alcohol withdraw

[asecin]

can someone help me out understand wtf is going on with me. i quit alcohol for almost a month now after being drunk daily for 2 years and i cant seem to get pleasure from anything. not excercise, vitamins, good food or even drugs like opiates. each time i use anything to try to feel pleasure, i feel sensation of emptyness in center of my brain. and the surounding areas feel the effects of whatever substance i use but it doesnt hit the spot at all. its like i dug a hole in my brain and it cannot be filled now. also extreme fucking fatigue. any fucking ideas what system of my brain has been ruined ??

 

[Mel22]

It's still early days, it's only been one month!

Have patience, and keep up the healthy eating and exercise. Stay away from drugs too as this is a critical healing period.

Things will get better, but they don't happen overnight. Recovery takes time. Congrats on getting off the alcohol too, good work.

 

[n3ophy7e]

^^ She`s right asecin. It takes time for your brain to recover after the damage that alcohol did to it. I`ve been sober from alcohol for 5 months now and my brain is still readjusting. Congratulations for getting sober, it`s tough but it`s SO worth it. Hang in there, you`re doing all the right things (except for the opiates part, that might not be helping) so just keep doing what you`re doing and it will get easier with time.

 

[Allein]

Hi asecin
Great work on stopping the drinking, I'm just over 12months dry now and it has definitely been worth it.
I doubt just giving up drinking is going to resolve all your problems for you, its very likely that there were reasons why you began abusing alcohol in the first place and those things will still be there.
The good news is that being free of alcohol puts you in a much better place to start dealing with those issues, the symptoms you describe sound very much like depression which may or may not be related to alcohol.
I'd go and see your doctor and ask about a talking therapy like CBT, or seek some support from an addiction support organisation you don't say what country your in so I can't be very specific but please don't let these symptoms drive you back to drink, things will get better the future is a brighter, happier place

 

[klonodonian]

People always underestimate alcohol because it is one of the only substances (besides tobacco) that is almost universally legal and socially acceptable. This means that it is extra hard to quit alcohol because you will always be bombarded with alcohol ads and people consuming drink. Not only that, but few people know that the only 2 substances you can DIE from the withdrawls of are alcohol and benzodiazepines. I have no problem with alcohol, but I'm a heroin addict, so I feel your pain man. I know exactly what that hole you are describing feels like, as I have cold-turkey'd mainy a-time.

Stick with it. I'm proud of you. You have more reasons to live than drink. And yeah, the opiates probably wont help at this stage, and later in the game you'll likely wind up with an addiction to opiates instead of alcohol, and let me tell you, an addiction to hard-core opiates is much harder to maintain than an addiction to alcohol.

If anything I would recommend giving marijuana a try. I don't know if you live in one of the states in the U.S.A. that allows for medical marijuana, but I feel like if you nailed down the right strain of cannabis you'd find some non-addicting relief. That's my second recommendation, besides staying absolutely sober and eating right and exercising, but it sounds like that just isn't enough for you.

You could also try to go to a doctor (if you have the money / insurance) to see if they could prescribe you short-term benzo's to help with the WDs. But again, that would be last resort.

 

[mrflowers00]

it can take years to start feeling normal again and the longer you used for the longer it takes to feel normal

 

[AKKennedy]

Naltrexone really helped my boyfriend a lot with the cravings and depression. Get outside, get exercise and get involved in hobbies you love as well.

 

[klonodonian]

Naltrexone really helped my boyfriend a lot with the cravings and depression. Get outside, get exercise and get involved in hobbies you love as well.

I'm pretty sure nalaxone / naltrexone are used soley to inhibit opiate usage and to rip opiates out of a users brain in cases of OD, so I'm not sure how that would help and alcoholic. And I especially don't see how either drug would help with depression. But I could be wrong, I often am.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

It will get better with time is all I can surely say dude.

Seems like this belongs in TDS.

 

[Tommyboy]

I'm pretty sure nalaxone / naltrexone are used soley to inhibit opiate usage and to rip opiates out of a users brain in cases of OD, so I'm not sure how that would help and alcoholic. And I especially don't see how either drug would help with depression. But I could be wrong, I often am.

Naltrexone is used in the treatment of alcoholism, primarily for treating the cravings. It was actually used for alcohol dependence before it was used for opioid dependence. I know that seems odd, but this study explains why it is used for this reason.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

PAWS is going to last for a bit and like everyone has said, it takes time before you start to feel better. Even then, as has also been mentioned, there were likely underlying reasons why you started drinking in the first place so unless you address those, it's irrational to think everything will magically get fixed once the alcohol consumption stops.

Addicts and alcoholics often rationalize and reinforce their use by believing that getting help (whether it be through in-patient, out-patient, 12 step groups, etc) is bullshit, wouldn't help them etc. but very, very few people can just walk away from an addiction without any help. If it was as easy as just choosing to stop on your own and being fine, we'd hardly have any addicts.

If you truly want to feel better, you need to talk to a professional and work with them to figure out exactly what the problem(s) is(are) and what you need to do in order to get your life back and feel good again.

 

[Tommyboy]

PAWS is going to last for a bit and like everyone has said, it takes time before you start to feel better. Even then, as has also been mentioned, there were likely underlying reasons why you started drinking in the first place so unless you address those, it's irrational to think everything will magically get fixed once the alcohol consumption stops.

Addicts and alcoholics often rationalize and reinforce their use by believing that getting help (whether it be through in-patient, out-patient, 12 step groups, etc) is bullshit, wouldn't help them etc. but very, very few people can just walk away from an addiction without any help. If it was as easy as just choosing to stop on your own and being fine, we'd hardly have any addicts.

If you truly want to feel better, you need to talk to a professional and work with them to figure out exactly what the problem(s) is(are) and what you need to do in order to get your life back and feel good again.

Like they say, addiction is a progressive disease (and if you don't subscribe to the disease model I'm sure that you can agree that you didn't become an addict overnight) so recovery is a process as well. Along with the withdrawal symptoms you are also experiencing the symptoms that led to your drinking, so as mentioned in Cane's post you have to address those otherwise you will just be a 'dry drunk' as they say.

 

[n3ophy7e]

I'm pretty sure nalaxone / naltrexone are used soley to inhibit opiate usage and to rip opiates out of a users brain in cases of OD, so I'm not sure how that would help and alcoholic. And I especially don't see how either drug would help with depression. But I could be wrong, I often am.

I have been on naltrexone for 6 months for alcoholism, and I would not be sober without it.
The effect on depression may just be a secondary one due to reduced alcohol intake, and not actually acting as an anti-depressant as such (because it's not).

 

[jspun]

Does Naltrexone prevent PAWS/Depression? I was under the impression that it prevented reinforcement from EtOH consumption. I think that excercize would be a more effective strategy. Now I agree with cane on the vast majority of things. Meetings have been esential for this 35 days but won't keep me sober in and of themselves. This is where step work with a sponsor comes in although until I do it its all academic. As for formal treatment, I had to go through the shakes after my year of heavy drinking and show up for work. Meetings seemed to help the symptoms and cravings in the first few days- there is an unquatifiable healing force I believe.

I shouldn't put down rehab I know some benefit from it but they have a saying in AA- You can buy a big book for $10.00 (or whatever they cost now) or you or your parents can send you to rehab and pay $10,000 for that same Big Book. But thats mostly my ego talking.

If you cant stop drinking or think you don't have a problem keep going to meetings. It is permissible to go drunk... only one requirement to join.

To maintain sobriety working the steps with a sponsor is key. I believe this because the people with long term sobriety keep repeating this to me ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

But careful trying to detox yourself...remember alcohol withdrawl can be deadly- often rehabs are not the appropriate setting more often than not alcoholics detoxed in acute care units were they can be closely monitored and sometimes need to be transfered to the ICU.

 

[xxsicknessxx]

your just used to drinking to feel anything at all you will feel better once you get used to doing normal things with out the booze. IT takes time but it gets much better after around 6months I speak from EXP you will laugh again and enjoy life again