Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

[WastrelWallow]

Hi all, joined this site a few months back but never actually stepped on the wagon.

I'd class myself as a 'habitual daily drinker' who never has cravings, more just like to get slowly blitzed at the end of the evening, or as a 'reward' when I get back in from work.

Been drinking pretty much daily for the last 6 years, and for the last few months have been up to five 500ml 5%+ cans of beer and a bottle and a quarter of wine per night.

So, last night I didn't have any, and I was thinking maybe tonight I might not, either, the only thing that's really tempting me is the fear of withdrawal symptoms.

I'm back to work tomorrow and I'm just worried that if I abstain tonight, I might *possibly* get W/Ds tomorrow???

So far, bar seeing things through a Propranolol blur (I take that and Cipralex every day), I have not had *any* withdrawal symptoms so far, and if I have, then they must have been very mild.

Reckon I'm doing OK on this, or should I attempt a taper???

[MWOLady]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

I can't answer your question, but just wanted to say hi - you'll get lots of responses later on when people get home from work over here. Welcome and stick around!!!!

[JackieClaire]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Hi WW,

Firstly :goodjob: on getting to day 2.

Wish I could help with the W/D question as all of us are different. Some of us have tapered, some of us have gone cold turkey and some have used medical help.

I found a link so you can check yourself to see how you're going.
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms - Symptoms Associated With Alcohol Withdrawal

If by some awful chance that the w/d symptoms are at the higher end of the scale as you're in England I would ring NHS direct ASAP.

NHS Direct - Home

Hope that helps,WW.

[WastrelWallow]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

^None of the above so far, bar the lack of sleeping (I actually stayed awake 'til 6am this morning but managed to get three hours of 'natural sleep' this afternoon). None of the other effects....hopefully none at all (eek!)

Yeah, forgot to say that I also use alc as a 'sleep aid'. Happy days.

[K9Lover]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Hi WW and welcome...and good job on day 2!
Everyone is different, so it's hard to predict what will happen to who when alcohol is cut off. I had mild wd's, no worse than a hangover, because technically a hangover IS a withdrawal...shakiness, dehydration, etc. Seems like you made it through day 1 without any side effects, so I'd suggest you keep going. You may be fortunate enough to not experience any at all. But as Jackie mentioned, if you feel like you're in danger, you should get medical attention. And remember, none of us here are medical professionals, we can only speak from experience. But you've taken a first great step on to the wagon! Keep up the good work and let us know how you're doing!
K9

[K9Lover]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

oh p.s. - I forgot to mention that everytime I quit, I could not sleep for the first 3 nights. My body was used to being unconscious, not asleep. But don't worry, this will pass pretty quickly, and soon you'll be waking up, as opposed to "coming to".

[WastrelWallow]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

^Thanks for the advice.

Soz, keep making the mistake of kinda asking for medical advice when I'm sure I'm not supposed to(!)

What tends to happen with me is that I drink for a six hour period, feel like crap in the morning, then slowly normalise during the day, and spend three/four hours feeling relatively sober. I then get home from work, and re-start the cycle.

Definitely feeling the DEHYDRATION, though, *always* got dry, scratchy, sleep-encrusted eyes. Even after nearly 48 hours without any booze in me (and copious amounts of water) I *still* feel dehydrated.

Anyways, am gonna give sleep a go in the next ten minutes, fingers crossed i might get a few hours (at least).

[ZORBA SKOTSEZOS]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Tha 4th day was usually the worst day for me,even on a librium taper.Always felt pukey and shitty,with the worst headache ever.Take care!

[WastrelWallow]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

So another day and not really that much of effect. Only managed about 2/3 hours of normal sleep last night (in short, interrupted bursts) and felt a bit light-headed at work today but no anxiety or anything like that. In the bits between sleep, watched episodes of Masterchef on BBC iPlayer, soon sent me back off....

Gonna give the booze a miss tonight, too, and shall keep on posting here. Got a few emergency valium to hand should I start getting shaky...though have the safety net of working in a hospital.

[kuya]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Whilst everyone is different I think the horror stories of withdrawal scare you so much that you don't stop. I had drunk 11-15 units daily(on average) for 22 years and suffered no major symptoms apart from feeling anxious and slightly out of body. Biggest problem was SLEEP

I am also new here. Did 9 weeks sober before Xmas then fell off the wagon for 10 days. Now back on and not feeling so panicky although it would be nice to chat in the evening cos I am in New Zealand and everyone is asleep:new:

[allswell]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Welcome Wastrelwallow,

Like previously mentioned everyone is different. When I was drinking I would describe it as heavy (12 or more drinks a night weekdays, 18 on the weekends) and the only withdrawal I had was lack of sleep. It took 8 days before I finally had a decent 5 hours and I'm at almost two weeks and it's still broken up all over the place. Keep us posted.

[Boh]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

:welcome:

I was drinking about 8-15 beer 5% Pretty much daily for 10+ years and more on weekends.

When I woke up after drinking 16 pints one work night, I decided enough is enough! No more mornings laying in the fetal positon wishing I was dead! So I quit AL that morning.

I was terrified about going into withdrawls! But I had it with booze, so I decided to deal with whatever may come. And to my suprise, nothing happened really... got the sweats while tossing and turning for the first few days and that was it.

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing to get the serious withdrawl symptoms you need to be living on AL 24/7 because I was a good 12/6 12/5! just my opinion...

g:goodjob: It only gets easier!

boh

[WastrelWallow]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

^I'm probably the same as you, mate, probably a 7/7 or 8/7er. This is my fifth night of sobriety and all i can really report is a mild, 'steaming' headache during the last few afternoons and some sleep disruption. Had a Nytol last night and even managed seven hours(!)

If anything, I feel physically much better, my skin is getting less ruddy, I have more energy, and I'm not getting that constant 'having to keep my mind in control'/ 'losing mental control' sensation you get at points when you're rather hungover. Not only that, my 'possible prostatitis' has pretty much 95% cleared up since quitting both cigarettes and alcohol (funny, that...) so yet another physical problem is solved, and I also don't get 'crusty eye syndrome' upon waking anymore, was pig-sick of having wretched-looking, gunk-encrusted, incredibly painful eyes all the time (so much that I was also hitting the codeine and Ibuprofen quite heavily). Also find I'm now feeling less general anxiety, feel more 'settled' now, mind doesn't race so much now I'm not constantly fighting a hangover all the time.

My daily drinking started 6 years ago and around 5 years ago I was on a bottle of wine and one can of lager per night and I used to get worried about withdrawals...so I just kept on drinking to avoid them....if only I'd given this a try back then when I was on MUCH less booze!

Gonna aim for seven nights, then a fortnight, maybe a month, just want to spend a bit of time sober and rejuvenate my body, see how big the difference might actually be.

[Boh]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Glad to hear your doing okay then!! It is amazing how the bad feelings decrease as the number of sober days increase. Time also flies as you get further in to your sobriety...

I had the same plan, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 30. When I hit 30 days AF, I figured hey - if I want a drink, I'll have a drink. I just never did. Now here I am 116 days AF... And I don't miss a thing, although it is winter here! Summer might be a different story? Anyhow, being AF is absolutely amazing and I feel superhuman most days! A far cry from waking up late for work, smelling like a brewhouse and my face covered in mysterious red dots... hmmm the thought of a hangover right now is completely sickning, where for years it was the norm.

Just a suggestion, you might want to look in to vitamines/suppliments to aid in your recovery if you havent yet. Your body will thank you! It made recovery for me possible.

boh

[Dave_]

Day 2...fears of W/Ds but no symptoms...?

Generally speaking the level of al use for severe withdrawals is quite high. Someone mentioned a 24/7 cycle of booze before wd kicks in. I would have to say that is my experience as well. It wasn't until I got locked into 24/7 drinking that coming off began to have any effects on me.

Let me tell you, you will know severe withdrawals if you ever get to it. Stomach cramps, vomiting, the runs, sweating, shakes and sore teeth were all of the things that came crashing down on my head when I first stopped. If you run into any of these seek medical help as soon as you can.