Maybe paws still?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 45
Maybe paws still?
Hello Everyone,
I was wondering if some of the paws symptoms can come back after going threw them. I’m still early into recovering and I have been sober since the day it all started to happen. I have been sober for about 4 months almost.
When I first knew something was wrong I had bad bad brain fog, forgetfulness, kinda a light headed feeling or somewhat of a high feeling. With the advice I got threw here I tought it out and after about a month and a few weeks it was like I came out of this feeling. Totally wired if you ask me how I could go from being so messed up and feeling like death to one day a big pink cloud and I literally felt so happy that I was feeling better.
It has now been about 4 months sober from alcohol, have not touched a single drop and don’t plan on it. Here is my problem now, I started smoking cigarettes again after I felt better. It’s been about 2 months almost that I have been smoking cigarettes and all off a sudden I’m getting those weird feelings again! Could this be paws coming back or could this be from me smoking cigarettes again? No the symptoms are not nearly as intense as they were after drinking but I did notice these feelings coming back all of a sudden 3 days ago! What could this be? I thought I was over that hump and after feeling great for about 2 months I thought I was in the clear to be feeling better from there on out.
Has anyone experience such a thing? Could it be from smoking cigs that I may be feeling these symptoms again. Please if anyone has an answer I would greatly appreciate to here.
I was wondering if some of the paws symptoms can come back after going threw them. I’m still early into recovering and I have been sober since the day it all started to happen. I have been sober for about 4 months almost.
When I first knew something was wrong I had bad bad brain fog, forgetfulness, kinda a light headed feeling or somewhat of a high feeling. With the advice I got threw here I tought it out and after about a month and a few weeks it was like I came out of this feeling. Totally wired if you ask me how I could go from being so messed up and feeling like death to one day a big pink cloud and I literally felt so happy that I was feeling better.
It has now been about 4 months sober from alcohol, have not touched a single drop and don’t plan on it. Here is my problem now, I started smoking cigarettes again after I felt better. It’s been about 2 months almost that I have been smoking cigarettes and all off a sudden I’m getting those weird feelings again! Could this be paws coming back or could this be from me smoking cigarettes again? No the symptoms are not nearly as intense as they were after drinking but I did notice these feelings coming back all of a sudden 3 days ago! What could this be? I thought I was over that hump and after feeling great for about 2 months I thought I was in the clear to be feeling better from there on out.
Has anyone experience such a thing? Could it be from smoking cigs that I may be feeling these symptoms again. Please if anyone has an answer I would greatly appreciate to here.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
All I can tell you is that my early recovery was a lot of ups and downs. I had a lot of the PAWS symptoms for about the first year but they gradually faded away.
I would say, if it concerns you, see your doctor and maybe get some tests run if you still feel 'off'.
I would say, if it concerns you, see your doctor and maybe get some tests run if you still feel 'off'.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Pacific Coast
Posts: 785
One way to find out: quit smoking again.
That said, it seems like many of the folks who experience PAWS-type symptoms report that they can linger or recur for up to a year or two, so it's not out of the question that your brain is still merely adjusting to sobriety.
That said, it seems like many of the folks who experience PAWS-type symptoms report that they can linger or recur for up to a year or two, so it's not out of the question that your brain is still merely adjusting to sobriety.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,966
Originally Posted by Dee74 
Hi Blake
Nicotine is a stimulant - if you've had anxiety issues about your health and brain fog before then maybe smoking is not a great idea?
D
Nicotine is a stimulant - if you've had anxiety issues about your health and brain fog before then maybe smoking is not a great idea?
D
Member
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 177
I'd say your still goin thru paws Blake , I'm a smoker all though much less since I stopped drinking, I'm on my seventh month and paws symptoms are lightening up only recently, they seem to come in waves , fine for a week or two and then a drained feeling comes along for a week or a two. Apparently they peak between 3rd and 6th month of soberity .
Sober since 10th April 2012
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 6,047
It can come and go for a year or 2 Blake, although as you've noticed it does diminish in strength and will continue to do so.
I agree with Dee that heightened anxiety can increase cravings. Your body and brain have been used to turning to alcohol at times of stress, and after 4 months can revert very easily to wanting to drink.
I agree with Dee that heightened anxiety can increase cravings. Your body and brain have been used to turning to alcohol at times of stress, and after 4 months can revert very easily to wanting to drink.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Yep, Blake, I had a quite extended experience with PAWS and a good bit of up and down with my symptoms (physical, emotional, all of it) along my first year and into my second. Have you read this good article? www.digital-dharma.net - click on tab PAWS.
And whether one calls it the syndrome of PAWS, the healing process takes awhile for all of us. I'd also recommend the book Living Sober which is a good, easy read about the first year of sobriety. Paperback avail on Amazon.
I only succeeded in reaching a healthy place for the 42 and change yr old woman I am today by staying sober. Continuously.
If you haven't, I'd also suggest seeing a general practitioner as well as possibly a psych - both are folks I have in my recovery tool kit.
Glad you are here - four mo is GREAT....and also very VERY early. It gets better.
And whether one calls it the syndrome of PAWS, the healing process takes awhile for all of us. I'd also recommend the book Living Sober which is a good, easy read about the first year of sobriety. Paperback avail on Amazon.
I only succeeded in reaching a healthy place for the 42 and change yr old woman I am today by staying sober. Continuously.
If you haven't, I'd also suggest seeing a general practitioner as well as possibly a psych - both are folks I have in my recovery tool kit.
Glad you are here - four mo is GREAT....and also very VERY early. It gets better.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 45
Originally Posted by tekink
PAWS tends to come and go in waves, it can ease up and then come back and blind side you, ideally the waves lesson and get further apart.
I had it bad for a year.
I had it bad for a year.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 45
Originally Posted by FeelingGreat
It can come and go for a year or 2 Blake, although as you've noticed it does diminish in strength and will continue to do so.
I agree with Dee that heightened anxiety can increase cravings. Your body and brain have been used to turning to alcohol at times of stress, and after 4 months can revert very easily to wanting to drink.
I agree with Dee that heightened anxiety can increase cravings. Your body and brain have been used to turning to alcohol at times of stress, and after 4 months can revert very easily to wanting to drink.
I quit the cigarettes again and am hoping that it helps improve me to get back to feeling better. I guess it wasn’t a smart idea starting to smoke again. I will never drink again, I never thought alcohol would do this to me and I hate it.
Thank you for your reply
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 45
Originally Posted by DontRemember
as someone that quit smoking several months ago..What Dee said is on 'point'. I mean..that's 100% the reason I began smoking(for that 'high'/rush). I've had a couple cigs since Oct'ish and each time I get/feel high. Anxiety,ect..happen. Don't smoke for a couple days and go from there.
Thank you all for the reply’s <3
Blue Belt
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Soberville, USA
Posts: 4,174
Blake,
In my experience...
When I quit drinking things got better and things got worse. Worse equals my PAWS and PTSD.
The things that got better were expected but I try not to take them for granted as they are armor against relapse.
The things that got worse didn't seem to ever get better. They were irreversible I figure.
But, I got used to those irreversible things. For example, driving anxiety. That seemed to never go away. I just got used to most of it after a thousand hours or so.
Lingering paranoia. Got used to it. Obsessive thoughts. Still there. Used to it.
Because I don't dull any of those mental issues with drugs...booze...I give my physcye time to deal with the feelings I have.
If all of those feelings actually healed to this level, it was extremely subtle. I got used to them is what it really feels like. They are still there rather than they went away.
Clean time healed me to this point and it is still getting better by the second.
I remember going a couple of weeks sober back in 2014. I ended up drinking...unknowingly relapsing. The hell on earth from that relapse left me terrified to drive on the free way.
Each relapse after that seemed to escalate the paranoia. Eventually, I expect I would have just stayed paranoid until I lost my mind and needed other drugs to make things right.
Than I would have ended up drinking while on those drugs.
Sr saved my life.
Thanks.
In my experience...
When I quit drinking things got better and things got worse. Worse equals my PAWS and PTSD.
The things that got better were expected but I try not to take them for granted as they are armor against relapse.
The things that got worse didn't seem to ever get better. They were irreversible I figure.
But, I got used to those irreversible things. For example, driving anxiety. That seemed to never go away. I just got used to most of it after a thousand hours or so.
Lingering paranoia. Got used to it. Obsessive thoughts. Still there. Used to it.
Because I don't dull any of those mental issues with drugs...booze...I give my physcye time to deal with the feelings I have.
If all of those feelings actually healed to this level, it was extremely subtle. I got used to them is what it really feels like. They are still there rather than they went away.
Clean time healed me to this point and it is still getting better by the second.
I remember going a couple of weeks sober back in 2014. I ended up drinking...unknowingly relapsing. The hell on earth from that relapse left me terrified to drive on the free way.
Each relapse after that seemed to escalate the paranoia. Eventually, I expect I would have just stayed paranoid until I lost my mind and needed other drugs to make things right.
Than I would have ended up drinking while on those drugs.
Sr saved my life.
Thanks.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,287
Hi Blake,
I too experience this as coming and going in waves. I will be on top of the world for a couple of weeks, then go into a slump for a couple of weeks. In one of those slumps now.
But at 5 months, I realize it is normal. Early days. And I am now prepared for it happening - again - once this slump has lifted.
Guess the answer is just to ride it out and not fight it. I have been trying not to give it too much thought - just going into auto-mode and wading on.
It sucks, I know, but remember you are not alone. ((())) Has your stomach problems eased up from when we last spoke? Sorry , I saw your PM, but thought I'll reply here.
I too experience this as coming and going in waves. I will be on top of the world for a couple of weeks, then go into a slump for a couple of weeks. In one of those slumps now.
But at 5 months, I realize it is normal. Early days. And I am now prepared for it happening - again - once this slump has lifted.
Guess the answer is just to ride it out and not fight it. I have been trying not to give it too much thought - just going into auto-mode and wading on.
It sucks, I know, but remember you are not alone. ((())) Has your stomach problems eased up from when we last spoke? Sorry , I saw your PM, but thought I'll reply here.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 45
Originally Posted by Ayers
Hi Blake,
I too experience this as coming and going in waves. I will be on top of the world for a couple of weeks, then go into a slump for a couple of weeks. In one of those slumps now.
But at 5 months, I realize it is normal. Early days. And I am now prepared for it happening - again - once this slump has lifted.
Guess the answer is just to ride it out and not fight it. I have been trying not to give it too much thought - just going into auto-mode and wading on.
It sucks, I know, but remember you are not alone. ((())) Has your stomach problems eased up from when we last spoke? Sorry , I saw your PM, but thought I'll reply here.
I too experience this as coming and going in waves. I will be on top of the world for a couple of weeks, then go into a slump for a couple of weeks. In one of those slumps now.
But at 5 months, I realize it is normal. Early days. And I am now prepared for it happening - again - once this slump has lifted.
Guess the answer is just to ride it out and not fight it. I have been trying not to give it too much thought - just going into auto-mode and wading on.
It sucks, I know, but remember you are not alone. ((())) Has your stomach problems eased up from when we last spoke? Sorry , I saw your PM, but thought I'll reply here.
Like you said I guess it does come and go in waves. I had a great lengthy month and a half of feeling great. Thought I was healed up and staying sober would be great. 5 days ago started to feel ehhh again and I was worried. I’m glad this form exist because I would be driving myself crazy. I will say that things are very mild and definitely not how I was the first month of being sober. Only thing that I’m experiencing is like trying to focus at something and then my eyes seem to get wavy if I don’t blink. Also just light brain fog and an empty head at times. So happy that we all are fighting this together and we all keep getting better every day. I’m learning to accept it just like you said. I hear that it gets less and less every time the waves come on in terms of the symptoms witch is good to no.
Also for the most part my stomach has been pretty good lately, starting to get on a more healthier diet. Think my problem is to many carbs but other then that hanging in there. I start a new job in a week and I was so excited and now I just feel eh about it and no motivation. The timing of this was kinda ****** because I was siked about it and ready to go out and make money now this little wave is interrupting that feeling.
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