Alcohol Serious withdrawals after only drinking every third night?

[Troppo]

I have an alcohol problem but I have found it nearly impossible to totally give alcohol up. I have been to AA, Smart, drug and alcohol counselling, psychotherapy, and psychiatrists, as well as being trialed on nearly every antidepressant out there. I have tried disulfiram (Antabuse), naltrexone, and acamprosate (Campral). I was on 75 mg of baclofen but even that didn't stop me drinking. Some time ago I decided that if I couldn't totally quit, I would try to avoid drinking every night. I started using weed as an alcohol substitute, and I found that it enabled me to avoid alcohol every night. I started drinking every second night instead, but after drinking up to 14 standard drinks on those nights I developed withdrawal symptoms. I then decided to try drinking every third night, still at a high level (10-14 drinks), and that seemed to go well for a long time, but last week I developed serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms the day after drinking. It began with severe anxiety and then developed into physical symptoms. Luckily I had diazepam at home, and I know how to do a detox, so I detoxed myself over 5 days. I needed 80 mg diazepam on the first day then 40, 20, 10, and 5. I ended up hating diazepam as it made my mood totally flat (even more than my anhedonia), gave me headaches, and actually caused me anxiety towards the end of the detox. I don't know how anyone can try and get "high" on diazepam. Anyway, I'm back to drinking every third night but am worried that the withdrawals will build up again. I've read that the brain can undergo kindling, meaning it becomes more sensitive to withdrawals the more a person abuses alcohol and withdraws from it. I have detoxed myself roughly 70 times over 30 years, and was drinking 21 standard drinks every night 15 years ago (and using benzos during the day to offset the alcohol withdrawal symptoms). I know some of you will tell me it's time I faced my problem and quit alcohol for good, but I get obsessive cravings for it that aren't even slightly reduced by the "urge surfing" technique, as my cravings last for hours on end. I just want to know if anyone else has experienced alcohol withdrawals after drinking only intermittently, rather than every day? I didn't think it was possible. I do use a bit of clonidine and pregabalin but not high doses.

 

[Taj Manzoor]

I'm not very knowledgeable about alcoholism from a scientific point more from a phycological point,

I don't drink a lot but when I do, I wake up the morning after shaking and extremely anxious, I'm guessing that because the alcohol is in a way always active in your system when you get of your body can still have withdrawals if you stop, but that's only coming from the idea that i can get those sort of symptoms after a single night of heavy drinking.

Could be completely wrong though, just trying to add some insight

Also if you dont mind me asking what about alchol do you like so much? Me personally i never get a consistent buzz of it more just inebriation and I've found I always end up having stomach issues and nausea while drinking making the experience not that worth it
IM NOT JUDGING WHATSOVER JUST CURIOUS

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Crazy amount of Diazepam if you need that to WD from a single bender dont bother drinking beyond 4 units. Two bottles of beer. Rough estimate my behalve. Seems your body kinda ruled out Booze. be gracious you at least could do a DIY Benzo taper.

Have you got tolerance to Benzos i havent and that kinda dosage had me walking in a haze 3 weeks. The kinda dosing schedule they use in a Detox centers.

 

[Troppo]

I'm not very knowledgeable about alcoholism from a scientific point more from a phycological point,

I don't drink a lot but when I do, I wake up the morning after shaking and extremely anxious, I'm guessing that because the alcohol is in a way always active in your system when you get of your body can still have withdrawals if you stop, but that's only coming from the idea that i can get those sort of symptoms after a single night of heavy drinking.

Could be completely wrong though, just trying to add some insight

Also if you dont mind me asking what about alchol do you like so much? Me personally i never get a consistent buzz of it more just inebriation and I've found I always end up having stomach issues and nausea while drinking making the experience not that worth it
IM NOT JUDGING WHATSOVER JUST CURIOUS

It certainly sounds like a mini-withdrawal the next day when you drink. I've read about "hangxiety" which is anxiety that accompanies a hangover. Sometimes when you drink the brain sends its neurotransmitters (mainly GABA and glutamate) the opposite way when you are coming off it, and that can cause anxiety and shaking.

I started drinking 30 years ago at night to have a few hours' escape from depression and loneliness. I guess my brain has retained the memories of those days, because I still feel the need to have an escape for a few hours at night, even if I'm not experiencing depression or loneliness. I have a lot of psychological baggage however and have been diagnosed with anxiety (generalized and social), treatment-resistant depression, ADHD, and mild autism/Asperger's plus I suffer from anhedonia (lack of pleasurable emotions, sometimes lack of all emotions) so I think I'm drinking to get some time out from these problems. I'm also addicted of course so that also drives drinking obsessions.

 

[Troppo]

Crazy amount of Diazepam if you need that to WD from a single bender dont bother drinking beyond 4 units. Two bottles of beer. Rough estimate my behalve. Seems your body kinda ruled out Booze. be gracious you at least could do a DIY Benzo taper.

Have you got tolerance to Benzos i havent and that kinda dosage had me walking in a haze 3 weeks. The kinda dosing schedule they use in a Detox centers.

I couldn't believe I needed that much diazepam, as I have home detoxed before and have only needed 20-30 mg on the first day, sometimes less. The diazepam became EXTREMELY unpleasant, and I now wonder if I used way too much due to my anxiety alone. No I'm not tolerant to benzos, as I only use them occasionally at a low dose, although I've been using a bit of carisoprodol, although usually only 175-350 mg per day. I think I overdid it with the detox because I wasn't using an alcohol withdrawal scale, only using my sweaty palms anxiety and headache as guidelines to take diazepam.

 

[TheLightBringer]

Probably kindling, have you drank for longer periods before and had significant receptor downregulation? I remember a guy told me his uncle died from alcohol withdrawal, not from drinking daily but from repeated kindling, ie he used to be a daily alcoholic and later tried to regulate it by drinking heavily in short periods like a few weeks to a month at a time followed by taking a break. Said the withdrawal got worse every time until it ultimately killed him when he was home alone in withdrawal…

 

[emkee_reinvented]

During the detox they did about that same. They are not alike , i hate the long legs/ impairment of some Benzos opt for a shorter duration one seems the better option when you have that. Or taper using Alcohol. Don t really do a lot for the WDs Just makes them bearable while also preventing seizures.

If that was the reason for overdosing me on them during that in patient detox. "Once but never again" as the state of healthcare is abominable here. YM hopefully MV in Aussie. Drunk like a Ox yesterday/ hammered still but going to have a productive day. Even going to Granny who is from the era every other person [uncles and grandfathers mostly] detoxed on Booze during the day. A drink here and there and so on. going on a tour across the city visiting people they care about.

She dont care for it, just loves seeing my face. unlike my Mom who feels drinking is bad/ a disgrace. But lost her smell so i can still get shitfaced. But in general my loved once just dont like the breath on me. So no really accepted way of self medicating.

Lol a little

 

[emkee_reinvented]

and acamprosate (Campral). I was on 75 mg of baclofen but even that didn't stop me drinking.

On paper they both look promising. Had my doc. prescribe first at a point. Drs here know little but didnt work for me Pharmacologically seen it should have.

GABA-b like Baclophen looked more promising. Had a client a ex-dr i worked at that took all three. Diazepam/ Campral and Baclofen that was a Alcoholic. Took the sharp edges of guy was on low dose of Diazepam and Baclofen. Full dose of acamprosate

 

[Mjäll]

This may be a silly comment but, seeing as you've been able to replace alcohol with THC for 2/3 of your days: What if you were to settle for a THC addiction instead? THC is by far the best drug to use daily, and the least destructive way to cope with addiction tendencies.

Then you would of course need a benzo taper to start off.

I agree with the sentiment that benzos are completely devoid of recreational value.

You could also experiment with anti-addictive substances. Tryptamine psychedelics would be the most obvious choice. Ketamine can also alleviate addictions but is addictive in itself for some people. There are also some opioid-related medications that seem promising for alcohol addiction aswell. I see you have already tried naltrexone. There is also an experimental substance called SR-17018 which could perhaps help with alcohol as well as opioid addiction.