Treerat66

Hi,
I did a search for the effects of alcohol withdrawal.

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publicatio...22-1/61-66.pdf
This is a scientific paper. A little scary.

Alcohol Withdrawal: Symptoms, Treatments, Duration, and More
An easier read.

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Post-acute-withdrawal syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

pdoc

Myself I'm not sure about the whole concept of PAWS. It was forced down my throat in one clinic to the point some people were so paranoid about it that they couldn't enjoy recovery because they were waiting for PAWS to happen.

Dee74

I believe in PAWs because I experienced it - but not everyone does

D

pdoc

Hi Dee roughly how long did it take for PAWS to affect you.

Dee74

I had paws from 90-120 days off and on.

I acted really out of character, while also having withdrawal stuff again like sweating and headaches, shaking.

There was no other explanation for it as far as I could figure and it never came back again.
D

Sasha4

Its frightening Andy but it is also really sad that a huge % of people have no idea that

1. You can become addicted to alcohol in the same way you can drugs like cocaine and heroin. There is poor knowledge that alcohol is an addictive substance, in that you need a drink to ease withdrawal symptoms or make you feel normal.

2. Withdrawal from alcohol can be fatal. Coke and heroin do not cause that.

3. Your health can be be severely damaged by alcohol withdrawal in that you could suffer a stroke or a fit.

4. Alcohol withdrawal can kill you simple as.

It makes those adverts on the television in summer for beer, or at christmas for sherry etc etc seem really sinister to me now that I know what alcohol is really capable of.

Wishing you the best x

Treerat66

Hi Sasha,
I think that one of the reasons folk are so confused about alcoholism is that it varies so much. Dee had PAWS I didn't. But then my alcoholism was/is my alcoholism, no one else's.

zjw

you know I had always thought that PAWS was just alcohol with drawel like the initail stuff. after reading that it can go on for decades in that write up I've now realized great just great! thats me To a T!!

They should include a picture of me in that article. and I have almost 3 years being sober and still struggling with a lot of whats there.

zjw

one of em too inabitlity to think clearly. this is one i have a big problem with. I struggle to put thoughts together off and on. This has gone on since i quit. its debilitating. its off and on I've blamed diet i've blamed lack of exercise i've tried various foods. and here alll it might be is PAWS? My sleep issues could also be that. I've been reduced to sleeping on the hard floor for some reason it works for me its debilitating but it works so i'm going with it *sigh* i suffer from must of the other things on that list too.

glad someone posted this and i finally read the dang thing. maybe i should read up more on how to help this.

Sasha4

I do agree with that, the variation, but it happens with other drugs too if you look at drug taking behaviours. Yet we still do not class alcohol in the same way as heroin or coke.

No-one goes straight to being a fully fledged heroin addict.
People tend to dabble, using softer drugs first and maybe just on a weekend or before a party.
They progress to harder drugs once the softer drugs do not give them enough of a buzz anymore.

It takes time until they need it all day, everyday from the moment they wake up.
With drink, you might have one glass at a 21st birthday party.
It might take a few years until you are drinking it in the morning the minute you get up or using vanilla essence or hand rub to get more drink.

Perhaps thats why some people, professionals or agencies have such a poor understanding of addiction.

They don't realise that you don't have to be homeless, dead, or in prison for it to be acknowledged you have a problem with addiction.
Also as well though that it is not always about quantity,so how many bottles, or how many micrograms, it is about behaviours that result from addiction more and how it affects us functioning in day to day life.

They see what they think they know according to stereotypes and ignore the rest.

I think though the learning point about all this is that we are lucky to have this research, this knowledge, this evidence documented so we can make informed decision for ourselves and the people we love too.

Wishing you the best x