Side effects of drying out
 

I'm reading a lot about how insomnia and weight loss are common things to expect in early recovery. For me, I've been dealing with constant sweats, and I am constantly exhausted and have much less energy. I slept all day this past Sunday, yesterday & much of today. It amazes me that I could sleep so much and sleep very deeply, at that. My appetite has also significantly increased. Craving ice cream, cake, unhealthy foods. I feel bored but have hardly any energy to do things to keep myself busy. No interest. I am very fresh into this endeavor towards giving up the alcohol (just over one week) I wonder if all of this will eventually change. I want to feel normal, energetic and I'm nervous I'll gain a ton of weight, which will depress me enough to prevent me from feeling better about myself during this journey towards recovering. Is there hope for this vicious cycle changing?

Sure there's hope. I don't know how long you've been drinking, but one week is not enough time for your body to repair itself.

I couldn't sleep or eat and yes, I was exhausted too. Each week, I saw some improvement. Hang in there, it's worth it. Also, be kind to yourself in early recovery. You have plenty of time to work off any weight gain, Everything in moderation... your body is craving sugar.

Yes this will change. Congrats on 1 week btw. Have you had your blood work done? Usually we Archie's have a lot of vitamin deficiencies so you can find which ones and supplement. That helps me a lot.

Normally in detox (I've er done this a few times, ehem) I'm a manic mess. Can't eat, can't sleep its awful. This last time I was beat and couldn't stop eating. That was way better quite frankly. Took about 5-7 days to get energy back. I also started exercising which helps me tremendously. I'm, um, 28 days I think so I've cut out the sweets. Day 2 no sugar. In the long run eating really healthy helps me stave off cravings for alcohol.
Hang in there.

I've been heavily drinking for the past 3 years.. 2,3 sometimes 4 times a week. A small bottle of wine combined with 4-6 beers each time. I was sober prior for almost 2 years before I started back up, but I never had these side effects.

And prior to getting sober before... I'd been heavily drinking about the same for over 14 years

Congrats one a week! I was very tired for about 2 weeks. I'm 33 days sober and finally having more energy.

All the wine and sugars in the wine will lead to the sugar craving. Lots of carbs in beer, too. When I drank, it was juice drinks, orange juice, pineapple juice, limeade, mixers, or high APV microbrews/IPAs. I ate quite a bit of sugar in the first month after quitting drinking, but it tapered off pretty quickly. I tried to stick with sugary/fatty/protein treats like ice cream, or good chocolate with nuts, but I was going to AA meetings and they have cookies!

I've lost 20 pounds, I'm now at a healthy weight for my size - good BMI.

It will come, be gentle with yourself. I doubt you are going to gain a lot of weight, but a couple pounds is easily lost later. It's much more important to stay sober.

Hang on, you're fine!

I agree. Its all good. Your body wants to sleep more to do repairs (physical and chemical). The sweets and cravings are textbook.

I gave myself permission to eat whatever the heck I felt like during the first couple months. Supposedly extreme sugar consumption can trigger alcohol cravings due to sugar "crashes". I figured, as long as I don't pick up the bottle again, I'm gonna treat myself.

Everything evened out eventually. It will for you. Be gentle. Enjoy your rest. Some folks have insomnia for months.

Fantastic work on one week!

You will feel energetic and normal ... soon enough if you keep at sobriety. Relish the sleep ... once I got over the insomnia the sleep was wonderful, fresh and sweet like I'd never had before. Well maybe when I was a kid.

The weight loss ... it can wait. One week in and your body is still thanking you for no longer poisoning it. Treat it gentle. Let it have the food it wants for now. There'll be lots of time to get the diet, exercise etc. in order.

Yes, first things first, I gained 20 lbs in the first months of sobriety and I basically decided along the way that I wasn't going to stress over it - the old addict voice was trying to tell me that I should go back to drinking to keep the weight off (!), but I chose not to care. It can take years to dig ourselves down into our addict holes, and it can take months to years to dig out, depending on how severely addicted we were.

joining a gym really helped me--that and long hikes

Sounds about right, actually. I slept a lot the first few weeks. My sweet tooth also came back with a vengeance. The longer you stay sober, the better everything will get.

Listen to your body with one exception, if it craves alcohol, deny it. All other things are needed and will ultimately make you feel better.

Congrats on one week sober, but remember - it takes longer than one week to get back to normal functioning. Stay sober and it will get better. :)

Everything you described seems very typical of very early recovery. 1 week is nothing. I did gain about 8 lbs and was extremely lazy and unmotivated in my first few weeks. I also slept a lot. Being sober needs to be your #1 goal so don't pressure yourself on other things. (Don't totally binge on junk but I did buy a LOT of chocolate.)

At about the month mark I started feeling better, exercising more, and started to get strict with myself about junk food. I have lost 5 pounds. I try to exercise in the evenings which is when cravings come on but if I need to just curl in a ball, watch TV, and not drink I do that. Sobriety first.

Don't let your AV try to make you think that drinking is in any way better for your body because you know that is BS.

Don't know where this weight problem comes from. I was suffering malnutrition and was well under weight when I got sober, and most alkies back then were like that, skinny and shaky. We even had to have saucers with our coffee cups to save us spilling it all over the floor.
Vitamins, especially the B group seem to be very important to get the brain going again. A balanced diet can do no harm either, but I didn't know how to cook, so my diet was a bit off.

There is a lot of sugar in some alcoholic drinks, so when you stop the alcohol, you might crave sweet things. We (AA) suggest it is not a bad thing to have some candy and sweet fruit juice around initially, for when you feel a desire to drink.

I have 30 days tomorrow and had a similar drinking pattern to yours. The first week for me was physical recovery (basically an extended hangover spent on the couch eating crappy comfort food). 2nd two weeks I was active and ate better but slept a ton. e.g. eight to nine hours a night with a 1-2 hour nap every afternoon. This 4th week has been dramatically improved. Pretty normal sleep routine and feeling and living much healthier. Hang in there Kris.