Tics?
 

Can alcohol abuse cause a unilateral shoulder shrug? Husband has started doing that and claims he's trying to relax his shoulders. But it's random and unilateral.

Maybe, maybe not.
My son suffers from tics and we know that alcohol will make them worse because of how the brain processes the alcohol and which receptors it stimulates in the brain itself. If it's concerning you, I would gently suggest he see a neurologist to rule out early onset Parkinson's though.
Tics can also be OCD related, as well. So, if your husband's tics are related to alcohol abuse it really could only be determined by an evaluation. Tics are normally caused by an imbalance in dopamine in the brain.

Do you fear your husband could be consuming other substances?

A couple years ago I was on, I think, a 3 month quit stint and started doing this weird thing with my mouth (almost grinding/licking my teeth). It looked like I was high on cocaine and I got asked if I was several times..Luckily this last quit for me has been 'normal'.

My XAH usto (and prob still does) get twitches and horrible restless legs when drinking. He also takes lots of RX meds, a happy little mix. Ugh.

Tics
 

No pretty sure that's not it.

I've had full body twitches, uncontrollable ones, that have been happening ever since I became a non-drinker. I really can't explain it in any way. He's not alone, but I haven't been able to locate many others that suffer from this nor have I zoned in on a fix. Best of luck.

Hmm, I don't know. However, in my experience my XAH had quite a few "affectations" which he would use/bung on for no particular reason I could fathom.

For instance, he would do this "thing" when pronouncing some words which made him sound like a gangster or "rock star". He considered himself a musician who just hadn't been discovered, yet...it drove me CRAZY 'cause it was so FAKE!

My husband developed a facial tic 2 years ago. I figure it's the neurological effects of alcohol.


I just did some reading, and apparently it can happen after you quit too but it often goes away and is very common