Aquatundra

Curious who here suffers from it and exactly what you go through...

I think that's what I'm experiencing.

Been sober 4 months...last few weeks felt great then the last couple days....


Super tired and in a dream like state can barely stand at times. Don't feel like myself.

Let me know please....how you feel when it comes on? how do you feel before? How often ? How long does it last? etc.

entropy1964

PAWS is common but not everyone suffers from it. I usually think of it as more psychological and cognitive. Not as much physical as in tired but I guess it can be different for everyone. I would say if you are mostly feeling great then a few tired days is normal? Have you had a blood work up since you quit? Checking micro nutrients and blood sugar, liver, kidney and adrenal functions can be eye opening. Alcoholism is literally exhausting for our bodies....it can really mess with our adrenal and endocrine systems.

Exercise and yoga are awesome for recovery. If you don't start to feel better soon I'd see your dr.

FormerWineGirl

You will here a lot of opinions concerning PAWS on here, but it was indeed real for me. I had several episodes, generally lasting about 3 days. Fatigue, irritability, and a general sense of feeling unwell, physically and emotionally. I would have an episode every few months. As quickly as it came on, I would wake up and the fog would have lifted. After a couple of episodes I finally figured out what is was, which helped, knowing what it was and that it would dissipate. I read somewhere to think of it as your mind healing, and that's what I did. They spaced farther out, and at 19 months (hay, today actually!) I haven't had one for awhile.

If you continue to feel bad, you need to get checked out by your Dr. It could be something entirely different. Hope you feel better soon.

Andante

PAWS isn't a "thing" like neuropathy or pneumonia. It's just a catch-all term for symptoms that persist or recur beyond the normal period for acute withdrawal, and 4 months is actually pretty typical.

If you've seen a doctor to rule out other specific causes for your symptoms, then you can call them "PAWS" if it feels better to give them a name. They're just signs that your brain and nervous system are healing after all the abuse they underwent during your drinking days.

As I posted in another thread just this morning, the answer to all "How long does it take before I feel better?" questions is: it takes however long it takes. It's different for everyone, and there are no short-cuts. The thing to remember is that it WILL get better as long as you fulfill just one condition: don't drink. If you drink, you reset back to square one (or worse!).

I had really bad PAWS-type symptoms and it was hard for me not to get impatient and frustrated. I wanted immediate answers and relief too, so I can relate. However, I learned that the only true healer was time.

There are some actions you can take to reduce the intensity and duration of the symptoms. Here's a link to an article that usually shows up on PAWS threads at some point. Many have found it to be helpful:

http://digital-dharma.net/post-acute...r-immediately/

Dee74

Hi aquatundra

The link andante posted should answer most questions

I had what I believe to be PAWs - for me it was feeling confused, fatigued, and acting a little giddy.

Fortunately it was a day here a day there...it seemed to go for good around day 900-120

D

dan16

I asked the same question earlier on. I'm just under 4 months sober and am having a very similar experience so you're not the only one. The link that Andante provided is helpful..

http://digital-dharma.net/post-acute...r-immediately/

zerothehero

Great link. My experience was at about 3 months I felt like my mood had stabilized and anxiety had largely subsided. At 4 months, though, the anxiety came back, and I felt confused and had a lot of repetitive thinking patterns. Meditation helped. The symptoms came and went for a couple of months. At six months I was feeling pretty good.

I think it's important to take into account our environment and life situations. I would have been going through a rough patch whether I was starting recovery or had substance use issues or not. Life is just hard sometimes.

Aquatundra

Dan lets chat! I sent you a message

fantail

That dreamlike state is one of the big PAWS symptoms that I experience. The other is a kind of numb, non-responsiveness in social situations. I call it "empty head" to myself because that's what it feels like. Just observing, no reactions, very detached and no real sense of humor. And the worst one is what I think of as "rusty gears" (dunno, it helps me to categorize things ) which is when I feel like I'm five beats behind and even trying to think is just causing me crazy frustration and agitation. Like my brain is a big rusted clock and every thought is metal grinding on metal.

Thankfully at 9 months I almost never get any of those anymore. The first two months it was every single day. By sixth months it would be a few days on, a few days off. Now I only get them when something stressful happens. I'm not sure how often it is, but infrequently enough that when it happens I'm surprised.

chrcarlson

136 days sober. For the last week I've felt fuzzy headed and short tempered. woke up feeling great today.

Turtle76

Im just shy of 90 days and pretty sure I am having bouts of PAWS. Up until recently I have been riding my pink cloud high. In the last couple weeks, I have felt my energy dwindle for a couple days at a time, I feel sorta out-of-body, dropping things, super forgetful, having trouble sleeping, and having anxiety. I can't even remember if I fed the dog right after I just fed him. Ive accidentally broken so many dishes in the last weeks too. Having trouble with balance during my workouts. It comes seemingly out of the blue, lasts a couple days, then goes away and I am back to feeling grateful and happy for my newfound journey to freedom. I am super grateful for this sight, or else I would have never known this is what is happening to me. I try to be gentle with myself, and now that I have a sponsor, I call her to have someone remind me that I am not going crazy, just recovering.... and that it gets better. 😁

zlhzlh

I am really struggling atm, the last 4 days I have felt worthless. I feel tired and just want to stay in bed, I have gone in on myself and don't want to be part of society. Not sure if I am suffering from depression or something else, feel tearful and just horrid �� am 5 months and 1 day sober.

Dee74

If anyone feels they have PAWs the link at the top of this thread (and below) has some excellent ideas for dealing with its effects

http://digital-dharma.net/post-acute...r-immediately/

D