Fusion

Thank you Thomas11 and Enabler1 for kindly setting out your experiences, I'm glad you're both OK.

Yes, Soberwolf, I'm in the UK.

Sorry Anna!

Timmy1028

Tapering never worked for me. Well, it did, but only led to a false sense of confidence. The last time it was medical.

Andante

I stopped drinking cold turkey many times on my own and went through the withdrawals without ever having a seizure or a stroke.

I also drove drunk plenty of times and never killed anyone or had a DUI or an accident.

That's not to say that I could in good conscience recommend that anyone else do either when safer alternatives are easily available.

Dee74

I ended up with mini strokes from my last at home detox so I'm always going to suggest seeing a Dr. It's simply the safest way.

D

Soberwolf

Tatsy alcoholism won't go on your work record only medical and thats strict confidentiality

Fusion

Oh Dee, I'm so sorry to hear about your mini strokes.

Yet, surely, surely, somebody on this website has been able to successfully taper alcohol, in order to avoid serious withdrawals!

least

But remember, as soon as you stop drinking, whether you tapered or not, your body is still going to go thru withdrawal.

I don't know about the UK, but here in the US, medical records are confidential.

RallyAly

I tapered but was I was "only" drinking evenings and light or ultralight beer (quite variable, 2-14+ cans a day, 5-6 drinking days per week). I cut drinking down to 2-5 regular beers per night for a week while on holiday, then had 2-3 more light nights and one heavy night after returning home. Then 2 beers one night, then one measured shot in a bunch of Gatorade for two nights before stopping (taken when I could feel my BP and heartrate increase at night). Roughy, that boils down to half my usual for about 1.5 weeks, then half of that for a day, then half of that for two days.

So I was at a point where I could generally go a couple days without much issue prior to tapering - I was at risk but not high risk for withdrawal issues. I monitored my BP and heart rate pretty closely. And I really looked for anything indicating trouble (I set my danger zone targets low and was committed to them ).

I had a friend die from electrolyte/fluid imbalance from quitting without medical help. By the time she went to the hospital they couldn't do much and she lost her battle several days later. This can kill you.

I would have sought help if my HR/BP went into the mid range of typical high blood pressure or if I would have had hand shakes. I had no shakes and my highest vitals were 124/103 BP and ~80 hr (my resting hr is usually under 55 and BP is typically ~100/60). I felt weird, had headaches, was often thirsty, had mild cravings, and could feel my heart and bp rise around 8-9 pm (then measured out a shot in a big cup of Gatorade (like 36oz) and drank that at a regular pace.

SarahB60

I personally would never detox (or taper...) on my own. I drank 1 to 1/2 bottles (sometimes 2)everyday for several years and my last medical detox in the hospital was pretty bad (sky high blood pressure, limbs shaking and hallucinations..). Who would've thought little old wine could do such damage?

I hope you will reconsider and see your GP for a medically supervised detox.

ScottFromWI

They may have, but you've been reminded twice ( 3 times now actually ) that asking for advice on how to taper is against forum policy. Please don't ask again.

Dee74

Even if they have, please understand thats no guarantee for you Tatsy.

We're all different and there's many many factors that need to be taken into consideration - how much you drink, how long you've been drinking, your general health, any other health issues you may have etc.

Our medical advice rule isn't to be mean - it's to point people in the direction of medical professionals who can assess the risks.

I understand your fears, but sometimes well being has to come first.
I hope you'll reconsider about seeing a Dr.

D

PurpleKnight

The problem with Sobriety is that there are far too many variables to ever predict anything, length of time drinking, genetic makeup, weight, height etc etc, the list goes on.

For me I went to the Dr to get some advice on things, and then went from there, the important thing is to be safe in all of this, alcohol is a serious thing, and addiction needs some care and attention when dealing with it!!

Rachinator

Sorry I'm not a doctor and Nor do I play one on the internet. Taking Dr. Google's advice can/will drive you bonkers. Good luck on your journey to sobriety. Stick around this is a good place for support

Thumpalumpacus

I couldn't taper. One became two became six every time I tried ... usually the same evening. 0-to-stupid in one beer.

Fusion

I'm so very grateful to you kind folks that replied to my thread. Unfortunately I was in a job ( hope to reapply) where it's mandatory the powers that be have access to your medical records. That's the reason why I'm resistant to alcohol issues on my medical records.

Just to update, last week I managed to cut down, then ramped up again at the weekend, sadly. On Monday I began my new cut down (I won't use the word taper, as it's a no-no on this site; but I don't intend to drink again once I stop) and so far it's going well and I'm appreciating the improved sleep and awareness.

Would you believe that for the first time in years, I'm pruning my garden! That, after reducing to just over a bottle of wine a day, after years of drinking 2 to 2 and a half, of red and I suppose if I drank white, then it'd be the equivalent of up to 3 bottles at its worst.

I'm looking forward to being a member of this sobriety site, once I've stopped drinking. Thank you all for being here. I've been reading avidly, whilst cutting down to zero.

Fusion

Hello, please can a Moderator delete my account. This isn't perhaps the right site for me, I'm feeling rather alienated, because I haven't attended the type of detox centres which support this site.

Thank you, I do appreciate the information I've gained from reading this site.

Coldfusion

Tatsy, if you send a Personal Message to "Anna," she will be able to close your account; but you cannot delete your posts. I think it may be a valuable lesson to others if you continue to post, however.

doggonecarl

Sober recovery supports people who want to get sober. That's you. Stick around.

Leonidas

Same deal here.

I'm on day 3 on my Detox at home now. Yesterday was straight hell(almost caved and hit the bottle because of the pain) but today a hundred times better already. Think the worst of my detox is over(thank god).

Although it super sucked, now that I've done it I wish I would of done it way earlier. For years I've been trying to find ways like tapering and etc just to avoid the withdrawal I knew I was in for by going cold turkey.

In the end just biting the bullet and going through a few days of hell was worth it. I was drinking a fifth of whiskey everyday for 10 years by the way.

bandit112

I would stick around. This site has been a valuable resource for me.

I tried tapering a few times, some I got closer to success than others but it never really worked for me. If I managed to stick to my "schedule" a bit, I started to think I was a normal drinker, which resulted in failure.


Also, I never went to a specialized detox facility, just a run of the mill Dr.'s office. I was given the option of going to a detox center, but chose to just take a prescription and follow up a few times during the week.

Overall, the medically supervised detox was a lot more comfortable than my previous attempts even though I was coming off of a major bender.