24, Alcohol withdrawls/panic attacks. Pretty freaked out. Rehab?

[slow_burn_star]

So I suppose I just started experiencing the physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawals.
I'm a 24 year old female. I am also a Bartender and started in the industry at the age of 21. I suppose that is when I started drinking heavily. I noticed I had a problem about a year ago and made attempts to slow down and/or stop but being in the industry I am I got sucked right back into it.

I began documenting my drinking habits daily starting in Feb. I drink (to the point of being drunk) about 5 days or more out of the week. I know that this pattern has been consistent for at least two years. I spent 14 out of 28 days in Feb drunk (drunk = 6+ drinks, more often then not to the point of passing out or blacking out). Mid Feb I crashed my car drunkenly and it shocked me into spending a week or so sober. This month I spent 20 out of the last 29 days drunk.

Friday I had about 6 shots and 4 beers in about 3 hours. I then had a full blown panic attack Saturday afternoon to the point that I thought I was going to pass out in a restaurant. I had to will myself back into reality and could do so only because I knew it was a panic attack from my teen years when I used to get them frequently and was even diagnosed with panic disorder, severe  depression and post traumatic stress disorder (but was never medicated or treated for them).

I spent Sat. night sober (with insomnia and night sweats) and all of Sunday. I found that when I got off of work this morning at around 3am that I was very much awake and upon trying to sleep at around 5am that I was very anxious, cold but sweaty, shaking violently, and even possible mild hallucinations. I had to get up and chug the last beer in my fridge in order to get the shaking to stop.

Needless to say I am pretty freaked out and obviously need to detox, find a new occupation and go to meetings.
I suppose my question -for those of you who are still reading... is it possible to detox myself without rehab? Should I even try? I'm just new to this whole thing and feel pretty alone and freaked out. :o /

-burnstar

[billgonz1]

I used to go thruogh that weekly . For many years. Ask  your self if you want to do the same ! It gets harder as you get older . I know people in their 30 's   with early liver disease .  I used to tend bar also . Good money ,free booze ,alway's a drinking buddy,its good bus. to drink with patrons . All part of the alcohol Trap . Time will go by so fast . And you wont remember it. Its a dark future I drank 25 years .Stopping was the hardest thing I ever did . I had to ! Do it befor you can't Bill

[sunny21676]

I started off the same way. I was a bartender @21. I  would really only drink then a few times a month. The last two years I have been drinking almost everyday. I have been drinking almost everyday since the feb.12th! The affects after drinking are awful. cold and hot flashes,shaking, anxiety, panic attacks, racing heart, being on edge all the time. I hate it. I started having panic attacks before i became a heavy drinker. But, lately i drink to calm myself down and, i'm ok for a while then i will wake up in the middle of the night w/ my pulse pounding and then the anxiety comes in. So i feel your pain. The only way i think you could quit on your on would be to not hang out with people who drink. Go to a support group where you don't feel so alone. hope you all the best

[ibizan]

as usual i second boogies advice.....and if u do not follow it ur star will completely burn out..there will be no light!

[boogieman]

hi there. bad news is, you do have a problem. good news is that you are aware of it and want to do something about it. to start, you are experiencing classic alcohol withdrawal symptoms, which can progress into life-threatening complications, especially if you have certain pre-existing conditions that you may or may not be aware of. if inpatient rehab is not a viable option, many treatment centers as well as clinics and general practitioners offer outpatient support. the biggest concern is your physical well being as you are at risk of seizures and even cardiac arrest depending on your condition, which only a doctor can accurately assess. you will likely need some medication to safely detox, that will prevent your nervous system from going into overdrive. when you consume any sedating drug long enough and abruptly remove it, the body essentially goes into shock and causes all the previously  suppressed neurological functions to hit the other end of the spectrum causing the symptoms you described. i may catch you know what from those that don't understand the condition, but you may need to maintain a low blood alcohol level until you can be assessed. if nothing else, any er physician should be able to get you the proper meds. the last time i detoxed i had a seizure 7 days after my last drink----while i was driving----so this is not something to take lightly. this condition is additionally more than just physical, as you seem to also have discovered, and that's where aa can be crucial. if you want to find aa in your area you can go to the main site (alcoholics-anonymous dot org) or aa site for your local area. if you want to let me know your general area, i can get you links to both aa and treatment resources local to you. but whatever you do, please treat this seriously and double check any information you find online for your own well-being. i hope this has given you a bit of a direction to go in, and if you have more questions you can send me a private message. take care,   gm

[boogieman]

hold that thought