WaterOx

So I hit the 3 month mark on April 3. Before that, I was feeling great, greater than I've ever felt. Then suddenly a week into month #3 I start feeling like crap.

I've been waking up with headaches. I've been having deep, sore, muscle aches. I've gotten those "pins and needles" and "creepy crawly" skin deely-o's (for want of a medical term)....I've even had this random shooting nerve pain here and there. I feel tired and super foggy.

I'm aware this could be multiple factors. Maybe I'm fighting off the cold everyone's got. Maybe I'm developing allergies. My sugar intake has been through the roof. My sleep has been terrible for months.

Or maybe, just maybe, I'm hit by a second wave of withdraw?

To be honest I never liked the PAWS idea because it got tiresome reading about it. "My PAWS gave me a headache! My PAWS makes me tired! My PAWS made me go on a shopping spree and hit Vegas for a week! My PAWS, My PAWS!!!"

Ok but the truth is after drinking for a decade straight without a moment of sobriety, 3 months isn't very long- and while I was feeling great for a while, I wonder if my body is going through changes that suggest a healing reaction or...PAWS? lol

It's been well over a week since I have felt this way and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. If it persists I will be going to see the doc. I just wanted to see if anyone else has had weird 3 month markers like this. To be honest I thought this was all behind me but now I'm wondering if it's just begun.


For those of you past 3 months I'd love to hear your own experience.

bigsombrero

This could be a bit of PAWS kicking in. Or it could be a small case of some illness, cold, flu, etc. I think what's happening to you is just....life.

When we are in full-blown alcoholism, we're using every day, and we don't get access to those little aches and pains because we're numb to pain. When you're getting your sober legs, you all of a sudden feel more: I know that I started noticing joint pain...mainly because I hadn't exercised for about 10 years as an alcoholic, and now that I was active again it hurt!

I am certainly not telling you to stay away from the doctor. But don't freak out, either. When you are adjusting to life as a sober adult, you're going to get all kinds of mental and physical alarm bells. Remember: there are tons of neurons and receptors in your body that have been in "hibernation mode" for years. There's no need to panic. For me, it took about 2 years of full-time sobriety to get used to being present and aware.

ScottFromWI

Congrats on 3 months waterox. As you indicate, it could be a whole host of things. Have you been to a doctor for even a basic checkup since you quit by chance? Might not be a bad idea if you have not.

Sugar is not really a great thing to be overindulging in either, so you may want to try and balance that back out too.

And yes, there is much debate about whether or not "PAWS" really exists or not - but you are better off focusing on finding solutions for the actual symptoms you are having vs. writing them off to an unknown cause, right?

Congrats on 3 months by the way!

doggonecarl

I posted this at 90 days:

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ays-sober.html

entropy1964

I think you pretty much answered your own questions. You can try eliminating things....sugar for sure. A lot of my brain fog issues are due to processed carbs.

Exercise may be a thing to add if you aren't. I know that clears the cob webs big time.

Headaches? Maybe dehydration. I know, without a doubt, I seem to need far more fluid than other people I know. I mean, far more. Like 80 ozs a day. And when I stay at that level I feel really good. Drop below 60 and I get migraines. So I have a big 40 oz bottle. I make sure I drink that and then get the other 30-40 from herb teas and le croix. Glug glug

Muscle aches and neurological stuff, maybe magnesium. But you should chat with your dr about that.

August252015

Personally, I can say I had a very real experience with severe and extended PAWS. I was very sick when I quit and I think of it as the alcohol had to roll through and out of my body, from every part it had damaged. Basically, all of me.

The first year and into the second saw healing in waves for me. Have you read the book Living Sober? It does a good job describing what a lot of people experience the first year (it's not based on PAWS, specifically) and a great article on digitaldharma.net under the tab "PAWS" if you have not read it.

The only solution for me and most I know is to stay sober. Alcohol will do nothing good for you, and most people find the process of quitting just gets harder with each go round.

Dee74

whatever the cause I hope you feel better soon waterox

D

Forward12

Nailed it.

MindfulMan

I find physical recovery comes in waves.

Six weeks in I got hit with some pretty massive depression.

Just shy of 90 days in I got a lot of dizziness and cognitive issues. Memory blanks, etc.

It all passes.

I did a lot of reading about PAWS when I went through bad benzo withdrawal in about 2009. The theory was that the harder your detox the more likely that PAWS would occur, as well as increased length and intensity. Research seemed to bear this out.

Cold turkey led to PAWS more often and for longer periods of time than a taper. Some people take more than a year to taper off of a long term benzo habit, prescribed or not. They are horrible to come off of.

So if you did cold turkey and had a really rough time of it from alcohol, I think there's a good chance that your withdrawal symptoms will last longer.

This last time I did a medical detox with diazepam and the later waves were less severe than when I'd detoxed home alone cold turkey, even from quite a bit less of a binge.

Rar

I loved your post Carl! I'm at 99 days today and reading it was a blessing to me.

SoberCAH

There is so much mental, emotional, physical and spiritual adjustment going on in the first year or so that this is pretty normal, I think.

It certainly was with me.

There is some good wisdom posted above.

I would look into lifestyle issues, such as the quality of your diet and food intake, your exercise regimen or standard practices, your reading, in my case, my AA meeting attendance, and your pursuit of a relationship with God if you believe in God.

I hope that you hang on for the ride.

As we say, it doesn't get better, but you do.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

wibble

My own experience was that around the 3 month mark I started feeling physically unwell with a host of different symptoms that varied day by day.
I'd read about PAWS previously but didn't make the connection for quite a while.

Things did get better and actually knowing why I felt so bad helped me in a lot of ways.