mpw1989

I've been drinking regularly for the past 5 or 6 years and in the last few years it has gotten really bad (10 plus drinks every day, sometimes as much as 20 if I was binging). I decided to stop not just for my health but also to improve the quality of my life which has been declining.
I tried to cut down but that never seemed to work for me. I might cut down to only 5 for a few nights first but always ended up failing and drinking too much.
Yesterday I couldn't even eat because of my heavy drinking, so I decided to put my foot down and not drink a single drink last night. I had been scared of doing this because of the potential withdrawal smyptoms. It is now coming up to 48 sours since my last drink (10pm two nights ago) and so far I haven't really felt anything at all. I had 10mg of valium last night to help me sleep and will probably have 5mg tonight to help me sleep. I have trouble sleeping if I don't drink but that really seems to be the only symptom. Maybe I'm just lucky and I get off scott free?
Is this common?

Dee74

Welcome

There's a whole range of experiences when it comes to withdrawal mpw.

I've never used valium so I can't assess its part in your progress.
I'm not sure where you got it from - was it prescribed for withdrawal?

D

mpw1989

I'll have to be honest, I bought it from a friend who didn't need them. I have had them prescribed to me before for anxiety and they worked a treat.

soupcon

I'm sure the valium helped immensely. No shakes at all? Are you eating at all now? I've been prescribed valium and another sleep aid during withdrawals and was fine very quickly. However, I resumed drinked after a week or two and my final detox experience was absolutely horrendous. You are lucky this time. I hope this is the beginning of long-lasting sobriety for you! Good luck!

ScottFromWI

Withdrawals are different for everyone. They can last several days too; just depends on the individual. Taking someone else's prescriptions is not only dangerous but also potentially illegal to purchase. I'd strongly recommend seeing a doctor if you have health concerns related to withdrawals.

Holds1325

My withdrawals didn't start until a few days later and at the time I didn't even think they were withdrawals, it just felt like I was sick and I didn't know what was going on. After it was over, I read up on it and was like OHH thats what that was, I thought i was either just having massive anxiety physical symptoms or something.

RoyGBiv

20+ years of daily drinking, my first 3 days were uneventful, bad sleep, some minor jitters, increased heart rate.

after a week, I start waking up feeling a ghost hangover, tired as can be. Night sweats, often waking up soaked 2-3 times a night. That eases off after 2-4 weeks.

then.. PAWS. ugh.

sleepie

The valium is stopping the withdrawals. When you stop the valium you will have valium withdrawals which are essentially the same as alcohol withdrawals and just as dangerous. I would advise talking to your doctor. You don't want to play around with it.

Hypocritical

I drank like you were for 20+ years. I had no adverse withdrawl symptoms other than a slight headache on day two.

Soberwolf

Welcome Mpw

fishface

Sleepie is likely correct. Though everyone is different, Valium rewards the same brain centers as alcohol (Gaba) and is likely preventing your withdrawal symptoms.

Detox centers commonly prescribe benzos just for that reason. It's no guarantee that you will have WS when stopping the valium but you do want to be careful and I would def talk to a doctor.

AND...I'd definitely recommend against self medicating, even if you've used a prescription in the past. It could lead to a whole new level of addiction you don't want to mess with. Just mho. I'd def recommend seeing a doc soon.

Stang

I use to stop with no withdrawl symptoms....then at age 42 they started kickin my ass. Glad I'm done with all that.

powderline

I can also relate here. I have probably tried to seriously quit around 10 times in my 20 year drinking career.

I quit this time three days ago, and like you, I have experienced very little around this time except for insomnia, some hypnic jerks the first night, a couple of imaginary spiders here and there and some sickness. On day three today, I actually feel pretty good and went out for some exercise.

The reason that I mention that is because the first time I seriously tried to quit, I had some terrifying withdrawals, and I was drinking much less back then. I went back to the bottle immediately. YMMV

I agree. I would talk to your doctor about a prescription.

mpw1989

Soupcan - no shakes (never get them when I try to quit) and yes I'm eating again. In fact I'm feeling much better in general. More motivation and energy. 64 hours without a drink now but I'm aware the valium might have something to do with why I feel okay. I do only take it at night though, soon before bed.

Powderline - I know exactly what you mean with the hypnic jerks. When I don't drink the only reason I have trouble sleeping is I keep jerking awake when I doze off for a hours before I finally fall asleep. I found that even just one or two drinks counteracted that but could hardly bring myself to only have that little (lack of impulse control). Also valium seems to counteract it too.

I'm gonna see a doc about it tomorrow.

powderline

Yeah. Same here. That's what really kept the cycle going for me. Midnight and the jerks start. Have a couple of shots and they stop. Starts again at 4 am, so rinse and repeat. I did not do that this time. I just waited them out and accepted the fact I wasn't going to sleep.

Good call on the doc. Stay strong!