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Scared of Alcohol withdrawl
by thumbs, Feb 22, 2007 12:00AM
Hi there,
I am new here. Just curious if anybody knows how long you need to be drinking and how much to experience the bad alcohol withdrawls like DT's and siezures?
I drink pretty regular, but lately have had a little too much beer to overcome anxiety, which has bothered me off and on for the last 11 years. I don't drink all day or drink the hard stuff, just beer. It has been about 4 or 5 months since I have been drinking this much more. I would go a day or two before without, and it wouldn't bother me and things like that. This anxiety just get scarier thoughts in to your head. I guess I just need a reassurance, because I know I need to quit drinking as much as I have been.
I am new here. Just curious if anybody knows how long you need to be drinking and how much to experience the bad alcohol withdrawls like DT's and siezures?
I drink pretty regular, but lately have had a little too much beer to overcome anxiety, which has bothered me off and on for the last 11 years. I don't drink all day or drink the hard stuff, just beer. It has been about 4 or 5 months since I have been drinking this much more. I would go a day or two before without, and it wouldn't bother me and things like that. This anxiety just get scarier thoughts in to your head. I guess I just need a reassurance, because I know I need to quit drinking as much as I have been.
Post Comment
Can I ask you a question can you put tooth paste on your toothbrush in the morning without having a drink first?
Everyone is different -- I don't even know if I could do that now and escape WD's, but to my understanding, it takes dedication to become dependant on alcohol. Tolerance goes up fast, but full blown dependence takes awhile.
With that said, I have no personal experience with alcohol DT's. I would imagine tapering would be your safest bet. Cut down 1 beer every 2-3 nights may work. Unless your drinking 12+ a night, I think you should be ok.
I do a lot of research online. Granted, some of it is invalid. I come here to ask my own questions when I get conflicting information. However, asking about alcohol is pretty basic. Everything I've read - you gotta drink a lot over a long period of time. Your body needs to learn to readjust to life with alcohol always in the system. To my calculations, that's 1 beer every hour you live (this is my guestimation, not scientific fact) - or at least close to.
Everyone... with the exception of people with bad livers and kidneys, burns 1 beer, 1 glass of wine, and 1.5oz of 80 proof alcohol / hour. This tells me, you can drink 1 beer (or select choice) per hour, and keep a blood alcohol content the same. Yea, after awhile, your tolerance will go up -- you may not feel 'buzzed' after your 1 drink, but your "BAC" will remain the same. If you kept this up (You could drink 24 beers in 8 hours, same effect), for a long period of time (year, maybe longer), the body learns to adapt to the constant presence of alcohol. Then, when you stop drinking, it's gone -- your body needs to remember how to live without it... it keeps trying to keep the BAC in check, but it's no longer there. Your body over reacts (rather, keeps doing the job it has been doing, but it can't slow down as fast as you stop drinking), and you have DT's.
As far as I know - seizures, and especially death, is rare for people with DT's, and this is the part where I said it takes severe dedication to do this to your body.
I doubt your body has had any time to adapt to living with alcohol, unless you haven't been completely honest. If it's been a matter of months... I'd wager you could stop completely.... HOWEVER - you have a totally seperate issue. Anxiety... this can, and "probably" will be elevated without alcohol... ESPecially, if you *think* it will be (gotta love how anxiety works). Yea, your hands may be a little shakey... might be so for a day or two... but the anxiety may make you *think* you are Way Too Shakey.
I've had anxiety -- I've learned to live and deal with it. I normally know the difference between real symptoms, and anxiety -- however anxiety has a knack for finding new ways to make you second guess yourself.
In a nutshell -- unless you are drinking obscene amounts of alcohol every day, and have done so for more than many months (1yr+), you are probably safe from DT's. However, if you want to trick your anxiety into believing 'everything is ok' - slow down your drinking 1 drink every few nights -- hell, every week if you think you need too.
It might be easy to think "the longer I drink, the more likely it is to get DT's", but if your constantly lowering your amount, your forcing your body to adjust "slowly" and that's the important part... not matter what your anxiety says, you'll know biologically your doing it the safe way.
Sorry for the ramble - hope this helps. :)
I agree about the anxiety. I hate it, but have learned to deal with it too with relaxation methods and things like that. Thank you for the post.
I still have axiety attacks, but I can keep them in check... now if I could get this darn opiate problem nailed down... maybe I could be complete. heh
Not meaning to make light of your problem - but good luck to you! I think you realized your probably before it's gone to far.
One thing to think about, if you were going to have a seizure, you should feel one coming on before it happens... keeping yourself close to a beer "just in case" may be all it takes to help you to stop.
I know when I was taking Xanax, all I needed to do was keep a few pills in my pocket -- that was enough to keep my anxiety at bay. :)
It does make your anxiety 10xs worse, specially the next day. With medication my disorder/s are under control....but my suggestion would be to slow down for now and quit. Unless you can just up and quit. I just up and quit and suprisingly didn't suffer any w/d's..I started out as a beer drinker and by the time I quit I was up to over a liter of whiskey or vodka a day.
So...if you can quit drinking you will notice that you will feel a whole lot better.
Just my personal experience..and maybe find a dr who can help you with your anxiety. Honestly, it helped me so much I can't even tell you.
Best of luck
Tracy
As far as the drinking, I really think my anxiety is making me make too much out of it. I only actually "crave" beer every once in a while after a long day or something. Otherwise I feel I drink it too much to deal with the anxiety. I am on the down side of the anxiety. Every time over the last 10 years when it has hit me it gets shorter and shorter.