DAVEYANT

Okay, here goes. My name is Davey and I've just started my quest to a new life and finding some anxiety issues jumping in my life anew. I've been drinking daily for about 8 years and over the past couple years I started to black out nearly daily. I saw myself not as an alcoholic but as just someone who wanted to unwind at the end of a hard day but what I used to drink now would make me black out. I always enjoyed drinking and did not think I had an issue. I've been in a 7 year relationship with my boyfriend Anthony. We both would drink together and go to parties and have a really good time. It just recently started to get to where drinking was just not fun anymore. On January 7th of this year 2012 my boyfriend and I were headed to Wally World and as usual we stopped by the ABC store to grab a couple shots. We had drank heavily the night before because we were celebrating and went to a restaurant and had dinner. I would say I had 7 shots and a couple mixed drinks total that night. I normally would take 4 shots a night and drink about 5+ beers. This night was a bit over done. Well after we hit the ABC store I took one of my shots in the parking lot. I immediately started to feel odd and a bit dizzy. I blew it off and went into the store. I was in probably 3 minutes when I told my boyfriend that I had to go back to the car and that I just was feeling very weird. I figured I would force myself to throw up the liquor which I did. I laid down in my seat for a few minutes and decided that I needed to just go home. On the way home I had to pull over 2 more times and rid my body so to speak. Well I was about 5 miles from home and all of a sudden I felt that if I did not pull over I was going to pass out. I pulled over and was forced to lay down due to dizziness. I started to shake, my heart rate shot up to 150+bpm, my speach started to slur and I just was so faint that I just thought I was going to die. I told my boyfriend to call 911. So here I am on the side of the road shaking like I was sitting in ice and still sluring speach that was not caused by being drunk or buzzed in the least. It scared the crap out of me needless to say. The rest of that day I felt drained and miserable and it was that day that I told myself no more binge drinking. Since that day I have only had a few drinks but quit completely and have not had a drink since 1/28/12. It will be 3 weeks this Saturday. Although I felt a lot better the first couple weeks I've recently this week started to feel extreme anxiety. It starts in my stomach and from that point I don't know if I cause the reaction of if it's in my brain but I start to feel like I'm loosing control or that something bad is going to happen. It's not something that I outwardly show but inside my body is going nuts. My boyfriend does not know I've had a couple of these spells this week and I'm able to go through it myself. I have a very important job and make decent money and I've been praying for strength in getting through this. I eat VERY well and walk at least 1 mile daily but since quitting drinking I feel like my self esteem has took a nose dive and I find myself worrying about every little thing a lot more than I used to. I signed up for this site after reading someones post that I could have written myself word for word. In a way I'm glad I had that reaction on January 7th because it has made me re-evaluate my life and my lifestyle but the body reactions suck and I'm in hope that they will get better with time.

WhySoSerious

Wow i dont even know what to say, thats very scary. But keep up the sobriety, im earlier into than you are. just wow, im so glad you are ok ill keep you in my prayers.

lilac0721

Welcome to SR! Congratulations on getting through 3 weeks without drinking!

Anxiety is something I deal with, too. It is one of the things that I go back to drinking over (which I don't recommend). You might want to talk to a doctor about it, because anxiety attacks can be quite debilitating!

sissy07

daveyant,


That was quite a wakeup call. Consider yourself fortunate that you didn't get a DUI or worse - like dying.

I am a little over 6 months sober, and the anxiety is still there for me. I think that it has always been there but I just covered it up at night with drinking myself numb - and the numbness carried on throughout the next day. That is no way to go through life.

You should see a doctor as soon as you can, and stay sober. Drinking will just make it worse. Best wishes, and stick with SR - it has helped me stay sane and sober when nothing else would. Take care.

Terminally Unique

It was almost certainly the result of being drunk. Your body was going through withdrawal.

phoebe64

I have anxiety issues. It was very helpful to see someone about it. I manage it presently without meds as well. well, I do have clonazepam, which I use when I go to the dentist or fly, maybe several times in a year.

Drinking definately contributed to more severe attacks, especially associated with hangovers.

As I read here, I see alot of us deal with anxiety.

welcome and good on the 3 weeks sober!

rochele

Sapling

You got to wonder if there is a connection that a lot of us here deal with alcohol and drug problems.

gippy1968

What did the 911 paramedics suggest?

DAVEYANT

They said it could have been a mild seizure. It was not drunkiness or withdrawl. I've still to this day have not been through a withdrawl symptom. I'm 3 weeks tomorrw and quit cold turkey. Also one shot does not make me drunk after years of abuse. I'm really not sure what this was. I've experienced this a couple times before but it was on a couple sips of beer. I would get nauseous and tell my friends that I just could not drink that day. This was the first time I've taken a shot and apparently my body just could not accept that 40% shot of alcohol and it reacted. I learned a huge lesson and I thank God daily that he has given me this wake up call. I pray that he will give me the strenght to not pick it up again. I have a friend that has gotten so bad that drinking is all he does now. From the time he wakes up until he passes out he drinks. He was in the hospital in December due to his drinking and he quit for 2 weeks after getting out but he's full force again. His body accepts the amount of alcohol he gives it unfortunately which aids him in continuing. He just tured 54 and I really don't think he will make 55 if he doesn't get help. We've tried all we could including getting him into treatment in December when he got ill and broke his wrist from drinking. Adult Social Services took charge of him for a while and was helping him but they have not shown up in weeks now. I actually am grateful for my horrific experience last month. It has shown me that if I don't stop I'm going to die.
Thanks for everyone's comments.

My daily montra!
"I AM STRONGER THAN THAT!!"

sugarbear1

So, what's the recovery program you are following to stay stopped? Drinking was a solution. Now what?

Seizures are no joke. Try to stay stopped.

LadyNoBinge

Oh my goodness, that sounds very scary! I am glad you are okay. It sounds like you are having panic attacks. It is ok, I have them too, along with generalized anxiety disorder. You sound like a survivor, but you don't need to go through this alone. Thank you for posting so honestly, that takes courage. I encourage you to share with your boyfriend the anxiety you are experiencing so he can be a support to you. Having problems with anxiety need not be a shameful secret, millions of people struggle with anxiety every day. I also encourage you to go to your family doctor for a checkup, just to make sure you are alright. Congratulations on 20 days sober!!! xo

instant

Alcohol always destroys in the end. I don't know what you went through, but I had periods of feeling dreadful, and very intense unstable emotional episodes for quite a few months on and off. I took it that my body was readjusting, it takes time.

Dee74

Welcome Davey

I'm glad you stopped - I can't believe I actually went through a few of those and kept drinking....not recommended.

I think most of us have to deal with anxiety in the early days - if you think it's been going on too long or it's overly concerning you in any way - I'd see a Dr about it

Good to have you with us

D

SeekSobriety

Thanks for sharing your story. Congratulations on the three weeks sobriety.

You mentioned that you have a very important Job and make decent money that is great to hear. I would highly recommend that you find a Board Certified Doctor who specializes in Addiction Medicine.

Also what helps me tremendously is attending 12 step meetings.

We need to protect our precious sobriety. This may be the only chance we get to save our lives, before we lose our jobs, our money and very often our lives.

Thanks so much for letting me share and please keep posting.

jocata

Maybe a panic attack? Not a doc so couldn't tell you for sure. See one if it keeps happening. If you keep drinking it's going to get much worse. Drinking made my anxiety much worse. I'd start working a program of recovery as well.

Best wishes and God bless.

recoverywfaith

So very glad you made it thru that and want to stay sober....maybe let that be your last drink? Sounds to me you experienced the following:

Alcohol poisoning symptoms include:

Confusion, stupor
Vomiting
Seizures
Slow breathing (less than eight breaths a minute)
Irregular breathing (a gap of more than 10 seconds between breaths)
Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
Low body temperature (hypothermia)
Unconsciousness ("passing out"), and can't be roused
It's not necessary for all of these symptoms to be present before you seek help. A person who is unconscious or can't be roused is at risk of dying.

When to see a doctor
If you suspect that someone has alcohol poisoning — even if you don't see the classic signs and symptoms — seek immediate medical care. In an emergency, follow these suggestions:

If the person is unconscious, breathing less than eight times a minute or has repeated, uncontrolled vomiting, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately. Keep in mind that even when someone is unconscious or has stopped drinking, alcohol continues to be released into the bloodstream and the level of alcohol in the body continues to rise. Never assume that a person will "sleep off" alcohol poisoning.If the person is conscious, call 800-222-1222 (in the U.S.), and you'll automatically be routed to your local poison control center. The staff at the poison control center or emergency call center can instruct you as to whether you should take the person directly to a hospital. All calls to poison control centers are confidential.Be prepared to provide information. If you know, be sure to tell hospital or emergency personnel the kind and amount of alcohol the person drank, and when.Don't leave an unconscious person alone. While waiting for help, don't try to make the person vomit. Alcohol poisoning affects the way your gag reflex works. That means someone with alcohol poisoning may choke on his or her own vomit or accidentally inhale (aspirate) vomit into the lungs, which could cause a fatal lung injury.

Source: By Mayo Clinic staff

whynot4856

Hey Davey,

Thats scary. Could have been that the anxiety was with you all along, but the alcohol just masked it. Now that you are getting healthy you can take it further and see a doctor about your anxiety issues. Helped me for sure.

I had a similar episode while drinking once, and I always just assumed it was a panic attack. I had anxiety about my drinking problem, knowing it was there, and picturing my life if I quit. That was a few years ago. I'm now 3 weeks sober (almost).
Turns out my life has been a hell of a lot better since I have quit

DAVEYANT

Thank you "recoverywfaith" that really does sound like what I was experiencing. I can tell you it was literal hell. I thought I was dying or going to pass out. It was horrendous!! You know I really have not started any type of recovery program. That spell really scared me straight so to say. I'm 3 weeks 2 days today sober. Most of my panic type situations have come on the weekends when I used to drink the most. I had one on Friday evening at Food Lion. I started to feel out of body so to speak and like a million bad things were going to happen to me all at once. I was not myself and it was hard to get a grip on myself. It seems to always start in the pit of my stomach and then it's like my brain takes charge and I go into a mild panic attack. I got dizzy, nauseous and like I was loosing control. Now all of this is inside and really not outwardly shown. My boyfriend always seems to ask me "are you okay" when I'm having one of these type spells. I don't think I'm showing anything visibly but he's always able to sort of tell. I ended up in the Food Lion rest room looking in the mirror telling myself "You are stronger than this. Get a grip on yourself!!" You know, I have had a couple bad days but in reality I'd much rather have a couple bad days here in the beginning than keep going where I was headed. One day at a time is all we can do. I don't know if anyone here has watched the show Intervention. Have you noticed after the 90 day treatment all the addicts look 10 years younger and much healthier?? Well I'm only 3 weeks in and I hope in 90 days I'll have my life back and take charge of my mental state. No one needs to be a slave to alcohol. I'm so done with living each day drunk and blacked out for the only acheivement of fun. The results the next day of nausea and panic are just not worth it anymore. Thanks everyone for all the well wishes. We're all going to make it! Stay strong and know you are so much better than what this drug makes you seem. If anyone needs someone to talk to I'll gladly be there as you all are for me in words.