nofreeusernames

I've been sober for a little while; I think 32 days now. This is after about six years of drinking from moderately to extremely heavily. It ranges from 6 to 8 shots of vodka a night to going through a handle a day.

I've seen doctors and read a lot online but I'm just wondering some things, if I'm allowed to post here for this.

Well, 32 days in and I still have shakes. It isn't violent or anything but it is noticeable to me. It seems to have gotten better from when I drank nightly, as I can take pictures without them being blurry now.

But how long do shakes usually last for people? Websites say many different periods of time and most people I've read stories on say they've gone away within 2 weeks at the most.

I also lost 8 pounds in the first week of sobriety; and I still can't seem to gain any (I've always been underweight so it is strange. I'm 24, 5'9" and weigh about 130 right now). Has this happened to anyone else?

Oh and about doctors; I've seen several doctors because I freaked out about cirrhosis. I took Librium for 13 days and weaned myself off, etc. They all say, as far as they can tell, that I don't have anything serious other than my liver is enlarged. A CT scan showed I have a fatty liver and physical exams told them it is bigger than normal but I've been informed it'll get better with eating healthier and not drinking in about six months.

Thanks everyone.

january161992

welcome and God bless

i dont know the answers but someone here will

D122y

Nofree,

I don't shake, I have anxiety.

I'm 14 months clean and the anxiety steadily quelled.

You drank like me, maybe a bit harder, but I drank way longer.

I quit at 50, you are only 24.

Those shakes seem to scare you. I had hypoglycemia attacks that scare me.

Fear is a good motivator.

32 days clean is a good long time. Expect the anxiety to ramp up. It takes many many months to settle down.

We here are all addicts. It is a chronic condition. It will never go away.

Addiction to alcohol = alcoholic

We didn't know. But, now we are here.

Stay clean. It gets better every day.

Hevyn

Welcome, nofree. Congratulations on your 32 sober days.

You've told the doctor about the shaking? I stopped after a week or so, once alcohol was completely out of my system. I was nervous though - and anxious, as D122 mentioned. That took a few months to calm down.

I'm glad you joined us.

MelindaFlowers

I drank about as much as you but for a bit longer. My liver was also enlarged. Another name for this is alcoholic hep. I was diagnosed at 30 years old. How these people in their fifties drank for 30 years without liver problems is beyond me. I was diagnosed and drank another year. Complete madness.

I had a CT scan at 18 months sobriety and my liver was completely normal. Normal size, non-fatty. Normal. Enzymes in bloodwork normal too. The enzyme levels were both between double and triple normal levels when I was still drinking.

My diagnosis was just over three years ago. If I had continued drinking I believe I would be dead by now. But here I sit, typing as someone with a clean bill of health. I haven't had a drink in two years.

You'll be fine, but only with complete and total abstinence from alcohol.

Dee74

Hi and welcome nofreeusernames

I think there's a pretty wide spread of 'normal' when it comes to shakes and how long they last, and to weight loss/gain.

If you've seen a Dr and they gave you a clean bill of health, I'd hope things upswing soon ...if not, maybe a second or third opinion is called for?

D

Andante

It's true that the average time for shakes to subside is in the 1 to 2 week range, but as others have said, "normal" is a very wide range. It depends on so many individual factors.

I have kind of a wacky nervous system and hold what may be the world record for duration of alcoholic shakes. I still have traces of it at 3 years and 4 months sober. But then, I created a sort of "perfect storm" environment for post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) by going through repeated cycles of drinking, detox, and withdrawal at just the right (or wrong) intervals.

As long as you stay sober, your shakes will very likely abate on their own. If you drink again, the risk of them being worse and lasting longer next time you detox is very real.

Welcome to SR, and hang in there -- it gets better!

Soberwolf

Welcome Nofreeusernames

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

nofreeusernames

Thanks everyone. Wasn't expecting more than maybe two replies. Lol.

Thanks january and Soberwolf for the welcomes and all. I'll read over the link as well.

D122y - First I find it crazy people are able to drink so long without health problems. Its good (and bad) I guess. Good that some people are able to live that long and be healthy after quitting. Bad because that is what I originally set my expectations to when I first admitted to myself I was an alcoholic (at the beginning, I always joked I'd be an alcoholic one day when I was younger so I realized it quickly and thought it was kind of funny). So when I was, say, 4 years in I expected I could continue for 25+ more years and not have to worry about these things. Fear is what made me ultimately stop and finally seek help for withdrawal (which is one of the biggest factors why I went back to drinking; to stop withdrawal), and is why I'm continuing to not drink anymore.

Hevyn - The doctors know pretty much everything as I was pestering them a lot. I saw urgent care three times, my doctor three times, a P.A. once, a G.I. once, and saw two of my aunts who are retired nurses. They all basically said the same thing. I had blood tests done; slightly elevated enzymes. Hepatitis panels and a lipid panel all came back normal. Just the CT scan I had 2 months before showed I had fatty liver (which they didn't tell me about; I went in for a scan for my hernia. I got the CD and information from them which said I had fatty liver after seeing my doctor for withdrawals. Might have quit drinking if they had given me the fatty liver diagnosis back then.)

MelindaFlowers - Its nice to get a real testimony on this instead of just online information from medical sites or "What to expect" pages. I'm glad it all worked out for you - even with drinking after the diagnosis. I see how it'd be easy to drink even with that, though. I was tempted a lot just to continue to not have to deal with any of it.

Dee74 - I'll see, but every time a tiny thing happens to my body I worry I have ALF or cirrhosis or something. I'm worrying right now about ascites and that the doctors were wrong or something; the problem is it is extremely hard to get a doctor appointment with a new doctor in a short timeframe. I've called already and can't find one sooner than my endoscopy appointment in September. I'm just trying to hope that between the three different urgent care doctors, 2 nurse aunts, the G.I., my doctor and her P.A. that they're correct. I also begged them to just give me a CT scan or ultrasound and they won't do it. All blood tests came back normal or just slightly off so I just have to hope they're correct. Hahaha.

Andante - That's insane; the doctors haven't thought of another reason it could be? I have psoriasis in my hands and feet which was possibly activated by my alcoholism, so that's what I think of when I read this. I'm not a doctor but I read too much online and that's the only idea I have is something caused by the drinking if you have shakes for over three years. I've also read about continually detoxing; supposedly your health risks and withdrawal symptoms get worse if you detox and go back to drinking, rinse and repeat. I mainly just don't want to deal with withdrawal and the fears again which is why I THINK I can keep it going now.

graciepearl

I'm at day 53 and I still have some twitches especially in my fingers and hands but the big scary ones in my neck are pretty well gone. So glad you are here stay close and post often

1984Toy

Just thinking, was your blood sugar ever checked? I too, never quit felt right even after several months sober. I too also had red patches (looked like psoriasis). I found out I was type II diabetic, now it's under control with meds and diet, I feel much better, and red patches went away (docs told me it was due to high sugar levels). Just an idea.....

nofreeusernames

graciepearl - Sorry to hear about the twitching. I have twitching too so I guess it is sometimes normal. Mine is subsiding slowly, mostly hands and feet.

1984Toy - They mentioned doing a diabetes test but never got around to it.. When I went in to see the P.A. she said they couldn't order any more tests (G.I. issued the hepatitis + lipid panel tests, was supposed to wait a week before my appointment in September, P.A. had me go early) but I may be able to get it now. My step-father has a self-tester I was going to borrow but it is outdated so I'm waiting on him to get a new one to try at home.
Where were the red patches? I have them on my hands and feet. The hand ones made me more concerned for cirrhosis as its a huge symptom. I have been seeing a dermatologist for about a year and am on Otezla which made the itching and scaling go away so I for sure have that. My face, hands and feet still haven't returned to normal color, though.

I'll definitely need to somehow force the doctors into giving me a diabetes test; it has crossed my mind a lot. The weight loss and frequent urination could be explained by it; and it'd calm me on cirrhosis if the redness in my hands were from diabetes instead..

1984Toy

Patches were on my feet, torso, and upper left arm. I also had frequent urination. My blood sugar ran so high, I felt like I was in a "food coma" all the time. now I have plenty of energy. from what I was told (by my doc) the liver release's sugar, and am a bit insulin resistant. And of course as my liver heals, I maintain healthy lifestyle, I can get off my meds.

1984Toy

Also on on my last check my A1C was in the normal range. Just got to loose some weight, then maybe off the meds

nofreeusernames

I'm glad the meds won't be permanent; lifelong medicines are no fun :P.

I borrowed my step-father's blood sugar tester and got 101, so I guess I'm not diabetic.

I got a doctor appointment with another doctor in my office on Monday, so good luck to me. I've been feeling out of it for a couple days now. Everything sort of feels like I'm dreaming or something. I don't know if its a problem or if its from taking benadryl at night to help me sleep or whats happening.

I just know I'm going to be upset if it turns out to be a huge liver problem 5 weeks after my doctors said I'm fine, instead of preparing myself and seeking some kind of treatment earlier.