Was this my wakeup call?
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Was this my wakeup call?
Hello. I've had some issues over the past couple months that co-coincided with when I quit drinking for a diet. My doctor shrugged the idea that it could be related off, and I think possibly misdiagnosed me as a result. I've never considered myself to be an alcoholic, though have asked myself if I had a "drinking problem" a few times. I know, if I had to ask, the answer is and was probably "yes". I recently stumbled onto this forum and thought I'd see what people who have dealt with these things think and would appreciate any feedback.
Anyway, I basically stopped drinking cold turkey by choice and cleaned up my diet because I wanted to lose some weight. I never considered myself as being addicted to alcohol or thought about potential withdrawal effects. Prior to this, I'd say that I was drinking 3-5 craft beers a day during the week for at least a couple years (many of which are over the standard ABV) and generally more on the weekends or if I was out with friends. Beer was my drink of choice, but I occasionally would have rum or other hard liquor in mixed drinks and usually put in at least 2-3 times what would be standard.
I started the diet and within a day or two started noticing what seemed almost like occasional panic attacks. Although my mind did not feel panicked, my chest would tighten and my heart felt like it was beating harder even though the heart rate seemed normal. It usually passed within a few minutes. Additionally, I noticed that things that startled me were affecting me a lot more than normal, almost like they were causing a momentary panic attack. I thought that it could have something to do with stopping alcohol and figured that it would subside with time. About 2 weeks in, I had a beer on my first day of vacation. I felt fine at first, but then a few hours later, my chest tightened up more than it had previously and my throat felt just a little bit tight, so I went to the ER.
They ran blood tests and hooked me to the heart monitor, etc, but found no problems. They ordered a stress test on the heart, which found no problems, so they discharged me and I got an appointment with my primary care physician the next day. That was the last time I experienced the chest tightening/panicked feeling. I explained everything that had happened, my drinking habits, and mentioned that I had some epigastric pain after leaving the ER that was not present anymore. Now mind you, I hadn't eaten in about 14 hours when I came home from the ER and tried to eat, but only took a bite or two and went to bed because it didn't feel like it was settling well. Long and short, the doctor dismissed the idea that it had anything to do with quitting alcohol, said I "probably had GERD" despite never having had digestive issues previously, and put me on a H2 blocker.
After starting the medicine, I developed constant epigastric discomfort, reduced appetite, and also started crying for no apparent reason at random times. When I reported this to my PCP after about 3 weeks, she pulled me off of the H2 blocker and upped it to a PPI, which seems to have made little difference, aside from making it harder for me to digest foods...I've since started reading up on these meds, and needless to say, am ticked that they were prescribed without confirmation of any condition, while also commenting that I "may need to be on them indefinitely". A test for celiac disease came back normal, abdominal ultrasound came back normal, h pylori negative, etc.
At this point, I haven't had a drink in about ten weeks and am considering all of these events from a more logical perspective than I did at the time due to how scared I was. The panicky feelings are gone, but I do occasionally cry for no reason and have not had the same level of interest in things that I usually do. I'm almost finished with the prescribed course of PPI's and have begun to think that they were never needed and only acted as a distraction from what I now suspect may have been alcohol withdrawal the whole time...
Anyway, that's my story. To those with the experience, does this seem like alcohol withdrawal to you, as I suspect, or do you think my doctor was right to shrug the suggestion off and take blind stabs in the dark trying to find other possible causes?
I'm just trying to make sense of all of it at this point and intend to stay alcohol free until all of this subsides, at which point I plan to keep it to limited social drinking only regardless.
Anyway, I basically stopped drinking cold turkey by choice and cleaned up my diet because I wanted to lose some weight. I never considered myself as being addicted to alcohol or thought about potential withdrawal effects. Prior to this, I'd say that I was drinking 3-5 craft beers a day during the week for at least a couple years (many of which are over the standard ABV) and generally more on the weekends or if I was out with friends. Beer was my drink of choice, but I occasionally would have rum or other hard liquor in mixed drinks and usually put in at least 2-3 times what would be standard.
I started the diet and within a day or two started noticing what seemed almost like occasional panic attacks. Although my mind did not feel panicked, my chest would tighten and my heart felt like it was beating harder even though the heart rate seemed normal. It usually passed within a few minutes. Additionally, I noticed that things that startled me were affecting me a lot more than normal, almost like they were causing a momentary panic attack. I thought that it could have something to do with stopping alcohol and figured that it would subside with time. About 2 weeks in, I had a beer on my first day of vacation. I felt fine at first, but then a few hours later, my chest tightened up more than it had previously and my throat felt just a little bit tight, so I went to the ER.
They ran blood tests and hooked me to the heart monitor, etc, but found no problems. They ordered a stress test on the heart, which found no problems, so they discharged me and I got an appointment with my primary care physician the next day. That was the last time I experienced the chest tightening/panicked feeling. I explained everything that had happened, my drinking habits, and mentioned that I had some epigastric pain after leaving the ER that was not present anymore. Now mind you, I hadn't eaten in about 14 hours when I came home from the ER and tried to eat, but only took a bite or two and went to bed because it didn't feel like it was settling well. Long and short, the doctor dismissed the idea that it had anything to do with quitting alcohol, said I "probably had GERD" despite never having had digestive issues previously, and put me on a H2 blocker.
After starting the medicine, I developed constant epigastric discomfort, reduced appetite, and also started crying for no apparent reason at random times. When I reported this to my PCP after about 3 weeks, she pulled me off of the H2 blocker and upped it to a PPI, which seems to have made little difference, aside from making it harder for me to digest foods...I've since started reading up on these meds, and needless to say, am ticked that they were prescribed without confirmation of any condition, while also commenting that I "may need to be on them indefinitely". A test for celiac disease came back normal, abdominal ultrasound came back normal, h pylori negative, etc.
At this point, I haven't had a drink in about ten weeks and am considering all of these events from a more logical perspective than I did at the time due to how scared I was. The panicky feelings are gone, but I do occasionally cry for no reason and have not had the same level of interest in things that I usually do. I'm almost finished with the prescribed course of PPI's and have begun to think that they were never needed and only acted as a distraction from what I now suspect may have been alcohol withdrawal the whole time...
Anyway, that's my story. To those with the experience, does this seem like alcohol withdrawal to you, as I suspect, or do you think my doctor was right to shrug the suggestion off and take blind stabs in the dark trying to find other possible causes?
I'm just trying to make sense of all of it at this point and intend to stay alcohol free until all of this subsides, at which point I plan to keep it to limited social drinking only regardless.
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Alcohol fuggs with your brain chemicals. When you come off alcohol, cold turkey especially, your brain starts to panic because it doesnt feel right because it was use to doing its normal thing on alcohol. I think it caused misfires in the brain which could tend to lead to panic attacks. It seems pretty normal to me that panic attacks come when coming off of any drug. Best thing I can suggest is keep regular appointments with a DR (maybe find a new one) eat plenty of healthy foods and drink plenty of water- try and stay away from high sugar content sodas and candy... Do your body a favor and just put good things in it for now.
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Originally Posted by FreeOwl 
do you want it to be your wake up call?
I'm more or less interested in whether people who have dealt with this agree with my current assessment or not. I've never dealt with anything like this or known anyone who has, so I don't have anyone with the experience to simply ask, and my doctor thinks I'm a quack...
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Originally Posted by jryan19982
Alcohol fuggs with your brain chemicals. When you come off alcohol, cold turkey especially, your brain starts to panic because it doesnt feel right because it was use to doing its normal thing on alcohol. I think it caused misfires in the brain which could tend to lead to panic attacks. It seems pretty normal to me that panic attacks come when coming off of any drug. Best thing I can suggest is keep regular appointments with a DR (maybe find a new one) eat plenty of healthy foods and drink plenty of water- try and stay away from high sugar content sodas and candy... Do your body a favor and just put good things in it for now.
That's definitely what I'm trying to do for now. All I ever had to drink besides alcohol was water, so I pretty much only drink water now and have kept the better foods from my diet going through all of this. My appetite got pretty low for a while, but now that I'm off of one of the meds the doctor had me on, seems to be starting to come back, although my stomach seems much smaller than it was previously.
I've definitely been considering changing docs though too. Not saying mine is bad, but I'm bothered by the fact that she shrugged this off as a possibility so quickly when the level of drinking I reported, while not as extreme as most alcoholics, does seem to be a level that I've read could cause these problems and a lot of the symptoms matched up. Just seems like she snagged on to a one-time stomach pain and ran with it while ignoring everything else.
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Hi FBzero, I can only share my experience. I have gone through alcohol withdrawal a couple of times, and it was exactly like you experienced. Pounding heart, shortness of breath, jumpy, panicky, all kinds of bad news. We can't give medical advice, but I think there is a good chance that your alcohol consumption might have been the culprit. The good news is that is goes away. The bad news is that it will come back if you drink heavily or regularly. Hope that helps.
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I went through an enforced quit from alcohol because of illness. During the first couple of weeks I had an extremely diminished appetite. Maybe take a tiny bite of chicken but my stomach would be killing me. Panic and anxiety attacks started. After an extremely long time, or what seemed like it, I figured that for me, it was alcohol withdrawal.
Yours might be. Or might not. If you're comfortable not drinking, then why not quit? And honestly 3 to 5 beers a night is a lot. Speaking from the perspective of someone who used to drink 6 to 10 beers a night.
Yours might be. Or might not. If you're comfortable not drinking, then why not quit? And honestly 3 to 5 beers a night is a lot. Speaking from the perspective of someone who used to drink 6 to 10 beers a night.
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I just want to be clear, that you were drinking 3-5 craft beers everyday? Some of those beers have 9-14% alcohol in them, (I used to drink these too) which is as much as wine. There's 3-4 glasses in a standard bottle of wine, so that would be like drinking a bottle of wine everyday, and more on the weekends. I'm not judging, I drank that and more at one point, but it sounds like a lot of alcohol for anyone. I've had withdrawals before, and they are exactly how you described. Panic attacks and anxiety, heart palpitations, etc. Its up to only you to decide if you can moderate and only be a social drinker, but for most of us here that is not an option. Good luck to you and I wish you the best of health!
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Originally Posted by thomas11
Hi FBzero, I can only share my experience. I have gone through alcohol withdrawal a couple of times, and it was exactly like you experienced. Pounding heart, shortness of breath, jumpy, panicky, all kinds of bad news. We can't give medical advice, but I think there is a good chance that your alcohol consumption might have been the culprit. The good news is that is goes away. The bad news is that it will come back if you drink heavily or regularly. Hope that helps.
Between the similarity of symptoms and the timing, I just can't believe it wasn't even considered.
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There are many doctors out there who really don't know much about alcoholism. You might want to do some research and find someone who has experience in this area. From what you have described, it sure sounds like alcohol withdrawal to me. JMHO
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Originally Posted by Lucie29
I just want to be clear, that you were drinking 3-5 craft beers everyday? Some of those beers have 9-14% alcohol in them, (I used to drink these too) which is as much as wine. There's 3-4 glasses in a standard bottle of wine, so that would be like drinking a bottle of wine everyday, and more on the weekends. I'm not judging, I drank that and more at one point, but it sounds like a lot of alcohol for anyone. I've had withdrawals before, and they are exactly how you described. Panic attacks and anxiety, heart palpitations, etc. Its up to only you to decide if you can moderate and only be a social drinker, but for most of us here that is not an option. Good luck to you and I wish you the best of health!
Most of the ones I would drink were between 4.5 and 7.5%, and I usually did not go up to the upper end when I knew I was drinking one of the ones that had considerably more alcohol than a normal one. Not making excuses or shrugging anything off; I know it was still a lot.
In regards to the social aspect of drinking, I certainly don't want to be disrespectful of anyone here because I know that I seem to have hit this early on into the abuse and didn't reach the levels of intake or duration that many have. I am grateful for that, and extremely sympathetic to those who may be worse off because now I have some measure of understanding about what they are going through that I previously did not.
The reason I believe I can manage it just socially is because, while I had a problem (clearly), I don't think it stemmed from being addicted as much as habit. If I was addicted, I highly doubt that I could have up and one day said I was going to quit for a diet without much further thought, according to what I've read from people who are addicted. I believe my problem is that I let it become a habit and that that habit increased over time without me ever really giving it much consideration. I always liked to drink when I cook, for example, and I started cooking more when I bought a house, thus I began to drink more just from that.
My general thoughts are that I can't ever let it start out of habit again and I would achieve that by setting up barriers, such as none during the week except on special occasions (weddings, birthdays, etc), and only if I am out socially on the weekends, which is only 1-2 weekends a month usually. Once things are in my crosshairs (like this is now), I generally don't have any problems with willpower, but as an added measure of safety, my girlfriend only drinks a little and can be trusted to slap me if need be. She is amazingly supportive and I'm lucky to have her!
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Well, that's the thing about addiction. We don't really think we are addicted and can stop at any time. But, when we do stop for several days, as you did, our body goes into a kind of shock. Your brain is used to getting alcohol on a regular basis.
You very well may not be psychologically addicted, but it does sound as if you were, or are, physically addicted. Those symptoms will go away as long as you avoid alcohol. Again, JMHO.
You very well may not be psychologically addicted, but it does sound as if you were, or are, physically addicted. Those symptoms will go away as long as you avoid alcohol. Again, JMHO.
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Sounds similar to the alcohol withdrawal I had been through in the past. I would experience these symptoms everything I would stop for extended periods of time after drinking rather heavy.
I decided I did not enjoy the feeling anymore after years of dealing with it and it seems so much better to just let go of alcohol.
I decided I did not enjoy the feeling anymore after years of dealing with it and it seems so much better to just let go of alcohol.
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Originally Posted by suki44883
Well, that's the thing about addiction. We don't really think we are addicted and can stop at any time. But, when we do stop for several day, as you did, our body goes into a kind of shock. Your brain is used to getting alcohol on a regular basis.
You very well may not be psychologically addicted, but it does sound as if you were, or are, physically addicted. Again, JMHO.
You very well may not be psychologically addicted, but it does sound as if you were, or are, physically addicted. Again, JMHO.
I know for sure that I need to stay away from it long enough for my body to essentially "forget" about it before I can use the mind to set up "acceptable use policies", more or less. The good thing for me is that I've already stopped for 10+ weeks now and don't have any mental desire to have one. My girlfriend offered to quit with me as a show of solidarity and I told her that it wasn't necessary and that this is my demon to face, so she compromised and has started to only have 1-2 on weekends that she doesn't work...I guess the point there is that they are in the fridge...I could go grab one any time I wanted. Ideally, the mind controls the body, and it seems to be firmly in control at the moment...I just need to get the body to fall in line now, and I intend to no matter how long it takes
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It does sound like alcohol withdrawal to me. The first time I tried to quit... years before I quit for real... it was just a temporary break to support a friend. In no way did I think I had an alcohol problem beyond just liking to drink a lot. I had withdrawal similar to what you describe, plus a foggy head... and that was when I started to realize that something bigger was going on. It's a good idea to stay quit now, as it only grows from there.
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