PAWS, Post Alcohol Withdrawel Syndrome, who has it?
voices ca**y
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: St. Paul Minnesota
Posts: 4,360
I had it. I read about 75% of people will experience it. For me it was at the 4 month(the worst one), 6 month and 9 month mark there about. I had an episode at a year but that one wasn't too bad.
It was about a 2 week process that would slowly come on then I would have 3 bad days of total insanity then it would start to wane. I would get really confused and anxious. I had severe mood swings from crying my eyes out to raging against the world. I forgot to drink water and got dehydrated. I had trouble driving because I kept steering toward the ditch. It was as if my brain had completely shut down for repairs. If I tried to remember the simplest thing I would get "access denied".
You might read up on regenerative PAWS. It sucks but it is actually a good thing.
It was about a 2 week process that would slowly come on then I would have 3 bad days of total insanity then it would start to wane. I would get really confused and anxious. I had severe mood swings from crying my eyes out to raging against the world. I forgot to drink water and got dehydrated. I had trouble driving because I kept steering toward the ditch. It was as if my brain had completely shut down for repairs. If I tried to remember the simplest thing I would get "access denied".
You might read up on regenerative PAWS. It sucks but it is actually a good thing.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: CO, USA
Posts: 145
PAWS is definitely real for me and understanding / recognizing it is key to preventing relapse. Typical symptoms for me include... general irritability, problems with concentration, feeling physically awkward or uncoordinated (sort of as if I were drunk), feeling of impending doom (best not watch the news!), and overstimulation by sounds and colors. As for the last one, some nights I would just lay in bed and feel like I could hear every sound in the city and just wish it would stop. I live on the tenth floor but I could every footstep down below.
I tend to feel great most of the time. These weird symptoms seem to pop up about once a week or less and they last about a day.
I tend to feel great most of the time. These weird symptoms seem to pop up about once a week or less and they last about a day.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Pacific Coast
Posts: 785
Originally Posted by Hendrix 
... really struggle to enjoy doing things that I used to love (apparently that's called ahedonia!) ... I can't concentrate on simple tasks like reading due to the incessant noise in my head telling me there's other things I need to be doing yet I remain totally apathetic and unmotivated to anything.
The sense that there’s something satisfyingly productive or enjoyable right around the corner or right over the horizon, but I can never quite see it and I never quite reach it, like a mirage.
Maddening, but it seems to be slowly getting better with time (by "time" I mean on the order of many months).
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 525
I just listened to a podcast on PAWS. The folks shared what they experienced. It takes longer for some folks, and it seems to be related to the type of drinker you were: heavy daily, heavy weekly binger, an everyday drinker.
The conclusion is: "You'll feel uncomfortable for weeks and maybe months afterwards. It will be the discomfort you used to try to relieve with alcohol. But don't drink. It will go away with time."
The conclusion is: "You'll feel uncomfortable for weeks and maybe months afterwards. It will be the discomfort you used to try to relieve with alcohol. But don't drink. It will go away with time."
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