Captain.Heroin
Bluelight Crew
I'm not currently drinking, and I never really had an addiction to alcohol, benzos, GHB or any other downer other than opiates (i.e. heroin, buprenorphine, which I have many years off now). In fact, I haven't drank in about two months and have no plans on drinking ever again.
My question is for a friend of mine who is an alcoholic. He drinks more often than not. Perhaps a 5L boxed wine (13.5% abv) in about two to three days (he often does beer and mixes in harder liquor, but trying to calculate the amount of alcohol from that would be a head spin/ache). He does sober up, eventually, normally for about a week, before relapsing.
During the days he tries to quit, he goes through what I believe is mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal. Malaise, insomnia, anxiety, depression, agitation, etc. He doesn't have seizures, only occasionally mild tremors in the hands (which goes away fairly quickly when he resumes eating), sweating/oily skin, and most interestingly facial itching.
The facial itching is not believed to be a tactile hallucination; it is not intense/persisting, it doesn't feel like bugs under the skin or like pins and needles. Just general itching/itchiness in the face. Specifically certain spots of the face. This effect is not present in the rest of the body.
I tried researching this, and it appears that for the more intense withdrawal there can be the tactile hallucination "bugs under the skin" for people who experience seizures and delirium tremens/hallucinations. This is not what he goes through. There's reports of people on alcohol recovery forums who report localized moderate itchiness (some say constant, some say it comes and goes in waves) - the body parts are often face, face/chest, or arms/legs/butt, but mostly extremities from what I've read. Many of these people, with the moderate itchiness, seem to wonder if there's something else wrong with them as it's an unusual symptom of withdrawal. More over, the itchiness of the face is the last persisting symptom of his withdrawal.
He has even resorted (begrudgingly) to try taking doxylamine (an antihistamine) to alleviate the itching, and it only helps him get to sleep and doesn't reduce the itching at all, whatsoever.
Most concerningly is the lack of knowledge about the mechanism behind this. I have a few theories from what I've put together...
1) related to chemicals building up in the body, i.e. corticosteroids, histamine, etc. that then are in excess and break down/metabolize/release when going through withdrawal which irritate the nerves.
2) dehydration of alcohol use leading to tightness of the facial skin, leading to tugging/itchiness. Itching in one place leads to itchiness elsewhere as it's tugging on the skin?
3) alcohol's effect on the autonomic nervous system
4) vasodilation/vasoconstriction due to level of alcohol use/withdrawal
Any ideas guys? I wanted to post this in what used to be called Advanced Drug Discussion but it might not fit will with the chemistry-heavy discussions.
My question is for a friend of mine who is an alcoholic. He drinks more often than not. Perhaps a 5L boxed wine (13.5% abv) in about two to three days (he often does beer and mixes in harder liquor, but trying to calculate the amount of alcohol from that would be a head spin/ache). He does sober up, eventually, normally for about a week, before relapsing.
During the days he tries to quit, he goes through what I believe is mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal. Malaise, insomnia, anxiety, depression, agitation, etc. He doesn't have seizures, only occasionally mild tremors in the hands (which goes away fairly quickly when he resumes eating), sweating/oily skin, and most interestingly facial itching.
The facial itching is not believed to be a tactile hallucination; it is not intense/persisting, it doesn't feel like bugs under the skin or like pins and needles. Just general itching/itchiness in the face. Specifically certain spots of the face. This effect is not present in the rest of the body.
I tried researching this, and it appears that for the more intense withdrawal there can be the tactile hallucination "bugs under the skin" for people who experience seizures and delirium tremens/hallucinations. This is not what he goes through. There's reports of people on alcohol recovery forums who report localized moderate itchiness (some say constant, some say it comes and goes in waves) - the body parts are often face, face/chest, or arms/legs/butt, but mostly extremities from what I've read. Many of these people, with the moderate itchiness, seem to wonder if there's something else wrong with them as it's an unusual symptom of withdrawal. More over, the itchiness of the face is the last persisting symptom of his withdrawal.
He has even resorted (begrudgingly) to try taking doxylamine (an antihistamine) to alleviate the itching, and it only helps him get to sleep and doesn't reduce the itching at all, whatsoever.
Most concerningly is the lack of knowledge about the mechanism behind this. I have a few theories from what I've put together...
1) related to chemicals building up in the body, i.e. corticosteroids, histamine, etc. that then are in excess and break down/metabolize/release when going through withdrawal which irritate the nerves.
2) dehydration of alcohol use leading to tightness of the facial skin, leading to tugging/itchiness. Itching in one place leads to itchiness elsewhere as it's tugging on the skin?
3) alcohol's effect on the autonomic nervous system
4) vasodilation/vasoconstriction due to level of alcohol use/withdrawal
Any ideas guys? I wanted to post this in what used to be called Advanced Drug Discussion but it might not fit will with the chemistry-heavy discussions.
