26 days - symptoms???
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 33
26 days - symptoms???
Hey all,
39 yr old male. Can't remember not drinking almost every night since I was mid 20s. Was never a real problem as I could keep it together, perform at work, studies, sports etc. I guess the quantities that I was drinking were fairly low but constant. I had some bad mornings and missed some work but in my one of work it is deemed ok from time to time if clients and entertainment/hospitality is involved.
Last three years has been a different story, volumes went up, more and more hard liquor, ability to stop myself at a sensible point decreased, after effects became harder and harder to manage. I started to get some really interesting hangovers, then what felt like beginnings of fairly decent withdrawals - shakes and anxiety, temperature up and down, once thought that I was going into cardiac arrest on an airplane (that was fun !). told myself "never again". Many times. Never took off more than a couple of days.
My usual nightly consumption would be at least one bottle of wine with maybe a shot or two (self pours). Weekends would lead to maybe 2 bottles of wine per night or a couple of beers, mixed drinks followed by a bottle of wine. I started drinking earlier and earlier in the day on Saturday and Sunday. There were days when I couldn't take my kids out because I was worried about starting to need a drink when we were in public.
I would taper down for days when I knew that I needed to be in sparkling form or had early. maybe a couple of beers or 1/2 btl of wine to let me get to sleep and still wake up OK. Basically I was getting away with it (maybe). My colleagues probably let the bad days slide as long as I still had some stellar days to justify my existence. I used all the tricks to manage absence from the office, early departures and the need to get home and have that amazing first cold beer - just to let my body know that it was all going to be ok.
Anyway - I was managing things better and cutting down. Keeping things under control but I still felt like I was on the edge of disaster so I stopped completely.
Went through the (based on your comments) standard early stage shenanigans even though I tapered down over three days - felt awful, had shakes at times, amazing insomnia, marvelous digestive struggles of epic proportions. Anxiety and depression. But I managed to stay very busy.
I exercise and got into a more regular routine again. I pushed myself in massive aerobic exercise to make myself tired. I worked around the house, finished every household chore and maintenance task that I could. I personally folded every piece of clothing in our domestic laundry mountain.
I got through it and I feel personally relieved and guilty that I did not truly suffer the way that some of our less fortunate peers have suffered. I have been very very, very lucky. I have regularly had "time off" from drinking over the years including one 3 month stint a couple of years ago, but the dry periods were becoming shorter and much less frequent.
I am now at day 26 with zero intake. Nothing at all. Actually that is not strictly true. I "tasted" a wine at a client dinner but did not consume more than a finger or so. But I have not drunk and I feel mentally quite proud.
So to the point - if you got this far, thanks for your patience (its my first post) - I am having really weird moments where I feel disconnected and light headed.
I feel like I am going to start trembling, but I don't. I feel generally really spacy and just not able to clearly focus on the task at hand. I look at people when they are speaking and become obsessed with random details of their faces or mannerisms, losing track of what the individual is actually saying. Generally I feel like I need to go to bed for a week, even though I know that I slept a few hours last night. Anyone have any similar experiences? Be great to share your thoughts. Sorry for the ramble. It felt good to share........
39 yr old male. Can't remember not drinking almost every night since I was mid 20s. Was never a real problem as I could keep it together, perform at work, studies, sports etc. I guess the quantities that I was drinking were fairly low but constant. I had some bad mornings and missed some work but in my one of work it is deemed ok from time to time if clients and entertainment/hospitality is involved.
Last three years has been a different story, volumes went up, more and more hard liquor, ability to stop myself at a sensible point decreased, after effects became harder and harder to manage. I started to get some really interesting hangovers, then what felt like beginnings of fairly decent withdrawals - shakes and anxiety, temperature up and down, once thought that I was going into cardiac arrest on an airplane (that was fun !). told myself "never again". Many times. Never took off more than a couple of days.
My usual nightly consumption would be at least one bottle of wine with maybe a shot or two (self pours). Weekends would lead to maybe 2 bottles of wine per night or a couple of beers, mixed drinks followed by a bottle of wine. I started drinking earlier and earlier in the day on Saturday and Sunday. There were days when I couldn't take my kids out because I was worried about starting to need a drink when we were in public.
I would taper down for days when I knew that I needed to be in sparkling form or had early. maybe a couple of beers or 1/2 btl of wine to let me get to sleep and still wake up OK. Basically I was getting away with it (maybe). My colleagues probably let the bad days slide as long as I still had some stellar days to justify my existence. I used all the tricks to manage absence from the office, early departures and the need to get home and have that amazing first cold beer - just to let my body know that it was all going to be ok.
Anyway - I was managing things better and cutting down. Keeping things under control but I still felt like I was on the edge of disaster so I stopped completely.
Went through the (based on your comments) standard early stage shenanigans even though I tapered down over three days - felt awful, had shakes at times, amazing insomnia, marvelous digestive struggles of epic proportions. Anxiety and depression. But I managed to stay very busy.
I exercise and got into a more regular routine again. I pushed myself in massive aerobic exercise to make myself tired. I worked around the house, finished every household chore and maintenance task that I could. I personally folded every piece of clothing in our domestic laundry mountain.
I got through it and I feel personally relieved and guilty that I did not truly suffer the way that some of our less fortunate peers have suffered. I have been very very, very lucky. I have regularly had "time off" from drinking over the years including one 3 month stint a couple of years ago, but the dry periods were becoming shorter and much less frequent.
I am now at day 26 with zero intake. Nothing at all. Actually that is not strictly true. I "tasted" a wine at a client dinner but did not consume more than a finger or so. But I have not drunk and I feel mentally quite proud.
So to the point - if you got this far, thanks for your patience (its my first post) - I am having really weird moments where I feel disconnected and light headed.
I feel like I am going to start trembling, but I don't. I feel generally really spacy and just not able to clearly focus on the task at hand. I look at people when they are speaking and become obsessed with random details of their faces or mannerisms, losing track of what the individual is actually saying. Generally I feel like I need to go to bed for a week, even though I know that I slept a few hours last night. Anyone have any similar experiences? Be great to share your thoughts. Sorry for the ramble. It felt good to share........
Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 526
great post. i clearly read my own story in yours (many on here will likely second that).
also, great job on quitting... you are correct that you were/are very lucky to avoid serious problems. no need to tell you again that quitting for good is the best and only decision. cutting back doesn't work. and in the long run alcohol doesn't bring anything positive, really nothing.
the symptoms that you are describing will subside. it simply cannot take 20-odd days to undo what was done over nearly 20 years of drinking. your gaba receptors are definitely in an adjustment process. every person is different and symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways. continue to exercise and eating well, staying busy is very important.
if you get really concerned, talk to your doctor.
that "spaced out" feeling is something i experience from time to time as well, like i am on auto-pilot just floating through certain moments, almost observing events from the outside.
just like when you get back to the gym your body will be sore and your muscles will be adjusting for a while before you can start pushing to the next level... well the brain is not much different, but it recovers a lot slower and unlike cramped up muscles from a workout a "cramped up" brain can send very strange signals. just accept them, and be thankful that this is just a part of the recovery process. again, do not hesitate to chat with a doctor.
also, great job on quitting... you are correct that you were/are very lucky to avoid serious problems. no need to tell you again that quitting for good is the best and only decision. cutting back doesn't work. and in the long run alcohol doesn't bring anything positive, really nothing.
the symptoms that you are describing will subside. it simply cannot take 20-odd days to undo what was done over nearly 20 years of drinking. your gaba receptors are definitely in an adjustment process. every person is different and symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways. continue to exercise and eating well, staying busy is very important.
if you get really concerned, talk to your doctor.
that "spaced out" feeling is something i experience from time to time as well, like i am on auto-pilot just floating through certain moments, almost observing events from the outside.
just like when you get back to the gym your body will be sore and your muscles will be adjusting for a while before you can start pushing to the next level... well the brain is not much different, but it recovers a lot slower and unlike cramped up muscles from a workout a "cramped up" brain can send very strange signals. just accept them, and be thankful that this is just a part of the recovery process. again, do not hesitate to chat with a doctor.
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