Garp

Hi all,

I was drinking quite heavily for around 5 years, and have given up cold turkey for about one month now (while being off and on for the last one to two years).

My head feels a bit strange, I am more vague than usual, my memory is shot, and I get weird sensations in my brain. Plus, I have nearly no appetite or energy.

How long does it normally take before your brain returns to normal?

I am finding that it is impacting on my work, and am keen for it to be over already...

Thanks for reading!

least

It can take several weeks to several months to return to normal functioning, at least in my experience. It helped me get back to normal by eating right and getting enough exercise. I read a wonderful example given by another member: if you walk ten miles into the woods you're not going to get out of the woods in just a few steps.

It takes time but it does pass.


Welcome to SR!

Garp

Thanks for the kind words!

I'm over the cravings, so I guess it's just a waiting game.

You are right about the exercise. Jogging is great for clearing the head. I am also snarfing down some vitamin tablets in the hope that they will also help heal the damage.

Dee74

Welcome Garp

I think things like that tend to be subjective by nature, so I'm not sure anyone can give you a timeframe. I remember it was months for me before I felt I was 'normal'.

Please do see a medical professional if you're worried about this.

D

augustwest

define normal.

i don't obsess about or crave drugs anymore. but obsessive/compulsiveness is still present with me, albeit less in frequency and strength. my self-centeredness has subsided quite a bit but still can arise.

i don't think my brain will ever be "normal" in the sense that it operates in the same way as other non-addicts. it would be dangerous for me to believe that. but what i have learned is a practice to manage my condition which means not acting out on all my thoughts and engaging in behaviors that rebuild my personality into one of a useful, thoughtful, productive member of society.

on the surface and in the majority of my actions i am now a "normal" member of society. But my thinking sure as hell ain't. We'll see if that completely changes. I somehow doubt it. but i now know that my thoughts aren't me, and that i don't have to act out on every little thing that passes through my head.

LaFemme

Hi Garp! I just passed 100 days and I am still trying to get certain issues resolved. I had really hideous fatigue and have just started an excercise program which seems to be helping. I also still have some brain fog that I find effects my work. I am just keeping faith that it will get better. I am doing my best to eat healthy in addition to the excercise and take vitamins and supplements. Good luck and congrats on your month!

Draciack

Hi Garp

There's no set timetable - but it seems to get better every week.

Always, there are things I can do to help like exercise to improve energy or relaxation techniques to learn how to sleep. But I punished my body for a long time; a little payback seemed warranted

Welcome to SR

firestorm090

Hi Garp,

After drinking near 30 yrs, I think parts of my brain are permanently pickled,

It's told that drinking excessively kills brain cells, and if that's true, then I must have entire areas of my brain that are just dead space, lol. No wonder when I move my head quickly, things seem to rattle around in there, lol.

It gets better. Just this morning I remembered to put on my pants before I went outside, lol.

Hang in there and welcome.

LaFemme

Oh...I have no appetite either...I have to make myself eat.

Dallas...on behalf of women everywhere, mayb I say thank you for remembering to put your pants on before going outside today;-p

CarolD

Welcome to our recovery community......

For me....by the end of 2 months I was back in balance
both physically and mentally.

The first really positive sign my brain was beginning to heal....
once again I could do Crosswords.
Your mind needs a bit of flexing for healing.

I was attending AA daily....walking often..eating healthy
made a point of drinking lots of water and juices.

Good to see you are heading into a healthy future

firestorm090

LaFemme,

I've been wondering why those women started meeting for coffee each morning right across the street, lol.

AmericanGirl

Garp--like other people are saying, it took a few months for me to feel like my mind was clear. At six months, I am still still seeing slight improvements and imagine that they will continue.

augustwest

In the immortal words of David Byrne.. I'm still waiting!

bdiddy5522

I had the same questions when I first sobered up too. I sobered up when I was 28 and drank pretty heavily for about 10 years. Through college and into my 20's. I am almost a year sober now and it did take a while. For me I would say probably 6 months before I really started to feel "good". And even now things are not what I would call perfect. But it does get better and it does take time. For me, the feeling of it getting better was even more of a reason not to drink. It sure would be silly to sacrifice all the progress I had made by drinking again.

But hang in there, be kind to yourself and know that it will get better. Congrats on your sober time.

eddie73

My experience,,

Dts 5 days
1 week, feel 'normal'. Sleep is back to where it should be at
2 weeks, feel so normal that I forget the horror of being a drunk and consider drinking again.

So yes it does get better, so much so that I need help and support to stay that way!

LaFemme

Thanks for this thread...I have been wondering about the brain fog myself. Ditto on the fatigue and appetite...nice to know I'm not alone. It does keep getting better, and i've always been somewhat spacey...LOL!

As I mentioned elsewhere, the only other experience I had with sobriety was 8 out of 10 days sober 5 years ago...everything bounced back so quick I thought it would be the same this time...of course, 5 years hard drinking and smoking wasn't going to go unnoticed by my body/brain!

Garp

I mean 'normal' by my own personal standards... or how my brain was before I started drinking to excess (ie. how it functioned 7 odd years ago).


Thanks all for your replies! Yes, I think it is better to stay off the drink for good. I was off and on for two years, but now I have to knuckle down and finally finish my interminable PhD, I realize the effects it has had on my brain! On and off doesn't work.

I mean, I do function fine, but prolonged concentration is a killer! I guess I'll just have to hang in there, be disciplined, and make the best of my easily distracted brain.

Isaiah

It does seem to depend on who you are, how you drank, what your brain is like.

Anecdotally, I've often heard people in AA say 3 months is a common average.

I heard a doctor say post-acute withdrawal seems to take between 6 months to 2 years, then brain function is the same as a non-addict.

My guess though is that it just keeps moving in stages. I am not a neurologist, but I'm pretty sure a brain can't just decide, "hey, three months is up! Let's fix that damage now!" And in my own experience there wasn't just a day or week when I suddenly noticed a change. Makes me think it was just a very slow process.

Garp

I find that my brain also changes throughout the day.

Before I eat (which is quite a good chunk of the day as I have no appetite), my brain is quite addled, spacey and 'tingley'. But after I make the effort to eat something hearty, it improves quite a bit.

Dee74

You might want to see your doctor and mention that fact Garp - not that I know whats really going on with you, but a lot of alcoholics find they're hypoglycemic.

D