Long night of restless cold sweats and shakes
 

Man detoxing sucks. You'd think that after I have gone through this before there would be NO WAY I'd ever think about drinking again, but apparently that was not what happened. I'm beginning day 3 now and I feel mostly physically better and much better as far as depression and anxiety go. It was a very uncomfortable night for me though. I truly hope I never have to go through this again. The crazy thing is rationally I know I can't drink again and maintain a good or healthy existence, but the thoughts are there telling me that at some point I can drink again. Grrrr I need to silence that voice for good.

Stay on here and re read this post next time!
Good luck with the next few days.
John.

Erik, have you heard of AVRT? The "Crash Course" is a must-do for everyone who wants to quit drinking, in my opinion. You can find more about it here Secular Connections - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

It's good to hear that you are still sober--never forget what got you here.

Yeah I read it last time ... It made sense but I guess my AV win out last time ... Hopefully never again

You are doing well Erik. It's good that you recognize those thoughts now ( the ones of drinking again ) so you have time to plan and be ready. As you suggest, the motivation to stay sober merely based off a bad drinking experience can fade as we start to feel better. I'd highly recommend you start working on your plan more and more each day to keep bad things from happening. You mentioned you would potentially try to keep going to meetings even though everything may not click at first - that's a great idea to follow through on. Read a lot here about the other recovery methods that are available as well, many are self paced if you'd prefer that. The bottom line though is that eventually you will be tempted again, no matter how horrific your last drinking experience was. Be ready and don't forget there is always someone here too.

I hope this can be your last time trying and that you go on to live a sober rewarding life. :)

If you ever have a temptation to drink, remember that night you had. And also that every detox / relapse increases the Withdrawal Symptoms.
Good job on day 3 !!

Really? I wasn't aware that every detox / relapse increases withdrawl ... It certainly feels that way though ... I will have to keep that in mind ... Thanks! God alcohol is a horrible horrible drug ....

You're doing great x

I find that night sweats take a while to go away. Sometimes you might not get them and other nights you'll wake up soaking wet. I find trying to flush my system by drinking lots of water and eating loads of greens helps. Also, a hot bath with 2 cups of Epsom salts, 1 cup of baking soda and a teaball of fresh ginger will make you sweat a lot of toxins out and help you sleep. Wrap yourself in a housecoat and blanket after and you'll sweat for an hr..while being relaxed.

Hi Erik -- I've read about your experiences but not chimed in until now. I just want to say two things:

1. If you don't pick up a drink, you never have to physically withdraw again.
2. If you're anything like me, I don't think you can completely "silence the voice." Once you're an addict/alcoholic, you have an AV, and you carry it around with you wherever you go. Some might not agree, but that's my experience, having beat down my first addiction at 17 and then needed 33 more years to beat down my addiction to alcohol. What I focus on isis learning not to let the AV steer.

Keep posting & stay sober! You have a lot of people rooting for you! :)

I can tell you right now they get worse everytime. Look into "kindling." When this began a few years ago, it only took a few hours to get over the shakes and sweats after a night of bingeing. Now I can have considerably less than what I used to drink and it takes me days of pure hell to stop being an anxious, nervous basketcase. Please do remember this because I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through the way withdrawals can progress.

But what I wanted to say is congrats on 3 days. It is so hard to go cold turkey. I don't know how I can convince myself that withdrawal is hell so I don't have to do this again.

Stay strong.

The sweats suck. Luckily they do go away. It was changing the bed everyday that drive me crazy. I was not going lay in that dry sweat !!! Ack!!!! Nasty!!!! Be well.

I agree with somehope; do some research on the "kindling effect". I think you may even find a link on SR as I know others as well as myself have posted on this issue before. Once I understood the deal with this, reality became much more clear for me helping me to understand what was going on with me. Stay strong Erik1980!!

Proud of you for doing this & not caving. Cling to the fact that once you're through this you never have to go back there again. This is the last time you have to feel this misery. You're doing great. :)

Keep pushing through Erik!! . . . your doing great!! :)

So proud of you, Erik. You can and will do this just keep your focus on today. The physical stuff will go away - I promise.

Keep us updated.

Going through the same thing today. I am trying really hard to silence the voice as well.

Glad you're are doing better

-First