tapering off ?

[Lamb777]

tapering off ?

New.. please help..

Hi everyone... thank you for sharing these thoughts.. I am new here & very nervous, very hard to start here saying what i think i need to say...
I am a female & have been heavily drinking for about 2 years. Roughly 1 or 2 bottles of wine a night. There have been several days during that time when i didn't have a drink but would maybe take a pill to calm me down. The quantity I have been drinking recently, like in the past few months is way too much & i know it. I have been going through a hard time, a breakup, etc & have been using it to cope. It took me 6 days to drink 2 full large bottles of vodka. I just want to lay out the facts here, don't mean to wander on....
Bottom line, i want to stop & hopefully socially drink. I have researched this like crazy & i'm scared but more scared of dying. I just want to hear any of your thoughts, i could really use some help. I feel like i want to taper off. I am excessively scared of having a seizure or anything else.. i'm so scared i will probably have one because I'm fearing it so much. I can't devastate my family.. i really need to do this right. Since i made up my mind about tapering, i'm trying to get started & i guess my main question right now is, does it matter what your alcohol of choice is when tapering? I've read alot about tapering with beer in general... does it matter for me since i've been drinking liquor & wine (i've had beers here & there but the wine & vodka has been in very heavy amounts)

I would appreciate any help so so much... thanks for listening..

[Lamb777]

tapering off ?

Jo jo, I also struggle with the sleep issue & used alcohol for that. I also experienced some of the horrid symptoms you're talking about.... sucks... you've already inspired me though. Glad you got some rest good work

[jojoofu]

tapering off ?

Tell me how you're doing. I think you should be fine. I got most of my withdrawals in the first day or two. I did drink a couple beers the first morning to calm me. I didnt drink enough to get buzzed but enough to stop the hallucinations for a bit. I would suggest buying a bottle and keeping it in the fridge. I kept a beer in my fridge for the last two weeks. It was a comfort beer. I knee if I needed it the beer was there. However my goal was not to drink ot for at least pne week. Just knowing it was there helped. You really must have a desire to quit in order for that to work or for any method to work. If you really want to do it you can. Just remember if you taper your drink is medecine not something to get high from.

[billy_D]

tapering off ?

JoJo,
My story is identical to your's but I'm at 20 per day for 5+years. Came on here because i too am scared. Went cold turkey 36 hours ago and it feels like my kidneys are in pain. When is it time to submit yourself? Prolly time now I suppose, but like most, no insurance and cant miss work. Had a hard time typing this while seeing streaks/stars, ect.... havent slept a peep.
Thanks everyone, its a great help!!

[YouKayBee]

tapering off ?

Tapering is a good idea however it's very risky, and a great deal of self-control is required which most alcoholics don't have around alcohol. Stars, rain, fog in vision in my experience is a result of tiredness as opposed to the start of withdrawls. I tend to look out for 'jelly' legs as a sign of potential problems, and withdrawl tends to peak at around 24 hours, if you can get to 48 hours usually it's going to be no worse although that's the point at which insomnia sets in but that is usually sorted a few days later with a bit of patience. Popping various pills can help but then carries risk of further dependence. I personally didn't like feeling slightly out of it when stopping drinking, because the whole point was so I could feel straight again.

[osubuc]

tapering off ?

Good story, and very interesting. I too am on the taper method. I was drinking Vodka and estimate my baseline drinking to be 12-15 drinks a day. I had 12 the first night, 9 the second night, and am shooting for 6 tonight. I went until 8 pm today without drinking. I want to go 4 Sunday, 3..2..1..0 by Thursday.

Good Luck.

[Cinders]

tapering off ?

I applaud all who have started this journey.

As DG said, withdrawal can be dangerous physically. Tapering, if possible, is a very good way to circumvent those dangers.

Natural sleep patterns will take some time to develop. However, sleep from alcohol is not a good sleep. It disrupts our REM sleep and we wake up as we are coming to, not when we are truly rested.

If you can take some sleep aids such as Melatonin, Teas, etc, and they help, I would recommend that.

You will truly find that over time, if you stay sober, your sleep will get better and better and you will be amazed how rested you are after a good nights sleep without alcohol.

I am glad you are here and hope you stick around and let us all get to know you.

Cindi

[bleep]

tapering off ?

The gold standard for dealing with Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms (AWS) is diazepam, and this is what they will give to you if you present yourself at hospital about to go into AW. Baclofen has been found to be almost as effective as diazepam in treating AWS, 30 mg's per day for 10 days.

The study can be found here: Baclofen in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syn... [Am J Med. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI

Something to consider if you are trying to do this at home, although I understand that AWS is pretty serious and should be done under medical supervision.

[firelane324]

tapering off ?

Hi, I know this thread is a little older, but I'm actually tapering right now. I was on a month bender and was experiencing the same withdrawals you described. I thought I was going to die. The taper is working. I'm a week in and down to 4 beers a day. Tapering actually works... I started at 16 beers and decreased by 2 beers per day. I could drink them whenever I wanted... It worked. I'm nearly down to zero. Once I get to zero, I'll probably take a 1 month abstinence then come back and only drink no more than 2 beers per down 3 days a week..

[YouKayBee]

tapering off ?

firelane324;1518059 wrote: Hi, I know this thread is a little older, but I'm actually tapering right now. I was on a month bender and was experiencing the same withdrawals you described. I thought I was going to die. The taper is working. I'm a week in and down to 4 beers a day. Tapering actually works... I started at 16 beers and decreased by 2 beers per day. I could drink them whenever I wanted... It worked. I'm nearly down to zero. Once I get to zero, I'll probably take a 1 month abstinence then come back and only drink no more than 2 beers per down 3 days a week..

Good luck with that, it's very, very few people who find they can quit then go back to controlled drinking.

[Cinders]

tapering off ?

Firelane,

:welcome:

You are doing amazingly well tapering down. When I had to taper without meds I had a friend give me my "doses" so I could not drink too much.

If you can get a 30 day AF under your belt and find you can go back to drinking only 2 or 3 beers a couple of times a week, then you are good to go.

If that fails for you, as it has so many others, then you may need to rethink that plan and consider abstinence. Just a suggestion.

I do hope your plan works out for you. It has for a few. For the majority, it has not. Worth a try to convince yourself either way, in my opinion.

Cindi

[YouKayBee]

tapering off ?

Cinders;1518163 wrote: Firelane,

:welcome:

You are doing amazingly well tapering down. When I had to taper without meds I had a friend give me my "doses" so I could not drink too much.

If you can get a 30 day AF under your belt and find you can go back to drinking only 2 or 3 beers a couple of times a week, then you are good to go.

If that fails for you, as it has so many others, then you may need to rethink that plan and consider abstinence. Just a suggestion.

I do hope your plan works out for you. It has for a few. For the majority, it has not. Worth a try to convince yourself either way, in my opinion.

Cindi

Bit more constructive than my post!