Flashbacks of same scary thoughts during early alcohol withdrawal following previous
 

Hi All,

This is my first post. I am on day 7 of sobriety. In the past two years I have been hospitalised 7 times following seizures etc after (stupidly) going cold turkey at home following months of heavy daily drinking (3 bottles of strong wine a day). I had my last hospital detox last week and am now home. I am starting a programme similar to a.a. What I am worried about is the flashbacks I keep getting of the same 'dread' type visions that I had each time I had a hospitalised withdrawal. Hard to explain, not actual hallucinations but the same kind of horrible feeling and sort of images.,. Anyone else relate? Hopefully this will pass with sobriety over time as the brain resets? In the past I have also had depersonalisation in withdrawals but no seizures but through kindling I assume over time now that each withdrawal means at least one seizure this must be something to do with it. Thanks

Welcome to the site Frizzer.

My personal observation is, as sobriety progresses your peace of mind will return.
The brain needs to rewire itself to not being tranquilized all the time.

Hello and welcome.
When I was at my heaviest part of my drinking years, I would experience terrible thoughts and impending doom. This was beyond anxiety. It was sweating it out and try and stay sane memories or flashbacks.
Extremely uncomfortable.
Some times not even a drink would take them away. Other times I was afraid to take a drink. Once I hid in a closet it was so bad.

Weird and scary. So I can relate a little.
After a few very uncomfortable days, I felt better. Then, of course, right back to the bottle.
With sobriety now, these feelings have been gone for a long time. I wish the same for you.

HI Frizzer- welcome :)

I definitely went through period of horrendous images in my head or when I closed my eyes, sometimes when drinking, sometimes when withdrawing.

I can promise you than they weren't a permanent thing for me :)
If you're really worried I'd urge you to take them up with your DRs tho :)

Although with kindling withdrawal can get worse it doesn't necessarily follow that eventually everyone will have a seizure. I drank a lot for a long time but through dumb luck I never had a seizure - had other stuff happen, but no seizures.

If you stay sober you'll never have to worry about it anyway :)

D

Thanks for replies everyone it has helped put my mind at ease. The weirdest thing is that the images (always the same) are so random, like a yellow beach ball or being on a coach at night wtf! Nothing to do with drinking, but always accompanied with a weird feeling of deep fear and then I go light headed. Anyway I spoke to my dr today and he said the same thing, just my brain still over-excitedly firing off neurotransmitters or some such, as the brain returns to normal. He thankfully confirmed it wasn't the beginning of DTs as I am past that stage. (The previous time I ended up fighting with hospital staff as I thought they were trying to kill me 😰 ). He has also put me on acomprosate to see if that will help with cravings.

Just come out of hospital after five seisures I Keep getting recurring weird images/ thoughts they should have given me a five day detox but not enuf beds

I'm scared do not want another seisure

are you still drinking Frizzer?

D

I noticed you originally posted last October in the same situation. I guess you ended up in the hospital again after falling off the wagon. I experienced severe withdrawal symptoms a few times when I was a daily vodka drinker a while back. Hallucinations and fear/paranoia. Jumped at my own shadow. Sounds like you are in deep. You can die from these seizures.

Did the Doctor give you any instructions?

Shame they let you go home. Would have been better to keep you under observation.

If you cant check yourself into a detox, please keep your phone charged and near you and dont hesitate to call 911 or whatever the emergency number is for you in your area.

Remember to BREATHE and it helped me to stay logged in here.

Try to relax, don't drink no matter what, and try to sleep if you can.

Lots of water and good quality food, gentle walks in Nature, hot showers, clean sheets all helped me recover much quicker and stay more grounded.

Frizzer, it may be worth going back to the ER or your doctor if you are concerned.

Withdrawing from alcohol caused severe anxiety, and physical symptoms such as panic attacks, and the levels of anxiety accompanying alcohol withdrawal can be truly unpleasant.

On one ocassion, a very similar experience was thinking there was not enough medication to get me through, and once the anxiety started it took hold, and continued to go up and up. Eventually, I took myself off to the hospital in a taxi. The act of going to casualty (UK equivalent of ER), talking with someone grounded, helped me calm down. In the absence of physically going somewhere, you could try an AA helpline or similar, to just talk through what you are experiencing. If you are at all concerned about your physical well being though, do go and get some face to face help.

And if it helps, you need never go through this again.

I hope you'll check in again Frizzer :)

D

I never had seizures (I don't think) but I did suffer through a 5 day delirium that I could not have done a non-supervised detox with. If these thoughts are on the level of what you would describe as that with the fear of seizures on top of it I think the very best thing you can do is go to a doctor and be insistent about your concerns. Ask for the help you feel you need.

My brother, frizzer
 

This is frizzer's brother. I came across this while going through his things. He passed away a few days ago due to another seizure.cardiac arrest. He was only 40. just... Saw that this was a group of people that were helping him and concerned about him, he told me this forum was a source of great comfort and help and i wanted to thank you all. The grip of the alcohol was just too strong for him. I am just destroyed by this. I just saw people asking how he was and thought you deserved to know and my heartfelt thanks for trying, as we all did, for this to have ended differently.

I am so sorry to hear this about your brother. Alcohol addiction can be very cruel. I hope you have some support to help you. XO

I'm so sorry to read this about Frizzer.

All our love and support as a community goes to you and the rest of Frizzer's family at this difficult time.

may he RIP.

D

Oh my dear God :(
I am so terribly sorry for your loss.

I'm so very sorry to hear this news and that Frizzer passed away. Thank you for letting us know and for understanding that we, too, as a community, share your loss.