Johnston

I was feeling better after about a year. The urges are pretty much gone now after 3.

Kllme

With proper nutrition and vitamin supplements, I usually don't have any visual symptoms after 48 hours. Worst case 72 hours

Brian316

I think it depends on the person. For me, a week or 2 physically. Mentally there's still some stuff I struggle with.

Andante

Just to amplify a bit on the responses thus far:

1) Others can tell you how long it took them to feel better, but your own mileage will vary. A lot. As the above responses show, the range is very wide, from just a few days to as long as a year or two.

2) Alcoholism is progressive. The longer you drink, and the more cycles of drinking and withdrawal you go through, the more severe your symptoms are likely to be upon stopping, and the longer those symptoms will last.

3) In the end, it doesn’t really matter what doctors or anyone else says. The only way to determine how long it takes for you to feel better is for you to stay sober long enough to find out.

Creekryder

Everyone's healing is unique. After about two weeks, I began to fire on 5 out of 8 cylinders. Even after that, there are some days better than others. But all in all, I think I evened out fairly well after about four weeks. Don't be too concerned if it takes longer, just know that you will feel better when your body has cleared the years of drinking out of its system. It will be worth the effort.

MelindaFlowers

I'll try my best to explain my experience in numbers. I was heavy, nightly drinker with maybe 5-10 sober days per year only when I was too hungover to drink. Did this for eight years. My body never had a "breather" or break. I had damaged my liver in the end and suffered daily, classic withdrawal symptoms.

Using the so-hungover-I-might-need-a-hospital feelings as a zero and let's say 100 as feeling like a million bucks..... This was my general progression:

Day 1: 0/100 (massively hungover)
Day 2: 15/100
Day 3: 25/100 (starting to walk and talk)
Day 7: 40/100

Day 30: 50/100 (starting to remember what normal humans feel like)

Day 60: 65/100

Day 90: 75/100. (Hey, so this is how non-alcoholics feel! I like this!!!)

Day 120: 85/100 (feeling good. Wondering WHY and HOW I lived for eight years feeling like utter death all the time)

Six month: 95/100

Feeling great at seven months. I could NEVER go back to feeling how I sed to. NEVER.

BTW: it took a lot longer to feel better than I expected. Be patient.

slipped

Physically I felt fine after about 2 weeks, the cravings went away probably around 2 months, but mentally, it took me over 2 years. I couldn't handle stress at all.
I still have issues with stress management off and on (probably why I drank), but I'm getting better at coping with it without alcohol.