Silver11

Hello all, Im on day 4.

Ive been reading a bit about the concept kindling. How after repeated binges and withdrawals (during which the brain is in a hyper excited state) the withdrawals become progressively worse until the brain suffers from cognitive decline.

I have been worrying about this. Ive been bingeing and withdrawing for 20+ years. My withdrawals now are indeed more powerful than when I was 30 (ten years ago).

Nowadays after a drinking session (usually 10 beers) I wake up very anxious (that lasts 2-3 days) and I have insomnia for about 3-4 days. Ive read that this may be kindling in progress. I have never had DTs or seizures though.

I have been doing online IQ/memory tests to convince myself I don't have cognitive decline!

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks,

Dee74

All I can offer is my experience drash - I drank for 20 years, the last 5 of those all day everyday...I suffered several mini strokes in to the bargain.

It took a long time but I think my cognitive abilities are now back as good as they've ever been.

I do have some slight aphasia type thing where I might type the wrong word (I typed 'not' for 'now' just then) but I think that's my brain moving faster than my fingers.

I'm conscious of the mistake most times so I'm not worried about it.

The brain is remarkable in the ways it can retrain itself.

Of course if you're concerned about this the only real way to find out for sure is see your Dr?

D

D122y

Drash,

Imo....we get so many units of booze in a lifetime before our body and mind start to really feel and show the damage of the drinking. What is that number? My body and mind told me I reached it.

I started drinking to get drunk at 6 years old. I drank off and on until I quit at 50.

For me, the kindling is about my ability to recover and the brain damage from drinking. PAWS is another issue..btw.

Regarding kindling...I got to the point that after just a few drinks my balance was shot...especially if it was dark out.

After drinking heavily, during recovery the next day...I would struggle to find words during conversation. I couldn't just flow in continuing process of thought sometimes.

Shortly after i quit....I was back to a quick, specific pattern of speaking. I can really ramble like I used to.

When abused, like the way I drink, booze fries our brains after a while. It took years for me to get to a point where I routinely noticed it.

Humans were not designed to ingest alcohol. It is a learned behavior. It can be unlearned.

Thanks.

Forward12

When I was every day drinking, I would have the typical feeling like crap, some anxiety, sleeplessness, shame, etc,.. but it was somewhat tolerable towards the end of the day or next. Once I started binge drinking is when things got real scary.
I went a few months of pretty much 24/7 drinking to the point at the end at it's worst, I put down a 30 pack and 1.75 of vodka in about 2.5 days time. Coming off of that was when the kindling was in full effect and pretty much the scariest 5 days of my life.
I couldn't sleep, completely freaking out, I thought i had bugs crawling under my skin and scratching myself to the point of bleeding. Trying to sleep in the bathroom as my bed felt unsafe to me, violently throwing up from even taking a few sips of water, thinking about sleeping in the bathtub or the closet, all kinds of just crazy thoughts. I'm pretty sure it was DT's.
Booze is some horrific stuff, that's for sure,...

zackman

After only 4 days of sobriety you're head is going to be foggy. After the binges I used to go on it would take me sometimes 2 weeks to feel normal. I would suggest not taking IQ tests and reading anything online that's gonna make you feel like something is going on that most likely is not. Once you get some sober time you'll realize your brain is fine. Day 4 is way to early to be worrying about things like it sounds you are. Good luck friend!

entropy1964

My withdrawals only got worse because I drank more and for longer periods. If I had times when I drank less, my withdrawals were less intense. The cognitive issues were/are there however. After only 55 days or so I am much improved but I believe it will take a lot longer to be back to my old self. And at 51 I don't expect to be 21 again!