Alaska1112

Hi, my name is Jack. I'm 20 years old and from Missouri, though I spent most of my life in Alaska. I have been drinking probably for about 3 years. I've always had a problem with excess throughout my life. Spent most of my teenage life battling food addiction. I seem to have gotten that vice under control in the past year though, as I've dropped about 80 lbs. My friends have always been amazed at my apparent tolerance to alcohol. I drink about a liter of vodka a night, every night.

I'm very familiar with alcohol withdrawal, as I go through it everyday until I can have more alcohol. I've had the shakes, panic attacks, etc. Something very strange though happened to me today on my drive home from work. It is the first time my withdrawals have become unpredictable. As I was driving home from work I started to feel a tingle in my left arm. At first I didn't think much of it, I just assumed my arm had just fell asleep. Suddenly though that same tingling sensation moved over to my other arm. Then it moved to my legs. As the tingling got stronger it because much harder and harder to move my body. I couldn't move my fingers. I felt like a wind up toy with all this tension building up throughout my body. That 15 minute car ride felt like the longest 15 minutes of my life. When I got home, my entire upper body was shaking and still tingling. My legs would barely move, I really had to will myself to just walk. Fortunately, I had plenty of alcohol in the house so once I entered I did what I euphemistically call my five "Sober shots". These are the shots of liquor I take right when I get home to feel sober again.

I think I'm going to use the remaining alcohol I have to taper off tonight, maybe just taking a shot or two every hour. Not enough to get drunk, but enough to keep most of the withdrawals away. I know many of you are going to tell me to go to a hospital, but considering I'm not even old enough to buy alcohol I know if I go there they'll just ask my a lot of questions. I'm hoping for someone on here to tell me what the hell happened today. Do you have any idea what that "tingling" was?

desertsong

You might want to read this:

Alcoholic Neuropathy - Symptoms, Causes, Treatments - Better Medicine

Not saying that this is what is going on with you, but I had many of those symptoms myself. When I quit drinking, they went away, thankfully.

Glad you have joined us.

Opivotal

Welcome Alaska! That must have bee a scary ride. Whatever your body is going through doesn't sound good. I know you don't want to hear it, but I would go to the hospital ASAP. It's worth whatever questions they ask to save your life.



Best Wishes To You!

sharp75

i get tingling most days going on in my chest and legs when i frist get up ona morning and at times my legs will buckle, but iv never had it to the extent where iv needed to drink to stop it presumably because iv stook to lager rather than vodka. my best avice is to speak to a doctor, doenst matter what age you are they will truly support you, i was seeing my doctor for anxiety for a few years then i finally admitted to him a few weeks ago about my drink problem and he has been brilliant and i wish id told him much sooner. please dont be scared to see someone, as soon as you admit it youll feel a big weight lift from your shoulders.

Dee74

Hi Jack

I'd go to the hospital too - questions or no questions - nothings as important as your continued health and well being.

I'm sure they've seen 20 yos in there before too

D

Impurrfect

((Jack)) - Welcome to SR! I agree about the hospital. FWIW, I used to be an ER nurse (lost that career to addiction) but they are concerned about your health, not whether you are legal to be drinking. If you do go, please be honest - doctors can't help if they don't know all the facts.

That being said, I hope you read around and keep posting. You're not alone, lots of people here have either been through or are still going through similar stuff.

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

Alaska1112

If I keep having days like this, I don't think my drinking patterns can be self-sustainable. I've read a lot of horror stories on the internet about people withdrawing from alcohol, and my greatest fear is getting into a seizure one night because I forgot to get alcohol for the day. That car ride really scared me today. Going into an alcohol withdrawal fit while driving on the highway is incredibly dangerous. I don't think I would of made it if I lived any farther. The last 5 minutes or so I was driving the car with my wrists, because my fingers had tightened up so much they couldn't bend. It's scary to look at your fingers, wanting them to move and yet they won't. That sense of loss of control of your own body definitely scares me to the core.

sharp75

go see someone dont be scared. i have drank heavily for 9 years and everything seemed fine for that period of time then 1 day about 3 weeks ago it hit me so hard to the point i thought i was dying so i contacted my doctor immediately, i felt some shame but i would rather feel shame and resolve it rather than spend the rst of mylife the way i was. i always thought people would think "well it serves yourself right" but they dont they are truly supportive, so lately i have admitted to many people about myself and i feel much better for it.

hypochondriac

Make the most of your youth Alaska, go to the hospital and tell them exactly what is going on. I don't want to scare you but at the levels you are drinking a medical detox would be wise. It might be scary right now but you are going to have to fess up to your drinking at some point so it might as well be to a medical professional who may well be able to save your life. Have no doubt, this is not sustainable.

I had lots of scary symptoms when drinking, they don't stop til you stop drinking.

Welcome to SR x

willquit

Alaska, please go to the hospital. Don't drive, get a friend to drive you.
willquit

suki44883

Please don't fool around with this. What happened today could have been so much worse. You could have lost control of your car and hurt or killed someone or yourself. Please go to the ER and tell them exactly what happened. Please don't put yourself or others at risk of this happening again.

sugarbear1

I agree---Please seek medical attention


glad you are here

Itchy

That symptom is serious and you need to get to the hospital and tell them straight up what is going on, and what you are drinking and how much. No one can diagnose online, not even the docs we have as members. That's why the rule no medical advice here.

Even if you feel better you really need to get some workups done ASAP before the symptoms return.

Deserto

Alaska, just to add to what others have said... I'd go to the hospital, and don't worry about the questions. The questions the doctors will ask will be about how much you've been drinking (tell them the truth) and your symptoms... they're not going to ask about how or why you're drinking if you're underage, if that is your concern. Really, I almost can guarantee it won't even come up, in the same way doctors don't quiz people about where they get other drugs when people come in for help... it's not what the doctors are there for, and it's no surprise to anyone (and certainly not those in the medical profession) that young people have access to alcohol and sometimes need help breaking a habit.

Take care of your health. And keep posting here on SR -- it's a great place for support

DisplacedGRITS

Get medical help. Doctors aren't ignorant to the fact that people under 21 drink. They're not the police. They deal with people who abuse pills and take illegal drugs all the time. Your alcohol consumption is not going to set off any "call the cops! We've got an under age drinker!" alarms. Doctors are doctors. Not cops. Your case worker will talk to you but you're not going to be locked up or anything. Alcohol withdawl can be DEADLY. I personally have had at least one seizure trying to detox on my own. There's no warning. Get detoxed safely then get on a plan to quit. You're very young and you have a long time to save your life.

CaiHong

Alaska,
you are 20 years old and drinking a liter of vodka everyday. The tingling /numbness is a wake up call.
Take Care
caiHong

Itchy

How are you doing today Alaska?

serious

that feeling is very "normal" during a withdrawal. your body/mind and all internal systems go through all sorts of adjustments... but i liter of vodka a day will eventually kill you. while you are pretty young, it is possible to recover without much problems. although if you drink that much for 3 years, medical assistance will likely be required.

do you really want to die from DT's? (it's not a good way to go, especially when you are so young). but that is what's going to happen when you keep putting ethanol in your body in such large amounts.