Vincenz

So I'm 22 full days sober. I've been back in the gym for almost 2 weeks now and I'm already up to 30min of cardio. I have had very little junk food and with the exception of juice and yogurt, I have had no sugar. I also have not had any caffeine in about a year. With the exception of cigs, I have identified and have been combating things that cause anxiety. My question is; when does it get better or am I just really f***ked in the head? This is the healthiest I've ever lived in my 34 years on this earth and I still am not finding any relief! If anybody beat their anxiety by doing what I am doing now, could you please share your stories? My anxiety is worse now than when I did drink! Thanks for listening.

sugarbear1

rational recovery, avrt, smart, life ring, sos, women for sobriety and aa

I work the 12 steps of aa

something will help you!!

Ruby2

I can't give any advice, just support. I've been feeling some anxiety too, along with some other stuff. Ive got about 2.5 months. Maybe P.A.W.S.? I hope you feel better soon.

Dee74

Hi Vincenz - I'm not sure how long you drank for but I bet it was longer than 3 weeks?
Anxiety is very common - most of us find it fades, but it took some months for me - I had per existing anxiety issues tho.

If you're really worried, why not see a Dr?

D

Vincenz

I've binge drank 2-3 (sometimes 4) times a week for the last 19 years. As of 3 weeks ago I was putting down about 50-60 beers a week. I have been to the doc several times for my anxiety. I've been diagnosed with panic/anxiety for the last 7 years. I take klonopin as needed. Only thing is is I'm taking more now than I ever have and that kind of worries me even though I'm still taking less than what I'm prescribed. I was just hoping to hear from somebody who beat anxiety with time, exercise and diet. My goal is to eventually quit cigs and the benzos and live completely independent of foreign chemicals.

Dee74

Apart from recovery, deep breathing exercises helped me a lot - as did plain old regular exercise, Vincenz
If you had pre existing anxiety I think you need to be patient - being sober helps a heck of a lot, but it won't solve all our problems


D

Ruby2

Now I understand a bit better. I drank a lot every night, almost as much, if not more than you, for a good fifteen years and was having anxiety and panic attacks for which I was taking klonopin as needed. The first time i tried getting sober, over ten years ago, i was having horrific anxiety and panic attacks. I suspect that the attacks were actually withdrawal symptoms before truly understanding alcoholism and they were horrible for about three weeks or more, it has been a while so I can't remember just how long they lasted. they came and went and eventually dissipated.

I know you want to be chemical free but maybe right now you can take it slowly. when I initially started having anxiety I was also prescribed Zoloft which is also used for anxiety and tapered off eventually. Your body is still adjusting to the withdrawal of alcohol. You drank a lot for a long time, give it some time to heal before thinking you are messed in the head. Exercise and diet do help. Deep breathing. Yoga helped. And I have experienced having anxiety because I was scared of having anxiety if that makes sense. Mine did get better over time but as Dee said, it takes time.

Keep posting and maybe start writing down what is going on in the time leading up to any episodes if you aren't already doing that.

Itchy

I never had anxiety until I quit. Then it came in anxiety attacks once or twice a month fir three months. But I was drinking 30+ drinks a day for the last two years of my drinking days. I started with shots in my morning coffee if I could hold it doen to stop the shakes. I was more terrified for my life than I was of a few measly anxiety attacks. I could not sleep, and my digestive tract was all messed up. Bear with it, it does pass. I had my doc the help and here. The main thing was that my blood tests were good, and others here survived the anxiety too. If I made it, so can you.

HappyAccidents

22 days is not long enough for the anxiety to subside much. In fact, mine became worse for close to two-three months after i quit drinking. It's still present now, but at basically seven months it is better. Situations that would leave me in a mess in the past like a job interview, freeway driving, social outings are not as overwhelming as they once were. It's a long road, but i see that things are improving and they will for you too, i'm sure.

HopeSho

This is really crazy to read because I have been experiencing the exact same thing. 35 days sober and I've been having crippling panic attacks and anxiety. I only used to take my Klonopin like once or twice a month and I feel like I have needed so much more since being sober. I obviously used the alcohol to numb my anxiety and now that I don't have it in my life I notice how bad the anxiety really is...you know what I mean? I think we are just finally dealing with stuff without the crutch of alcohol and it can be scary. Not as scary as dying from alcohol related health issues though...

Finnie

Same here. Day 33 today and I had a wave of it after lunch for about an hour.
In the first weeks I thought I was going to have a full mental breakdown. It does get better and right now in a funny kind of way it is one of my biggest motivations to stay quit.

The way I see it is if I'm still not 100% after 33 days then the poison I was putting in my body was the most powerful dangerous substance known to man. I can't allow my guard to drop again.

patricia68

I am struggling with anxiety as well. It gets ridiculously unbearable at times.

I am also a smoker. Lately I've been wondering if the cigarettes are the cause of this extreme anxiety. I seem to be very sensitive any substance that affects my brain (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, meds)

I also try to exercise, meditate, eat healthy...and nothing helps. I am almost certain that the nicotine is what's causing me to be on edge all the time, more than the alcohol withdrawals.

I don't have any scientific evidence, these are just my thoughts. But I plan on discussing it with my Dr on my next appointment. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hope you feel better soon!

2muchpain

I'm not big on taking medication, but I have had a big problem with anxiety for as far back as I remember. I have found different ways to deal with it such as going to the gym like you do, but I do take a prescription med on an as needed basis when nothing else works. It's nonnarcotic, so I'm not worried about that. Anxiety will drive me to a liquor store more than anything, so I do whatever I can to keep it down. Good luck. High anxiety is no joke.

Notimetoloose

Anxiety is awful, I can wake up in the middle of the night and then for no reason, it will hit me.
I am at 3 months and it has lessened significantly. I think it is the process and it will eventually pass.
Yoga has had the biggest impact on reducing anxiety.
The breathing and stretches.

Vincenz

Patricia, I really think it is the cigs to. Last fri and sat I didn't smoke. Physically I felt great but mentally I was sick. It's a no win situation it seems. I feel poisoned and antsy after I smoke. When I smoke I feel physically sick but mentally (somewhat) fine, but if I don't smoke I feel physically great but mentally horrible. It's not all bad though. I have no cravings for alcohol at all. I've lost alot of weight and my skin really does look better. Most of my day is anxiety free but when it hits, it hits as bad as the hangover anxiety. I definitely feel overall better than say day 10, but I just feel like I'm going to lose my mind sometimes. I keep telling myself that it's just my body getting "reacquainted" with itself and working overtime to balance the chemicals right in my brain. I've had anxiety for about 7 years now, so whats a few more months? In the very beginning of my sobriety I kept telling myself I will feel better next week. Now I'm telling myself that I will feel better next month hehe. Thank you to everyone for all of your input on this matter.

Cheydinhal

Vincenz, when I quit cigarettes I felt enormously better. I've struggled with anxiety and panic for 15+ years and my drinking only made it worse. When I stopped smoking and stopped drinking, my normal healthy eating and exercise have helped. The only two things that help me when my anxiety pops up now and then is working out and really sweating hard or doing yoga.

Vincenz

Cheydinhal, did you quit them together, or did you quit alcohol for a while first? The booze isn't even an issue for me. I know I'm over it because I never want to go through this hell again. Now my focus is ciggarettes. I want to quit for so many reasons. It has crossed my mind that the more I distance myself from alcohol the more I may become even more attached to the cigs. Again, how did you do it?

Cheydinhal

Unfortunately, I can't help you there - I quit cigarettes at the same time I quit drinking. I mostly only liked smoking when I drank, and without drinking I haven't had a desire for cigarettes. I do know some friends who took Chantix and it worked for them, but other friends have tried Chantix and it made them really moody and it made their anxiety worse. I quit cigarettes one time before and Nicorette cinnamon gum helped me a lot. If I had stopped drinking at that time, I wouldn't have started smoking again.

cusper

Hi vincenz,

I started to get the worst kind of anxiety right around the same time. I have been sober for little over 2 months and it is beginning to get better however it hasn't vanished completely. But it is much better than at 23 days. Hang in there. I found eating some healthy carb like toast helped. I quit smoking before I quit drinking and I still had terrible anxiety. I would imagine that smoking could make it worse as it is a stimulant. I had never even heard of PAWS until I got on this site. Thank god because I was very close to checking into the mental institution. It's crazy what alcohol can do. You were right, this anxiety is a very good deterrent from ever picking up a drink again. Who wants to go through this again?!!! Congrats on 23 days.. Your anxiety will lessen.

2muchpain

A few years ago when I was in treatment, I told the doctor that I figured since I'm there for a month, I might as well quit smoking. He said that he does not normally say this, but he suggested I deal with one addiction at a time, that trying to quit two addictions together would cause a great deal of stress on my system. He recommended quitting one addiction at a time. Maybe it depends on how much you smoke. I was a pack+ a day.