Three days sober, can barely focus
 

Well I made it through another day. I feel much better physically, after a couple days of feeling sick to my stomach and shaky.

I had a knee-jerk craving to drink at my usual time and I reminded myself that I didn't want to go through this whole miserable process again after making it nearly 72 hours, and the craving actually passed.

My anxiety was bad this afternoon, so bad I wanted to get out of my skin. So I did the only thing I could think of and took the dog to walk in the park. It helped a ton. Also I never drink juice but I had a glass of cold OJ this afternoon and it tasted like the best thing ever.

But I can't think straight. My job requires intense focus. Fortunately it's only part time, but I have to be on top of my game with mental focus to do my work correctly. And my brain feels like it's gone. I can't concentrate and I can't remember words and I'm really sucking at work this week.

Is this a withdrawal symptom? If so how long til I get my brain back? Is this going to get better?

A lot of variables but it does get better with increasing sober time. OTOH continuing to drink will get worse over time.

Congratulations on 72 hours. I'm sure that it's different for different people. For me, the ability to focus on work came back slowly over a period of a few weeks.

I have felt like that a couple times on day 1...i think you just need some more rest :)

I felt very disoriented & foggy as I began to heal. All sorts of odd feelings & anxiety. Everything eventually got better, & the weirdness disappeared.

HereNow: Glad you’re doing well.

Yes, brain fog, grogginess, even clumsiness are all part of it. Most of us really clear up nicely at 5-7 days sober.

I’ve had trouble remembering even simple words during conversation. This link offers some perspective from actual sufferers.

https://www.verywellmind.com/is-this...-it-last-80197
(I have obtained facilitator permissions to post)

‘’Stay well. A couple of tough days will be worth it when can lead to many days of “happy, joyous, and free...”

I had that too, at first, but the longer I was sober, the better I started to feel. Give yourself at least a month sober and see if it gets better. If not, a visit to your doctor wouldn't be a bad idea. :hug:

HereNow44, congrats on the 3 days sober. Goin on 10 years now and what I did more than anything else was just suffer through the cravings and temptations. All the ugly goes away with time sober. Rootin for ya. :egypt:

Congrats on 72 hours! I’m at 48 (2 days) and experiencing the same thing: specifically, I’m having intense cravings and reflex to drink during the hours when I drank.

im also blanking on words, pieces of my memory are blank, and I’m not able to focus. But trying to work drunk or constantly hungover did not work either.

Congrats! I’m a bit over three months and it probably took me until month two to be able to really focus on anything that wasn’t physical, like reading a book and comprehending it, for example. It keeps getting better though.

Definitely normal, just coming out of that. Day 7 for me. I got myself so sick that I got 0 cravings so far and even if I did booze can kiss my ass.
give it another day or two and should hopefully be full throttle or at least close to it.
Hang in there its not easy that's for sure. My job sounds very familiar to yours so just slow it down is what I've been trying to do.

I had a counselor tell me one time that Day 3 without a drink was when most alcoholics reported being the most difficult. I think she described the experience as "agitated" (nervous, distracted, antsy). It was true in my case, but these things vary from person to person. But these kinds of experiences are very normal. After feeding your body an addictive substance for years, you can't expect your body and mind to react without complaining when the substance is removed.

Walking your dog like you did is helpful. Helpful is probably the best you can hope for at this stage, but doing something to distract your mind from the jitters helps. Later you will feel great about not drinking, but right now you have to pass through this "not feeling great" stage. It's going to get better, however.

How's it going today, HereNow?

I am on Day 4 and trying to figure out what year it is. You are doing better than me!

My old drunk buddy used to tell me what I needed was a shot or two to take the edge off.

What that does is drag out the recovery and continue the brain cell loss.

The hell I suffered getting this clean is burned into my brain.

I hope it never goes away or I will more risk relapse.

Thanks.

The horrors of a withdrawal will only keep you sober for so long. It is not a sobriety strategy if you’re an alcoholic. So it’s best to really commit to working and living a recovery program to keep one sober.

many wonderful changes too come … hang in there … we support you.

Hi there. I'm on day 10 sober. The fog lifts more and more each day. I'm very clear now and "awake" for that matter. Feeling great actually. Yes its s withdrawl symptom. I need my brain for work too. I was drinking on the job regularly. Not a good combo. How are you today?

how are you today HereNow44 ?

:tyou