Raveneyes

Hi there, i dont know if i have a big problem with alcohol but i do know i love to drink, i try not to go on binges but just recently i went on a 4 day binge and ended up waking up feeling dreadful, this was yesterday, symptoms were shakyness with wierd muscles especially in the leg and feet (massaging them brought some temperary relief), clammyskin, unable to keep still, sore eyes and just a feeling of horrible anxiety. This only lasted 1 day and i feel in general fine today but quiet depressed (have felt depressed all winter and will go to the doctors to get checked) I also couldnt get to sleep and tossed and turned all night.

I guess the symptoms werent that bad that i still could hide it from my dad but with some discomfort, i would much rather had been alone all day so i could jus lie in bed and have tv on in the background.

So im going to go to the doctors and discuss my depression and mention what happened. Could this have been alcohol withdrawal? It has happened before but usually just lasted an evening, maybe im just getting bad hangovers now? Never used to get them before 2009. Thanks if you can help!

Dee74

Hi Raveneyes

Welcome to SR.

The best thing to do is always see your Dr and ask them - none of us are Drs

I find it a pretty good rule of thumb to assume that any ill effects after a heavy drinking session are probably related to the drinking session - but only your own doctor can speak with any authority on that

As for bad hangovers - alcoholism is progressive...for most of my drinking years, so were the hangovers.

D

Anna

I'm glad you're going to see your dr.

I had no idea I was experiencing withdrawl symptoms when I first started having shakey hands the next morning. I think denial had something to do with it too.

c49

Yeah, thats a hangover... been there and not going back.

Ask yourself is it still fun?
Is a few hours of a buzz worth the anxiety after?
What is it worth??

Welcome!

Pnewman

^^^^^^amen^^^^^^^

CarolD

Welcome to SR.....

You might find this link interesting ....

Alcohol and Brain

A 4 day drunk is very risky behavior.
Be honest with your doctor so the correct
blood panel screen will be taken.

dedubya

hey
thats when i started going from hangovers to dependance- you are on a tight line my friend. time to stop.
dub

Raveneyes

Thanks for all the replys, it means a lot! Anyway ive decided to stop for the foreseeable future at least. If i do drink again, il make sure its only weekends. Id say on average during the time i started drinking, i only drank once to maybe three times a week, yeah only! lol. Im feeling so gloomy this afternoon after another restless sleep. So why make myself feel worse with poisons when i already suffer enough in the winter?!

i dont feel addicted as i can go weeks without, actually did that quite regularly last winter and i also took a 2 month break during the summer.

If this wasnt the right place to post this topic then im sorry, it was the first place i found for answers. Hope you all get better.

All the best, Craig.

intention

Hi Craig,

Like you I could go days/weeks without a drink. I even did a couple of months here and there. I was a heavy binge drinker but never considered myself physically dependant on alcohol and I have not needed a medical detox to get sober.

For the last year of my drinking I used to get the symtoms you described each time after drinking. In fact they used to wake me up a couple of hours after my last drink. I would be exhausted, hungover but unable to sleep and it was hell being like that through the dark hours on your own.

I have been doing some recommended reading on alcohol from this site. This really hit home to me.

From "Beyond the Influence" P61 - Middle Stage Alcoholism

"The syndrome (withdrawal) begins when the blood alcohol concentration begins to descend. Most people think that withdrawal occurs when alcohol is completely eliminated from the bloodstream, but the addicted brain begins to call out its misery long before its alcohol bath is completely drained.......

In the early and middles stages (of alcoholism) withdrawal is often subtle and the symptoms seem to bear little or no relationship to excess drinking :

Anxiety
Irritability
Tremors
Nervousness
Weakness
Insomnia
Gastrointestinal distress
Loss of appetite
Elevated blood pressure
Elevated temperature
Exaggerated reflexes (hyperreflexia)

....the strange truth that alcoholics are often in worse shape when their blood alcohol concentration is descending (an hour or two after last drink) than when it is at its highest level is an extremely difficult point to grasp."

You may lay off the booze for some days/weeks but alcoholism is progressive even when you are abstinent.

When you drink again you are going to experience all the same symptoms again. You can no longer go back to the days of mild hangovers minus these uncomfortable symptoms. This is what happens now you drink and it is only going to get worse.

When you drink again, do remember that. All of us try to find a way to drink without the unpleasant effects it has on our life but we all end up getting to the point where we realise that nothing works - days off, switching drinks etc etc.

It may help you to keep a journal of your physical symptoms even when you are not drinking to see if there is a pattern. It would be a useful tool in a discussion with your doctor. There's always a chance that your symptoms are indicative of something unrelated so a visit to the doctor may be worthwhile.

Keep in touch.

Raveneyes

Thanks for the reply. I dont get the symptoms described that often tbh, Usually im fine after a night or 2 of boozing and can function normally albeit drinking plenty of water for an hour to rehydrate myself. The first time i experienced the Symptoms was just after i got mild Candida Albicans on my tongue. Im thinking maybe alcohol is just acting like some kind of a poison to me when i seriously over do it sometimes due to this? i will discuss this with my dr aswell, ive been treated for the Candida but nothing worked, lol but at least its not really that bad.

I also drank for a whole week straight on Holiday in Cyprus in October with family and felt absolutely ok but maybe a bit knackered on the journey back home.

Im thinking this must just be something else other than the "middle stages" of alcoholism :|

intention

Hi Raveneyes,

Candida is a tough one to treat, particularly if it is systematic. Anti-fungals may touch the visible localised symptom area but don't always treat the underlying problem which leads to re-occuring infections.

Diet plays a huge role in candida and particularly alcohol does. There's much information on the internet about it. Candida can also give cravings for alcohol - viscious cycle.

Only you can really tell if you have an alcohol problem. I hope you keep an eye on your symptoms and discuss with doc if necessary.

Above all, be honest with yourself. Denial keeps many away from help for a long time. I don't think you would have come and posted to this site if you didn't have some concerns about your intake.

We're always here

Raveneyes

Thanks again for the reply, to be honest i dont know what to say but im not long out of bed and have been having maybe one of the worst weeks of my life. I cant get to sleep at night and toss and turn and end up having Lucid nightmares which leave me very upset and shaking when i do get out of bed, any thoughts? i phoned the doctors and i will go on Monday Morning, i am at the end of my tether, why does the world seem such a dark place!

oh, and ive decided: Last drink 12/01/09

humblestudent

Craig - I drank primarily on weekends for 20 years. Got stinking, hammered drunk almost every time. Also had lots of times when I didn't, but I waaaaanted to once I started drinking.

My point is, beware of the thinking that drinking only on weekends is "ok", or being able to stop means there is no problem with alcohol. Most of the folks on these boards, including myself stopped for some period of time, only to go back, timidly at first, only to find ourselves headlong into our old drinking habits in no time.

I mean absolutely no disrespect at all, but ask yourself how you drink when you drink, vs. how often, or on what schedule.

Peace -

humblestudent

Craig - these are pretty classic signs of alcohol withdrawl. It doesn't just last for a day or two when you've been on a 4 day bender...Ask me how I know! LOL! Also, the anxiety I got as part of the package was nearly intolerable. I'm humbly on day 20 today of no booze. I can tell you that I have not felt this good physically in YEARS, and certainly much better than I ever felt five days after my last drinking weekend, right when I'd wind up again, and start the next weekend binge. I honestly believe that I had no idea what normal felt like. I thought day 5-7 was as good as it would get.

I'm here to tell you, not so. And I think that my physical energy, etc. may actually continue to increase. I'm at a point now, where I honest to god do not want to put any more poison in me. It made even the days when I was clearly sober during the week so much harder, because I always felt like crap, and didn't even know it.

Anyway...happy to hear that you are going to give it a go to stop. For me, I just didn't want to deal with the "am I an alcoholic or not" question constantly in my mind, didn't want to try to control my drinks during any given event, didn't want to wonder what I said or did the night before, and on and on and on.

All the best - and glad you're here!

Raveneyes

I just went out a walk there and feel fine now got some application forms for jobs too so im pleased about that, will be going to a concert tonight and it will be great to see mates, thanks for all your support!

Raveneyes

immm drunnkkkkk oooh dearzzzzzz mehb ,e

LexieCat

What's going on?

LaFemme

Hey Raveneyes,

Wondering whatever your Dr. said back in January when you went...alcohol is a massive depressant and I suffered from depression the last 5 years I drank.

You say you aren't sure you have a problem...that's great, but can I ask why you drink in the first place? What possible benefit does it bring? So even if you aren't an alcoholic, you suffer from depression which alcohol makes worse, so why drink in the first place.

Feel better!

Kmber2010

Sorry to see you are drinking Raven. I hope you post and share with us when you feel up to it.

We are here to support you and know that you don't have to have those hangovers or negative drinking moments. You can stop and get help. We all have been there so hopefully when you are sober you will come back to this thread and say enough is enough.

Wishing you well so please keep sharing. All the best.

Raveneyes

I dont have a problem people, maybe mentally but thts all :S eh, sorry i posted that random comment, dunno what the hell i was thinking