chris75

I have been thinking for several months now that I need to stop drinking. I am 41 & have been drinking heavily for the last 10 yrs. or so. (vodka, gin, whiskey). After being on an extended vacation during Thanksgiving, and going on a binge I decided yesterday was the day (11-28-16).
I happened to run across this site & decided to join, thinking I got this & would only be a lurker. My last night drinking was Sunday night. About 12:30 this morning (Tuesday) I woke up sweating profusely & filling ill at my stomach. I have since spent the rest of the morning puking & sweat pouring out of me.
I have done a little reading on tapering off vs. going cold turkey & am wondering if this what I should do? All I know is that I pray to God that changes for the better soon. Anyways, thought I would feel better talking about it. That is all for now.

Dee74

Hi Chris

the best thing to do if you feel ill and are concerned is to see a Dr.
It's best to be safe

D

Yogini1603

Honestly, I'd speak to your doctor. The last time I went through withdrawals I went cold turkey and had a friend with me just in case things took a turn for the worse. I spoke to my doctor on the first day of the withdrawals and was completely honest.

Once you get through the withdrawals, you're going to feel a lot better. I had headaches for about a week or so afterwards and the fatigue has taken a while to go, but now at 46 days I feel bloody great physically.

Do you have a plan to stay sober? I go to AA and use this website. It's a great resource!

PhoenixJ

Medically supervised detox? 10 years on the hard stuff is significant. Then no more drinking.

entropy1964

You've stopped for over 24 hours. I wouldn't start tapering now....you'll probably drink far more than you intend. Its just what alcoholics do. Then you're back where you started.

See your dr, urgent care, ER. But I don't recommend tapering.

least

It's best to get your doctor's help in getting thru detox safely.

August252015

Completely agree.

I am one of the (possibly few) ones around here who quit cold turkey. I was 39 at the time, and had a handle of vodka about every 2 days habit (and often some drinks on top of that, after work or such). That was Feb 22 so I am just 9 months sober. I had a history about like yours for years over most of my 30s, the huge vodka part for the last six months. I just decided I was DONE after a dr visit and getting the talking to of my life, because I was ready.

I had dr support and all my tests done- my liver was almost past the point of no return. I went through pretty severe PAWS - sweats, puking, beyond extreme fatigue (sometimes the immediate urge to fall asleep), incontinence, leg cramping and seizures, you name it I pretty much had it. The first five weeks were rough but I got through it and now- well, frankly, that seems like a short time to have been sick.

I did have a drug regimen supervised by my dr which included ativan- it still does, as needed, as well as Antabuse for the first 90 days. I also took Campral (anti craving) and still take it for maintenance. Again, good rel with your drs is key.

I would strongly agree with frick that not drinking is key to getting through this and not re-starting the detox and healing process. If you think you cannot take it, do go to the ER as they will help you.

You can read up on kindling and the process we go through when we repeatedly detox. IME and IMO, the chances of unknown symptoms and side effects were worth it compared to the known result of death by drinking.

You can stay stopped- I slept a lot for the first while, began to eat again, drank a lot of non-alco bevs of any type, and, truthfully, I felt better with all that nastiness than I had as miserable as I was drinking.

During all this, I also made about 82 in 90 AA meetings as the start to my very strong program.

Bottom line, you have to want to be sober more than you want anything else, especially drinking.

Good luck.

asixstringnut

Welcome to SR Chris75.
I would go see a dr as well. I like you was drinking a fifth of vodka a day for many years. My first quit my dr thought I should do the taper of program. It was very hard even doing it with the taper.
Good luck with this.

sixstring

chris75

Thanks for all your replies everyone. Well, I made it through the night. A little good news & bad news. The 11 yr. old boy woke up this morning puking as well, but on the good side I think that may have been part of my problem as well.
I know everyone is suggesting seeing a doctor, but there has been times when I have went 2 or 3 days at a time without having a drink. I truly think I can do this on my own. I chewed tobacco for 18 yrs. and quit cold turkey one morning. It was the worst time of my life, and I truly can't imagine this being any worse. I wasn't able to stay off the toilet for 3 weeks, but I stayed the course.

thomas11

As others have mentioned, withdrawal can be serious. Head to the doctors office or ER if things get bad.

DesertDawg

Chris...good job on quitting. However, I would echo what everyone else has said and get some sort of medical attention or supervision. I'm about your age, but it sounds like you drank longer than I did, and I had seizures twice when coming off of binges...bad times. And I wasn't really trying to quit for good, but just trying to get through a work week. Finally got off that treadmill for good and haven't looked back. .The fear of what you're going through right now is a main thing that has helped keep me on the right path. Good luck to you.

SoberLeigh

Welcome to SR, chris75. Great advice above. I agree that talking with your GP is the way to go. He or she may advise a medically supervised detox.

There are some really great threads on SR which I will link for you when I have access to a device from which I can do so.

Again, welcome; so glad you found us.

Upstairs

Great job Chris75! First week or so is always the worst. You may want to think or ask about a plan of recovery for how to stay sober after that. Good luck!

january161992

thanks chris

PurpleKnight

Welcome to the Forum Chris!!

Berrybean

Hey Chris. Welcome to the forum.

Hope you and your 11 year old both feel less green-round-the-gills soon.

chris75

Alright, day 2 is in the books and I already have a good start on day 3. The boy and I are both feeling better and the flu bug seems to have left our house. Today I am surprisingly doing a lot better than I thought I would be. Bit of headache today, but that I assume is to be expected. Outlook for today is looking great as I have plans this evening where I know I will not be able to drink nor do I have the urge to right now.
I still appreciate all the encouraging comments & they are very helpful. I have been trying to think of a recovery plan as has been suggested by a few on here. Any suggestions on this? I know I need to start involving exercise in my life again. About 6 yrs. ago I ran a 13 mi. Tough Mudder so I know I have a passion for exercising, I just have to find they way to return to it.
I do have some concerns though, as we all know it is the Christmas season. The wife & I have a few Christmas parties coming up. My concern is, do I skip them all together? If so, then she suffers because of me. Or do I go and try to just socialize and not have a drink? I will be on about day 13 when our 1st Christmas comes up.

Thanks

SoberLeigh

Chris75, below are the links that I promised:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...highlight=psst

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...art-183-a.html

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...+november+2016

IronPhoenix

Welcome Chris. Listen to the others regarding your health.

The one thing I will say is that it is not going to get any easier initially. you have the physical challenges and even more so the mental challenges. If you accept that you have a problem, commit to getting sober, and put a plan in place for you to achieve/maintain sobriety, you can do this. It is going to suck at times but we are all here going down the same journey (different paths) that you are.

Post here often to help yourself stay accountable.

My best.

SoberLeigh

The link I provided regarding plans is fantastic and compiled by our very own Dee; it is very well worth the read.

The Holidays can be very tricky and you will receive varying responses and suggestions on how to handle them. While day 13 is great progress, in the scope of sobriety and true recovery, it is still very early times. My sobriety date is in early December so I, too, was very new to sobriety at Christmas. I did not attend any Christmas parties that year and my husband survived them without me. The family Christmas Day gathering was difficult as I come from a family where alcoholism runs rampant. The children and I were the only sober ones. The only thing that got me through was sheer will-power - a determination that I was not going to return to that HELL.
There is a good thread on Surviving the Holidays; I will try to find it.