Poppers

Hello I'm a 43 year old male who had been binge drinking in a cycle of 2 days hard drinking, never during the day just at night and then would take a day off. Life changes and now I have been consistently drinking at least 20 ounces of vodka a night. By the way I'm not a small man I'm pushing 300 pounds. I decided enough is enough and stopped drinking 2 days ago.

Last night was terrible just sweating (and the smell was awful) after about 6 1/2 hours in bed woke up feeling okay, but still tired so I went back to bed. Woke up 3 hours later and my mood is terrible, everything sucks and I don't a have good thing to say. I've been searching the internet for withdrawal issues and I'm experiencing some but the mind problems are the worst.

My question is should I taper to avoid further distress to my already fragile family life?

VigilanceNow

Hey Poppers and welcome. I've been through some horrible withdrawal so I completely understand. I can only share my experience - I tried to taper once and it did not go well. I just ended up getting drunk and wound up with even worse withdrawal, landed me in the ER. Withdrawal from alcohol is v serious, and not to scare you, but it can go south very quickly and without warning. Tapering has worked for some, but make sure you have someone to monitor you closely. That was my biggest mistake I think.

With that much vodka, you probably are experiencing some vitamin deficiencies as well - that can cause anxiety and horrible mood swings. just be careful and don't hesitate to just get to a doctor if you start feeling really shaky. They'll give you an IV and probably some benzos to keep DTs at bay. Getting help is no big deal; I was only in there for a few hours.

Also make sure you're eating lots of veggies and fruit, and nuts (almonds are good). The anxiety, mood swings, and other symptoms will pass, but again be careful if you choose to taper. I was very serious about it but still slipped right back into getting smashed, and let me tell you it was scary and very unpleasant. Good luck and keep us posted!!

Poppers

It's like my body and my mind hate everything I've done to it for so long and is attacking back. I don't have any tremors so that's a plus.

VigilanceNow

I remember wondering if that was the time, after so many years of abuse, that I wouldn't snap back. thankfully I did, but I've met people who haven't. It takes some time, but it will pass :-)

Poppers

Kids came home from school and it didn't matter what they said I got angry. When I told them what's for dinner they said they didn't want that. Which of course sends me over the edge, I didn't yell but my tone was all wrong and I acted like a child saying whatever your mom will have to take care of it. My poor wife has been at work all day and it's the last thing she should worry about. I want a drink so bad!

JScatt

I tried tapering and like mentioned above if it is not monitored/regulated by someone it could be a disaster.
I tried the HAMS(?) technique which was beer every hour starting when you first wake up , next day its a beer every 1.5 hours and so on. I had no one monitoring me so I pretty much failed horribly.
What worked was seeing my doctor explaining my situation and he put me on 4 days Librium

August252015

Perfect way to describe what I went through. Which was a LOT and I too went cold turkey. I thought of it as the alcohol and its severe effects on me making its way out of my body from head to toe. I suffered a lot of immediate symptoms- from what I consider mild like throwing up/dry retching and the hand shakes to much worse- and a pretty long PAWS experience.

Still, I was DONE and cold turkey was the solution for me. I had to choose between a certain death by drinking and an uncertain amount and time of physical and emotional etc pain. I don't believe tapering is a good idea for most, and it wouldn't have been for me as any "delay" would have kept me drinking, almost certainly forever....til I died.

Just my experience. You can do this and find relief on the sober side. Take care.

Serper2014

I tried tapering many times, every time I tried to taper failed. Cold Turkey with some medication from a doctor is what finally got me off the daily cycle. I haven't drank daily since 10.23.13

Dee74

Hi and welcome

Irritability is unfortunately a consequence of withdrawal - they tend to go hand in hand.

Making a gratitude list really helped me - it was hard to get more than a few things at first cos I was so POed...but gradually the words began to flow...gave me back a little perspective.

Things won;t always be this hard - this transition period can be rough - but it's finite.

This is just my opinion but I would not go back to drinking - not in order to taper...or for any other reason.

You'll still have to face the irritability again later.

Drinking again - again, for whatever reason - may do more damage to that fragile family dynamic than your irritability.

If you're worried at all about any aspect of your health please consider seeing a Dr.

D