shecat

well i have been in part detox for 4 weeks now (down to only 4 small glasses of wine now from 2 bottles a day) am taking it easy am under supervision from my alcohol team, so i have the support there but i feel kind of out of it, cant really explain it. the first week or so night sweats, into second/third week sugur cravings, now into about the 4th week feeling nauseous and i ache all over like i've been hit by a double decker bus, is this all part of the detoxing and with drawing symptoms? because to be honest with you this is so difficult and exhausting.

Windancer

Hi shecat,
I am not familiar with that type of detox really. I do know I tried to cut back and taper off alcohol and it did NOT work or go well at all. I needed medical help. I didnt realize that alcohol withdrawal could be so dangerous until I ended up in the hospital twice. So if it persists or gets worse or you are still worried see a doctor if you havent already.
Mind if I ask what your alcohol support team is?

shecat

yea no problem windancer. well my support team consists of my gp and my alcohol advisor . you see i was offered complete detox with the help of valium, i did'nt want that because am still a little scared of letting go of my best freind
mr chardonnay x

Dee74

I think tapering (or trying to) just prolonged the agony for me to be honest, shecat.

I don't know how long you have to go to taper to nothing but I'd expect all that other stuff will start to clear up once you do that

D

hypochondriac

That sounds like torture to me Shecat.

I know you haven't asked for it but here's my opinion on the matter... The alcohol agencies in England are more interested in harm reduction than anything else. If you are drinking a few glasses of wine a night then they will see that as a success. They have no idea how hard that is for some of us! I wasn't getting support when I quit but I did something similar by myself. I even got it down to a glass of wine a night during the week. I was miserable and tired. When I finally stopped drinking things started improving dramatically, especially mentally. My whole outlook changed. It was quite dramatic. Even just one glass of wine was having a serious negative effect on me. I think the UK alcohol agencies tendency towards harm reduction makes the quitting bit less of an ultimate aim for them and therefore ends up dragging out the whole process. They would rather you kept going drinking a little than scare you off by telling you to quit completely. But really keeping this process as short as it needs to be is probably in your best interests. Have they given you a date to actually stop drinking?

Sorry, I didn't mean to rant. It's just I did cutting down with the NHS and it was very frustrating and I know how much better I started to feel once I'd actually stopped.

Of course there will be some unpleasant side effects from quitting drinking, but they're not as bad as the side effects from drinking And it doesn't last forever. Just one last hangover... x

Maybe your best bet at this point is to look into recovery methods to help you with the psychological side of it.

Hope you feel better soon x

Windancer

I know that didnt work for me but I hope it works for you, Shecat! Let us know how you make out...best of luck and keep strong. Dont forget there are other options if this plan doesnt work out

Anna

I agree that you're just prolonging the agony of the withdrawls. Generally most people are feeling much better physically, within a week of stopping drinking. I can imagine how exhausting it must be.

shecat

thanks you guys. i would love to do total detox, am soo0 scared of not knowing who i'am when sober, and just can not give that last drop of Mr chardonnay up. i need to be stronger and gain some will x

Dee74

There's not one person here who wasn't scared.

You'll need to make the leap sometime when you reach zero - or are you hopping that you'll reach a certain level pf consumption before that and you'll be ok there?

It doesn't work like that, I'm afraid.

D

TrixMixer

Hi Shecat,

Cute Avi--looked like me when I began detox---I think I even grew the fur and my ears shifted to the top of my head. All i know is it was HELL!

I don't know what kind of "support team" you are part of that would allow you to "wean" yourself off of alcohol....but I know I would have loved that kind of theory and group. Maybe it is just me , but I have NEVER heard of anyone who succeeded in recovery through continuing to have even a SIP of alcohol a day let alone full glasses.

Sad to say i think you are fooling yourself if you think this will work. This will be the hardest thing you will ever have to do in your life (or at least let us hope it is), but You have to completely stop all communication with your Best Friend---NO CONTACT. Not easy to do when the Best Friend lives in your head. Never the less that is how it has to be. You may even need to be under medical supervision for withdrawal.

True recovery is something you will succeed at only ONCE in your lifetime. Perhaps you are just not ready to let go right now.....but when you are your WILL and the power you have within yourself will tell you when you are strong enough to begin that journey, and it will have to be "cold turkey".

The reason an alcoholic cannot just "cut back" is because once they have that very first drop of liquor its like "domino's" ...the first sip begins the fall of the domino's---there is no stopping, your "best friend " will just not hear of it.

Think of it like Mr. Chardonnay gotten married, left the country, moved and left no forwarding address, been abducted by aliens--- , never to be seen or heard from again and no way for you to contact him. Let him screw up some other life form.

Of course this Only my opinion. You will do what you want, and this is one time it really HAS to be that way. YOU have to want this.

It has been 25 years of sobriety for me and I assure you had I not said good-bye to my "best friend" he/she would of killed me by now. Everyday I am grateful to be still here and loving life.

I wish you the same happiness....and it will happen (when you are ready)

Mulch

I agree that the weeks of tapering down may be stretching out the discomfort your body is having as it's trying to detox.

I know we're all different, but, for me, if I were having four glasses a day (spaced out, that is) I'd be pretty much sober anyway. And if I had them all at once, I'd have been sober through the most of the day anyway. Not sure if that's how it is for you - but maybe you're pretty much "sober" now, and maybe just have to try not having any and see how it goes (with approval from your doctor, of course). You might be surprised.

Hope all goes well. Take care of You!

paul99

Detox(ification):
Noun

1) The process of removing toxic substances or qualities.
2) Medical treatment of an alcoholic or drug addict involving abstention from drink or drugs until the bloodstream is free of toxins.

Doesn't sound much like detox, as it is harm reduction, as was mentioned. And absolute bloody hell, for this kind of alcoholic

The fear of remaining how you are drunk is going to hopefully outweigh the fear of not knowing what it is going to be like sober . Then you will be able to truly remove the poison on all levels.

Until then, stay safe and good luck.

Gottalife

Just to correct a little misinformation it was quite common, in the early days of AA when hospital treatment and modern medications weren't as readily available, for newcomers to wean off over a day or two. Small amounts of alcohol were administered to fend of the dts which could be fatal for alcoholics if they went cold turkey with no meds available. Many AAs sobered up this way and the pratice was reasonably common.

Taking weeks over it does sound extreme, but if you feel strongly that you don't want other meds (I felt like this) it may be worth it in the long run. A buddy of mine, now about 3 years sober, had an incredible story with drugs and alcohol. She was about as sick as you can get and still be alive. Like you, she resisted attempts to medicate because she knew how dangerous that would be for her. She not only survived but has made one of the most remarkable recoveries I have ever seen, and today she is helping many others. I wish you the best.

TrixMixer

Shecat, where you be Cat??