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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
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.
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