After college I had quit drinking for about 12 years. About two years ago I started drinking very moderately again. Unfortunately, I went through a very tough time in my life with a huge amount of stress and personal issues. I used drinking to "numb" my feelings of anxiety and stress. This was a bad idea because the drinking got progressively worse.
Over the last 12 months I had been drinking pretty heavily. Beer mainly with occasional bouts with wine or margaritas. I steered clear of the real hard stuff as I don't like it. I would binge 1-2 times a week and stay up most of the night while doing so. It wasn't uncommon for me to drink 12-18 beers during a binge period...or 2 bottles of wine instead of beer (or some combination thereof). I would then go maybe 24-36 hours without drinking. Then I would start over more moderately with 6-8 beers. After another 24 hours or so I would binge heavily again.
Anyway...today I had enough. I was progressively feeling worse over this time frame (12 months). Hangovers were no longer headaches...they were worse than that. Shaking, trembling, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, difficult breathing, insomnia, vivid dreams, exhaustion, etc. I had a few incidents where my blood pressure escalated, I felt dizzy, nearly fainted, flushing, tingling, and rapid heartbeat. I was in the hospital, and they ran an EKG, CT Scan, etc. but tests came back negative. Unfortunately, I didn't believe it was the drinking causing the problem and so probably didn't give the doctors a fair assessment of how much I had been drinking. A true nightmare really.
I went to the doctor today and explained in full disclosure of what I had been doing to myself. This was the hardest part...admitting that my moderate drinking had progressed to a full blown problem and now I needed help because I couldn't seem to quit without severe withdrawal symptoms.
He was very sympathetic and gave me a shot of Antivan which calmed me almost immediately. He also prescribed me clorazepate which from reading about is commonly used to treat alcohol withdrawal syndrome (especially anxiety). He gave me enough for 5 days and insisted I follow-up with my Primary Care Physician this coming Monday. He sent me home after about an hour of supervision of my vitals, etc.
I came home and ate and slept like a baby for 6 hours with none of the symptoms I have been having previously. I feel calm and relaxed and MUCH more like myself.
Anyway...for those of you who are suffering through any of these withdrawal symptoms I would highly urge you to go see your doctor. That was the hardest part for me and honestly having been through it today I wish I would have done it months ago. There is hope and they can help you! I am feeling so much better now and am optimistic about breaking this cycle I have been through.
I hope this helps someone...
-Swami
Over the last 12 months I had been drinking pretty heavily. Beer mainly with occasional bouts with wine or margaritas. I steered clear of the real hard stuff as I don't like it. I would binge 1-2 times a week and stay up most of the night while doing so. It wasn't uncommon for me to drink 12-18 beers during a binge period...or 2 bottles of wine instead of beer (or some combination thereof). I would then go maybe 24-36 hours without drinking. Then I would start over more moderately with 6-8 beers. After another 24 hours or so I would binge heavily again.
Anyway...today I had enough. I was progressively feeling worse over this time frame (12 months). Hangovers were no longer headaches...they were worse than that. Shaking, trembling, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, difficult breathing, insomnia, vivid dreams, exhaustion, etc. I had a few incidents where my blood pressure escalated, I felt dizzy, nearly fainted, flushing, tingling, and rapid heartbeat. I was in the hospital, and they ran an EKG, CT Scan, etc. but tests came back negative. Unfortunately, I didn't believe it was the drinking causing the problem and so probably didn't give the doctors a fair assessment of how much I had been drinking. A true nightmare really.
I went to the doctor today and explained in full disclosure of what I had been doing to myself. This was the hardest part...admitting that my moderate drinking had progressed to a full blown problem and now I needed help because I couldn't seem to quit without severe withdrawal symptoms.
He was very sympathetic and gave me a shot of Antivan which calmed me almost immediately. He also prescribed me clorazepate which from reading about is commonly used to treat alcohol withdrawal syndrome (especially anxiety). He gave me enough for 5 days and insisted I follow-up with my Primary Care Physician this coming Monday. He sent me home after about an hour of supervision of my vitals, etc.
I came home and ate and slept like a baby for 6 hours with none of the symptoms I have been having previously. I feel calm and relaxed and MUCH more like myself.
Anyway...for those of you who are suffering through any of these withdrawal symptoms I would highly urge you to go see your doctor. That was the hardest part for me and honestly having been through it today I wish I would have done it months ago. There is hope and they can help you! I am feeling so much better now and am optimistic about breaking this cycle I have been through.
I hope this helps someone...
-Swami
I had a similar experience...I think the anticipation of getting real with this issue is the hardest part. once you've jumped into the swimming pool you realize it's ok.
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