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how long?

Old 06-05-2013, 06:27 PM
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how long?

Hi, I was just wondering how long does it take to no longer be physically addicted to alcohol?
and if you were physically addicted then got over it how long would it take to come back if you started drinking again?
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:43 PM
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The current thought I hear most often is that once a brain is addicted, the brain never goes back to before it was addicted. It is always at increased risk for addiction.
What do you mean by physically addicted? Do you mean having a higher tolerance or withdrawal symptoms?

I went 16 years without alcohol-- and as soon as I started drinking again, it was a huge problem immediately. But I have seen posts where people say it took up to a year for alcohol to become a big problem again. I am sure it is different for everyone.
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:47 PM
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I mean the withdrawal symptoms
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:49 PM
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Your body can physically withdraw from alcohol and other substances in a fairly short period. For me it was about 10 days. As we know well on this site, the physical symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol are the most dangerous of any substance.

However, the real withdrawal is mental, and as oak says, that probably never goes away.
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:57 PM
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yes the mental side of addiction sux if im not addicted to one thing then im addicted to something else
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Old 06-05-2013, 07:08 PM
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For me it is 5-8 days, depending how much I drink...
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Old 06-05-2013, 07:19 PM
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The brain becomes physically addicted to alcohol. The same part of the brain that is programmed to make sure people seek food, water and sex becomes programmed in addicts to seek alcohol. That programming can be drastically reduced through deprivation, but using again will restore that programming in short order.
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Old 06-05-2013, 07:23 PM
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After drinking every day for about 13 years, detox took 2 days in ICU and another two days in detox and they sent me home with 15 days of phenobarbital
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Old 06-05-2013, 07:24 PM
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In my experience, after a month of drinking everyday heavily I had physical withdrawals
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Old 06-05-2013, 07:38 PM
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I have read that anyone who drinks very heavily and daily for 7 days or more can experience alcohol withdrawal. For me, I think it starts at around 5 days, but starts to get really bad again in 7-10 days. Oddly, I can go months without drinking and my tolerance does not seem to change at all. Hallmark sign of addiction.
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Old 06-05-2013, 11:41 PM
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so tolerance never lowers for some people? even if they lose weight?
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Old 06-05-2013, 11:50 PM
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I've stayed sober for 7 years two different times and both times I went back out drinking. It's my belief that the disease (or illness or malady or whatever you choose to call it) is progressive. When I started drinking again it was like I had never quit.
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Old 06-06-2013, 07:00 AM
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I really didn't think much about the physical withdrawals much. It was the mental, the obsession, compulsion that I focused on when I first came to recovery. I don't know if you have a Big Book of Alcoholics Annoymous, but I suggest if you don't to get one. It talks about the mental state of alcoholics before drinking. I could relate to that. The Big Book really gives you so much information about alcoholism....and I needed that.
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Old 06-06-2013, 11:26 AM
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As someone newer to sobriety, the physical withdrawal is surprisingly short, about 5-7 days and I don't feel it anymore (aside from insomnia). Which is amazing considering I've been drinking heavily for 10 years, and a fifth per day when I quit. But the symptoms are so intense it is really, really hard to get started on that 5-7 days

It's the psychological stuff that gets to me. And the first drink does make us feel good. Quitting smoking has never been difficult for me (I've done it a few times--all years apart so don't laugh) because smoking itself really isn't that great. Smoking becomes ore annoying the longer you do it. But drinking messes with your emotions.
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