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Anxiety/panic attacks the day after drinking

This isn't really a question, it's more or less a walkthrough of what I am going through with anxiety problems and alcoholism in hopes that it might help someone out there. Had I read online about how common anxiety attacks after a night of drinking are, maybe I could have started my road to recovery sooner, and maybe some of you can.

Anyways, I am a 25-year old college student (receiving my 2nd BA tomorrow actually :D) who had never experienced anything related to anxiety or panic attacks ever in my life. I've always been a laid back, easy-going individual. Last May, after a weekend of beer pong and partying, I woke up on the following Monday and instantly felt dizzy and out of breath, like I was going to pass out or fall over. I didn't know what it was. I thought maybe I had hit my head during the previous weekend's festivities. A couple days later I still had a dizzy feeling so I had my ladyfriend drive me to the ER for fear of having post-concussion syndrome or something. They gave me something for my nerves (Loreazapam maybe?) and did a catscan and everything was A-OK. I had no idea why I was feeling like this, but I finally told my mom about it and she googled it and thought maybe I was having some panic attacks. Over the next couple of months during the Summer, my roommates and I's drinking continued, and so did my anxiety issues (always the day after going out). At first I tried blaming them on stress or my girl or anything else besides drinking. I didn't want to think for ONE SECOND that my favorite past-time (drinking and being social with the wonderful people in my life) was actually the crux of my least favorite past-time (anxiety attacks.)  

Before I had my first one last May, I had heard of people having anxiety problems (my ex-girlfriends mom took meds for them) but just scoffed at people actually having to take medications to control their thoughts. What pish-posh I thought to myself. Well, after 1 year of having these #$%^$@ panic attacks, it's not pish-posh anymore. I have finally come to terms with the fact that it IS my drinking that is causing these (and smoking a pack of marlboro lights on the weekends in the bars does not help!!!!)  I don't even really get typical hangovers anymore like I used to, well maybe I do, but they are being over-shadowed by the PURE AGONY of the anxiety attacks. Sometimes they go on for the whole day. There are several different reasons about why people have panic attacks, hypoglycemia is one, but I have finally realized that it is my drinking style. Thank God I'm getting out of college so I won't feel the need to go out and get belligerent drunk with my buddies anymore. I know that being in college is no excuse, but hey, it's fun!!!

All this being said, I am working on curing myself. I have always been a type of person who needs to be in control of my own life/mind/health and this anxiety **** has got to stop!!!! I am going to start taking daily doses of St. John's Wort and B complex, to see if that helps. I am also going to get back into my workout routine once my job starts in a couple of weeks. I know that an active lifestyle will help me on the road to recovery, as well as those supplements. But I am starting to realize the #1 thing that will cure these attacks is to stop drinking. Every time I have one of these day-long attacks, I swear to myself that I'm done drinking. But the truth of the matter, is that after a few days, I feel my equilibrium has returned to a pretty awesome level, and I forget about how the major anxiety attack I just had a few days ago made my life complete hell. That's how **** works. Out of sight, out of mind. If I don't have one for a few days, I start thinking I'm invincible again, and we go party. I need to grow up and realize that there is a cure to feeling this PURE AGONY! And it's in the form of alcohol abstinence. It's going to suck and I'm sure I'm gonna miss the bars. But I will not miss these anxiety attacks.

I will keep my progress updated on this forum, because I now know that there are TONS of people out there who are suffering through the same problems that I am currently faced with. We all know the cure, deep down, we just don't want to accept it. To those reading this, hopefully I have calmed you down a little. I know it's hard. It sucks. It's hell on earth, in your brain, and it feels like there is no way out. There is. I think. So I'm going to try the B complex and the SJW and try to keep the drinking and smoking under extreme control.

Peace and love and freedom of YOUR MIND.
Take care,
C
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Avatar universal
Hey everyone, I am glad many people are realizing that this is physiological dependence on alcohol, even if you don't consider it "alcoholism" because you don't drink every day.

But even after many days of not drinking, after a binge, we experience a minor withdrawal.  It gets worse and worse every time - this phenomenon is called Kindling.  I think everyone should research it because it can cause serious brain damage, especially if you are young, and can impair memory and emotional processing.  In some ways, it is much worse than an alcoholic that drinks moderately every day and only goes through withdrawal once.

Kindling.  Withdrawal.  Alcoholism.  Very serious stuff, but very hard to break the binge cycle.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindling_(sedative%E2%80%93hypnotic_withdrawal)
Avatar universal
This happened to me during my sleep, woke up with panic and a racing heart. Mixing wodka with energy is a big no no, my friend told me for the first time that he also had some of that and the next day his heart was acting all up.
I'm quitting alcohol completely or at least stop drinking strong stuff.
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Avatar universal
Even though this is an old
Post I can see that is still helping many people looking for answers. You guys are not alone. I have been dealing with anxiety for the past 4 years and even though I have known that drinking will trigger my anxiety that day after, I have continued to drink socially knowing that the next day I will wake up feeling like crap with my anxiety through the roof. I usually just lock my self in a room try to pretend everything is ok even though I feel my heart racing and muscle tension through my whole body. I have always tried to keep my cool telling my self is just anxiety and that I'm not dying, up until last weekend when I went out with my friends and drank until I couldn't remember my name. The next day I woke up with a severe hangover and I knew it was coming but this time I couldn't keep my cool.. the anxiety took over my head I had never felt my heart race that much I felt when I was standing that I was going to faint and for the first time I took the decision to head to the emergency room. And of
Course they wired me up took all types of test and guess what. Everything was fine, they gave me .5mg of xanax and rehydrated me. It has gotten to the point where I know that I need to stop drinking if I don't ever want to feel these panic attacks ever again. So if you are reading this feeling like you are going to have a heart attack I can assure you are not.  Remember you are not alone you might think you are and your head might tell you that you're crazy. But no you're not.
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Avatar universal
This is an old post, but I just wanted to come to the conclusion on why exactly it comes later in the day that the anxiety peaks. After extensive day long panic attacks where even 2 mg Klonopin (Clonazepam) couldn't help anymore and all I pretty much did to feel better was pace around my house on my phone to afraid to see anyone. I have  BAC calculator in my house and if you were binge drinking at all it can take up until 3pm (if you lightly drank)-9pm(heavier), the next day before your BAC reaches zero. So inevitably when you wake up your still have the alcohol up there in your bloodstream releasing a calming agent in your brain called GABA. When your BAC starts falling towards legal driving limits Glutamate and Adrenaline (anxiety provoking neurotransmitters in your brain) start firing from being suppressed by GABA for so long (drinking days in a row if early enough could mean your BAC hasn't reached zero in days). While your brain is firing in a sort of natural psychical withdrawal from the alcohol, your live is busy breaking down leftover alcohol to acetycholine (which is the metabolic break down of alcohol), and it itself is more toxic then alcohol causing many other hangover symptoms everyone gets but also anxiety into those prone to GAD.

I'm in psychology courses so I learnt with great depth that anxiety as a symptom for hangovers is your body firing a bunch of signals to level out how you just suppressed your body for a number of days.

Mine started when weed would give me anxiety back in 2011 and had to quit that forever, which at the time I was sad about because all my friends continued to have no problems, (I'm 24 in June btw, so that would've happened at 18), then right after I quit weed coffee gave me immense anxiety, then basically 2012 negative situation would give me anxiety including the dreaded hangover. My situation is different then you guys, because I learnt from my binge drinking friends the answer to a hangover is more alcohol. Which magically worked, I could drink for days and my anxiety would be irrelevant as long as I kept my BAC high enough to keep it at bar. (PS: I Highly don't recommend this) Anyways I got used to this habit and now drink for a few days straight (Once up to 7), and deal with increadble anxiety for a day to the point I can't form a normal conversation with people and lock myself up for 24 hours afraid to go outside).... I've never actually told anyone about how bad my anxiety really gets with hangover I just explain I'm throwing up to avoid seeing me in that state. I just don't understand why I can't enjoy alcohol like EVERY single one of my friends.. it's like before reading this I was the only one worldwide who has this issue.. at the ripe age of 23 been going through this since 19, it doesn't seem fair.

Anyways thank you for listening, whoever may be reading this, and I hope you know you're not alone!
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Avatar universal
Same thing happens to me after I binge drink and have to drive or travel the next day. Usually happens when I dont eat in the morning or have water. Everything seems fine and then my hands get tingly and I get this doom feeling. I am 25 and I guess my body cant take it anymore. Only seems to happen when I have to drive, I guess the driving stresses me out and I need to cut back on my drinking.
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It really helps reading these posts from people who suffer from these alcohol induced anxiety issues. Not that I take comfort in reading about other people's suffering, but I feel like less of a loon having these types of experiences after binge drinking.

So like many of those who have posted to this thread, I fall into the category of sporadic over-indulger of alcohol. I can easily go several weeks without having a single drink, but when I do drink, I tend to binge drink until a stupid level of intoxication is achieved. It seems that every time I do binge drink nowadays, the next day is a roller coaster ride of mental anguish and self-loathing that I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy. The anxiety comes in waves. Rising up to terrible peaks, where I curse my existence and pray for a period of less painful valleys. I will lie in bed as my mind unleashes wave after wave of punishing self criticism until I feel like the biggest piece of **** alive. My mind is such a **** sometimes! Also during this time, I feel like something terrible is going to happen to myself, or worse, to my loved ones. I have morbid and graphic images flash in my mind, death and just a bunch of other really dark ****. Its really just awful. And it can take the better part of a day until some level of normalcy is restored to my pysche. But generally takes a couple of days for me to get right again.

My advice pretty much echoes everyone elses advice given on this thread. Drink water and dont binge! Also take the time to learn up on what happens to your body and brain chemistry when you binge. This has helped me to some degree circumvent the nastier side effects of over drinking, and has influenced me to make better decisions.  Because that is what it comes down to. Making better choices. And you can apply that line of reasoning on a larger scale to your life. Like choosing to be a healthier person in general. Probably the best choice you can make. Best wishes and good luck, it will pass and tomorrow is a brand new day.
Thanks so much for your post.  It made me feel better and less alone.
Avatar universal
I've had this problem for a while and always treated it with alprazolam.  This worked perfectly, but popping an opiate the afternoon after a night of drinking isn't always an ideal option.  I thought it was from alcohol withdrawal, and this was confirmed when I quit drinking for a month.  However, I did some research and learned that since drinking obviously dehydrates your body, this causes your heart to pump faster to help with the effects dehydration does to your blood flow.  In people with anxiety issues, this can be the same as drinking a couple cups of strong coffee, resulting in the brain going on overload and switching to panic attack mode.  To alleviate the problem, I forced myself to chug two glasses of water before going to bed after drinking.  The day after I had no problems.  While I realize we're all bags of chemicals that can react differently to the same things, I would definitely recommend keeping hydrated to avoid this.  It's probably a much more viable option than giving up alcohol altogether (although that's obviously the more healthier alternative).
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My symptoms the day after drinking

1.Nasty chest pains (main source of my anxiety)  
2.Body pain everywhere and occurs randomly
3.Muscle twitching in legs, neck, arms etc.
4.Extremly nervous after drinking alcohol
5.Weight loss
6.Head spinning
7. Nervousness while driving  
8. Fluttering in chest
9. Shaking

And the 100 other symptoms i cant explain
Avatar universal
I had exactly what everyone here is describing after drinking heavily on weekends for about 4 years. After just one night of drinking I would wake up with an impending feeling of doom and anxiety that would last all week. It was awful. I eventually decided to stop drinking, and didn't have a sip of alcohol for about 3 months. My anxiety disappeared but I did miss drinking with my friends. After this, I went on spring break in Cancun and decided to give drinking another shot. I drank heavily (15+ beers a day) and the anxiety symptoms were nonexistent! I didn't even get bad normal hangover symptoms either. Since then, it's been about 2 months and I have been back to drinking on weekends and have been anxiety free. My advice to anyone with this problem is to take at least a 3 month break from alcohol and then give it another shot. If you feel anxious the morning after drinking, know that it might just be you anticipating that terrible feeling you used to get and not to worry about it. I know some people are saying this is permanent, but that was not at all the case with me.
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Yes you are right John80828 one of my friend was sober for three months and now he started drinking again but he feels no anxiety the next day. I am gonna try this also, but it is very hard for me to stay sober for three months.
Avatar universal
Yup, all I can say is yup. I'm not one to post online ever so this goes out to all the people reading, yet haven't written. 29 yr old male. The idea of calling it an anxiety attack is a pure understatement. It is hell and you honestly can not think of how you can possibly ever feel the same (At least not at that moment). I will even go as far to saying you want to die. I just returned from my bachelor party yesterday and luckily had the following day to ”heal" (today). I am still not perfect, but yesterday was awful. If it weren't for my amazing fiance who is a nurse, I am not sure what I would have done .
      I didn't sleep on the last night of three pretty hard party nights  and I can believe I made it that many with a sane perception of life in the AM. Anyway, guess I thought a cup of coffee at 2am was a good idea (this is how we think in the  moment). I spent the next 8 hours pacing the house because sleep was impossible and nobody was up. The 3 hour car ride ( I wasn't driving) was hell. If it weren't for listening to stand up to distract me I would have jumped out the window. Finally after making it home I kept curling up on my fiance's lap like a sick puppy with a drinking problem. No amount of Ativan helped. Couldn't even eat. Tried. Couldn't. Didn't even want to. Couldn't stop pacing and shaking fell asleep finally after much effort.
    Woke up this morning in a cold sweat (actually woke up all night) even more terrified because my fiance went to work and I was alone. What if I die today? What if the shaking doesn't stop? It has never lasted this long before. This make me sound like a big b**** but all I wanted was some body with me. I'm a manly man. Beer bottles with my teeth, I'm a mechanic, my mower cost more than my truck....... but in that mental state nobody is themselves.........
     That medical term "feeling of impending doom" could not be more spot on. And the term "anxiety" doesn't fit the description. Talk to someone
     I went to the ER 2 years ago for my first attack (middle of the mountain skiing in Vermont) (way worse experience because i didn't know what was going on) and my magnesium was really low. This is a common cause of anxiety attacks and I'm not sure if supplementing will help if it's alcohol induced, but some people have these symptoms last weeks. I couldn't imagine. I feel your pain. You are not alone
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Avatar universal
Reading all these posts gives me a feeling of peace....I am sure partly because I am not in panic mode right now and that is due to the fact I didn't drink last night!  I find in completely unfair that we have this STUPID *** issue!!  Socially drinking is a part of society and let's face it, is fun when you are "in it".  My husband and I love wine!  We would drink wine nightly and it would go from a bottle to two bottles and on up the chain because we would build a tolerance.  I would feel like such *** the next day that the only thing that would help me was clonazepam!  First I was on Ativan.....that quickly wore out it's welcome as it started doing nothing for me and I just needed more and more to feel normal.  So, recently (well within the last few months) we have not been drinking really.  My panic is all but completely gone....I do still have those times when I lay down for the night and I can feel my heart beat in different ways and it will freak me out but I am somewhat able to talk myself out of it.  However....this is such B.S., am I supposed to never be able to imbibe again because of this **** hole of a disorder?  I have recently taken back to indulging on a Friday or Saturday and not even to the point where it is crazy and guess what....the next day is ****!  I have to take clonazepam to feel somewhat normal again and then even that isn't really helping anymore.  Basically, I just want to vent my frustrations about this crap bag of a disorder!  I used to be able to party in my 20's and everything and when I hit like 32...BOOM....all of a sudden I can't take it anymore.  I am 35 now and I am more annoyed that I cannot talk myself down from what I know are physical symptoms of a hangover and have that not immediately correlate to my psychological anxiety/panic to throw me into some sort of nightmare panic/hangover.  I know I am not going to die...this is just the alcohol leaving my system and my panic....or am I going to die because I am just thinking this is a hangover/panic....did I drink to much....maybe there is something wrong with me...and blah, blah, blah and on it goes.  Looking up all kinds of different things on the internet....trying to distract myself, wanting to cry....needing to immediately get up and walk around....for what purpose?  Leg constantly shaking.....nervously rubbing my hands together....running my fingers through my hair and gripping it.  All of this cause I can't handle alcohol anymore?  Damn it....I love my wine though!!  
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This is me at this very moment. Trying to tell myself its the effects of coming down from the alcohol but here I am having to read other peoples comments to make me feel better. It sucka!
Avatar universal
My situation is slightly different than most posters here. I'm 22, and I've drank pretty much every day for the past 2-3 years. However, I'm a very routine drinker, I always have between 4-5 beers, or 3-4 drinks of liquor. I know my "goldie locks zone", where I feel nice and relaxed, and I drink to attain that every night. I don't really enjoy drinking more than that. When I go out I only have slightly more than that. Yesterday and today were the first times I have experienced this debilitating anxiety, and like everyone else, I find it close to unbearable. A few people have mentioned dehydration and withdrawal, both of which I think are at play, and also the reason I only experienced this for the first time yesterday. I ALWAYS pound the water back before I go to sleep. Always. My experience drinking has taught me that, no matter how drunk I am or how badly I want to pass out, I must drink a shiton of water before bed, or else I'll pay for it the next day. Yesterday I didn't do that, and suffered these debilitating anxiety symptoms on top of a regular hangover. So consuming fluids/water is absolutely essential to stopping these episodes. Now, I also think the withdrawal theme is at play too. Unlike most people here though, I don't experience the withdrawal symptoms...because I drink every day. I'm currently trying to cut down, certainly don't want to go through proper alcohol withdraw syndrome. But, as another person mentioned, the phenomenon of kindling (increased severity of withdrawal symptoms resultant from binge drinking on weekends and not during week) can actually be worse than just withdrawing once, like i'm trying to do. So, what I would say is, and what i'm telling myself, is that I'm going to drastically reduce my alcohol intake, remember to replenish fluids before bed, eat healthy, excersise, and just live a healthier lifestyle. Believe me, the idea that one of my greatest solaces is the primary or one of the primary causes to my anxiety (underlying anxiety, the other day was the first flare up) is a very sad thought. But it must be done for the sake of myself and the people I love. Peace, and good luck to everyone.    
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My anxiety and nervousness is always worse after drinking next day, i feel normal in the morning but start feeling panicky as the day passes and i feel little normal in the evening but can not sleep whole night.

I feel very fine the day after tomorrow but i again feel nervousness and head spinning in the evening
Avatar universal
I too have this condition and have found  cure if your willing to sacrifice the rest of your night. If you choose to drink a little more than normal moderation try this.  Stay up the rest of the night till you can no longer take it.  It'seems that simple.  When you drink past your normal limit and feel pretty drunk to avoid the middle of the night anxiety, stay awake past it!  That is the sacrifice you will have to pay, sorry.  We're all different and have to deal with things in a different way.  This works for me because instead of putting myself in a nice sleepy state to be interrupted by biological chemical changes I just stay awake through all that crap thereby not letting my body catch my mind by surprise.  I have found that if you at least stay awake 6 hours past your last drink and have approached extreme tiredness you are well past the dreaded middle of the night alert anxiety attack.  Another thing to add to this regiment is to drink at least 3 16 Oz bottles of water to give your body plenty of hydration from the alcohol binge.  Try to drink 80% of this water before the half way mark of 6 hours.  This assures that you don't wake after lying down to relieve yourself.  Otherwise,  waking to go to the bathroom could cause panic for most of us.  Just give this a try, it worked for me.  I don't drink all the time but when I did I always had middle of the night anxiety and extreme pain the day after.  
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Avatar universal
The amount of posts in this thread is indicative of a real problem, and a problem that I too have encountered. As others have noted, it's a perverse way of thinking, but it helps immensely to know that others have endured the same thing. And we are all still alive...

I'm 35 and had my first panic attack last July. I'm an attorney and was in the middle of a large trial. I would arrive home and have 6 or so drinks before going to bed each night of trial. I'd wake feeling less-than perfect, but other than the "usual" hangover symptoms, felt ok. On the fifth day of trial, I had about a half a bottle of gin that night, and awoke feeling subpar. To ease the pain, I had two quick shots of gin before heading to court. I felt great all morning and did well, but on lunch break I started to feel weird. I thought it was the jalapenos in my salad, but reflecting back after reading here, I think it was the finally the alcohol getting to me (as well as the ~10 cups of coffee I had that morning).

I completely freaked-out at counsel table and felt like I was going to pass out if I didn't get-up. Unfortunately, it was opposing counsel's witness, so I was just sitting. I told my co-counsel I had to go to the bathroom, and as soon as I left the courtroom I went straight outside where I swore I was going to die. My heart was racing, my arm was numb, I was dizzy, and overall felt as though I was not really in my body. Nine months after, I still can 100% remember the feeling. I was literally walking around the court thinking, here's where I'm going to die...

Needless to say, I survived, and even won my case. Since then, however, I haven't been right. I'm a binge drinker, meaning that I don't drink too often, but when I do it's to excess. After a large trial last September, I went to my office the following morning and drank around half a 750mL of bourbon on an empty stomach (just because I'm a lawyer doesn't mean I'm smart!). I blacked-out, vomited, and felt like crap the rest of the day. But the worst was the next three days thereafter, where I had numerous bouts of anxiety and felt very heavy-hearted and dissociated from myself and the world. Even today, every time I drink in excess of about three drinks, I get the same feeling, and it's awful and nearly debilitating.

I've never experienced the same ultimate dread that I had back in July, and thank God. But it leaves me wondering...Is this just the alcohol? Is it the stress? Is it the stress augmented by the alcohol? Is it the alcohol augmented by the caffeine? Is is something more?

Ultimately, I believe I hit a tipping point where my body couldn't handle what I was doing to it. The decades of excess coffee consumption, coupled with the decades of continual stress, coupled with the intermittent periods of excess alcohol consumption ultimately put too high of a toll on my body. From what I have read, this seems to be the pattern for many of us. We are stressed and drink lots of coffee to stay awake (which leads to more stress), and then use alcohol to unwind from the caffeine and stress. That's a hard life for our bodies to live day in and day out. Add in the obligations of a family and I'm getting anxiety again just thinking about it.

Someone above made a mention that, after having a first severe episode, they now continually think about it and that very recollection leads to anxiety. I couldn't agree with this more. When I start feeling less-than myself, I immediately go back to that episode in July and begin to assume that's what is going to happen again. And that thought immediately increases my anxiety even more. It's a vicious cycle.

So what's the answer? The hell if I know. But I do know that alcohol certainly exacerbates the issue. And I know that stress plays a huge role. I also suspect caffeine and dehydration play a role, although dehydration is a typical side-effect of alcohol. Moving forward, I know that I need to relax and drink less. But as we all know, that's so much easier said than done. In fact, I'm getting ready for another trial and drinking bourbon right now. We teach ourselves ways to cope with certain environmental factors, and it's very difficult to re-learn a new way, especially when that particular stressor is present.

In a perfect world, I'd take a one-year hiatus from the law (or actually quit it entirely), and during that time enjoy my family, my faith, and life itself. But this isn't a perfect world, and therefore I'm left doing the best I can. I wish you all the best. God bless.
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I wish you the best of luck. I had a breakdown back in September 08 due to stress and alcohol. There was a build up of around 2 weeks before it happened, as I started to feel odd and was getting unwanted thoughts in my head. It eventually happened when I was in bed one night ready to drift off to sleep, but my mind and heart started racing and then I had this weird rapid eye movement for around 30 seconds which I couldn't control. I thought I was going mad and quickly went downstairs to see my mum and ask her to ring the ambulance. She sat me down and talked to me for about an hour or so to calm me down. I ended up sleeping on the couch and I basically stayed there for a week, only getting up for the toilet and food/drink not that I had much of an appetite. It took around 3 weeks to get back to normal standing with medication and cutting out alcohol completely. In most of that 3 weeks I felt completely detached and confused, almost soulless, I was constantly question what life was about. I've not been the same since tbh.
It's mainly the alcohol...and once. a p. Attack starts it rollercoasters. Remind urself this will pass and look up the 4,7 8 breath exercise. It works! Stopped an attack I had in hawaii after a bad night - of too much alcohol.
Avatar universal
I know this is old, but I have been drinking for years now and experienced hangovers- feeling tired and groggy, throwing up, you know...the normal hangover. But 2 weeks ago I woke up and was headed home from a long week of drinking over spring break and had the worst feelings i've ever had in my life. I started to be scared of everything, couldn't even drive myself home. I got super hot and sweaty, couldn't breathe well, I had a red bull earlier that day because I needed to be awake to drive and I ended up throwing that up because I thought that was the cause (i drink red bull a lot, i quit now but i had never felt like that before from them). But the worst thing was I would literally feel like I wasn't myself, like I would be walking and feel like I was having an out of body experience. I would start to think I was okay then it would hit me again- couldn't breathe, didn't feel like I was even alive, increased heart rate, hot flashes, horrible thoughts, i literally said to myself that I would rather kill myself than feel the way I am feeling right now. I slept throughout the day, woke up the next morning and felt a little better. While I was at the doctor 2 days later (for anxiety and depression and ADHD, i take seteraline-off brand of zoloft, and vyvanse) my psychiatrist said it was just alcohol withdrawls and skipping a dose of my anxiety meds here and there. While I would believe this is true, I drink all the time and skip doses (I am working on it) and have never ever felt this before. The next Friday I drank again, woke up and was perfectly fine so I figured I would be fine to drink again on Saturday night. I drank a lot that night (as I did the night before) and was driving home from the lake and out of no where I felt my body go into the same thing as the weekend before. As I was driving, I was terrified. I was so out of it (again not feeling myself) and thought I was just going to run off of the freeway because I didn't even know who I was, then I would go back to reality and get my head straight, then a minute later it would come back. I had to pull over and throw up hoping that it would make me gain my awareness back, but it didn't help much. Luckily I had a friend that could drive us home and he dropped me off but I kept going back into that mental state throughout the day. I got super hot (this is mainly happening in my upper neck area and feels like its in my head almost) and couldn't breathe well. I slept on and off throughout the day and the next day I felt better. I now have anxiety of driving (which I have never had) and it makes it really hard because I am in college and come home every weekend for work. This week I haven't drank at all and feel good but I am a college student and while I am going to slow down my drinking a lot, I know that I am going to continue to drink alcohol (no, I don't have a problem I just like to drink socially sometimes). I am petrified of drinking again because I don't ever want to feel like that again. I am going to go to a different doctor but I am sure they will only tell me to stop drinking. I have noted different ways to prevent hangovers but I am not sure if they will work since I am so scared to drink again! If anyone knows any causes or ways to help, please let me know! Thank you!
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Avatar universal
Alcohol and anxiety don't mix. The alcohol can block the absorption of any anti-anxiety medication you may be taking.
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Avatar universal
I started getting panic attacks after binge drinking at the age of 35. I would never eat before drinking and I think that is a major cause. If I eat before drinking, keep drinking water with my alcohol drinks and stick to beers I notice I don't have panic attacks. Also it always happens the next day. There are two cures to next day panic attacks I found that work. When you first wake up get your butt out of bed and do a 15-30 minute cardio workout. Your body can't go into panic mode if you are active. Working out on a daily basis also helps with panic attacks and foggy brain. Second cure - go to Chipotle get three tacos on your way home grab a six pack of corona. Have a beer with each taco then pass back out and sleep for 3 hours. You will feel so much better! - panic attack survivor
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Avatar universal
I started getting panic attacks after binge drinking at the age of 35. I would never eat before drinking and I think that is a major cause. If I eat before drinking, keep drinking water with my alcohol drinks and stick to beers I notice I don't have panic attacks. Also it always happens the next day. There are two cures to next day panic attacks I found that work. When you first wake up get your butt out of bed and do a 15-30 minute cardio workout. Your body can't go into panic mode if you are active. Working out on a daily basis also helps with panic attacks and foggy brain. Second cure - go to Chipotle get three tacos on your way home grab a six pack of corona. Have a beer with each taco then pass back out and sleep for 3 hours. You will feel so much better! - panic attack survivor
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Avatar universal
hello, I am Brazilian and not mastered English very well, I'm using google translator sorry, I had anxiety problems the day after a binge, dizziness, fuzzy thinking, fear, I felt very strange, one day I read an article on the Russians can drink an entire bottle of vodka and not faint of drunken, they eat fat, before and after drinking, I did this test and it really worked for me, it helped me a lot, eat fatty foods before and during consumption alcohol and you'll notice the difference in their levels of anxiety, in my case it worked, I hope it can work for anyone who is suffering with this problem also, hugs Raul
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Avatar universal
hello, I am Brazilian and not mastered English very well, I'm using google translator sorry, I had anxiety problems the day after a binge, dizziness, fuzzy thinking, fear, I felt very strange, one day I read an article on the Russians can drink an entire bottle of vodka and not faint of drunken, they eat fat, before and after drinking, I did this test and it really worked for me, it helped me a lot, eat fatty foods before and during consumption alcohol and you'll notice the difference in their levels of anxiety, in my case it worked, I hope it can work for anyone who is suffering with this problem also, hugs Raul
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
hello, I am Brazilian and not mastered English very well, I'm using google translator sorry, I had anxiety problems the day after a binge, dizziness, fuzzy thinking, fear, I felt very strange, one day I read an article on the Russians can drink an entire bottle of vodka and not faint of drunken, they eat fat, before and after drinking, I did this test and it really worked for me, it helped me a lot, eat fatty foods before and during consumption alcohol and you'll notice the difference in their levels of anxiety, in my case it worked, I hope it can work for anyone who is suffering with this problem also, hugs Raul
Helpful - 0
11019338 tn?1414609257
I just want to share my story on this discussion.  I like reading these posts because it does give me a piece of mind and also stay focused on living a healthy lifestyle.  I've experienced plenty of addiction in my life mainly alcohol and pills.  I was a pretty heavy drinker up until this past September when I basically had to stop due to me getting in trouble with my 2nd DUI.  I had to go to jail on the weekends for 15 weekends straight starting this past June but I was still drinking during the week to deal with my stress and it just made it all worse.  Well after completing my weekends I started my house arrest in September and I stopped completely consuming alcohol.  I obviously am not allowed to drink due to being on probation but I could get away with it if I wanted to.  But thank the lord above I am now 80 days sober without a drop of alcohol.  I had severe anxiety attacks after drinking heavily and just drinking two drinks in the past.  My problem I was dealing with is that I always felt guilty drinking because I felt like I was weak and I couldn't stop on my own so that also made me have anxiety.  Also I was abusing ADHD meds (Adderall) on top of my drinking so if you think your hangovers were bad imagine abusing stimulants on top of the alcohol.  WHEW!! It was a nightmare.  Since I've been sober I still get urges from time to time and I'm still on a lighter stimulant for my ADHD but I can tell you my anxiety AND depression has subsided by at least 80 percent.  Its hard to quit on your own But I PROMISE you once you go a LONG period of time being healthy and sober you will get a great peace of mind knowing you are strong.  It took me to getting in trouble to finally have my wake up call and know that I can make it.  When your sober you look back on all the times you partied and think to yourself why the hell did I do that to myself!!  Its a crazy and amazing feeling at the same time.  Addiction is a terrible thing to have and when you deal with addiction you pay the consequences by putting your body through hell.  The older I get obviously the wiser I get and trust me there is more to life then a big party.  Listen to your brain and body and really focus on how you feel when you put stuff in your body.  I still struggle with depression/anxiety due to other stressors in my life because I LOST a lot due to this 2nd DUI.  I lost my gf because of my selfish jealous ways because I was not fun to be around because of how depressed I was.  I still have my job of 4 years and I am thankful for getting my peace of mind back.  I hope all of you find a piece of mind soon and hopefully it doesn't take something bad to happen for you to realize that you need to change.  I went to the ER a couple times due to severe anxiety but that didn't stop me sadly; it just made me "Cut" back but I still had anxiety due to the guilt I was facing.  Stay strong and no one said life is easy.  Don't be to hard on yourself.  I was always an athletic/active person but when you are completely sober being active and getting in shape its a totally different high and you feel amazing about yourself.  I got addicted to running and being somewhat healthy and It does wonders to your life.  Once I'm done with my house arrest (January 13th) I'm going to live my life doing different fun things that make me feel good about myself.  I'm still going to enjoy some good tasty beers (I love me some IPA's) but I guarantee you I wont put my body through the **** I did in the past.  Just got to be smart like I said earlier.  Anxiety is one of the worse feelings anyone can face especially severe attacks in life but YOU are in control of it so DO IT!!!  GOD BLESS EVERYONE!  PRAY EVERYDAY AND LISTEN TO THE MAN ABOVE AND GIVE YOUR PROBLEMS TO HIM!!  If you read my whole post the above statement is probably the most important of all that I said.  YOU GOT THIS!!
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Avatar universal
I get the "beer Fear" a lot and this past 5-6months it has got a lot worse. I am a heavy drinker. Would easily have 8-10 pints then start on vodka or whisky afterwards on a friday/saturday night. I'm 26 now but when i was younger (16-18) I would never get embarrassed after I done/said something silly but even the smallest thing now would have my nerves flaring. Same feelings as most of you - impending doom, "everyone hates me", "why am I such an *******". A lot of nights I don't say anything out of turn or bad about people but after a good few drinks and the conversation is going that way I let all loose and thats what cripples me the next day. I find that I need to apologise to everybody I talked too. It was only a few nights ago when it was the night after a heavy weekend that I felt as if my nerves were being pulled form my body, my heart racing and I was hyper ventilating all becasue I took a **** outside a local bus station and there was maybe 30 people around. If my friends done the same thing they couldn't care less about it. I think I get nervous because of the things that could have potentially happened for example in the case of pissing outside the bus station maybe a police officer could have seen me and arrested me. When I get into this line of thought all I can think about is my parents being really disappointed and other people thinking I'm a dickhead. I like to drink or used too and I guess I should quit but my friends and some family all like to go out and have fun through drinking and for the most part just going out to get hammered. I am reading what I have written in this post and realise I a bit all over the place but I put that down to being really nervous right now and this is day 3 after my big weekend.
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Avatar universal
I get the "beer Fear" a lot and this past 5-6months it has got a lot worse. I am a heavy drinker. Would easily have 8-10 pints then start on vodka or whisky afterwards on a friday/saturday night. I'm 26 now but when i was younger (16-18) I would never get embarrassed after I done/said something silly but even the smallest thing now would have my nerves flaring. Same feelings as most of you - impending doom, "everyone hates me", "why am I such an *******". A lot of nights I don't say anything out of turn or bad about people but after a good few drinks and the conversation is going that way I let all loose and thats what cripples me the next day. I find that I need to apologise to everybody I talked too. It was only a few nights ago when it was the night after a heavy weekend that I felt as if my nerves were being pulled form my body, my heart racing and I was hyper ventilating all becasue I took a **** outside a local bus station and there was maybe 30 people around. If my friends done the same thing they couldn't care less about it. I think I get nervous because of the things that could have potentially happened for example in the case of pissing outside the bus station maybe a police officer could have seen me and arrested me. When I get into this line of thought all I can think about is my parents being really disappointed and other people thinking I'm a dickhead. I like to drink or used too and I guess I should quit but my friends and some family all like to go out and have fun through drinking and for the most part just going out to get hammered. I am reading what I have written in this post and realise I a bit all over the place but I put that down to being really nervous right now and this is day 3 after my big weekend.
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Avatar universal
my friend..
I got 2 examples for you..
my elder brother who is in IT and me myself..
my elder brother is sober doesn't drink whatsoever but am an alcoholic
we bot got solutions in different ways..
he suffered heavy anxiety the same way u did and tried meditation and got of it..
while me on the other hand.. lousy stupid dumb went doctors care for 5 times.. I got my liver damaged to an extent of 40%..
I used to be ok when I used to be off hospital.. but started back again.. guess was compulsive drinker..
now my solution for drinking and anxiety are 2 things..
1 if just anxiety .. try meditation..
2 if u drink last night and suffer anxiety the next day.. slow down a bit .. I dont say stop it.. if u take 2 pints.. take 1 .. but do that for a week with one thing in mind.. I want to get off this..
If u got this feeling that you want to get off this without doctors help YES U CAN.. I did..
enjoy life my friend.. life is full of enjoyment apart from alcohol
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Avatar universal
This explains so much!! After 20 years sober in AA I got so fed up with the "program" I left. I chose to try experimenting with moderation. I've read lots of people with drinking excesses learn to moderate. So it went well the first time I drank 2- 5oz glasses of white wine. The second time about the same and the next day some anxiety- blamed a lot of other things. The 3rd time I had a brandy after dinner. That night I kept waking up with very negative thoughts. The next two days horrible anxiety. My therapist says it's rebound anxiety and happens to those prone to anxiety. She said don't get a script for anti-anxiety meds as the rebound will become full blown panic attacks. I never knew I drank to control anxiety. I can't believe after all these years there's no way I can drink. I've stopped experimenting. I've built a good life with a family I love and getting a buzz now and then is not worth it.
Also, now I get why I was always so paranoid as a kid smoking pot - anxiety.
My therapist says when anxiety gets going visualize yourself in a pool slowly doggie paddling around and know you will eventually make it to shore. Like many of you I'm using exercise, less sugar and caffeine. I may go on a low dose anti-depressant as they can help.
I'm grateful to know what it is that's caused this anxiety. I never really understood how much I've always suffered with anxiety, booze worked for a long time. I was able to maintain for a while.
I realize I'm a lot older than a lot of you, but for what it's worth not drinking is really a nice way to live. I learned to find joy in simpler things in life and to have real connections with people. This bout with bad anxiety has helped me to be more patient and compassionate with other people.
For the past 20 years I've done a lot of work with professionals and on my own and came to realize I have good reason to have anxiety and I learned to live with it very well. I've survived a lot of trauma and that's where my anxiety comes from. That having been said, I still have anxiety, especially if I drink. It was fun to try again and I'm glad I did, cause now I know.
Thanks to all and best of luck.....sooz  
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