Stoogy

Hi guys,

Well I'm off work today with a cold and thought I would catch up with the latest threads and start a new one. I have saw so many people worry about their withdrawal symptoms in the first few weeks to few months, I think this thread will help a lot of new members feel a bit better about themselves and give them the strength to battle through this, I've posted before about what I went through but here's a recap.

Week 1- week 3
Flu like symptoms
Insomnia
Sweats
Lack of appetite
Mood swings
Extremely thirsty

Month 2 -
Lots of anxiety
Self doubts
Constant tiredness and fatigue
Insomnia
Lack of appetite.
Still thirsty

Month 3-
Fatigue still hitting hard most days
Anxiety
Sleeping pattern improving slowly
Appetite returning to normal
Feeling generally more content

Month 4-
I would say apart from a recent cold I am probably 90% back to what o presumed normal would feel like! this is purely my timeline and you guys may have felt better in half the time or still feeling rough! but I just thought this might help some people.

Dee74

Not trying to put people off posting their experiences, but this is a great thread - it's at the top of the forum

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

karate

Mine was rough first day , got better after that .

GreenColor

Stoogy, have you considered seeing a doctor for those symptoms? I know it all depends on how much, how long, and how fast a person drinks, as well as their age, but I did an outpatient detox and I feel about 90% after a week. I'm 27, and drank about a fifth a day for about 5 years. Without seeing my doctor and having my prescriptions I would probably be going through what you did. The first 72 hours were absolute hell though.

I guess I'm suggesting that if possible people should see their physician before they attempt to quit. It can make things a lot easier.

matt4x4

Halucinations
DT's
Sweats
Panic/Anxiety Attacks

GreenColor

Matt, did you really get DT's? Did you just go cold turkey alone? That's life threatening.

matt4x4

I tried to quit many times, and I did shake and twitch, couldnt hold steady my hands. I have also gone through detox and hospitals, rehabs private and public. I tried to go it alone, cold turkey countless times. I remember spicifically in a crappy room, in the basement of a boarding house for days, sick as a dog. Puking, twitching, couldnt control my bowels at all. Yeah know, when you crap your pants once its embarrassing, twice its not so bad.

Stoogy

Hi GreenColor, good to know you are doing so well after just 1 week, I had quite a normal process according to most reports but the worst of that is thankfully behind me now. Good luck and thanks again.

johnthemull

Its important to realise that withdrawal is different for everyone. Most people don't have that much trouble with withdrawal and a lot of the physical symptoms are gone very quickly. I think it is important not to scare people off quitting with stories of weeks or months on the rack after quitting drink. This is the exception not the rule.

zjw

you know when I think back on it the physical stuff twitching feeling like garbage headaches sweats etc.. All of that was relieved pretty quickly for me.

The anxiety and the mental insanity nonsense i was going through however took at the very least 6 months. I'm almost 3 years sober and I still think i'm trying to get a handle on some stuff. Its not easy having to grow up *sigh*

FeenixxRising

I was a binge drinker; I didn't have a physical dependency on alcohol, so fortunately, I did not have to endure a withdrawal. I feel for those of you who have had to detox, as it appears to be a pretty daunting experience.

KateL

A nightmare every time. xxxxxx

matt4x4

Low Bottoms, or High Bottoms. DT's are common for very low bottom drunks.

Altoids

The shame was worse than the physical for me. I felt like crap for about a day and a 1/2, then ate a lot for a couple of days. . . but that was it physically.

karate

Agree ,I took a few meds for about 3-4 days .