What were your most annoying PAWS symptoms ?
 

From what I understand through pouring over research, post acute withdrawal, is the single biggest factor in alcoholics and addicts relapsing.

I get that.

I don't have "cravings" per se, in the sense that I want to get drunk. In fact, the longer I'm away from it, the more I abhor it in every sense of the word. I Hate it almost in a respectful sort of way. Like you do the devil.

But, I'm 35 days sober and I feel like sh1t. Not always, but more then I expected to this far along. I'm frustrated and that's when I want to reach for relief. Not to get drunk, but to get out if my body and head for a smidge.

I wanted to reach out to others to hear their experiences with healing back to wellness. I need to be inspired.

Thanks in advance.

I never experienced PAWS. My recovery was slow and steady, no pink cloud either.

I don't know where to start. Ive had a few. The anxiety was horrible. I was also on an emotional roller coaster but the worst was not feeling quit right. I felt like I was walking in a foreign land but the longer I am sober the better it gets. I would not give this feeling of sobriety up for anything!! 39 days sober :c011:

I struggled at 6 weeks and again at 3 months so far.... but hung in there. I don't think we can abuse our bodies and brain chemistry that badly and have it spring back after detox.

I keep being told that I can live a life beyond my wildest dreams if I just keep on going... one day addiction will just be somebody we use to know... with no emotional charge because our lives are so far removed from it, our bodies have healed, our minds are clear, we are whole again, we can cope with life.. and it has opened up wonderful opportunities we never could have thought of in addiction....we will look back and know we are blessed and our perseverance even in the ****** moments was well worth it.

sharing this with you reminds me that I also need to keep going when it feels hard... thankyou::c011:

When I first sobered up, I had never heard of this, so I don't think it was recognized back then. But I remember the housemother in the halfway house I was in used to say something like this: "Two to five years, two to five...that's how long it takes to get your brains out of hock." It makes me laugh now.

So it looks like they knew something about PAWS or something like it, and just hadn't had that name or known enough about it then.

I'm not sure if I I drank long enough or hard enough this last relapse to end up suffering from PAWS, but I remember that emotional roller coaster/ extreme mood swings, the feeling like S**t, for quite a while after. I was in a treatment centre for the first 35 days and when I got out and into the halfway house, I remember I was absolutely exhausted for a while. But it did get better. Gradually. And better than I had ever dreamed of.

I would encourage someone to take care of themselves as best they can, especially with proper sleep, nutrition and exercise. We've put our bodies and ourselves through an awful lot and it will take some time to recover.

I think that's a little early for PAWS. You might be suffering from the first stage of withdrawals, the acute stage. Regardless, be careful. It throws a lot of people back into relapse.

What I recall about my experience, at about 6 months, was I got hit with a case of the sads. Sad about wasting so many years drinking. Sad I couldn't drink. Sad I was sad and blaming it on my recovery. Thinking if I'm going to feel like sh1t, I might as well drink. All the danger signs.

It passed, just as advertised.

"But, I'm 35 days sober and I feel like sh1t."

I never had this,day 45 for me.
In 4 days I was feeling much better.

Glad i saw this post. I am day 25 and have been doing great. I have no desire to drink. I have become aware of how much of my life revolved around solo happy hour. I have slept alot and earyten lots of carbs etc. My personal life is pretty good. But--last night i started to feel kind of weird. I woke up a couple of times and then got up and ate some cookies as i felt hungry. I woke up the second time to the phone. I was having busy dreams. Right now i have a dull headache and feel a little shakey. Maybe its just something else......

My worst paws stuff was anxiety. I couldn't drive anywhere except neighborhood streets without going into full blown panic attacks. After being sober for a year all of that anxiety went away though and I was back to "normal".

The second paws thing that hit me was just feeling out of sorts. It was some strange mix of an emotional roller coaster ride and feeling completely lost. That too got better with sobriety and time.

My understanding isthat PAWS kicks in after several month to approx 2 years sober

At 35 days you're still going through early recovery.Whilst the cravings lessen your body and brain are still undergoing massive adjustments and still learning how to live sober. It's normal-if you think it took years for us toget into the states we were in so it will take longer than a few weeks to feel 'normal' if there is such a thing :)

It really does get better though. I started to feel much better by 3 months and mentally stronger by 5-6 months

Thx ao for the post and thx for the responses, thought maybe I was a little off maybe I was crazy or wasn't 'doing it right', not glad to hear that others have had the experiences just glad to hear it can be 'normal'

My worst symptoms of paws was APATHY! Sure there were super highs and super lows but the times I felt nothing were the worst. I recall feeling I had lost my "zest" for life found very little pleasure in anything!

Today my 5 month anniversary I am ZESTY again!!!! But haven't put my blinders in because I'm sure the PAWS will sneak up again without warning. And they aren't the cute fury puppy paws they are scary grizzly PAWS!

But for today in this very moment I am alive and I feel fabulous!! And I'm thankful for that.

This is such an inspiration for me. I have all but given up driving and this gives me hope. Thank you for sharing this. THank you so very much.

:thanks

Had this nothingness feeling last week - it was awful - I'd actually said to a friend 'I felt better when I was drinking I'd energy at least' but yesterday and today have been lots better thankfully. And congrats imperfectlyme on 5months! Superdooper!!!

I think the notion of 'PAWS' is debatable, but I don't suppose it matters. People feel crap from time to time well after quitting it seems and so be it.

For me, at 15 days the anxiety is beginning to settle a bit. The most troublesome thing is what I can only call 'over-revving', which is to say, going at things in an agitated and over-rushed sort of manner, with my mind racing.

If I stop a moment and collect my thoughts I can calm myself down, so it isn't major. It isn't conducive to serenity though!

I don't think its debatable.

At least in my experience. Upon reflection, I have realized its these feelings are the reason I have caved in the past. The anxiety, the fatigue, the out of sorts general feeling.

[QUOTE]
I am struggling with apathy too. I have 74 days and for the past 2 weeks I have felt flat. I feel as if I hit the lottery I'd be too lazy to go cash the ticket. The upside is I haven't had many cravings so I am hanging on to that.

So far no PAWS. Day 63 and feeling pretty good. Not wanting to drink and enjoying the sober life. I can't say that won't change, but so far, so good.

I wouldn't worry about it. I'm on day 26 and my emotions are a bit wonky as well. At the moment I'm feeling better, but I just spent some time being depressed. It came out of nowhere. I think it's the brain re-adjusting. Your brain chemistry needs to return to normal.

The same thing happens when you start or quit anti-depressants. There's a period of 1-2 weeks where you actually feel worse than normal. It's because the brain's chemistry needs to adjust (presumably, there are no conclusive study results on this yet),

I see it as a good thing. Your brain is returning back to normal functioning. Even though it feels bad for a while, it's a signal that you're recovering. Kind of like the initial withdrawals.

Give it some time, it'll pass.

Hi alphaomega. What you have described is me to a tee. I kept expecting to start feeling better almost immediately , which i did somewhat on days , but then by day 30 i was feeling that ' foreign feeling ' also. Its taken a while this time , but I'm just starting to feel better now. ( 2 months ) yet still lethargic and unmotivated. My mind is becoming clearer and you" ll know what i mean here,
OUT OF THE FOG.
Its gonna take a long time yet to heal our bodies mentally and physically
I have mostly just wanted to sleep , but worry denies me that.
So glad we have committed to this , stay strong . :-). Xxxx :tyou

For me it was a day here a day there of mental confusion and slightly goofy behaviour.
I never experienced the return of full on detox symptoms.

I'm not debating with you whether it's PAWS, I'm not a Dr - but did you ever see a Dr to rule out that it could be another cause AO?

D

I'm thinkin' about it buddy.

My memory is ****.

I think at a month or two sober, PAWS isn't necessarily raising its ugly head. From what I recall, PAWS can kick in after a few months sober and for any doubters out there it can be a very real physical and mental gig.

For me it included ringing ears, a pins-and-needles feeling persistent throughout the day on my scalp, muscle spasms and twitches, shaking hands. Those were all very real physical symptoms I had after six months sober and they didn't begin to diminish until after a year of sobriety.

And then you can add in slammed-to-the-mat depression, anxiety, cognitive failure -- like not being able to read a sentence or follow a news broadcast -- and repetitive thoughts, like getting a song heard at the convenience store stuck in my head for hours, only to be replaced by the very next tune heard...

...call it brain damage, call it PAWS, there is a lot to be said about the brain rewiring after a few years or few decades of drinking and drugging.

PAWS is a very real phenomena, and not just from my experience but from my trolling through medical journals, etc. It's something that can be diagnosed after six months of sobriety and can rear its head throughout the first couple of years. I can recall at two years sober having some fleeting symptoms return.

I think there's something to be said for some AA old timers who bite their tongue and don't tell newcomers that it takes about five years of sobriety to beat this thing. I'm at three years and I believe it. That's not to discourage newcomers. Hell, I wouldn't wish my first year of sobriety on my worst enemy, but you really got to give this time thing what it needs. Time. The sober kind. The grab the edge of the mattress and don't drink or drug no matter what variety. It does get better. But if you were an alcoholic and a benzo addict like I was, there's a whole lot of suck coming. That's why I needed a fellowship of like-minded and like-experienced others to get me through. And that prayer thing, too.

It didn't take me 5 years but it was definitely years not months - I drank and drugged a heck of a lot for a long long time.

I still think I got off pretty lightly, considering :)

Things do get better guys :)

D

A whole lot of suck coming. Lol !! Fabulous.

Well, hmmmm.

I best get my big girl pants on because if THIS ain't the PAW's, I'm going to need a bigger ass. Because this ones already beat up.

I've had labor pains that were easier than this. Sleep deprivation that I was sure was going to kill me as my babies grew makes this look like a cake walk.

But I'd rather have it served up to me straight than sugar coated. Let it burn so I never forget.

Just like my last scotch.

It wasn't an ordeal everyday, or anything like that :)

think of human nature - if things didn't get better, none of us would stay sober.
things can, do, and will get better overall - you have my guarantee :)

D

Oh...If forgot to add that all the pain -- all the "suck" -- was worth it.

Maybe this helps:

Post-acute-withdrawal syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alphaomega, I'm not a dr., but what you're describing doesn't seem to match what is described in the Wikipedia article. You do have some of the symptoms but many of us have those symptoms for a short while. I don't know the diagnostic criteria for PAWS, but given the long list of symptoms, I doubt that just a couple would lead to that diagnosis.

Also, a lot of people simply don't get PAWS. The symptoms you describe, at this point in recovery are in fact very common. But they're not PAWS, just part of the natural recovery process.

But... If you really want to know what's going on, I'd see a dr. If I had doubts about what was going on with me, I would go see my doc too.

I think that's the best thing you can do if you want closure on this, go see your doctor.

I just remind myself of the alternative!