No withdrawl symptoms
 

I have been a heavy beer consumer for 35 years. I could knock down at least three an evening and on the weekends I consumed a case. Maybe more during the summer. I went cold turkey a month ago and I do occasionally crave a beer but I get a fruit drink or a seltzer water, or water. I have not experienced an adverse symptom nor a change in personality/attitude. I quit for one reason, I have not slept good for 7 years and thought I had better eliminate alcohol as a cause before going to a sleep center. I am still not sleeping well but just curious about this whole withdrawal thing. Is the talk about withdrawal symptoms just a hype or can I expect some adverse effects yet to come?

Although I am relatively new to "the wagon" I don't see any scare in the ride. Nothing to it so far!

I'm glad you're doing well, but no it's not hype.

I was a beer drinker too.

Each withdrawal I had over the years was different - sometimes I had no ill effects at all, sometimes mild effects and sometimes I stayed in bed for days.

My last detox nearly killed me.

You've been very lucky I think :)

Just don't fall for the lie I did when I felt great and think 'well that was easy...maybe I don't really have a problem at all'...

D

Been drinking heavy for 30 + years and have stopped a few times for awhile. I also did not ever have any real withdrawal problems. More psychological for me as well.
Now though I am having problems arising from a Doctor visit (blood pressure, cholesterol, elevated liver enzymes....)
Finally catching up to me and time to fix myself.

Welcome. It is good you have had no adverse physical reaction. It would be good if you can adjust to a sober lifestyle without problems. For me it has been a learning game.

You've been really lucky, but I agree with Dee. Don't let it deceive you into thinking you don't have a problem. No one comes here if they don't have a problem. That's just beyond the pale.

Sounds like my situation as well...35 years of pretty heavy drinking and so far the physical symptoms have been similar to how I felt when I gave up coffee. Although when I tried to give up alcohol for 8 weeks last year as part of a nutrition challenge at my gym...I only made it 4 weeks, this time around I am going to be more proactive in planning activities to keep my mind occupied and avoiding classic drinking situations from years past.

To clarify, I've quit on numerous occasions only to resume again. Normal people quit and don't give it a second thought.

All the best to you. Fingers crossed, chin chin, etc., and by the grace of whatever powers that be, hopefully you won't need us. But we're here if you do.

Welcome to SR SemperDry :)

Glad you are finding it easy so far, I am always jealous of people like you, though I do think how awful I felt helps keep me sober sometimes. My withdrawals were fairly mild really, just night sweats, anxiety and fogginess, but I still felt dreadful for months x

As others have said, you should consider yourself kinda lucky to not have severe withdrawal effects, but don't let it kid you into thinking your body is fine with it. Different people react very differently. I know just one night drinking for me makes the next day complete and utter hell. I'm an emotional wreck, never mind after days or weeks on the booze.

Like you I drank to sleep, it's only recently i've discovered that I can actually sleep better without it. Not every night, but waking up a little tired is better than waking up with a horrible taste in your mouth and a pounding head!

Withdrawals suck rubber donkey lungs. I would be interested to hear if anyone has experienced drinking and jonesing at the same time. Please tell me I'm not alone in this.

The jones has taken on a life of it's own, and my well being is not one of its concerns.

I was a heavy drinker for 30 years (as much as 10 drinks per day), and never experienced any physical withdrawal symptoms when I discontinued. No shakes, and certainly no seizures or hallucinations or anything like that. What I got instead was increasingly severe hangovers -- a feeling of being poisoned that persisted for as long as 36 or 48 hours. I think it was my body's way of telling me to stop.

Duplicate post.

Same thing here, many years of hard drinking and never any major withdrawals when stopping for a while.

Thanks to all who responded. I am keeping my guard up. I keep thinking, "something is going to happen", I just don't know what or when and your experience and advice may help me to cope with whatever it is. I gather after reading the comments the challenge for me may be psychological rather than chemical or physical. Many times over the years I have thought about quitting for various reasons but never saw the need to quit. For me it was kind of the same as going on a diet; "I'll start tomorrow" but tomorrow never came. I was also concerned of the effects of quitting and how I would handle it; most of what you hear about people quitting is scary stuff. But so far, so good. NOW, if I can just lose some weight!

That's astounding. I think my guardian angel is keeping me around just to witness the bitter end. I'm joking of course. I don't know what the end is going to be like until I reach it. But no physical withdrawals is nothing to shake a stick at. You're one of the lucky ones. And I hope that luck remains in your favor.

I hope things keep going well for you.

I would also say you are very lucky. I have had many times of withdrawing even while I was drinking.