For those tortured by PAWS (Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms) and who fear they might go mad Part 2
Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 363
Originally Posted by Graceful123 
This was me. You will get the appetite back and your sleep will return to normal. For contrast I sleep a good 8 hours now, in my first 4 days of withdrawals I slept for 2 hours total. It was awful.
One other thing I forgot to mention in my posts above. I went through a phase of about 3 months where EVERYTHING scared me. For some reason I would look at a cup of coffee wrong (for example) and it would scare/stress me out. It's very weird. That has also dissipated completely now. Certain social situations and large crowds give me anxiety but nothing I can't handle at this point.
stay strong. Like I said, my symptoms have gone down by about 65-70% now by my own estimates. I think a lot of you need to hear that today.
One other thing I forgot to mention in my posts above. I went through a phase of about 3 months where EVERYTHING scared me. For some reason I would look at a cup of coffee wrong (for example) and it would scare/stress me out. It's very weird. That has also dissipated completely now. Certain social situations and large crowds give me anxiety but nothing I can't handle at this point.
stay strong. Like I said, my symptoms have gone down by about 65-70% now by my own estimates. I think a lot of you need to hear that today.
VinBx
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: New York
Posts: 190
Glad to see so many others on here quitting the devils drink. I personally am 14.5 months sober. I have been through a roller coaster myself. My paws symptoms have been hellish. Depression, brutal anxiety, depression, depersonalization, tingling in legs and arms, chronic fatigue, restless leg which I still have, headaches constantly and they slowly have disappeared but i get them when paws sets in and the buzzing in the head seems to be the big one which onset with a headache, some dizziness and loss of balance is a biggie. Many if this has disappeared but some of the symptoms still remai. Have been to numerous docs,, from mri, catscan several blood work and ecg. Everything shows well. I have days where I feel good and don't even think about it. Then today I woke up with anxiety, slight depersonalizarion and feeling of fatigue and no drive to do anything. The windows definitely are getting longer but I'm waiting for the day where these feelings subside to the point where I don't feel them anymore or at least where I can deal with it. Some days are great, others like today are blah. They say up to 2 years so im still on that ride. Waiting for the full window to open up. Wish you all the best on your journey. Keep on keeping up 👍🏻
Member
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by Vindawgs
Glad to see so many others on here quitting the devils drink. I personally am 14.5 months sober. I have been through a roller coaster myself. My paws symptoms have been hellish. Depression, brutal anxiety, depression, depersonalization, tingling in legs and arms, chronic fatigue, restless leg which I still have, headaches constantly and they slowly have disappeared but i get them when paws sets in and the buzzing in the head seems to be the big one which onset with a headache, some dizziness and loss of balance is a biggie. Many if this has disappeared but some of the symptoms still remai. Have been to numerous docs,, from mri, catscan several blood work and ecg. Everything shows well. I have days where I feel good and don't even think about it. Then today I woke up with anxiety, slight depersonalizarion and feeling of fatigue and no drive to do anything. The windows definitely are getting longer but I'm waiting for the day where these feelings subside to the point where I don't feel them anymore or at least where I can deal with it. Some days are great, others like today are blah. They say up to 2 years so im still on that ride. Waiting for the full window to open up. Wish you all the best on your journey. Keep on keeping up 👍🏻
Member
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 213
Good luck with that graceful but I think so many factors are at play. We all heal on different timescales and it doesn’t matter if you are an everyday drinker or a binge drinker at the weekends. Some say binge drinking causes more disruption than if you drank consistently every day (called Kindling). Whether there is any truth in that I am not sure. but for what it’s worth I was a binge drinker, mostly on Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday’s. I was averaging about 50-60 units a week. Not a lot compared to some but it was enough to cause PAWS.
VinBx
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: New York
Posts: 190
Originally Posted by Graceful123
This is a personal question so feel free not to answer. How long and how heavily (on average) did you drink? I'm curious to make a rough timeline for recovery from PAWS based on length and severity of drinking vs how severe the symptoms of PAWS are
I drank twice a week at most. A few beers and on weekends about half a third of scotch. On some occasions I would drink close to a bottle. I did this for 20 years. I think for me it was the length In which I drank. So I guess the time frame for healing will be much longer than usual.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 213
I think for a lot of people they don’t even know alcohol is causing their anxiety. I have so many friends who were confident and the life and soul of the party who pretty much do not want to meet up with people or leave the house anymore, saying they have panic attacks. I think the world has not woken up to how destructive alcohol is long term even for those ‘normal’ drinkers.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by ant385
I think for a lot of people they don’t even know alcohol is causing their anxiety. I have so many friends who were confident and the life and soul of the party who pretty much do not want to meet up with people or leave the house anymore, saying they have panic attacks. I think the world has not woken up to how destructive alcohol is long term even for those ‘normal’ drinkers.
100% agree with you. Even you drink not-that-much but consistently, I think it messes with your neurotransmitters and on top of that clouds your thinking, so when you're sober, you'll have a harder time dealing with reality.
On top of that based on this whole forum and other forums, it seems to me that you may very well get PAWS not just from drinking a lot and for a long period, but even if you drink small amounts but consistently OR if you drink a lot over a short period of time.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 363
Honestly. I can’t see any difference between those with PAWS and those without, or with lesser levels of it. It may be that we are more sensitive to the neurochemical changes in our brains. It probably is more common for those with more years drinking, but hard to say. Kindling might play a part.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 326
Originally Posted by EllyB
Honestly. I can’t see any difference between those with PAWS and those without, or with lesser levels of it. It may be that we are more sensitive to the neurochemical changes in our brains. It probably is more common for those with more years drinking, but hard to say. Kindling might play a part.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 363
Meant to say that anxiety seems like it’s pretty common in ex drinkers even if they don’t talk about PAWS. I don’t remember having a ton of anxiety before my drinking got heavy, but it has been building up over the last couple of years. COVID sure hasn’t helped. I really hate going anywhere near people indoors right now... grocery shopping today was a nightmare, and I had to distract myself while standing in line.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 363
Originally Posted by BettyP
I had anxiety before I stopped drinking, but PAWS is like some next level ****. I could not leave the house for almost all of September. I am leery of the pandemic, but it's not at all situational - totally chemical. It's like being high on something terrible even though I'm sober. I think anyone who has anxiety before they stop drinking is probably going to have a pretty hard time of it when they quit, but again everyone is different! Some people feel amazing right after they quit - it just sucks for those of us who don't get that experience.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 326
Originally Posted by EllyB
I am finding it hurts my motivation to stay sober. Right now my motivation is just fear of getting sick from drinking and going through PAWS again. Otherwise, I am not yet a better mom, wife, sister or friend because I struggle to leave the house or join in fun and I am more snappish and miserable than most of the time when I was drinking.
you have support here! As do I. Have you been doing meetings?
VinBx
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: New York
Posts: 190
Ant
I couldn't agree with you more. It honestly never went through me head that I was an alcoholic. I drank on occasion twice a week. A beer here and there, and sometimes a shot or 2 of grappa. But on holidays I would help drink a bottle or 2. I guess it doesn't come down to how much you drink more than how dependent your nerves become to the ethanol. It truly is a devils drink.
I couldn't agree with you more. It honestly never went through me head that I was an alcoholic. I drank on occasion twice a week. A beer here and there, and sometimes a shot or 2 of grappa. But on holidays I would help drink a bottle or 2. I guess it doesn't come down to how much you drink more than how dependent your nerves become to the ethanol. It truly is a devils drink.
VinBx
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: New York
Posts: 190
Originally Posted by Graceful123
100% agree with you. Even you drink not-that-much but consistently, I think it messes with your neurotransmitters and on top of that clouds your thinking, so when you're sober, you'll have a harder time dealing with reality.
On top of that based on this whole forum and other forums, it seems to me that you may very well get PAWS not just from drinking a lot and for a long period, but even if you drink small amounts but consistently OR if you drink a lot over a short period of time.
On top of that based on this whole forum and other forums, it seems to me that you may very well get PAWS not just from drinking a lot and for a long period, but even if you drink small amounts but consistently OR if you drink a lot over a short period of time.
I guess if you i trounce your body to alcohol and as you said its consistent, one way or another you will create a dependency that can Introduce paws. I personally had anxiety while I was drinking and it caused me to stop and suddenly felt the anxiety come on 3 fold. I've been with it for over a year now and slowly learing to cope with it. A little bit of stress doesn't help out either. I'm sure thats also a contributor.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 200
Hello again to all of you PAWS warriors,
I am having a really hard time not having a beer or two during these holidays. Seems like booze is flowing everywhere. Everywhere I go to visit someone is drinking and I keep telling myself "I will just have a few beers, won't hurt me" but my rational side knows very well it could hurt me and could hurt my recovery a bit.
To all you struggling with the same problem I hope you're tough enough. For me the trial for these holidays is only just beginning. We have a cottage booked with my friends and I for New Years and they're bringing a LOT of alcohol.
Stay strong everybody. It's taking every last inch of my willpower not to cave.
I am having a really hard time not having a beer or two during these holidays. Seems like booze is flowing everywhere. Everywhere I go to visit someone is drinking and I keep telling myself "I will just have a few beers, won't hurt me" but my rational side knows very well it could hurt me and could hurt my recovery a bit.
To all you struggling with the same problem I hope you're tough enough. For me the trial for these holidays is only just beginning. We have a cottage booked with my friends and I for New Years and they're bringing a LOT of alcohol.
Stay strong everybody. It's taking every last inch of my willpower not to cave.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
Graceful, I wouldn't go. In early days I was pretty vulnerable so I just didn't go to things like that. Sobriety was my #1 Goal every single day.
If you feel like you have to go, have a plan at the cottage.
Take a walk
Take a drive
Go to your room and read/watch TV/sleep
Take greeting cards along so you have a project
Take a jigsaw puzzle and go to it every time you get overwhelmed
If you'll have internet access, come on here
Text a sober friend. If you don't have one, ask in the general forums or call your local AA for contact phone numbers before you leave. There are people in AA in my area who make themselves available for just this purpose - as a Service Position.
Maybe take your own car so you can have the last-ditch option to just come home. Whatever it takes. Remember it's always your choice to put alcohol in your own mouth.
If you feel like you have to go, have a plan at the cottage.
Take a walk
Take a drive
Go to your room and read/watch TV/sleep
Take greeting cards along so you have a project
Take a jigsaw puzzle and go to it every time you get overwhelmed
If you'll have internet access, come on here
Text a sober friend. If you don't have one, ask in the general forums or call your local AA for contact phone numbers before you leave. There are people in AA in my area who make themselves available for just this purpose - as a Service Position.
Maybe take your own car so you can have the last-ditch option to just come home. Whatever it takes. Remember it's always your choice to put alcohol in your own mouth.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by biminiblue
Graceful, I wouldn't go. In early days I was pretty vulnerable so I just didn't go to things like that. Sobriety was my #1 Goal every single day.
If you feel like you have to go, have a plan at the cottage.
Take a walk
Take a drive
Go to your room and read/watch TV/sleep
Take greeting cards along so you have a project
Take a jigsaw puzzle and go to it every time you get overwhelmed
If you'll have internet access, come on here
Text a sober friend. If you don't have one, ask in the general forums or call your local AA for contact phone numbers before you leave. There are people in AA in my area who make themselves available for just this purpose - as a Service Position.
Maybe take your own car so you can have the last-ditch option to just come home. Whatever it takes. Remember it's always your choice to put alcohol in your own mouth.
If you feel like you have to go, have a plan at the cottage.
Take a walk
Take a drive
Go to your room and read/watch TV/sleep
Take greeting cards along so you have a project
Take a jigsaw puzzle and go to it every time you get overwhelmed
If you'll have internet access, come on here
Text a sober friend. If you don't have one, ask in the general forums or call your local AA for contact phone numbers before you leave. There are people in AA in my area who make themselves available for just this purpose - as a Service Position.
Maybe take your own car so you can have the last-ditch option to just come home. Whatever it takes. Remember it's always your choice to put alcohol in your own mouth.
I think I got this. I mean I've made it this far, it would be a shame to set myself back! I'm going to take a nap lol and hopefully I'll wake up much better.
Again, thank you and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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