zandre

Hello everyone. My name's Zack. I'm only a 20 year old and I do believe I've let myself become an alcoholic. I started drinking like many very socially in high school at 17. It was maybe once a month or less until my senior year. My senior year I began drinking frequently sometimes on school nights. Drank just about everyday of my Senior summer of HS before going off to college to play football. Once I got to camp I quit cold turkey and didn't have too many withdraws that were noticeable.

I got through the season fine only drinking tops once a week. However after the season ended it gradually got worse. Two days a week then three and so on. Finally I made the decision to come home as I really did not like the school as much as I thought and transferred to a school closer to home and commutted. For the past year I've been drinking everyday pretty heavily and today said enough is enough.

First of all I'd prefer to not contact my doctor because I am quite ashamed (I know it is normal) and well I'm underage. My family has said they are going to help me and be right there with me.

Should I fear any of the severe effects that can be dangerous from quitting cold turkey after drinking daily and heavily for a year?

I have a few questions for those of you that have quit or are working to quit right now.

Should I fear any of the severe effects that can be dangerous from quitting cold turkey after drinking daily and heavily for a year? What are the signs one of these withdraws could be occuring?

What are some of the more common withdraw symptoms? How best have you all learned to cope with them?

I've always had a horrible problem sleeping at night even before I ever started drinking. I have constant insomia. I know problems sleeping are very common. I've used melatonin in the past with limited success. Do any of you suggest this or any other ideas to help me get to sleep?

Finally more related to drinking question. For a while now I've been waking up with back pain and I read that is likely due to extreme dehydration from the alcohol. Did any of you also experience this and will it leave after I abstain from alcohol?

Thanks in advance.

angie9

hi zandre I would go to the doctor dont be ashamed you done well admitting you have a problem but you hould have a health check to make sure you havent done any damage. Its great that your family is there behind you withdrawels arent much fun :0( but weve all being there with the classic cliche one hour one minute at a time is so very true!

sable1

Hello. Well I am not an expert but I have had pain in all kinds of places in my body after heavy drinking, including back pain, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was because of the drinking. In my case it happens after I have been drinking very heavy, it's usually legs, arms and sometimes back, and it goes away if I let my body rest from the booze for a few days

Good luck to you!

zandre

Thanks for the quick reply angie9.

I do have one worry. I have been seeing my doctor because about 2 weeks ago I started getting edema (swelling) in my ankles. It still hasn't gone away but I have continued to drink.

Has anyone else experienced this when drinking too much?

My doctor ran a liver function test on me along with a bunch of others but he said it only came back slightly abnormal and was unlikely too be the cause. I attributed that possibly to the fact I'd been drinking so heavily and had the night before the blood test. I must say the swelling has me quite worried. I have another appointment coming up with him soon and I will likely tell him then about my drinking. I did quit cold turkey after a long summer of drinking when I got too football camp and really didn't have too much of a problem. If I start to experience anything out of the ordinary I'll be sure to consult my doctor immediately.

Ananda

I just had my checkup with a dr. after 15 mos off alchohol and he said the swelling in my ankles and legs is completely gone...he was quite pleased

Since your family knows of your problem, I don't think that the underage aspect will be of concern to the doctor...he/she will be more concerned as to your health and welfare than weather or not you are a "legal" drinker.

I hope you are reading the stickys on withdrawal...

take care of yourself and keep posting

zandre

Wow you literally just made me feel SOOOOO much better. Just a few questions for you ananda if you don't mind.

So if I'm understanding you correctly you also had swelling of the ankles while drinking heavily? Did he think the alcohol was the underlying cause the wholetime?

I've always had a little bit of anxiety about my health, ha kind of ironic with my complete disregard to it when it comes to alcohol. I keep reading different things on the internet and I am kind of scared to death but that makes me feel so much better that there is a POSSIBILITY it's related to my drinking habits.

Did your doctor give you any advice on dealing with the swelling? All I've really found is to sit with legs elevated.

Did your swelling seem to be get better after sleeping and progress as the day went on? Any redness?

Ananda

swelling went down after sleep and got worse as the day went on. I didn't have the redness...but have seen that happen with others.

My dr. never really indicated the cause. Due to my alchoholism, my enzimes and stuff like that was really messed up....too much alchohol does that. Then I had pancreatitis from the drinking and diabetics and so many things...its a rather tangled web and I don't think we will ever know exactly what was from what...but i was a physical wreck by the time I quit.

I just know that from being in the hospital over and over again with symptoms that couldn't be figured out, I am now totally healthy

And the change was that I quit drinking.

My doctor made real progress with me once I was willing to tell him the extent of my drinking which was about 1 year before I got sober....and after I quit i healed although I had to be monitored monthly for quite a while (I am 50 and drank heavily 24/7 so I am not indicating you will have that many health issues....best to have a dr check you out)

Oh yeah...elevating the feet helped, but it was really stopping drinking that helped!

Doll

Zandre,

I drank heavily every day for about a year and a half (I think) and I'm also pretty young, at 22. I experienced severe anxiety, and had a panic attack that landed me in the emergency room. I also had shaking, a feeling of tightness in my neck and head, no appetite, and insomnia. I'm not trying to scare you by telling you this stuff, just trying to prepare you and urge you to go to the doctor. He or she may be able to prescribe you something to ease any anxiety you have. Also, the peace of mind, knowing you won't die from the withdrawal is priceless.

I wish I had gone the day I stopped drinking. Instead I was stubborn and didn't see a doctor until I was passing out from panic.

Another thing, alcoholism is a progressive disease, and each withdrawal tends to be worse than the last. The first time I quit drinking, I had no symptoms. The second time, I had anxiety and insomnia. This last, and final time, well, I described my experience above.

How are you feeling anyway?

zandre

Well I actually did have my first panic attack about 3 weeks ago. I like you probably thought with your first one thought I was dying from a heart attack or something. I've been prescribed something for the anxiety and it helps some but I've still got a little anxiety about my ankles. As I said I did myself no help when I spent about a week trying to figure out what is wrong with my ankles. It has me very nervous but I'm beginning to think my body is just so out of whack. I use to be Mr. Healthy and for the past year its been nothing but drinking, feeling sorry for myself, and generally just being a bum.

I also haven't had much of an appetite as of late. Did anyone else experience that while they were drinking heavily? Like yesterday I think I ate an order of fries and that was it. Today I've had a 6 inch Sub thats it. No hunger.

Today is my first without alcohol and so far so good and I did take the medication so I hope that may help with any potential panic attack that could result. No harsh cravings as of yet.

Ananda

I lived on ensure and alchohol my last 6 mos....your appetite should come back in a few weeks....try to eat high carb and some sweets too...but focus on carbs...you may gain weight, but it helps to get your body a steady source of energy that isn't sugar/alchohol.

might pick up some ensure to drink if your appetite is still low and you can't make yourself eat enough...just for a while...it doesn't mean your old

Ghostlight

Congratulations on your decision to quit before things get even worse.
Have a straight talk with your doctor and tell him every thing that's going on. That's the best way to be safe.

I hope your withdrawal isn't too bad. Just think, do this once and you'll never have to do it again.

best wishes,

Ghost

Pam08

Welcome to SR, and glad you have made the decision to quit drinking. The back pain, i had for over a year has now gone away, wow, never thought about alcohol causing it. Withdrawing from alcohol, i did it in a detox center the first time,,but after relapses i was home....anxiety, racing heart. numbness, and shakes big time are the biggest symptoms for me... shakes and numbness last bout 24-36 hours, the other stuff still happens. I eat sweets, need sugar to compensate for loss of sugar in the drinking..drink lots of fluids, juice, water..good stuff...watch for withdrawal symptoms that are not good or could be dangerous..i was given benadryl for sleeping..and a drug for detoxing..I can't remember the name...it gets better, hang in there..lucky you have not been over 10 years of drinking 1/5s at a time...good luck and keep us up on how you doing

David69

Welcome to SR Zandre. Don't be ashamed to go see your doctor if you think it is necessary. Better safe than sorry. I did not go to my doctor (just because I don't like doctors) but if I thought I needed to I would not hesitate!

As far as back pain.....oh yeah! You will get a lot of that, I know I did and still do after a couple weeks. Just lets you know you're alive! Good luck and use SR as much as possible.....it is a great place to get started!

Doll

When I drank heavily, I also ate very little. I think its because you're getting so many calories from alcohol. Be sure to take a vitamin, alcoholics tend to be malnourished from receiving so many of their calories from alcohol. Make sure the vitamin has Thiamine in it, as people who drink a lot tend to be particularly deficient in that one.

You also may not have an appetite while you're withdrawing. What worked for me was to have a little juice when I was feeling lightheaded. Smoothies are good too.

About the anxiety, you might be surprised to have it go away for the most part when you are no longer drinking. I realize now that I have some natural anxiety but it was exacerbated by drinking. Actually, the constant highs and lows of anxiety were my "bottom" and made me realize I had to stop.

Good luck and keep posting!

zandre

I know some pretty good meal replacement drinks I use to take back when I was working out so much to get an extra meal in here or there. I use to weigh 350lbs and lost about 150lbs all on my own back in high school so I know all kinds of good healthy supplements. Hoping to get back to that feeling again of being proud of myself instead of sorry for myself.

Some good news though. First night and still feeling just fine. Also I am starting to get a little bit of my appetite back had big bowl of soup and a butterfinger (for the sugar).

Now I'm sure I'll have some craving sometime here in the next couple of days but as of now not really. Do most people generally have real withdraw problems the first night? Or does it generally happen in the next couple of days when your body begins to dry out further?

zandre

One final thing that has me slightly concerned is my doctor ran a liver function test on me when I went to enquire to him about my ankle swelling. When I came back the next week for him to explain the results he said my liver function test was slighty abnormal but he said it wasn't anything to be too concerned about. He ran a second the same day and he said the results were better but still slightly abnormal but we'd just monitor it. During this time I was still drinking. Does anyone know whether or not drinking the night before would have effected those results? I've found a few answers and most say yes but are very vague on things like Wikianswers.

CarolD

Welcome ....Congratulations
Being sober is awesome!

Please read this link

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

Drink water...lots of water will help flush toxins

Please do keep in touch with us..

dionysianstupor

I am an alcoholic and compulsive overeater. Drinking makes me hungry...it is not about calories; it must be something psychosomatic...feeling like I need to eat even if I'm not hungry. I haven't been drinking heavily for all that long, but I was beginning to get insomnia more often (and this is a big change coming from someone who has never had issues sleeping), racing heartbeat and anxiety. Now I am simply just very hungry which I am not too happy about (in fact - and this is my skewed thinking in play - I was gaining weight from drinking and eating too much, and so I wanted to "get skinny" in order to drink more with less guilt!)...during the past month when I was drinking almost everyday, I also hit the gym everyday...without losing any weight. What wasted effort. I was simply burning calories to "erase" the damage done to my body from the night before, but it just reset the cycle...Now I've quit drinking, and perhaps I can go to the gym for a different reason.