caboblanco

what is your experience with this phenomena? How many times have you tried to get sober and how was each withdrawal?

If you experience kindling once is there evidence that suggests you will have kindling for years..or even for life?

did you have a short relapse after a period of sobriety..say a 6-10 drinks just one night and experience significant withdrawal?

I didn't experience significant physical withdrawal after I quit drinking..two weeks later I relapsed on only a 6 pack of beer( i would usually drink 24 or so a night) and experienced real withdrawal symptoms. it's strange and I was wondering if anybody had a similar experience.

soberclover

I first got clean and sober in 1990. Withdrawal sucked. I stayed this way and was fairly active in my recovery for 13 years. I relapsed on alcohol and drank for 8 years. I've been sober for over a year. This time detoxing from alcohol REALLY sucked. In my opinion and in my experience, I think that IF I was to relapse again and go through the detox it would be even worse. I think this is because I would have done further damage to my body. I and my body are getting too tired of detoxing; I'm going to try to stick with sobriety

alphaomega

Oh God yes. I was sober for 65 days, for the umpteenth time, had a bottle and half of wine on a full stomach over the course of 4 hours.

Spent the next 4 days borderline suicidal, anxious beyond words and quite sure on the edge of a seizure.

Thanks for reminding me of kindling. I almost forgot about it in today's hysteria.

caboblanco

sorry alpha..I'm not trying to bring up a sore note just trying to gather information and experience on the subject

alphaomega

I'm grateful you brought it up !

I was thisclose to drinking tonight. And you helped me remember...

LDT

I was sober 18 months, then decided I was "cured" and chose to drink again. It was a planned relapse. The first week I drank like a "normal" person. By the 3rd week I was completely back in full tilt drinking. It happened so fast I could hardly believe it. My panic attacks returned with a vengeance, and it was only taking a few drinks to take me to blackout. I had no tolerance at all....I drank for about 5 months during this relapse and after 3 trips in 3 months to the E.R. I knew I had to be done for good. ( That was a year and a week ago.) .....Kindling is REAL and was scary enough for me to never want to go back there.

Sudz No More

About 1 year into my attempts to be sober and after several relapses I gave in one night for a six pack. In my still drinking every day times I was drinking about 15 beers a day. After this 6 pack though I threw up the next morning so hard I thought I ruptured something and spent the day in the ER with tubes down my throat to see if I was internally bleeding. Another time on a business trip where I got snowed in at the hotel I drank about 8 beers, I woke up uncontrollably vomiting. I had to drive home and couldn't wait to leave as I had a schedule to meet. I literally had to pull over on a busy interstate to vomit while cars whizzed by me. Before I started trying to quit I never had such violent withdrawals, just the usual headache and queasiness. I don't want to ever feel that kindling effect again, it was scary.

EternalQ

When I was sober six months, I accidentally ate about three bites of an alcohol soaked dessert. I'd been told there wasn't alcohol in it. I did not know there was alcohol in it till about a week later.

But the night that I ate it, I had room spins and dizziness and I couldn't stand. This went on for about 24 hours.

I don't think anyone believed me but I'm convinced it was that little bit of alcohol that I had reacted too. I was in mild withdrawal I think. It sounds hard to believe but maybe it's kindling?

alphaomega

Oh my gosh EternalQ !! You just reminded me of something. I ate some cake on NYE that I didn't know was Rum Cake (?). I was sick as a dog the next two days. I attributed it to undercooked lobster tail - but didn't present with traditional food poisoning symptoms.

I told DH that I actually felt hungover yesterday. And the day before. Nauseous, dizzy, pounding head, palps, anxiety.

Could it of been the cake ??? I'm flabbergasted.

EternalQ

I don't know Alphaomega, maybe?
It would be interesting to see if there are other people with similar experiences.

I remember when I was having my symptoms I specifically thought: This feels like room spins from drinking but I haven't been drinking so it can't be that."

I only connected it with the dessert the following week.
???

Kat60

Wow, That's some scary stuff right there!! I had no idea it could be that bad!!! Lessons learned here every day!
Thank you!!

Ptcapote

Oh yes, kindling was real for me. My experience was very much like Sudz. I stopped for about a week and then drank a relatively small amount (comparatively) and ended up vomiting so much and so hard I ended up in the hospital because I couldn't stop.

Naturally, a week later, I was back at it. Then, a month later, I quit again and managed to make it six weeks. Then I had the experience AO describes above. Horrible physical withdrawals and anxiety attacks so bad I seriously was contemplating suicide just to get away from myself. And I have never really been suicidal in my life. It was absolutely awful. That's the last time I stopped and, thank the Universe, I am still sober.

I have also had a strange reaction to booze in food. I had a pasta dish with vodka in it unknowingly a few months ago and although it went down OK, I felt horribly nauseous and head-achy all night. Also initially thought it was food poisoning. But considering that there was probably only a scant amount in the sauce, I must be super-sensitive nowadays.

No plans to test that theory again any time soon though.

Thanks for the thread, capoblanco!

MaxxPower

Maybe this only happens to certain individuals.

I'm saying this because my younger brother drinks like I did just before I was admitted into detox. He can go without drinking for weeks at a time. When I brought up Kindling to him at Christmas he simply laughed, and called it BS. Still don't understand how he doesn't shake or anything after drinking like a madman.

Ignorance is bliss. I guess for some.

I have not experienced Kindling myself because I haven't drank anything since becoming sober. i believe it though. Its another excuse that keeps me away from that 1st drink.

Is it scientifically proven? that it exists?

Sanantoniosober

Kindling is one of the things that keeps me from drinking.

I tried many times to stop drinking then drink normally, and couldn't figure out why I would feel so bad after just a couple of drinks. I also got all the negative affects of being drunk-dizzy, nausea, etc, without any of the relaxation I was trying to recapture.

It wasn't until I learned about kindling that I realized one drink Friday night would bring back all the physical feelings of a bender from the first sip. It's like my body was trying to reject the alcohol from the start.

EternalQ

Yes there are many articles on it here is just one:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...09qwGcSSbaSO4g

TomSawyer

I'm only 25 and was really only a weekend drinker for most of my years. Kindling got to the point where I would legitimately be withdrawing after 4-5 beers a night. It's crazy to me to think that daily drinkers at the age of 40+ never experienced withdrawal symptoms, but that's just how it had to be for me.

It was to the point where I was detoxing/experiencing kindling for a couple days literally every Sunday/Monday for about a year. This is when the real downward spiral began, because I started reaching for the hair of the dog to combat the withdrawal symptoms.

TomSawyer

Also, I've learned that weekend binge drinkers are prime candidates, because they are always detoxing from a week to week basis (as opposed to say, daily drinkers who are not constantly repeating the come-down). As a heavy college/post-grad weekend drinker, I fell directly into that category. It is a vicious, terrible cycle.

MattyBoy

Yep, definitely experienced kindling. One night of drinking after a prolonged period of sobriety and the next day I WILL have a panic / anxiety attack. I too have eaten desert with alcohol in it without knowing and have experienced strange, mild withdrawal like symptoms several hours later . Just shows a true alcoholic does become allergic to alcohol after a certain point!

Cathryn2001

I remember reading that, too.

dwtbd

The mornings in my last year or so of drinking changed. As I think back it seems the symptoms ,especially the anxiety, were progressing with little abatement. The idea of physical damage to repeated over exposure of alcohol seems reasonable. Researching the effects of withdrawal and anxiety is what ultimately lead me to this site. Scientific proof notwithstanding , something definitely was different for me after years of drinking alcoholicly. I am comfortable with the idea of the progressive effects of alcohol abuse and how it may affect my physical body and how those effects can contribute to mental well being. Thank the universe( love that btw) I finally decided to do something about drinking, even if just hours prior to hearing the term, certainly helped cement the idea in my head!