Alcohol induced hypertension...
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5,678
You may be a bit young for a hypertension diagnosis Bruno, but then I'm not a doctor...I know alcohol gave me lots of anxiety, especially related to health problems. Then the good people of this site suggested I get sober 
It has certainly helped with the paranoia!
It has certainly helped with the paranoia!
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: East Coast, The States
Posts: 12,162
Yes in the latter part of the day (when you usually go for a check up) when your body goes into even mild withdrawal from the drinking the night before, your blood pressure can shoot up. I had it...
Emphasize on HAD. Now i'm 80 some days not drinking and I dont have it anymore!
Emphasize on HAD. Now i'm 80 some days not drinking and I dont have it anymore!
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5,678
I've managed to convince myself I was having a heart attack, palpitations that last for hours, or just an overwhelming feeling of dread and blind panic, sweating, shaking, passing out. My heart rate seemed permanently fast for a long period of time, I was scared to exercise. Pressure in my head that lasted for months so that I couldn't hear well out of one ear and felt dizzy most of the time. Numbness in my hands and head and occasional loss of feeling in my right leg... I can pretty much guarantee that all of this was alcohol related and 98% of it has been sorted by getting sober
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Staffordshire UK
Posts: 514
Originally Posted by hypochondriac 
I've managed to convince myself I was having a heart attack, palpitations that last for hours, or just an overwhelming feeling of dread and blind panic, sweating, shaking, passing out. My heart rate seemed permanently fast for a long period of time, I was scared to exercise. Pressure in my head that lasted for months so that I couldn't hear well out of one ear and felt dizzy most of the time. Numbness in my hands and head and occasional loss of feeling in my right leg... I can pretty much guarantee that all of this was alcohol related and 98% of it has been sorted by getting sober
I'm glad that you've got it sorted now,
I do have some of those symptoms but not as hardcore,
I think a visit to the drs is on the cards,
Thank you,
Bruno.
Sober since Jan 1, 2012
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,583
My blood pressure was in hypertension level when I was drinking. It's now normal/low - after 4 months of not drinking. Before I tried everything (but quitting drinking), from exercise to low sodium diet. Drinking is what did it. Now my cholesterol and BP are back to normal. Phew!
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5,678
Give it time 
Seriously though, even though technically all my health problems were in my head they weren't fun. I don't know how good your docs are Bruno but mine just sent me for countless blood tests. Obviously it's a relief if your liver and stuff is ok but then that often just gave me the excuse to carry on drinking. Despite the inevitable medical implications of drinking I think the anxiety, paranoia and mental strain can be just as damaging, and that can only be solved by getting out of the cycle of addiction. A doctor can't magic away your anxiety, believe me, I tried. Once they tell you that medically you are fine though you can go on to quit drinking safe in the knowledge that it isn't too late (not that it ever is) and you can live life free of the anxiety and stress that drinking causes.
Seriously though, even though technically all my health problems were in my head they weren't fun. I don't know how good your docs are Bruno but mine just sent me for countless blood tests. Obviously it's a relief if your liver and stuff is ok but then that often just gave me the excuse to carry on drinking. Despite the inevitable medical implications of drinking I think the anxiety, paranoia and mental strain can be just as damaging, and that can only be solved by getting out of the cycle of addiction. A doctor can't magic away your anxiety, believe me, I tried. Once they tell you that medically you are fine though you can go on to quit drinking safe in the knowledge that it isn't too late (not that it ever is) and you can live life free of the anxiety and stress that drinking causes.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3,550
We're not supposed to give out medical advice but I guess I can say that, if by "hypertension", you mean the medical term for high blood pressure, yes, I've had that in the past when I was drinking. And as part of the detox procedure in a rehab they check your blood pressure maybe every half hour at first for at least two or three days. Finally, just about everyone says that during the initial withdrawal phase there's lots of anxiety, feeling hyper, unable to concentrate, overly active, unable to sleep. Very unpleasant. But it usually goes away in three or four days. When it does this may lead to a false sense of confidence, where a person tends to underestimate the gravity of the problem and is tempted to say, "Well I just had too much. I'll be more careful next time!" Some say that this is the most dangerous time in recovery. And it can last for quite a while. Believers in AA say that it's important to go to lots of meetings at first just to stay focussed on the issues. Whatever is the case, it seems that there's part of an alcoholic's brain that desperately wants to resume drinking and figures out all kinds of reasons for doing do. With sobriety this diminishes over the years.
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