jgray1978

I posted here once previously. It was explained that my "Meh" feeling all of the time and tiredness was PAWS. I am glad to say that it has lightened up somewhat. I am past the 4 month mark (got my green chip yay!)...But I feel mentally deficient at times and it is most aggravating. I am a 33 y.o. male and drank vodka/gin heavy for about the last 6+ years. I am hoping that I haven't totally friend by brain in that time...But I sometimes just blank out. Like yesterday I was working on some memorization stuff that I have to do for an organization that I belong to. I could most times fly right through it but hit a wall yesterday while working with a friend on it. I was lucky to recall my name. This went on for maybe 5-7 minutes and I slowly was coming back to the land of remembering. But this is just one instance. I will get thoughts of somethings that I need to do or look up on the internet while taking my morning shower and forget what they were by the time that I get to sit down 15 minutes later. I have even had times where I will open a new tab on my browser and then forget what I was opening it for. I can sit down to email someone and forget who I was going to email and about what. It pisses me off!

Anyway, I am watching my alcoholic mother go into this Alcohol Induced Dementia now but she has been hitting it heavy for 35+ years (with the exception of the time that she was married to my father which was 9 years until he passed). I hope to God that I am not getting the onset of Dementia!

Will this go away overtime? How long?

Lost3000

Um, what's PAWS?

lisa29

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome--the stuff that happens to you after the initial withdrawal. I am a newcomer and don't have much personal experience to offer, but I have read that this can last quite a while.

Jitterbugg

By the time I came out of rehab last year, I was about 2 months sober. I was generally feeling pretty good physically and emotionally, but I definitely was not all there as far as mental sharpness. In fact, I remember being up at someone's cabin on a lake in the summer and playing Scrabble. I was always a great Scrabble player, especially with a few beers in me, but I did horrible this time. I was playing with 3 others and I finished last both games we played. One the other players had never even played before haha! All I could come up with were words like 'cat' and 'tree' haha!

Anyway, I stuck to a healthy diet and went for long walks daily. I think the PAWS began to lift at the 5-6 month mark.

Lost3000

Huh. Maybe that's my problem. I didn't do rehab but quit 9 days ago. Did well right away but today am feeling down and out - similar to how I felt when I was drinking.

Bikeguy

I believe for those affected by PAWS the time frame varies just like detoxing varies for each individual. Age, amount and duration of drinking, overall health, diet, exercise and stress I truly believe all play a roll in our overall recovery. For me I felt considerably better at 8 months than I did at 6 months, I could also tell the difference when I watch what I eat and try to pamper myself some. I have to remind myself that recovery is not a race but a goal, it will take time and work, but I will get there.

jgray1978

So maybe this is why I had to give up on the "Words with Friends" game...lol

It seems to be something that comes and goes though. Sometimes I feel quite collected and then will just get scattered in a split second.

Also I am diabetic so I am finding that without alcohol my blood glucose is not in the skies all of the time. I have had a couple of instances where my sugar was too low and it was difficult to compose my thoughts.

GirlFromCO

Oh gosh, scrabble, yeah. LOL. Not a good feeling. Feeling like this was really demoralizing at first, BUT, I know if I go back to booze it will get even worse. It does get better with time, in my own experience, but it's not something that just comes back like some of the other physical symptoms like sleeping, going to the bathroom normally, etc. I've had to really work to get back on track as far as the metal fog goes, and I am not back to feeling as sharp as I did before I drank. I read a lot, do puzzles, and try to write when I can. Anything that requires more focus than normal is really helpful to me.

jocata

I am there with the paws too. It's almost funny(actually it is funny) some of the things I've done in the last couple of weeks. I returned two Redbox videos to a regular video store near own home. Luckily the workers at the video store returned them to the Redbox machine for me. I have to laugh at it or I will cry.

The lack of energy is the most annoying for me. My business requires alot of energy and I just don't have much of it yet.

I am noticing very slow improvements, however.

God bless.

LoftyIdeals

I am at 5 months and still have PAWS moments as well. Everyday, really. But, I've been trying to quit smoking as well, so I have to write some of it off to that. Today is day 9 off the cigs.

I've read it can take up to 2 yrs, but like Bikeguy said, it's different for everyone. I am also hoping I didn't fry my brain. I think I'll recover. I've seen some fried brains at some of my meetings, and it's a great deterrent from ever drinking again.

Pigtails

I am 64 days sober and still find myself foggy-headed, unable to concentrate, like I'll use the wrong word or not be able to think of something. This stuff is part of why I stopped drinking-- it was ruining my intelligence!!!-- but I didn't expect it to linger so long or even seem stronger after I stopped drinking. I find it comes and goes, and the major symptoms like being really emotional and extremely tired and sometimes really depressed have faded for the most part. I think it is temporary, or else I did some real brain damage, but either way, I'm not going back to drinking!! Good luck.

JimH

The PAWS is not unusual. I still have it after 5 months but it has been getting slowly better. Still get anxiety, forgetfulness, confusion etc.
I hate it but at the same time see it as a kind of blessing. It's a reminder of how much I was hurting myself and that the decision to quit was the right one.
There's a good article here about PAWS. Google PAWS Alcohol Forum and it will take you right to it.
There are also plenty of other sites that cover it in depth. Just google PAWS and your symptom to see if it comes up. Yours definitely will.

Jim

Bikeguy

Here is some pretty good information about PAWS, PAWS « Digital Dharma .

1undone

I still have PAWS symptoms too. Just playing the waiting game and trying not to be mean and irritable all the time! Hoping the good days will start outnumbering the bad.

HenryKrinkle

This happened to me the first time I quit drinking. It's a scary feeling but trust me, it will pass. Mine was 2-3 months.

jgray1978

Does anyone ever just want to cry because they are soooo frustrated with this mental fog crap?!?!?

I'd almost rather go back to the pukin' and shakin' withdrawals then this mental disability...

desertsong

I've always been rather loopy, so the PAWS fog is like returning to "normal" for me. lol I called someone on the phone the other day and forgot who I was calling ... they answered the phone and I was like, "Um, who is this?" And they said, "Who is THIS?!" We had a good laugh about it but geez ...

Just know you aren't alone, friend!

Bikeguy

I wouldn't go back to that for anything, it's hard at times no question about it but it does get better. I'm so much better now than I was 2 months ago it surprises me. Hang in there....it's worth it.

midgetcop

Up until about a week ago I was pretty bad, too. I felt dizzy and slightly nauseated all the time...very fatigued, and literally like my brain gained about 10 pounds. Normally I'm a fairly articulate person, and I don't know how many times I caught myself saying something that made absolutely NO sense grammatically. I'd then catch myself and have a good laugh at it, but it was definitely atypical for me. I've also become very sensitive to sudden sounds, and that hasn't subsided yet. An unexpected noise will feel as though it's cutting through the front of my head.

Yet, I still feel relatively like a million bucks. I'd take this over the rollercoaster hell of drinking and withdrawal.

Dee74

If none of the things suggested in the PAWs link Bikeguy posted seem to help, why not see a Dr?

None of us here can really diagnose you - it might be PAWS - but it could easily be something else too - and not necessarily anything major either

D