Husband is alcoholic, need to know what kind of withdrawl symptoms.

[lori]

My husband is an alcoholic, he is supposed to have stopped drinking.  He is blaming me for his loss of appetite, loss of sleep, nervousness, etc.  I need to know if these are symptoms of an alcoholic that has stopped drinking.  Thank you.

[J.B. to Brian and Vicky]

I'm an alcoholic and can safely say that nervousness, insomnia and loss of appetite is normal for a few days. With me the critical time is around 72 hours of complete abstinence. How long has it been since his last drink?
I don't understand why he is blaming this all on you though. Perhaps he needs to see a therapist and be on medication for the withdrawals. How much and how long has he been drinking? That is a very big factor here as he may also have some severe medical problems that need to be addressed. I have cirrohsis and diabetes from many years of drinking. Not fun!

[barbara to pain and lortab]

I agree with J.B. the critical time is 72 hours but it can last for over one week. If he starts showing any signs of delirium, or seizure activity you will need to get him to a hospital for treatment immediately. Alcohol withdrawal rapidly flucuates the blood pressure and heartbeat can turn into arrythmia. Any medical complications can make it a serious life threatening matter.

The seizures and delirium tremens are the worst symptoms. Most alcoholics don't get these but about 30 percent have seizures and 5 percent DT's with medications. I am sure the stats would be much higher for un-treated, un-medicated alcoholics going through withdrawal. He is lashing out at you because of the severe agitation that preceeds the DT's. Many alcoholics in DT's need to be restrained or they may hurt themselves or someone else. When I entered myself into mental health here for treatment I wanted to kill anyone who got in my way when I went into DT's. They had to restrain me. Once they raised my medication up to 12 mg of Klonopin, I was alright. I still take 8 mg of Klonopin even today and I am almost five months off the booze.

You really should get him to a doctor for treatment, preferably an addiction specialist or even a psychiatrist.