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.
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
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!!
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.
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.
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.