Day 1 was hard but I did it!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 26
Day 1 was hard but I did it!
My house is not alcohol free and never will be so there were plenty of opportunities to crash and burn. I'm happy to say I made it through the day without a sip.
By 5p.m. though I just didn't feel right. I felt out of it and couldn't concentrate on anything. I even had a hard time putting a sentence together. I was super tired and really thought I would feel a lot better than I did. It's like my hangover got worse throughout the day. It was not what I was expecting at all.
When I went to bed my heart was racing and my chest was tight. Actually my chest was tight most of the day. I had an awful headache. I woke up at 2:00 am like I always do, the good news about that is that I didn't feel extremely guilty when I woke up. I was like, hmmm I guess I wake up at 2 sober or not. lol. I tossed and turned and my leg kept twitching for about 3 hours which was irritating.
But here I am, posting that I am ready for day 2. I still am extremely tired, anxious, worried, and have a general feeling of being unwell. I wonder how long that will last.
Have a great day everyone!
By 5p.m. though I just didn't feel right. I felt out of it and couldn't concentrate on anything. I even had a hard time putting a sentence together. I was super tired and really thought I would feel a lot better than I did. It's like my hangover got worse throughout the day. It was not what I was expecting at all.
When I went to bed my heart was racing and my chest was tight. Actually my chest was tight most of the day. I had an awful headache. I woke up at 2:00 am like I always do, the good news about that is that I didn't feel extremely guilty when I woke up. I was like, hmmm I guess I wake up at 2 sober or not. lol. I tossed and turned and my leg kept twitching for about 3 hours which was irritating.
But here I am, posting that I am ready for day 2. I still am extremely tired, anxious, worried, and have a general feeling of being unwell. I wonder how long that will last.
Have a great day everyone!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
The anxiety, jumpiness, sleeplessness, irritability, feeling "off" is completely normal in early days. I've experienced it and read about it here from others thousands of times.
It gets so much better. I had to give up caffeine for a while in early days, I was just too nervous and anxious. The alcohol serves as a central nervous system depressant and when it's removed everything seems pretty revved up. That settles down - but not right away. It took months for me.
Welcome to the site.
It gets so much better. I had to give up caffeine for a while in early days, I was just too nervous and anxious. The alcohol serves as a central nervous system depressant and when it's removed everything seems pretty revved up. That settles down - but not right away. It took months for me.
Welcome to the site.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: NYC
Posts: 71
Good job on day 1! Like others said drink lots of water. Today’s day 4 for me and I’ve been downing fizzy water and peppermint and ginger teas. Always I’ve been keeping lots of fresh fruit on hand to replace alcohol sugars. My day 2 was rough with lots of headaches and sweaty. So be easy on yourself! You got this!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: DFW area, Texas
Posts: 521
Congrats on your day 1!
The acute withdrawal phase can be really rough because your brain and body have increased the neurotransmitters that excite your nervous system (to counter the higher GABA levels that have existed due to alcohol). When you stop drinking, GABA plummets, but the neurotransmitters that were "beefed" up to balance things are still going strong. Takes a little while for that to start rebalancing. Like others said it does start to improve...I'm usually starting to feel a lot better around day 3 or so, but if drinking more before stopping it might take a little longer.
The acute withdrawal phase can be really rough because your brain and body have increased the neurotransmitters that excite your nervous system (to counter the higher GABA levels that have existed due to alcohol). When you stop drinking, GABA plummets, but the neurotransmitters that were "beefed" up to balance things are still going strong. Takes a little while for that to start rebalancing. Like others said it does start to improve...I'm usually starting to feel a lot better around day 3 or so, but if drinking more before stopping it might take a little longer.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
