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Misc Drinking enough for Alcohol WDs?

I didn't drink the day before yesterday, but last night I ended up drinking I don't even know how much vodka, I feel really anxious right now...I'm not shaking or sweating, but I don't know how long it takes for WDs to start....

Thanks for the advice guys

Rebound anxiety is a common consequence of a hard session. Brain chemistry, down to alcohol's effects on the GABA system. Agonises receptors that suppress neuronal firing causing the relaxation and mood changes. Take away the alcohol suppression the system goes into over-excitation mode as if under stress for a while until things balance out. Should be temporary. Any minor shakes, sweats, etc should be equally temporary. Just as likely to be severe hangover with a touch of alcohol poisoning if you've been hammering it as it is a sign of imminent DTs but you're right to be concerned. Keep an eye on how things progress. It should get better over subsequent hours, if it gets worse seek medical attention.

Keep off the benzos. They're used to treat alcohol withdrawal cos they plug-into the same GABA system as booze, they're cross-tolerant for each other. For that reason they could actually impair recovery from a bender, or your functioning at least. Do NOT take them, at all if you're still drinking, don't drink on them if you do. Seriously dangerous. Avoid if you can, use them only if signs of withdrawal worsen until you can get seen by a doc but I don't think you've much to worry about at the minute. I think you'd know from previous experience whether any symptoms you're experiencing are usual for you, or suddenly unusual and getting worse.

Some links you may find useful on timescales and severity of symptoms from the mild and nothing much to worry about to the more severe requiring a doc's input:

http://hamsnetwork.org/withdrawal/

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2004/0315/p1443.html

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatments
 
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^Thank you! I broke down and drank a six pack of some IPA.....It's getting to the point of just using this shit to feel normal....I can feel it tearing my body up worse than heroin!
 
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You'd probably be experiencing psychosis a la delirium tremens if you had actual physical addiction to it. My friend keeps seeing a long haired girl running around his bed in a batman costume after a bender. I'm not fucking joking, true story.
 
Yeah, that's the last thing I fucking need!....I have a drug resume that would gag a maggot, and I've gone crazy from drugs.....The thing is, the last thing I need is to turn into a drunk at this point, and I'm so used to the heroin withdrawals, anything that may cause withdrawals makes me fuckin nervous!

I know I'm starting to cross into dangerous territory, I just wanted to hear the "straight facts" of how much and how long it really takes to have noticeable withdrawals from alcohol....

All the shit I googled seems to be "propaganda" in a way! The only people I've ever known have true alcohol withdrawals drank daily for years. and yet there's all these medical websites that seem to be saying "It doesn't take much!"....that's what pisses me off! Smug doctor/medical types scaring people with worst case scenarios regarding drugs based on "studies" that seem to contradict the common experience of people in everyday life!

I mean, I'm scared they may be right, because after all, they studied this shit, not me! So who knows?!
 
Yeah, that's the last thing I fucking need!....I have a drug resume that would gag a maggot, and I've gone crazy from drugs.....The thing is, the last thing I need is to turn into a drunk at this point, and I'm so used to the heroin withdrawals, anything that may cause withdrawals makes me fuckin nervous

Exactly. Tryy staying away from it. Cannabis seems to help some people.
 
. . . this shit sucks....I've been addicted to a lot of drugs, but this is a bad one....I need to stop

It's the worst drug I've ever had to deal with. I'd do a heroin detox standing on my head in comparison to how hard it is to come off and stay off the booze, even without having acute withdrawals to deal with. Like I said I still seemed to be suffering with major symptoms of PAWS without ever having gone through a serious withdrawal phase for months, and as a socially acceptable drug to the point that not drinking is deemed strange it's easy to come to rely on it as our default coping mechanism for stress, low mood, etc. Not just got the booze to deal with, you have to learn new coping strategies to replace it. Luckily those coping strategies tend to be a lot more effective than alcohol and become self-reinforcing with practice, you will get better at it.

I'm on Antabuse ( Disulfiram ) as back-up just in case my resolve does crumble altogether at some point, I'm only five months sober after years of drinking. It's not something I generally recommend cos it can be dangerous taking the stuff if you're at all inclined to test its limits and the reaction even when not life-threatening is about as bad as you'll ever wanna feel again. Think the worst hangover you've ever had with acute alcohol poisoning, vomiting, sweating, blood pressure through the roof feeling like your head's gonna explode and then multiply it some more. If you're determined to quit though and take it to reinforce your commitment to sobriety giving you some protection for when you're at your weakest it can be quite effective. I'll not test it again after a previous trip to A&E in an ambulance thinking I was having a heart attack, spending the night hooked up to an ECG with nothing anyone could do to stop the reaction, just had to wait it out. You could also look at Campral ( Acamprosate) to help reduce cravings once you're off, though I found it pretty ineffective at that for me, and Naltrexone to block some of the pleasurable effects when you do drink, breaking the alcohol / reward association.

Have you seen the TDS alcoholism thread BTW? I've found it enormously useful for me, real source of strength and support, and responding to others in a very similar place helps me get my own thoughts on things straightened out and down where I can come back to them later. It's a little record of my progress, with all its ups and downs, strides forward and steps back. Check in if you need some ongoing support that you might feel doesn't warrant a new thread. You can always keep bumping this one if you prefer but nice to have that group thing going.
 
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I'll check that one out thanks, I searched "alcohol withdrawal" and didn't come up with much, but I'll look into it....

Thanks for all the support guys!
 
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