mac6367

Hey guys,

So, I've been reading around the newcomers forum and reading a lot of detox stories, the typical detox story involving cold sweats, shakiness, restlessness, and vomiting. This is a pretty apt description of my hangovers I had, nearly on a daily basis until I started drinking again or just pushed through until the next day or sometimes the day after, if I didn't happen to drink that day (rare occasion...). Now, I thought hangovers were just the result of extreme dehydration and basically your body recovering from putting so much energy into processing the alcohol.

I guess I'm just a little confused. Was I experiencing withdrawals every morning? Is that normal? Are hangovers the same thing?

Dee74

I class them as the same.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post1592234

D

Andante

I didn't read Dee's link as yet, but I believe there's a distinction between hangovers and withdrawals.

Hangovers occur when a person who is not accustomed to drinking overindulges on rare occasions. The body and brain are not used to the presence of alcohol and rebel against it.

Withdrawals occur only after dependence and tolerance to alcohol have been established through chronic heavy drinking. The brain and nervous system have become used to the presence of alcohol and rebel when it's taken away.

Some of the symptoms are indeed similar but the physiology is different.

Talkinandwalkin

That was one of the most intelligent and well thought descriptions I have read Andante.

JeffreyAK

I think doctors class them the same, a hangover is just a mild kind of detoxification. That's why "hair of the dog" stops a hangover, same as drinking stops withdrawal. "Hangover shakes"? Mild version of the body-wracking shakes we can go through in severe withdrawal. The difference is the depth of the symptoms and the duration. Post-acute withdrawal symptoms like depression can also follow a single major binge.

FBL

Whatever you call them, if you stop drinking entirely, you'll never have to think about them anymore

least

I agree with FBL. I got sober for good over six years ago and never have to go thru that hell again.

ScottFromWI

I don't think it really matters personally, in both cases it's your body telling you that you are doing bad things to it.

zjw

what scares me about hangovers / withdrawels is htis. I always thought it was I drank to much or I'm having a hang over. Since i've sobered up tho I've now realized what i was expierencing was withdrawels. Now for the scary part. my AV is busy telling me well next time just take a 6 pack of beer with you to bed so if you wake up sweating or shaken you can just drink one and get back to sleep and then in the mornings rather then ibprofin or wondering why your shaken and feeling awful just drink more all it is is with drawels so drink more.

These thoughts scare me. I never had them in my drinking days and I fear if i ever relapsed i'd follow through upon them.

fripfrop

I drank once a week, like my friends for years, for 20 years. Hangover is just tirdness, unease,tolrable.
Got to a few times a week, alone
Witdrawal is angst, restlessness, shakes, sweats, some autitority hallucinations
Visual hallucinations
The difference was striking

tomsteve

I don't think hangovers can kill me.
withdrawls can.

Gottalife

While I felt absolutely awful with my hangovers, which would last several days and during which I could barely eat and was too sick to drink, I did not experience the screaming, life threatening seizures, and hallucinations that I saw during withdrawals.

What really annoyed me was a friend who drank like I did, blacked out every time, unlike me, and never suffered a hangover or withdrawals.