No DT's??
 

So my AH has seemingly quit cold turkey with no ill effects. I would say he is in shock from his OVI fri night, ... but can a person stay in shock for days? Will he just not have withdrawal symptoms or can he have detox issues more than 5 days after stopping his drinking? He gathered up/poured out all the alcohol he had hidden and the empties today around noon. That gave him the sweats and he needed to go sit down for a while after that, but I assume that was the stress of losing his safety stash, and smelling it while he was dumping it down the drain. His court appearance is 8am tomorrow

BitingTheBullet....I doubt that the sweating was from "stress of pouring out liquor"...but, is most likely one of the withdrawl symptoms. Actual Dt's are not the same symptoms as the more common withdrawl symptoms--and, are very serious. Yes, I have seen DTs a week or more after people stop or markedly reduce alcohol intake.
Is there a reason that he has not seen a doctor. Make no mistake, that even the ususal withdrawl symptoms which can begin within hours and last several days is makedly uncomfortable. A doctor can take a look at him and prescribe certain supplements and medication to make the withdraw symptoms more comfortable and physically safer......
Some people need to be under medical supervision in a hospital and many can get through the withdrawl period at home under the doctor's direction and prescriptipns....They should not be alone, however...in case their condition deteriorates....

there is no reason that a person should suffer through the withdrawl period. Lots of people drink again, during that time to decrease the misery that t hey are feeling.
I realize that you are very resentful of him, right now...lol....but, it would be good to have compassion for his mental and physical discomfort.....
You can't SEE how he is feeling...and,he might be relunctant to tell you, right now.....

The common symptoms of actual dt's are mental disorientation, marked shakiness, hallucinations...especially "seeing things", profuse sweating,balance problems. and seizures. ***A person can have withdrawl seizures at any time...with or without other symptoms of Dts.

Each person can vary in what symptoms of withdrawl that they experience...depending on many factors.....

Again, I would try to get him to see a doctor....

He's an egotistical A? He doesnt think he is an alcoholic therefore there should be no withdrawal episodes. And darned if he isnt having any. FML. This man has been drunk 4-5 nights a week since July. But has been drinking heavily for years. Has had a three day binge at least once a month for the past five months. And is fine going cold turkey. It boggles my mind. He wont even consider AA because he doesnt believe in a higher power and my HP decides to be benevolent instead of punishing. Detach detach detach. It is a struggle.

Who knows! I have similar going on in my home.

I agree that detach detach detach is your way forward.

That remains to be seen. I would expect strong cravings, upset digestion, sleep disturbances. If he starts 'topping up' you can assume the withdrawal wasn't pleasant.

My exah had a detox with no obvious effects but it turned out the never actually stopped drinking.He saved some of his stash for topping himself up to "get over the hump" The detox was to fool me and himself even tho he knew he hadn't actually quit into thinking if he didn't have withdrawal symptoms he didn't have a problem. During a hospitalised detox a few weeks later( after we'd split up and he was found by a friend in a coma ) - he had fits. I wouldn't rule out him topping up and all this is an exercise in appeasing you.

I suspect same as LB--he's got some extra around to take the edge off the DTs.

If he actually admitted / showed you how bad he's really feeling, he'd also have
to admit he's a hard core alcoholic.

Maybe he's one of the very very very few "lucky" ones who dodge the DT bullet,
but I wouldn't put money on it.

I've been around AA for years and years (first husband sober 37 years and I'm sober 8). Very few alcoholics get DTs, which are basically the most serious type of withdrawal, which involves hallucinations, etc. For most people, withdrawal isn't that dramatic--you feel like you've got the flu for a few days, sweats, nausea, sleep issues, etc. Even without DTs, though, withdrawal can be medically risky, because some people can experience seizures or heart issues. You can die from withdrawal without ever having DTs.

For most people, it's more helpful to think in terms of withdrawal symptoms rather than DTs. I'd say most people who are alcoholics experience some degree of withdrawal symptoms, but that isn't what determines whether someone is an alcoholic or not.

DTs are a very rare result of alcohol withdrawal. that he is not having "severe" symptoms is no indication of the level of alcoholism. any more than the fact that he was not living under a bridge makes him not an alcoholic.

hopefully he got a good scare, and is able to connect the dots. more will be revealed.

I was a daily, very heavy drinker. When I stopped I didn't get DTs. It felt like a bad dose of flu like symptoms. Lasted about 5 days. I was able to continue about my daily routine although with difficulty. Had to rest a lot. Also felt like every atom in my body was screaming for booze.

Just my two cents but when my husband tried to detox on his own he was still hiding the alcohol to "take the edge off" which lead to heavier drinking.

Eventually he needed serious medical attention because he was shaking uncontrollably. Not a seizure but terrible shaking, nausea, deep depression. It is not a pretty sight to witness.

Prayers offered for all of you

KTT

I stopped drinking and went to AA, no detox or rehab in between. It felt terrible, I was a mess, but didn't have DT's. I think it depends on how much alcohol was consumed and what kind (e.g., hard spirits vs. wine/beer).

Myself (and some others I know) had zero withdrawal symptoms when quitting alcohol. Different bodies, different drinking patterns, different levels of physical dependence (vs. mental dependence). Not having withdrawal symptoms doesn't confirm that you "aren't an alcoholic." It just means you didn't have withdrawal symptoms...

Thanks all for the info. For the first 48 hours he hid in his room maybe I just didnt see the worst of it. I just assumed he was too embarassed to face ds. But since Mon. he seems totally fine. If he does have top off stuff still hidden then he had a huge stash. On Tues. I took at least 4 cases of empty beer cans, 5 box type wines, to the recycling bin. No hard alcohol.

I drank three double vodka martinis every night for seven years and when I did my medically supervised detox, the doctors scratched there head. No withdrawal at all, blood pressure normal and no meds needed. All blood work was great and my cholesterol was 123. They all were like, "Huh?" My only withdrawal was trouble staying asleep. I'd wake up a couple of times per night but that went away. Beats the crap out of me.