Question on home detoxing...

[Zeta]

For those of you who have detoxed at home without the standard medications, how long did it take before your body started feeling normal again? I ask because I have been struggling with anxiety and WD-like symptoms for weeks. I'm currently 24 days AF and just in the past couple days have felt just about back to normal.

I think I had an expectation that my WD's should only last 3 to 5 days and then I feel normal again. When my anxiety and WD-like symptoms kept going into week 2 and 3, I began to wonder if it's really detox or if I am suffering from some other problem or general anxiety disorder. (Thyroid and blood/sugar issues are two I am thinking of exploring).

I've been to the doctor and urgent care for my symptoms. They gave me Paxil which I was on for 2 weeks but stopped cold turkey after I was suffering too many side effects. So it's been over a week since I've been off of meds and I am finally starting to feel normal again.

I'm a binge drinker. I won't drink during the week but more than make up for it on the weekends. It was the 3 days in a row of a bottle or two of wine a day that would create the WD's and problems for me.

I definitely feel much better without AL in my system, and I am confident I can continue cutting down the binge drinking (the consequences are scary enough to keep me in check I really believe) to moderation and even long periods of abstinance. But my question remains...

Is it normal for the body to take several weeks or more before the WD/Anxiety/Detox is over, especially if trying to do it at home without meds?

Thank you for your comments and help.

[hippie37]

Question on home detoxing...

Morning Zeta. I would personally look a bit more closely at the reasons for your anxieties rather than trying to control them with drugs. In my eyes it can save you a lot of trouble and unnecessary side effects. As always though I am no medical expert and I'm just sharing my own experience with you here. I do believe medication has it's use at times just be aware of why you are taking it and it's for the right reasons and not an excuse to 'kop out' as such!!

If anything my anxieties where heightened due to not drinking because I still had to deal with life without the drink and drugs. I thought many times I had them under control but they kept jumping up and biting me on the ass every so often and would cause me to drink again.

Can I ask you why you think it is you binge drink? I'm just curios as I was a binge drinker myself at times through my addiction. I did the rave scene a lot and partied hard at week-ends telling myself i was just being hedonistic. Really I was hiding from the fact I was so unhappy and unfulfilled and it was one big lie after another. We can all be very good at wearing masks to hide our true feelings. Sometimes I think we're not even aware of them at all because they have been buried for so many years.

From what I can remember of my own detox which I did on my own without any help I think things got worse before they got better. I was still anxious and nervous but I became very lethargic and tired all the time. I was on anti-depressants as well plus I was also taking antabuse which I believe played a role in those feelings.

I hope more will follow and share their own experiences here anyway (hint hint)

Love and Light
Phil
xx

[Guitarista]

Question on home detoxing...

Hi Zeta,
Have you worked out why it is you like to drink so much on the weekend's? It just might be a good idea to have more of a handle on your thinking, before moderation could be successful?

I'm no medical expert either, and i know some people, as yourself, take longer with withdrawal than 3-5 day's, but i suspect 3-5 day's is a fair average for most folk's, so maybe there's something else going on internally too, if it takes longer, although i was a bit tired, but also had energy. I think while our bodies are repairing themselves, that takes a bit of energy from us too. (No med's used) Probably didn't answer your question......... Glad to hear you're feeling better at last, and congratulations on your af time. That's a huge acheivement. Bravo!

[Zeta]

Question on home detoxing...

Thank you for the responses.

I have been very interested to find out the root cause of my AL abuse. Genetics play a roll. My father was a hardcore alcoholic as was most of his entire family. (My aunt died in her 60's from liver failure, my father died in a drunk driving accident killing himself, etc, etc).

I certainly have had my share of hardship and loss that I'm quite sure has triggered the excessive drinking. Perhaps to escape, perhaps to just "less feel". Ironically, I never drink when I'm depressed, angry or down. I've always associated drinking with good times and fun. The binging is in part due to the stupid thought process, "Well, I don't drink at all during the week, so why can't I hoop it up on the weekends?" Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if my idea of hooping it up was a few glasses of wine instead of two bottles a night.

I believe the primary reason is my disatisfaction with my life's direction. Although I have a beautiful family, a nice home, great pets and good friends, my life feels like I'm in a boat without an oar.

I've been unemployed from FT work since 2001. I work freelance but it's feast or famine, heavy on the famine. I can't seem to find that FT, secure, rewarding job to save my life. I know that is playing a massive roll on my feelings of self worth.

Then add in my good friend who died suddenly last year at my age (40) of liver failure. A chronic alcoholic but nobody thought he would die so young. At first I was scared to drink, then within a few months of his death I reversed the philosophy and drank in part to deal with the reality of life and loss - a very repeating pattern in my life.

I believe this has been a trigger for the anxiety as well. Thoughts of my own health, death and mortality most likely triggered the anxiety and panic attacks which only got worse with the binging and subsequent WD's. A true living hell.

I'm a huge believer that antidepressants and SSRI's are not necessary for most people. I quickly and intuitively new my body's reaction to them was only making things worse. Will power, spirit, the determination to succeed, exercise, relaxation techniques and healthy choices is key to my success.

Finding that decent paying, FT job wouldn't hurt either.

[ilovejafa]

Question on home detoxing...

Hi Zeta

Reading your background story just now is interesting, as parts of it is so like all of our lives. Thank you for sharing.

I tried to detox (twice) at home, alone and without meds.
The first was awful, just so much pain.
The second time, I said 'no' to a quick drink at 6am to stop the shakes so I could organise the kids to get to school.
I said 'no' but ended up in the ER having seizure after seizure, bruising 20% of my body.
They medicated me up and I then I went AF for 6 months.
I wish I had known about MWO to gain support and friendship.

That was 5 years ago, and during those 6 months AF I do not remember much.
My husband and I bought a new home but I have little recollection of viewing homes to buy.
Then my doctor said I had athritis as my whole body was aching.
I saw so many specialists but all it was a WD from drinking. My body was so stressed from not having it's hourly/daily fix.
A close nurse friend told me she has seen many smokers give up their habit of over 30 years, to get cancer within months. She believes the body goes into a type of stress mode.

Maybe not very scientific, but us here in MWO know what it feels like.

Hope this helps.
Take care,
Jafa

[Zeta]

Question on home detoxing...

Thanks for sharing. I do see many common denominators between AL abusers. I was foolish to believe all those years of "partying" without any real consequence (as far as physical/physiological) wouldn't eventually catch up to me. I was probably in denial for a good year or two before I finally realized that how crappy I have been feeling is directly due to the WD's after another bout of overdrinking.

I'm almost at 1 month AF and I definitely feel much, much better. Clear headed, less anxiety. Now the hard part begins. "Hey, now that I'm feeling better, I can have that ocassional glass of wine, right?"

And so it begins.

[Jandal]

Question on home detoxing...

Hi Zeta
I've just done a month tipping my drinking habit on its head where I've gone from almost a bottle a day to maybe two small glasses of wine on Friday night (I've had a couple of slip ups along the way mind you) but my body de-toxed over this time and i had more or less the same experience as you. No meds and I struggled with anxiety and depression until a few days ago. One day I sat down at my desk and just started crying for no apparent reason, but I knew it was a combination of withdrawal and hormones causing it so I just focused on the fact that it would be over soon, and it was. And yes, the hard part is that once you have got through the detox and start to feel better you give yourself permission to help yourself to that odd glass of wine. I don't trust myself to stop at one small glass so I have just stopped buying wine and don't have it at home now. But I haven't banned myself completely but have given myself a "control" challenge where I make sure I restrict myself to no more than two glasses of wine when i am drinking. I've set myself some other goals for the next six months and getting my drinking under control was a major part in making sure the rest of the goals come together. The goal setting has been a huge help because when i have tried this before I've had no real purpose and it just all fell apart very quickly. Good luck with your challenge - you've done extremely well so far!
Cheers
Jandal