beerbrain

Im currently Experiencing PAWS from alcohol and im look for anyone to talk to or relate too.

1.Im almost at 4 month of being sober.
2.Im 30 years old
3.I've Been drinking for 10 years, 5 of which was heavily and 1 year of being a full blown alcoholic.
4.Ive been smoking a pack a day for 8 years.
5. Ive undergone many test and doctors said im in better health than most my age.

Withdraw symptoms :
I would have these attacks that were identical to a heart attack. Ive had this happen multiple times.
high blood pressure 160/90
High anxiety.
Difficult Breathing at random times.
Insomnia
Slurring of words
Paralyzed limbs temporarily.
This lasted about two months

Post withdraw symptoms.
Brain fog and severe Confusion.
Difficultly Concentrating.
Anxiety.
Zero motivation.

Worst of the symptoms:
Sharp heart palpitations (almost painful)
Heart rate doesnt raise but just pumps hard.
Even if i just walk up the stairs my heart starts to pound than i get palpitations from that.

I also have this feeling that im about to have a seizure And have to lay down. This is by far the worst and i almost have it on a daily basis.

Has anyone have the "seizure Feeling" , constant heart palpitations And heart pounding? And please tell me how long this will take to go away this whole experience Has been debilitating and rendered me a vegetable who can bearly get out of bed.
This is the first ti.e in my life where im terrified .

Forwards

Hi bb, welcome to the forum - good to have you here. We are not allowed to give medical advice but in my case (and others) seizures happened 2 to 3 days after suddenly stopping alcohol, not 4 months (very well done on this by the way...). I did experience severe brain fog and anxiety at 3 months though and it lifted after about 6. Please call a doctor as soon as possible if you are concerned and do stick around here - SR is a great place for support.

Best wishes, Forwards.

least

Welcome to the family. Four months sober is great, and is well past the physical acute withdrawal stage. It could well be PAWS. That affected me for about the first year I was sober. Mostly inability to concentrate, memory problems, and clumsiness. But it went away around a year sober and hasn't bothered me since.

If you're having such symptoms still, I'd suggest seeing your doctor for a check up.

biminiblue

I think it's really common to have elevated anxiety symptoms, panic attacks, be easily "spooked" etc. in early days. That kind of stuff happened to me, too and really didn't completely resolve itself until almost a year of continuous sober time.

Are you getting any regular exercise? That helped me a lot. So did stopping caffeine. I had to stop caffeine, my heart rate and anxiety was so high.

How is your nutrition? Salt and hydration affect blood pressure, and your newly healing nervous system will be noticeably sensitive. I made it my job to eat three well balanced meals every day with lots of protein and vegetables.

You'll get through it.

Coz

Hi bb

Great that you are here on SR and are reaching out.

Your list of worst of the symptoms is a red flag that you do need to go see your GP. The reasons need to be worked out and addressed - that will also go a long way to relieving some of your anxiety.

And a basic question - are you still smoking? If yes, at the same level?

I've been sober for three months now and can tell you that I suffer from brain fog, confusion (although mild not severe), huge difficulty concentrating and often struggle with zero motivation. When will these symptoms disappear? I have no idea, but I'm sure they will as my poor, damaged body repairs itself. They are still better symptoms than I had when I was drinking and far less likely to kill me so I am just finding ways to minimise their impact on my life at the moment.

Congrats on your 4 months sober. Look after yourself so that you can get to reap the real rewards of your new lifestyle! And, go see your doctor in relation to your severe symptoms - sometimes cyber-advice just doesn't cut the mustard!

Cityboy

Congrats on four months!

When I was in about the 15 to 60 day period, I definitely had the lack of motivation and difficulty of concentration that you mention. They slowly improved over sober time.

When I was a complete nicotine junkie I would get the increased heart rate you mention, which was always much worse after a hard drinking binge.

MaximusD

Welcome to SR! Go to the doctor because it might not be paws. Be honest with them as well so that they can properly diagnose you.

Surrendered19

Hi beerbrain. Are you 4 months sober? And experiencing that long list of symptoms? Go to the doc my friend. It is hard to get timeline on what is happening with you. Today, 4 months sober, you feel like you are about to have a seizure??? And are having all of those withdrawal symptoms??? Get to the doc. Perhaps I am missing something.

fini

sounds like a doc visit would be the thing.
it might well be unrelated to paws or any such thing, and easily correctable by diet or medication. i have elevated bp and arrhythmia, both controlled by one med.
please get checked out.

beerbrain

Thanks everyone.
Im not having seizures anymore, i get the feeling before the seizure . Its difficult to explain.
Ive been seeing a doctor for a year. He diagnosed Me with panic disorder . This diagnosis Is wrong and ive read its commonly mistaken for withdraw symptoms.
I told the doc what i think it is and he didnt seem convinced, so i stopped contacting him.

The only meds i have is hydroxzine.
It doesnt really do much of anything.
Lorazepam Worded like magic during the withdraw stage but im not on that anymore.

It doesn't Seem anyone here has what i have.
Heart pounding (not all the time but everyday)
And the" seizure Feelings"

Anna

Welcome and good job on your 4 months of sobriety.

Since you don't have faith in your doctor, my suggestion would be to search for another doctor who is better suited to you. The heart pounding and seizure feelings are something you should talk to a doctor about.

owen90

As far as your pounding heart goes, I can't offer medical advice but I was diagnosed with regular PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) which feel like a strong skipped heart beat sensation, but they are actually very fast extra beats. My cardiologist reassured me that they are benign and harmless for most people. If this is the sensation you are feeling, I would get checked by a different Dr to put your mind at ease. The two things that make my PVC's more frequent and more powerful are A. Anxiety and B. Alcohol excess.

I can't advise any medications/diet etc as it is against forum rules but that is my experience with what I thought was a "pounding heart"

P.S I'm 30 too

Good luck

beerbrain

Ive been going to a doc for over a year, he diagnosed me with "panic disorder " this is an incorrect Diagnosis. I came to the conclusion On my own that im going through withdraws. I told the doctor, he just transferred me to mental health department (Veteran affairs) and just kept asking me if i feel depressed or want to harm my self, over and over again and i said no. I started getting irritated with them so i stopped contacting Them. He just kept offering me anti depressants , IM NOT DEPRESSED. The only anti dependenti have (hydroxzine) does seem to do much anyway. Ive been doing this on my own.

beerbrain

The heart thing seems the same what im having.

Do you know if pvc is permanent ? I mostly get it with physical Labor.

Ill try to switch docs, im a bit afraid of docs because they've almost killed me before (long time ago). So im skeptical on what they prescribe .

Anna

Please understand we can't give any kind of medical advice, so we can't answer your questions about pvc. I know that it can be hard to find a doctor who is suited to you, but it's probably a good idea to try.

owen90

Sorry my friend, as Anna said I can't go into medical details. I believe I can say that sobriety and removing alcohol from your life benefits the entire body, heart included. Good luck and remember everyone is here to support you

MaximusD

It sounds like what you need to do is get some other opinions. Once you get a few opinions, if they all agree then it is time to start thinking long and hard about who to believe, yourself or the doctors.

ant385

do you have electricity like feelings in your brain? Known as brain zaps. That to me was the clue that I had PAWS and not normal anxiety. I think if you have been drinking heavily for over a year It’s possible that’s your brain now needs to deal with being without alcohol. This takes time. Bit concerned about the heart symptoms you have though. Do you eat a good diet? Don’t drink too much caffeine? Get this checked out.

im afraid some doctors really don’t get PAWS. I speak from experience. For some if it is not in their study books then it does not exist. I think PAWs is hard for anyone to understand who have not been through it. But for me it makes sense. If it has taken years to get to this state then it will take a while to get back out. But if you stay the course, don’t drink, then you will .