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How long did PAWS affect you after quitting?

Old 03-18-2014, 05:03 PM
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Dg! I love that site. I can't believe it exists. and Alpha, that's just how it works with me too. It's less scary then it was in the beginning because I had no idea what was happening, although it makes total sense. I think it's also gotten considerably better since the diet change (thanks to your suggestion- I am sticking to the program- not the days but the food in general).
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Old 03-18-2014, 05:11 PM
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Thanks everyone for sharing all your experiences. It's so helpful and reassuring to know I'm not completely mad. Yesterday was rough, I see now that it was likely paws. Today has been much better. I have had a mild,persistant headache most days since getting sober over a month ago. I'm very hesitant to take any meds, feel I've poisoned my body enough. Hopefully this minor annoyance will eventually ease. Sometimes, I think it's a healthy reminder of how much worse I could be feeling if I was still drinking. Funny how I would never complain about my almost daily hangovers, let alone admit I was hungover. (After reading this post I'm laughing to think I'm whining about a little headache, when for the past several years I've been so sick from poison in many worse ways!) I'm still going to post , though. Spent lots of time checking my spelling and such...
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Old 03-18-2014, 05:41 PM
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Also another thing I read about PAWS is that if you even take a drink it reverses all the "brain work" which to me is particularly scary. It would be starting all over again. Just not worth it.
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Old 03-18-2014, 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by nigey1 View Post
I was not an everyday drinker but heavy binger crossing into every other day.
From what I’ve read, this is actually one of the factors which increases the likelihood of PAWS as well as the “kindling” effect, because the brain is constantly being whipsawed back and forth between extreme states of sedation when drunk and compensatory excitation when withdrawing. Evidently, it’s the process of repeated withdrawals that does the damage.

Ironically, from a PAWS perspective at least, we’d be better off if we’d just stayed drunk all the time!

I wish I could cite a reference on this, but I can’t remember where I saw it.

Newcomers, please use this information as an additional incentive to stop FOR GOOD when you stop!
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Old 03-18-2014, 08:22 PM
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Ah Andante that makes so much sense. I've never learned the reasoning behind it, but the PAWS alone is enough to keep me sober. It's so funny looking back on the decision to quit, I had no idea how uneducated I was about what excessive alcohol really does to the body and mind. At least not to this extent.
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Old 03-29-2014, 10:31 PM
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Hello Cusper - I see we have close quit dates I am just a month ahead of you! I drank nightly 9yrs and 'just' on weekends for another 9. My PAWS has pretty much gone as expected and I'm 5 months sober now. The first couple months I could easily tell the improvements from 1 week to the next. Nowadays it still sucks obviously, but the lows are Not as low and its easier to catch myself when they happen. (IF I am doing things correctly, i.e. avoiding stressful situations, exercising, AA meetings, staying busy etc..) I keep on hoping the symptoms will just 'stop' at 6 months, or 9 months, or whatever, but I think we both know it doesn't work like that. They will keep diminishing over time until they are negligible.
The article mentioned by DG0409 "PAWS...Why We Don't Get Better Overnight" was very important to me in early sobriety. Everyone should read all of the posts people sent in on that forum, they all tend to confirm that improvement is continuous and gradual .
Keep it up!!!
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:44 AM
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Originally Posted by DG0409 View Post
Here's a good link to an article on PAWS for anybody who may be less familiar with it.
Bookmarked this. I only discovered PAWs a few days ago, but it makes me feel better about how dumb I am lately. I keep calling people by the wrong names and mispronouncing names at work. My responses are slow. I cry randomly, which terrifies the people around me because I'm usually a pokerface.

I feel A LITTLE BIT relieved this is just my body recalibrating and it's a transient thing.
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Old 03-30-2014, 10:12 AM
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How does age factor into PAWS? I am mid-twenties and healthy other than a few extra pounds.

I imagine if you are at an age where your body is a bit older it would make the PAWS worse. Me, being a baby compared to some of the older drinkers probably explains why i have not experienced much in the way of "PAWS", i find that my memory has actually improved........ which is the exact opposite of what PAWS victims seem to be experiencing.

From what i am reading, it seems the only problem im still facing is the insomnia....... but i am only at day 41 so perhaps it is too early to make a judgment call.
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Old 03-30-2014, 12:20 PM
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Thanks Joel for your post. I went back to that site again and it was good to read over everything. I have had a tough weekend with PAWS. I have been on a really strict diet the last couple of months (no refined sugar) I splurged this friday and again with the foggy brain that I thought had gone. I have to stick to the plan or I really feel it.
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Old 05-03-2020, 09:59 PM
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Originally Posted by UnixBer View Post
Yeah PAWS simply means that the brain and body is healing and adjusting. You could just as well call it "recovery symptoms", because that's what it is. But I do think that 99% of people withdrawing from alcohol do have PAWS, like vandermast said, they're just not aware of it. And one characteristic of paws is namely that you're not aware of something, like half the brain is working at the time and memory is what it is. It's still temporary.

I'm at 9 months sober myself and I think I still have it. It is however a lot better and other things are much better as well. I think the whole PAWS is a matter of identification of your state of being. One thing that has helped me is knowing that whenever it hits, it measn that something is recovering...
I know this is an old thread. But when I read this and maybe someone else saying something similar, that the episodes are healing processes and sometimes they felt better after, it struck home. I've had some spikes in worse PAWS days, but it seems as if once it passes my average weekly feeling is slightly better than it was before. I hope that continues to hold true.
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Old 05-04-2020, 08:57 PM
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I'm still suffering PAWS 14 months after stopping benzodiazapines, not alcohol. Just saying for people who might be taking benzos for alcohol withdrawal. Be really careful, benzo withdraw is hell on wheels.
Four months off alcohol.
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