Ojsober

Question for the almost 2 weeks of drinking some times more some times lot less but always consumed rhe beer
Do you think can rhe stoping and withdrawals can get really bad?
Oj

Ojsober

Thx im not angry i had some to eat some veggies and lots of vitamins and water
I dont feel lonely my wife is very supportive 😃with my the problem is anxiety

Ojsober

Thx ro all that had joined the conversations
Is helping a lot
But i want to sound like i don't wanna quit
I do.
But for rhe the time being is better for me.😃

Dee74

Oj, I'm not a doctor, man - I don't know your general health or your clinical history.

It's like asking me how long is a piece of string, yeah?

I don't wish bad withdrawals on you. I don't wish them on anyone.

I hope you'll be OK

D

Meraviglioso

Hi there ojsober, just chiming in for support for you. You can get through this. I'm going to join the "see a doctor team" There are plenty of people who have an intake higher than yours who have quit cold-turkey. There are also plenty of people who have tapered with success. However, what concerns me is that you seem to be in an endless loop of anxiety over this (very normal, a lot of us have been there) and I fear that this could only prolong the situation and the agony. Quitting is uncomfortable and often mentally and physically painful. It just sucks. A medically supervised detox can make it more comfortable (had one myself) but it does not make the process completely painless and smooth. Anyway you look at it- cold-turkey, taper, medical detox, this is going to require effort and some level of discomfort on your part.
If you are serious about quitting, and I believe you when you say you are, then you need to get to a doctor and get on with this. Do not let fear hold you back. I did for a long time and there was simply no way around it, I had to go through it to get to the other side. You can do this. We are here to support you. Your doctor though will always know best and can give you the most solid, personalised advice based on a number of factors. Best of luck to you, stick around here!

Ojsober

You are absolutely right
I need to man up and do my time
No way arund it
With the history of anxiety and panic attacks is lil more difficult
Looking at it positively the second day of my taper looks promising
Right now im goig thru some due to quantity of alcohol in my system is lower but i have made some ground planing on only 6 /8 beers thru out the day with vitsmins to keep withdrawal a lil more in control.we can call it a not so cold but warm turkey
3rd day according w my chart only 4 /5 beers follow to a zero 🙄
Thx a lot for the sincere opinion

Berrybean

So, is Tuesday your Day 1 then OJ?

BB

Meraviglioso

I do not want to diminish your struggle because it is very real and I sympathise greatly, but just have look around here, nearly every other post mentions anxiety and/or panic attacks. It is very common for those who abuse alcohol. Very common. And yet, many have gone through the withdrawal and remained sober despite these challenges. Most find that with the exception of the occasional flare up anxiety and panic attacks are greatly reduced once the alcohol is out of the system.

Ojsober

Now lil bit of insomnia lil tire due to the lack of zzz
Shakes arent that bad and the stress panic anxiety not as bad yet like a thought 😅😅
May be Monday 1st day
Right now i haven't had the urgency to open a can .
And if thats the case i will only do it if is really necessary
Days before i noticed i was getting anxious if i didn't have a beer in the fridge not like that or not as bad.
Call off from work so i don't freak ok and relapse and go back to base

Ojsober

I don't want to sound over confident but
I feel im 1/2 way there ,may be a shorter taper and have not feel that i really need the next drink.
I kinda feel don't have to go to the er
And hope stays like that once im sober
Will make appointment with dr for a complete check up to assist damage and work on it.

Ojsober

I never joint this type of forums before,it has helped me tremendously
Communicating with some of you guys when all this is happening to me ,has made it much easier .
Thx a lot

Berrybean

Know what you mean OJ. I don't know what I'd have done without the folk here and at AA. Sure, I had some supportive family and friends but (1) They don't really know how desperate it can feel, or how its not a done deal just to stop drinking (2) I didn't want to scare them by sharing the full force of my feelings and experience, and (3) I often feel that those people just say what they think I want to hear to encourage me, rather than what I needed to hear so that I could make adjustments that were necessary.

Anyway. Go you for finding that willingness to lean into your discomfort and push through to the other side. Looking forward to hearing about your day 1, and first week etc.

BB

Ojsober

I know that some folks here think that i dont wanna stop, but i suffer from hbp
And stoping cold turkey can put me on a stroke or heart attack. There my panic attacks.
Seams to me that slowing down is also a good option to avoid all that
Obviously y i see that im having simtoms of some like that i will go to er Asap.
But today im planing to cut down some too
Thx my friend

Ojsober

Some of the symptoms from awd
Are spikes in bp with a already hbp isnt that smart cold turkey my self
Also severe panic attacks are symptoms of awd.there my reluctance to stop all of sudden.
I will suffer the road to being sobe there's no alternative to that i just don't need having another problem trying to fix another 😃😃

Berrybean

Well, I think lots of us here have had to learn ways to deal with the anxiety and panic attacks once alcohol is off the table, so hopefully people will be able to suggest some strategies that you'll give a go to. Must admit that this is where AA really helped me as well, as most of what got me in that state was all going on in my head - it was an inside job. Learning to stop that cyclonic thinking (my own phrase - like washing machine head but at what feels like endemic proportions at the time) was a real learning curve, and is something I still have to work on when the pressures on. (Now for instance: big deadline coming up, plus poorly cat, work stress, family commitment, church commitment, plus house buying and selling - PHEW!!) Just having a quick break and reminding myself that just for this moment I don't need to do anything but sip my tea. Sure, things will kick off again shortly, but then I'll keep reminding myself to breathe and focus on one thing at a time. And my best will be good enough. Or not. Reminding myself to breathe properly was something I had to do a lot in the first month or so as I kept going dizzy and realising I was only shallow breathing and I'd started thinking about everything all at once again.

BB

biminiblue

BB does all the typing, I swoop in with my "Box Breathing" tool.

Box Breathing (the Navy SEAL breathing technique) from QuietKit

biminiblue

While early sobriety does cause increased heart rate (which is exactly what anxiety feels like) it can be mitigated.

That's why we keep saying "go to the doctor" - because then you would have a medical tool to keep heart rate normal for those first few days until your body stabilizes.

Just be careful, OJ.

The bad thing is that I could talk myself back into drinking with the kind of thinking you are doing right now - anxiety is uncomfortable, but it passes. At some point, you have to be just done and learn to self-soothe.

Susiesmiles

I hope I'm not posting the wrong things because I'm certainly not promoting any kind of medication. I have self medicated with alcohol for years (anxiety and panic attacks). My dr put me on naltrexone for the cravings and 5 mg Valium for anxiety. I actually have only taken the Valium 2 x in 6 days (and 1 of those days was a half of one). I also know that you absolutely can not mix the Valium with alcohol. The naltrexone has really helped my cravings but everyone is different. In the past I tapered with good results (12 pack a day habit). I switched to the lightest beer possible (bud select 55) and eventually quit but I was also going through a divorce and had a purpose in my life. I have drank for about 28 years daily with 2 short reprieves in my life. I'm serious this time and can feel it. I just don't want to be that person anymore. Best of luck to you, I really want this for you as much as I want it for myself 😊 (On edit, I am going to start counseling after my 2 week medicine trial)

2muchpain

IMHO, it really doesn't matter what others' think. Everyone's path to sobriety is different. The most important thing is that you are honest with yourself. If your really ready to quit, you will quit. Sounds like you are open to some of the suggestions that have been mentioned, ie. seeing your doctor. But if the tapering doesn't work, I hope you will consider a detox facility. It's very comforting to be around doctors, etc., to make sure you are ok. The last time I went through major withdrawals was beyond words. I planned on toughing it out but someone talked me into going to a detox facility. She must of known somehow how much trouble I was in. Even called a cab to come and get me. Wouldn't take no for an answer. Glad I did it, cause I might not of survived if I did it on my own. It was that bad. John

Ojsober

Thx for all info and props.
I ll go to the dr tomorrow first thing in the morning, im not gonna be idiot and not listen,thats why im here
I will make use of all this..because dr or taper i ll go thru anxiety and all those thing no matter what.
Like some one said med are only gonna help to a point the rest is up to me myself and i the discomfort nothing can take it away .
The taper has helped me a lot times in the past when i went ct the awd were excruciating
Thx a lot