AD whilst in PAWS
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
I've been on ADs for years but they didn't help much when I was drinking. Now that I'm sober they work as they should. I had PAWS symptoms the first year or so but I knew what they were and just worked thru them.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 274
I think there is a thread on AD (s) here, it may be at the alcoholism forum. Lots of helpful posts. I was on them and it worked great but we all have different bran chemistry. What works for one person might not work, at all, for someone else.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 26
Thanks guys. Yeh i think i have been mistaking side effects of these meds for 2 years, when really it was PAWS/ withdrawal.
Each time i started a med i stopped drinking and felt crap for weeks. Maybe it was PAWS and not the med making me feel crap.
Each time i started a med i stopped drinking and felt crap for weeks. Maybe it was PAWS and not the med making me feel crap.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
Almost 2 months from a drink, longest in my life since I started almost 20 years ago, I just don't understand what PAWS are. Aren't they really just underlying neuro/psych issues? Is there any science behind the idea that months after drinking we would suffer some kind of withdrawl symptom?
Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Lakeside, Arizona
Posts: 1,138
Originally Posted by lessgravity 
Almost 2 months from a drink, longest in my life since I started almost 20 years ago, I just don't understand what PAWS are. Aren't they really just underlying neuro/psych issues? Is there any science behind the idea that months after drinking we would suffer some kind of withdrawl symptom?
Take the alcohol away and that stimulation stops leaving your brain in an imbalance.
It takes a while for your brain chemistry to adjust back to where it needs to be, this is the effect of PAWS.
By taking away the drug you've upended your brain's chemistry. If you've been drinking for a long time it takes a while for things to swing back to normal.
Stress, apathy, anger management, emotions, all take a hit from this
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,439
This is the best link I know on PAWs what it is and what we can do about it/
https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/
I didn't really start to feel good until 90 days - things got a lot better after 30 tho - hope you find that too Leo
D
https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/
I didn't really start to feel good until 90 days - things got a lot better after 30 tho - hope you find that too Leo
D
Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,981
Originally Posted by lessgravity
Almost 2 months from a drink, longest in my life since I started almost 20 years ago, I just don't understand what PAWS are. Aren't they really just underlying neuro/psych issues? Is there any science behind the idea that months after drinking we would suffer some kind of withdrawl symptom?
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
Originally Posted by Forward12
PAWS isn't something recognized or diagnosed. PAWS basically is the growing pains of learning how to adjust to dealing with life without running and hiding behind a bottle.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Lakeside, Arizona
Posts: 1,138
Originally Posted by Forward12
PAWS isn't something recognized or diagnosed. PAWS basically is the growing pains of learning how to adjust to dealing with life without running and hiding behind a bottle.
It's literally a chemical imbalance that needs to correct itself.
Addiction can cause your brains chemistry to change overtime because of the drug, when you take the drug away your brain isn't firing on all four cylinders anymore due to the chemical change.
Post-acute withdrawal syndrome happens as a result of chemical imbalances in the brain. When someone abuses drugs or alcohol for a prolonged period of time, their mind becomes reliant on these substances to produce certain chemicals to function correctly. Once the drugs have been detoxed from the body, the brain will take time to correct the chemical imbalances and relearn to function without the assistance of drugs or alcohol.
I quit opioids a bit over four years ago and PAWS drove me insane with that for a solid 18 months. I had it bad with alcohol, I don't know if I had it worse after cleaning up from the pills prior. I'm just coming out of PAWS now at 16 months. The last two months have seen huge improvements but it still comes in waves. I was sauced for around 25 years.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Originally Posted by tekink
That's not what PAWS really is though. It's more than that.
It's literally a chemical imbalance that needs to correct itself.
It's literally a chemical imbalance that needs to correct itself.
What we do know for sure is that lots of recovering addicts have periods of time that the feel bad - depressed or just generally pretty awful. And we also know that there are things that can be done to help treat/lessen those periods. For example, if you have bouts of depression like symptoms, you can see a mental health professional to help with depession ( or anxiety, or whatever you might have ). If you have a lack of energy, you can take a look at your diet or your exercise program.
However, there is no direct cure for "PAWS" itself because it's not a diagnosable condition from either a physical or psychological standpoint.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Lakeside, Arizona
Posts: 1,138
PAWS can be chemical in our brains. If your neurotransmitters are not firing because your brain thinks alcohol takes care of that job all you can do is wait it out.
You can do all the "learning how to adjust to dealing with life without running and hiding behind a bottle" in the world but if your brain chemistry is slow to adjust and totally out of whack you're still going to be dealing with PAWS none the less. As someone who's suffered from a couple of bad bouts with it I don't find this particularly helpful. Understanding that it's chemical helped me be able to wait it out without too much stress. For 7-8 months my brain pretty much was a piece of mush that just didn't work.
I've completely learned how to live free of my opioid addiction, I don't even think about it outside of being proud that I beat it. I have absolutely zero desire to touch any of that.
I still have insomnia from that withdrawal over four years later. PAWS can be something, not everyone is going to have extremes and it does effect everyone different however if it hits you it can be unnerving and understanding what was going of was pivotal in my recovery.
Originally Posted by Forward12
PAWS basically is the growing pains of learning how to adjust to dealing with life without running and hiding behind a bottle.
You can do all the "learning how to adjust to dealing with life without running and hiding behind a bottle" in the world but if your brain chemistry is slow to adjust and totally out of whack you're still going to be dealing with PAWS none the less. As someone who's suffered from a couple of bad bouts with it I don't find this particularly helpful. Understanding that it's chemical helped me be able to wait it out without too much stress. For 7-8 months my brain pretty much was a piece of mush that just didn't work.
I've completely learned how to live free of my opioid addiction, I don't even think about it outside of being proud that I beat it. I have absolutely zero desire to touch any of that.
I still have insomnia from that withdrawal over four years later. PAWS can be something, not everyone is going to have extremes and it does effect everyone different however if it hits you it can be unnerving and understanding what was going of was pivotal in my recovery.
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