Withdrawl sysmptoms

[nanlovesdogs]

Hi all,
I am waiting for the book and the Kudzu to arrive. I have cut my beer consumption almost in half since Saturday. Down to 7-8 from 20. I didn't expect to feel wonderful, but now I have a minor headache all of the time. I am concerned that this is only the beginning.
I have decided to taper my drinking instead of going "cold turkey" so I can keep working and tackling my issues one at a time.

What else can I expect?

Thank you and congrats to all who are trying!

[kriger]

Nan,
Welcome to our community! You will find much support here...the people are wonderful!
I would suggest that you talk to your Dr. If you anticipate bad withdrawals he can give you something to minimize the symptoms. It is wide and varied as to what people experience when quitting...you may be one of the lucky ones to have very few problems. I was drinking 12-15 beers each day but they were 3.2% alcohol so I guess that equates to a little less in number. I had some shakiness in the early days but not too bad. I didn't need to stay home from work to ride it out. Keep tapering off the AL and you may find the transition to AF is easier. I wish you all the best in your personal journey and I look forward to your future posts and getting to know you better. kriger

[Wally22]

The headache probably means you need water and protein. Try to get lots of water in and some lean protein. See if that helps. Also an aspirin or two couldn't hurt.
Hope this helps..
Hang in there, you can do it!

[tlrgs]

just do your best stay strong and think positive

[nanlovesdogs]

Thanks all,

I'm not yet doing my best, but getting there.

Sorry, I didn't realize I was in Need Help ASAP. I'll go back to the new section and save this section for the folks who really do Need Help ASAP.

Thanks again and let's do this together!

[4theboyz]

Nan,

Please expect the unexpected and that each person will have differing symptoms and durations.

First see a doctor!!! No explanation needed.

There seem to be some universal experiences for the hard every day drinkers. Headaches are common and should ease up after one week and hydration is important to minimize the intensity. Day 2-3 you will get thirsty as a camel and drinking gallons at a time won't seem like enough.

From day one you will get jumpy and restless and irritable. Apologize in advance to anyone who is important in your life.

Sleep will be an issue for a few days and Benedryl seems to work for most. But after 3-6 days you will sleep like a newborn baby on you own. By far the greatest pay off for quitting the booze next to all the extra cash now in your wallet.

Be prepared to get stupid. Days 4-8 it will seem like your head fell off and you may forget just about everything. Nothing you can do here but ride this one out. I had to create reminders for even the most routine tasks and *DO NOT* try and balance your check book at this time as it will only worsen your headaches!!

If I may, after getting the green light from your Doc, go cold turkey. IMO the weaning only keeps the alcohol dependency alive in your system and prolongs the process and withdrawal period. Just my opinion.

Others will add to this list, but one thing is for sure, it is all definitely worth it and not so bad if you do prepare yourself for it.

4tb

[nanlovesdogs]

Thanks 4tb,

I'm ashamed to see the doc, that's why I'm starting on my own. My logic is if I can get somewhere myself, I'll have something to be proud of when asking for help. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
As for hydration, does Diet Pepsi count? That is my AF bev of choice. Started drinking water first thing in the morning, but can't get much more than 2 glasses in me.
I've only been working at this since Sunday, so I know I have many roads to travel. I am looking forward to reading the book and trying the kudzu. Since I am just starting out, my goal is that I will work very hard to moderate. I want to be able to get together with friends on the weekend for 2-3 beers, then back to AF during the week.

[Boss.man]

I agree with 4theboys on a lot of things with some small modifications. I've spent a lot of time reading about the physical impact of alcohol, and while everyone is different, there are a lot of chemicals that are impacted by your drinking.

4theboys> From day one you will get jumpy and restless and irritable.

As a long-term drinker, your body is probably obtaining a majority of glucose (blood sugar) from alcohol. Cutting down will cause you go low sugar. You'll get headaches from this. Your body may overcompensate and go high sugar, and you may experience heat fluctuations. All of this makes sleeping very difficult. At the same time you have a serotonin low which means you will be very depressed. You can't directly ingest most body chemicals, because digestion breaks them down. You can try taking Topamax and/or 5-HTP. But don't do this if you are already taking any Serotonin drug like an SRII inhibitor. Don't take tylenol or acetominophen because liver damage may result from alcohol byproducts in your body. Iibuprofin, motrin and Aspirin is ok.

4theboys> Sleep will be an issue for a few days and Benedryl seems to work for most. But after 3-6 days you will sleep like a newborn baby on you own.

Agreed. I use a single unisom at night. I'm experimenting with serotonin 3mg at night. It seems to help in place of my former "nightcap". But plan on being restless and irritable. It's part of getting your body back.

4theboys> Be prepared to get stupid. Days 4-8 it will seem like your head fell off and you may forget just about everything.

For me, night 2 is bad and night 3 is awful, and things clear up ok after that. It may be simply that I'm pumped up with sleeping pills, which have a secondary effect of keeping you relaxed. By all means if you get shakes, or start having increased symptoms, go to a hospital. There are some very serious problems if serious signs of withdrawl happen between day 3 and day 7.

> *DO NOT* try and balance your check book at this time as it will only worsen your headaches!!

Agreed don't do tough tasks. But actually routine items can help your serotonin. Knitting, sewing, solitaire, whatever your mind finds repetitive and easy can be a good way to get through the first few days. Choose little things that you can "win" because winning helps. I also keep a bag of treats (cookies, chocolate covered cherries, dried fruit) around, and eat one for every hour of being sober. It's a bit stupid, but it works for me.

> IMO the weaning only keeps the alcohol dependency alive in your system...

I agree here. I think they key is to get your whole body back in balance. Only after you know what your normal body feels like, then start testing to see how much you can moderate without affecting your sleep or mood swings. Glucose imbalance takes 3-4 days, serotonin may take 5-6. I get a histamine imbalance (post nasal drip) and it won't clear up for 8 days or more. In addition, we have a number of bad habits to break, and it takes time to build up ingrained new habits to replace the bad ones.

All just my opinions. I'm not a doctor.

[4theboyz]

Nans,

For what it is worth, I spoke to my doctor off the record and he was so understanding and actually endorsed my desires for what I wanted to do. He talked over my strategies and simply asked me to check back in as needed "off the record".

[nanlovesdogs]

Thank you so much for the information. The more I read, the more strength I gain.