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Questions about personal experiences with alcohol withdrawal



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Questions about personal experiences with alcohol withdrawal

Old 10-22-2013, 05:42 AM
  # 21 (permalink)  
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I only used to drink 12 to 14 units a day because I am a lightweight. But that is irrelevant really. The withdrawal was horrendous. I would continually vomit. Hear things like the phone ringing when it wasn't. Have panic attacks and my brain was all swimmy. Pancreatitis and sweats. Horrible, but it only usually lasted a day or two. I was prescribed diazepam, tried to force feed myself with lots of fluids and sugary stuff and sleep as much as possible.
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Old 10-22-2013, 07:46 AM
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Everything.

Shakes, twitching, heart palpatations, massive anxiety, hallucinations.

Before I had my first seizure three years ago, i'd lie in bed at night and my mind would just race. All manner of random images would come into my head.
Whenever I lay down and drift off I would kick out or spasm like many people do when they are drifting off, but this was every single time I tried to sleep.
So I spent many nights sat up with the light on, inevitably drinking more.

The seizures eventually came. To be honest I wouldn't have known I had them unless someone had been there to witness it, but a couple of weeks ago I actually felt one coming.
I'm unsure if I had one or not as I was alone, but i'm pretty sure I did.
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Old 10-22-2013, 04:30 PM
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Have only had 3 drinks today.nervousness, sweating, minor trembling, stomach cramps, fuzzy thinking. Very mild so far. Tomorrow I meet with two school counselors to discuss some options.
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Old 10-23-2013, 04:58 PM
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medically supervised detox seems like my only option... I'm just scared.... I love alcoholll the thought of never drinking again is depressing as hell. It just makes me feel so good
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Old 10-23-2013, 05:17 PM
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making a post so I can remind self to respond tomorrow or by this weekend. Am not sure how well I will 'fit in' on this one, but I have my own way of navigating stuff.
Hang in there Underoath - I have a girlfriend that med detoxes about twice a year.. it does her a world of good and she needs help so bad that there is no shame in her, thankfully. She has come out of them a million percent better then when going in. Her health is very bad. So...yeah, got talky there. Didn't mean too.
Bookmarked!
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Old 01-19-2015, 07:56 AM
  # 26 (permalink)  
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I know this post is old but I found it familiar. The hallucinations are hell, heart trying to pound out of my chest. This isnt my first rodeo with withdrawal yet I can say, where I live, they don't keep me in the hospital, they put me in the drunk tank and boot me to the detox facility where I do withdrawals and I never want to shower there. The place is filthy and the food sucks. When I do doze off I get startled awake by whoever is taking blood pressures all through the night. The staff told me I will get sent there every time I call 911 if there's alcohol in my system. Even if I have a broken leg. Tapering has worked for me in the past as has using xanax. Though xanax was tricky to acquire since its highly addictive as well. My BAC last time was .349 after about 7-8 hours since my last drink. Can't imagine what it was before that. People like us are literally drinking ourselves to death, it takes a ****ton of willpower to free ourselves and alcohol takes away willpower. Conundrum. But hopefully everyone that posted has been victorious. I only wish you all the best <3
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Old 01-19-2015, 11:44 AM
  # 27 (permalink)  
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Hello there.

I suffered withdrawals a few weeks ago (unfortunately I only stayed sober for 10 days...) so I am going through it aaaaalll over again. I've had anxiety, terrible insomnia, despite extreme tiredness and fatigue, and the worst night sweats (the sheets get completely wringing wet, and I have to get changed and move the other side during the night!) I'm also suffering from a UTI which is most likely a result of my alcohol consumption which has it's own set of (not so lovely) symptoms. My hands would become red and warm, and my skin dry and itchy, which again is probably a result of dehydration and reduced liver function... I've also suffered from nausea even when not drinking.

Funny... I've just read that back and thought 'Wow' what am I putting my poor mind and body through. The human body must be a very resilient thing given all the abuse I've given it over the years.

Cassie.
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Old 01-19-2015, 04:02 PM
  # 28 (permalink)  
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I drank 12 units of vodka every evening. Skipped maybe 5-10 nights a year and the quantity was very consistent. I switched to beer the last year because the vodka hangovers were too much to handle but kept drinking 10 beers a night or so. Reverse tolerance started in the last year so averaged 8-10 beers a night.

Because I had drink every night for about seven or eight years I started going through daily withdrawals although at the time I didn't realize it. I thought they were just hangovers.

So when I stopped I would say my symptoms were high blood pressure, insomnia, feelings of general "unease" and periods of sheer panic that lasted about five minutes.

I never felt I was in danger or needed to go to the emergency room. However, one thing that other people of mentioned which I find very interesting is that depersonalization. I definitely had this where I kind of felt like I was standing out of my body or not quite there. I like to say I felt like an alien.

My moods were peaks and valleys. Mainly valleys it first. I would have moments are I would think wow yeah the sobriety feels pretty good. And then other moments where I think oh my god what is happened to my life what am I doing?

But I can tell you life is so much better without drinking. It's not only better, I actually could not have continued any longer. It wasn't even an option.
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Old 01-19-2015, 04:11 PM
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I went through medical detox after 7 years of 1 to 1/2 bottles a night. Even though I was given high doses of serax, I still had w/d symptoms up to 3 weeks afterwards. The night sweats seem to linger on.

Like Melinda, I got to point where I was withdrawing daily. The "jack in the box" anxiety/panic/jumpiness, racing heart and tremors (to name a few) drove me into detox. It was that or start accelerating my drinking to offset to the withdrawals in the morning.
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Old 01-19-2015, 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Cassie6 View Post
Hello there.

Funny... I've just read that back and thought 'Wow' what am I putting my poor mind and body through. The human body must be a very resilient thing given all the abuse I've given it over the years.

Cassie.
Exactly. And we never do it just once. Seems like some degree of masochism...
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Old 01-19-2015, 11:13 PM
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Thank you to all who posted - during my withdrawals 4 months ago I experienced panic, anxiety and depersonalization - I didn't even know that last word until tonight or that others experienced it. Honestly, I thought I was just having a breakdown.
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Old 01-20-2015, 05:47 PM
  # 32 (permalink)  
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Hallucinating in a prison cell.
Delirium Tremors.
Sweating.
Puking.
Bowel Movements.
More Puking.
More Sweating.
More Hallucinating.
Dizziness.
Cold Sweats.
Seeing things.
Hearing things.
DT's.
No Appetite.
Thinking Everyones Talking About You.
Thinking Everyones Looking At You.
Puking.
DT's.
Sweating.

Fun Times!
Go to a doctor, for a quick spin dry at a detox.
Then get at errrrrr again!
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Old 06-15-2015, 06:09 PM
  # 33 (permalink)  
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Withdrawals

I was only 20 last year when I would drink excessively. My drink of choice every day for 8 months was 100 Smirnoff vodka. That bottle to myself started off lasting two days then only one day. Of course vodka wasn't all I drank. I drank pretty much anything I could and would be disappointed if it wasn't strong. I drank so much because I was afraid of the withdrawals and was dependent on people..if that makes any sense. Anyway, withdrawals started off as having nightmares, jerking awake every few minutes, insomnia, and no appetite. Then it started to lead up to shaking, anxiety, prickly needles all over my body that itch, paranoia, sweats, body was so weak I could barely walk. By December, I experienced my name being whispered in three different voices every second over and over in my head until I would finally have two strong mixed drinks then they'd go away for a while. I would experience scary hallucinations. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw frightening images. I would stare at my "popcorn ceiling" and see scary faces staring and smiling at me. I couldn't breathe. And all of this would occur after only a few hours of not having anything to drink. My last day of this torture was January 19. I was puking every 5-10 minutes for 12 hours and catching a plane home. I live in a little village and my mom is a health aid. She took me to the clinic and put me on an IV, injected medicine. Finally the puking stopped. Now it was time to deal with the withdrawals, the voices, the shakes and nightmares. They lasted a week until I was feeling normal again.
I was sober for three months after that until I fell off of the wagon..every day I deal with temptations and regret for letting myself get like that.
Sorry my response was so long (and poor grammar!) Thanks for reading.
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Old 06-15-2015, 08:08 PM
  # 34 (permalink)  
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Welcome To SR, Veedawalk. You might consider starting your own thread. This is an old one.
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Old 10-20-2015, 04:47 PM
  # 35 (permalink)  
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First of all... thank you so much for sharing your experience. I know how troubling and horrible all of this is for you and you are NOT alone.

I am female, 31 years old and started suffering from withdrawal symptoms around the age of 28. from what I've read, this is very common for people who have been drinking an upwards of 10+ years. my symptoms vary, but mostly it's the same, and I often don't know how severe they will be or how long it will last. I usually detox at home, alone, which I don't recommend, because that is not only dangerous but terrifying. if you have the means to get to detox in an emergency room, do it. withdrawal is NOT a game and it puts your life at a real risk. do not attempt to drive and don't be afraid to alert someone to your condition who can help you. it is embarrassing yes but you are too valuable!! my family and friends have had to help me through withdrawals a ton of times.

ok for symptoms... they're different from person to person but I'll list mine:

1. Anxiety. by far the worst symptom (for me anyway). The anxiety is INDESCRIBABLE. if you hospital detox they'll get your vitals, hook you up to an intravenous saline drip and give you some benzos (if you have a good doctor). in my experience, and I hate to say this, but ER nurses see drug and booze withdrawals so often that sometimes they might not give you as much benzos that you need to normalize... which I find horrible, clearly these people don't understand addiction and withholding medication from someone in need because you disagree with their choices and predisposition is unethical and cruel. anyway. the anxiety feels very much like strong waves of a panic attack. these could last for hours. even when they aren't that bad, it's still uncomfortable

2. insomnia. sleeping is impossible. tossing and turning is inevitable. if I am able to fall asleep, it's for two-three minutes at a time before waking in a panic.

3. clammy/sweaty skin. body trying to detoxifying itself from the ethanol

4. vomiting. again, the body's way of trying to better itself. if you're anything like me or many other alcoholics, you may maintain a poor diet of little to no food. dry heaving is another unpleasant experience.

5. seizure/shaking. this is so scary... it happened to me for the first time in February. I didn't know what was happening, and was hospitalized when my roommate saw me fall in my kitchen. this was the first time I thought that I actually might die from my alcoholism. I lived in Chicago at the time, and did not alert my family to my condition as I did not want them to worry or be disappointed in me. it happened again three days later, after I left detox and was still withdrawing, the only thing that made the pain go away was to drink. I was ashamed and depressed. I moved back to Tennessee to be with my family.

Alcoholism is a cycle, a coping mechanism that I have used because I could not bear to face and process my emotions and depression. a friend of mine described it like having a "raw nerve". Drink because you are depressed? or am I depressed because I drink? I don't even know anymore. I am constantly rolling the dice with my health too because sometimes I can binge drink for days and have no withdrawal symptoms or even a hangover. sometimes I can drink as few as three drinks and suffer withdrawals the next day and they come out of NOWHERE. each time they are just as scary as the last, I find myself promising if I can make it out of it this time I won't go back, sadly to sober up and think "well this isn't that great. what's so great about being sober", or still reeling from the guilt of my addiction. I think that mindset is what a lot of people use to justify relapse, on top of being physically dependent on the stuff, or being sober is "boring" "I'm always going to be this way, it's impossible for me to stop I've tried so many times and I can't" etc. I don't know all the answers but I want you to know that people care, and just keep trying. this is your life - alcoholism is scary, a true living hell that is painful. i understand and feel your pain. try to think of withdrawal as your body trying to normalize. depressants erode the brain, it becomes dependent on the substance, and when you cease intake, your brain goes into overdrive trying to regulate itself back to normal. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy! I'm working on my own recovery as well. please contact me if you need someone to talk to.
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Old 10-20-2015, 05:01 PM
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Welcome compone

this is quite an old thread so the original poster may not reply to you - I hope you'll stick around tho - I believe there is lasting recovery - available for everyone who wants it - and it's a great way to live .

D
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Old 10-20-2015, 05:05 PM
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I used to drink since 17, I´m 34 now. I had very severe episodes of alcohol withdrawal, such as: insomnia, accelerated heart beats, anxiety and panic attacks, followed by a deep depression. I´m now sober and I feel like another person.
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