alchy

I had my last drink Jan 20th after tapering down over a week and a half from 8-10 beers a night. Past few days I've been so tired and just drained of everything. Since I quit I've been eating well and exercising and had little to no withdrawal. I'm surprised and grateful for that but this exhaustion is something else and I'm not even sure if it's normal, or even related to the alcohol. It is like I have the flu but the only symptom is the exhaustion. I also have some brain fog as well.

Anyway, is this normal 11 days after quitting? I could always work through hangovers but don't think I can actually make it to work I'm so completely and utterly drained.

Any tips?
Thanks!

Dropsie

I di not have that, but sounds like quitting was a good idea.

Whatever you need to do, do it. If you need to take a few days off work do it.

For me, once I took the decision in my soul, I was done. The rest was just execution. It took a few false starts before I really accepted that I was no longer a drinker, but once it caught, I was finished.

You know that in a few days, weeks, you will have more energy that ever, just gotta get through this.

Thinking of you.

Hevyn

Alchy - great to see you! I'm so glad you came back to us.
I did have that exhausted feeling & was very disoriented. I do think it's to be expected we'll have some physical adjustments in the early days. My strange feelings went away gradually over the first few months.
Maybe you can check with your dr for peace of mind.

Anna

Alchy, I'm glad you're back.

I think it's fairly normal to feel like you do in early recovery. I think that each withdrawal is often worse than the last. That could be what you're experiencing.

Dee74

I was very fatigued the first month, for sure.

D

Mizz

Have you had a covid test?

alchy

Thanks for the replies everyone. I haven't had a covid test no. I don't qualify and they would turn me away. Unless I lied of course. I've checked temp several times. Normal to low. No other symptom other than Extreme exhaustion. I am paying close attention though in case other symptoms surface.

biminiblue

For me I believe I was malnourished. Even though I thought I was eating fairly well when drinking - of course there were days when lunch and dinner were rum and chips. The other thing is that alcohol blocks good healthy sleep. I thought I needed it to sleep but in reality it stops the body from having long enough periods of restful healing REM sleep.

I was also just flat depleted of life energy. So much toxic poison in my system for years took its toll.

Now? I can barely sit still!

I hope that with time you will feel better, but I would say don't forget this. The way I felt in early days will forevermore be a good reason to never pick up a drink again.

JulySeaCoast

Hi alchy,
I’m on day 15 and the exhaustion and needing to sleep all afternoon has lifted in the past couple days. This is normal for me based on past quits. I rolled with it and looked at it as my body beginning to heal.
Hope you feel better soon!

alchy

Thanks for the support all!
It’s weird, I had no acute withdrawal but now seems paws is still kicking in big time. I can’t count the number of times I’ve picked up my phone to look something up and forgotten what it was by the time I unlocked it. Seriously?! I have a 2 second memory span now!? Lol.
But yeah, I think it’s paws. Pretty blah all around. Exhausted, unmotivated, trouble sleeping and memory loss etc. Started putting it all together and it’s paws I think. The exhaustion was the first symptom.
Strange though that I felt great as I was cutting down alcohol and the whole first week without any. Slept good, felt good etc. Now feel like turd. I guess I can’t expect to get away Scott free after 8-10 beer a day for 7 years. I guess I’m lucky actually.

Mizz

I think I went through PAWS awhile ago. I was not doing so good ..... I was also in a really long quarantine and I kinda went a little crazy there for awhile

I am sorry it is has been rough for you but there is going to be light at the end of your exhaustion tunnel. You are doing so well and it is so good that you are sharing what you have been experiencing. Welcome back to yourself and a new lease on life..... (just as soon as these symptoms pass

Keep on keepin on!

sugarbear1

I felt as if I had a flu, too. I treated myself like I did have the flu and was gentle on food for my stomach and slept a lot (also being exhausted). It didn't last, though. It's just part of the process of recovery!

waynetheking

I think we all go through this. It's our body saying, enough is enough. Your poisoning me. I was tired for about 2 months. I rode a bike daily to get healthy again and keep my mind off the drink. With daily prayers and the fine folks here, it worked. Just eat right, drink water. You'll be fine.

EndGameNYC

It's depleting; it grinds you down. In every possible way. It leaves its mark. It made me want to disappear.

Each time we start to drink again we are still in the process of recovering from the last time. It's valid, and maybe sometimes helpful, to describe sobriety in just that way.

Everyone else went about the business of living the rest of their lives while I was voluntarily missing in action. Seven years is a long time. You're not as young as you were the last time you quit. The rules change.

Taking care of myself never made things worse,

TiredCarpenter

I take a B complex vitamin with thiamine (gets depleted in alcoholics)
It has really helped with the brain fog.

Hope it goes well for you.

AL48

Same for me im still tired after 2 months sober but nothing like the first month. I was exhausted, sleeping for hours and still tired the next day. Eating well, hydration and exercise help. The brain fog goes as well for me that took a few weeks to repair itself.