away with" not having withdrawals.
If there was a risk, after drinking say, one night, I would absolutely need to know there was something I could do about it; something I could take, in order to suppress the shakes/tremors etc.
I think they're so terrifying, I end up obsessing about it a lot. I don't even like to get overheated from an intense work-out anymore, because it produces such a high heart rate, giving me flashbacks of the beginning withdrawals.
I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this sort of anxiety?

Mirage74

It sounds like to me you have anxiety/worry about relapsing. I sometimes worry about it to, I stay on guard. I can't really say, "I'll never drink again". All I can say is that I'm not drinking right now and don't plan to the rest of the day.

But as far as preventing withdrawals, I don't know of a way to do that. You could ask your doctor or therapist. I know if I drink again, I'll pretty much have to go through withdrawals all over again. I just comes with the territory. If anything, it is just another reason to not pick up a drink.

Deckard

In my own experience, anxiety like you are describing would be a lead up to drinking. Many successful recovery programs alleviate the anxiety surrounding the possibility of a "first drink" by helping to prevent it from happening.