alwayssober1

Hi guys,

I have had brain fog for a while now, I'm just over 3 months sober but my brain feels very muddled up!

I feel like I'm stuck in a fog, slightly depressed and anxious, slightly confused, sleeping a lot but waking up groggy, plenty more symptoms that are getting me down..

Is this what its going to be like until PAWS peak at 6 months?

I thought I would feel good at 3 months but I feel worse than at the start!

silentrun

I have had PAWS episodes pretty bad. They come on for a week then peak for a couple days then roll back out for another week. There was some continuous brain fog for the better part of a year. I just went into the doctor and got an antidepressant for a few months to help me quit smoking. It is helping tremendously. Maybe ask a doc for some help getting past this year.

alwayssober1

Thanks silentrun, wow..a year of brain fog is intense! I'm not the prescription type, try and avoid all pills, medications if possible.

Because I'm at 3 months and feel more foggy headed than I did the first month I am worried this is going to be this way for a good period of time now, Its uncomfortable...this is a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Finnie

One day at a time my friend!

alwayssober1

Thanks finnie, I think I got what they call "pink cloud syndrome" at 2 weeks sober, felt good, exicited for change, from there on the fog hit me, I feel lost.

silentrun

It wasn't total brain fog but I could just tell I wasn't as sharp as I should be. It has gradually gotten better. I have almost a full year of continuous sobriety and this is the first time ever in my life taking medication. I just couldn't get past the 3 week mark off the smokes by myself.
3 month is prime PAWS. If it is that it will pass.

alwayssober1

Thanks silentrun, congrats on almost a year sober!

When I quit smoking just over a year ago, I found that i had to quit quite a few times (bit like the booze) before it clicked, the cold turkey is very unpleasant, I was so irritable, snappy, felt like I was in a different dimension for a while, but unlike quitting alcohol, it only took a couple of months for me to get over it, after 3 months I actually forgot I ever smoked! Oh how I wish alcohol was the same...I hope this is PAWS at its peak! But of course I drank for a lot more years than I smoked.

Nevertheless

Yea,I agree trying to cover this with "medication" is a bad idea. For me,the worse was around the 3 month mark. It kept tapering off after that,but at times would come back with a vengeance.
Looking ahead,a year sober might seem like such a long time so far away. That is the booze still talking to you. Trust me. When you make it to a year and look back. The day you quit will seem like yesterday. Just keep on doing what you are doing,and you will be fine.
Fred

alwayssober1

You make a good point Fred, I'm talking like I'm giving sobriety a trail run, its not even like I'm ever going back to alcohol so it wouldn't matter it takes x amount if time to feel better, thanks for the great reply!

Stoogy

Hey AlwaysSober1,

The only advice I can offer as someone who has been through and still going through this is it's much like if you think too much about something the worst it automatically feels, remember AlwaysSober1, your brain is chemically imbalanced and will do anything to make you feel like you need it too make all these thing go away, in my experience it's just that simple. Try your very best to keep your mind and body busy with anything other wise you will dwell on these things more frequently. You can do it you have proved that too yourself, if it was so easy no one would ever relapse now would they? Good things come to those who wait.
All the best
Stuart.

mick3580

Stopping drinking doesn't treat alcoholism.

Stoogy

Hi Mick3580,

You are correct but what better place to start, Alcoholism is a big thing in my family but I am the only one who has made a conscious choice to end it now.

I will maybe never go to aa, it's a great thing to some but as long as I can handle my day to day thoughts and control my own destiny then I am just fine in myself.

Great point Mick3580, nice to meet you,
All the best
Stuart.

Gottalife

You brought back some memories AS1. My first 3 months I worked the steps for all I was worth. A spiritual experience happened and my life changed. The desire to drink was gone and has never come back. The Big Book tells me that if I straighten out spiritually, the mental and physical recovery will follow, and that's what happened.

I had done a lot of damage and It took a long time for that fog to lift. At about two years sober I landed my dream job, which required a lot of mental effort. I was in a complete funk for three months.

No one new I was alcoholic so no one made any allowances for me. I had to manage on the same terms as everyone else. I stuck with the challenge and, at about three months everything fell into place. I had a great career with that company and enjoyed very minute of it.

Though it was a tough time, I had found the solution to my alcoholism, and I was able to persevere in the other areas with no fear of drinking.

DoubleBarrel

The brain fog definitely sounds like paws.

No telling exactly how long it will last, but I suffered from it for a while.

It does clear though,and then you will feel amazing.

Make sure to sleep a lot, eat well, avoid junk food and too much sweets.
A little caffeine was helpful, but if you overdo it, it's not.

Other than that, just realize that the brain fog is still better than any hangover. It's a sign your brain is healing.

alwayssober1

Thanks for the replies, its because I thought I would be feeling good at 3 months sober I'm quite surprised I'm still in the thick of it.

2012 I quit alcohol, at the time I was drinking twice aweek, I felt great after 3 weeks! Then after that there was a solid 2 years drinking heavily everyday, getting drunk every, last 3 months of drinking I moved on to the heavy stuff, I suppose thats why at 3 months I'm dealing with PAWS, hopefully within a month I will have my first good day!

Stoogy

That may explain it, I drank everyday for the last 8 years, only beers maybe 8 a day.. Some days are naturally harder for whatever reason I just figure when we drink for so long we cannot expect to repair the damage in a fraction of the time and another thing is that to be honest I don't really remember operating without alcohol for any more than the working day so I don't really know what feeling normal feels like if you know what I mean
Maybe tiredness is a normal feeling when we are not fuelled by all those calories alcohol contains. If that makes sense at all..

IOAA2

Boy do I identify! But did I substitute with toxic alcohol and think I was sane!
The bottom line is we all have different reactions to the different drugs we take. The human brain doesn't fully mature until about age 25 so is trying to grow under a difficult environment, forgetting the other drugs many use to "feel good."
The gist of it is it takes that four letter word TIME to recover.

BE WELL

alwayssober1

Thanks stoogy, i was also drinking around 8 beers aday, then the last few months of drinking I was losing the buzz so i would drink 4 beers and 4 double whiskeys in the evening, then Christmas time it was whole bottles of gin,whiskey, vodka, whatever I could get my hands on, its was all going down hill fast!

I should know by now it takes time to heal, I do know what its like feeling good sober because it was only a few years ago, but the flip side is its good motivation to keep strong and have a little patience and hope I will feel good again.

Stoogy

It can spiral quick defo, but even although you are still in the thick of fog etc, is there any days or even hours you feel really good or is it just the tiredness dragging you down do you think?
Hey weekends here again, Friday used to be one of the days I would not even count how many beers I had, now I don't count the number of coffees I ingest 😜😜👍 keep posting

alwayssober1

It definitely can spiral! What worried me at the time was I had got bored of beer, spirits especially mixed were very easy to drink, bigger buzz, dangerous path!

I feel foggy most of the time, I would go walk in the fresh air and there would still be a heavy fog, muddled up thinking etc, my energy levels are OK, but hopefully this is the peak and next month I will feel better.

Yeah another weekend, I'm from england so its constant cups of tea!...lol.