quitting drinking and tiredness

[PennyLayne]

I was just wondering.....  I quit drinking 3 months ago.....  i used to drink daily, then i cut down to just the weekends....  i never woke up and started drinking, but i would drink heavily most of the time when i did drink.  back then, when i was not drinking, i was tired, and then i would drink and i would wake up.
now that i have not been drinking, i am ALWAYS tired.  I am not over weight, i eat pretty healthy, work out 3-4 times a week, take vitamins and drink a lot of water.  i have even had my blood tested and everything is in order...... and yet, i am still, always so tired....  i don't understand what is wrong with me or even if the not drinking and tiredness are related.....  the only time that i feel good is right after a refrshing shower or after i have a latte.  :-(  i want my energy back.....  

[fastaire]

I am in the same boat as you. I am on day 110 of not drinking alcohol. I used to just drink on week ends, about 24 to 30 beers each week end. Now that I have stopped drinking I get tired easily and am ready for bed a 10 pm every night. By 9:30pm I have to fight to keep my eyes open. Before I would go to bed at midnight and still have a difficult time sleeping and be up by 6am. Now I have a hard time just getting up by 7:30am. I don't know if this is good or bad.

One other thing that used to happen to me. when I was drinking just on week ends. During the week when I wasn't drinking I would wake up two to three time in the middle of the night absolutely drenched with sweat. I got to the point that I would go to bed with towels next to me to dry off the sweat. After about thirty days of not drinking at all this no longer happened to me. I don't know if this was withdrawal from not drinking alcohol during the week or some other side effect of the alcohol.  Anyone have any idea what caused the night time sweating episodes?

[ibizan]

u drank that much for how long?months?a few years?any other drugs or misuse of RX medication or use of RX medication?what u described is a withdrawal from alcohol.....30 days is not uncommon for what happened to u to happen!

[fastaire]

Thanks izban. That was helpful.

I usually would drink about 24 to 30 beers in total Friday and Saturday. I was drinking that much for about 5 years. No drinks at all Sunday through Thursday. I took no other drugs or medication nor do I smoke cigarettes. I didn't realize it but I must have been physically addicted to alcohol and withdrawing during the week. Now that you mention it I did not wake up sweating when I went to bed after a night of drinking.

[ibizan]

thats a lotta brewskis there!when u were drunk u would just conk out with all that in u.....imagine the body and the brain is like a giant soaked sponge from drinking.....when u stop soaking the sponge it will wring itself out!hence your body....my body...our bodies here of recovering folks posting... the former sponges!i had very bad insomnia and anxiety after stopping all the alcohol/drug use...and i really had to watch the caffeine and chocolate for that aggravated it as well!it took me about 6-9 months to get in2 a regular sleeping pattern.I found that reading helped.....read til eyes got real heavy and nitey nite!

[musclerocker]

Ask youre doctor if you have Hypo Throid. That sounds like you might have it. Have a blood test on that because I have hypo throid. I felt very depressed and tired. Also I was losing hair. Have that checked. out.

[Jacker]

Alcohol effects the central nervous system, and I've come to believe that it takes some time for your body to readjust.  Like you, I would become more awake after a night of drinking although in the end, I would wake up with extreme anxiety (at the end of my daily drinking days).  I honestly think that it will pass with time.  

Have you ever heard of PAWS?  It stands for Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome.  Google it when you get a chance.  It discusses the many changes that your body goes through when you remove alcohol from your life.