Alcohol withdrawal...

[IronMaidenfan#1]

Xtrainer, Sinister + other Mods...

I realise this thread has pretty much nothing to do with diet and supplementation but as I only really post in these place I'd rather get the opinions of the fellow athletes in here...

(a), how often do you drink?

(b), how long and when after do you experience hangover/alcohol withdrawal symptoms?

I'll explain why I'm posting. I used to drink a bit, never everyday or anything like that but I used to get a little drunk 2/3 times a week. It was mainly over the weekends. Now, the past two weekends I've drank just the once on Saturday night but quite heavily. I have found that the following week, mainly by Tuesday and Wednesday, I am in an ultra-irritable, anxious and annoyed mood. It follows the 48/72 hours withdrawal rule I've been reading about, so I guess it makes sense but how come nobody else I know goes through it? - am I just dambed?.

I'm seriously thinking of just packing in the booze altogether as 1 heavy-ish night a week seems to be enough to turn me into a hormonal woman!

Not to mention the fact my lifting is stalling also...

I'm 29, by the way.

Thanks.

OLD THREAD - UPDATED ON PAGE 6 ON!

 

[Jaedong]

I used to get wasted at some periods no the weekends but didn't drink maybe 3 times in the last 2 years and health wise feel good. If you drink I guess a few beers is much better then getting drunk on hard liqueur that hits you suddenly.

 

[IronMaidenfan#1]

I used to get wasted at some periods no the weekends but didn't drink maybe 3 times in the last 2 years and health wise feel good. If you drink I guess a few beers is much better then getting drunk on hard liqueur that hits you suddenly.

This seems to be true dude, I mean maybe I just hit that age where I can't take the piss out of alcohol anymore but still the fact that I'm worried about having a few drinks this Saturday because I know I will feel shitty 3 days later is not cool...

I may take a full month off and see how good it feels. Just want to stress by the way, I am very much a 1 day a week drinker which by most standards isn't excessive.

 

[Rascallion***]

My answer really depends on the bodily symptems that you're experiencing. I understand that you're feeling the psychological effects, but unless you're also experiencing some of the common physical symptoms that are associated with alcohol withdrawals, then I don't see this as cause to worry.

Let me know if you start twitching.

 

[Oblivian]

Be ready for a long post, but I have a lot of experience with alcohol withdrawal. I started drinking when I was 16. It started as an occasional weekend party type thing. By the age of 18 when I went to college, it was pretty much an every Friday and Saturday type thing. By the age of 21, I would be drinking Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, along with a random weekday thrown in there. At that point, don't think I was a full fledged alcoholic yet. When I was 22 and 23, I was to the point of drinking 6 days a week. I would notice withdrawal symptoms such as the shakes and such. By 24, I was drinking daily, and it was insane amounts.

During those times, I had flirted with quitting or cutting back. I remember quitting for a month or so at a time when I was 22 or 23. I remember dealing with the withdrawal symptoms such as the shakes, sleeplessness, headaches, etc., but they really weren't bad. I'm sure I was an alcoholic at that point, but IMO, there are degrees of alcoholism and I wasn't near the worst. By age 24, that's when the daily drinking occurred. At first it was about 12 beers a day, but my tolerance was growing at a very fast rate. The last month of my drinking I was downing 20-24 beers per day. I had trouble holding down food, I'd have withdrawals first thing in the morning, I'd be puking constantly, etc. It fucking sucked. That's when I decided to fully quit, cold turkey. I'd made half ass attempts, but I was at the point where I had to do it.

The next 3 days are only what I could describe as hell. I had the shivers, insomnia, the shits, puking, splitting headaches, loss of balance, etc. On the 3rd day, I had a mini-stroke (transient ischemetic attack - spelling may be off). I was rushed to the ER and had a shitload of tests done. It wasn't anything permanent or long term, but it was a result from drinking. Most people get seizures, but I had a mini-stroke.

Anyways, I got through it. Getting through that first week is definitely a test of willpower. If I could do it all over again, I would not have quit cold turkey. It costs me more for the ER visit and neurologist visit than it would have to go to detox/rehab.

So to answer your question, I believe there are degrees of alcoholism and degrees of withdrawal. What you are having is not bad. There is a laundry list of alcohol withdrawal symptoms, but it sounds like you don't have most of them. It's hard to tell where you are at without a lot of details, but I think it's safe to say that you have a problem with alcohol.

 

[Rascallion***]

I'm actually impressed by Oblivian's performance.

Alcohol withrawals are in fact, deadly. And the primary cause of this is grandmaal seizures(may have the spelling wrong, but you know what I mean). In most cases, you'll see "mini-seizures" like what Oblivian mentioned well before it becomes deadly. What most people don't realize, is that "mini-seizures" can be as simple as an unprovoked reflex reactions(movement of the neck, movement of the legs). It's really not something you can explain in a few sentences.

If you don't feel that you can gradually reduce your alcohol consumption, then it might not be a horrible decision to talk to a doctor about prescribing a mild Benzodiazepine. That should allow you to quit drinking cold turkey and still avoid the withdrawal symptoms that are associated with doing so.

 

[Henry Swanson]

I went through times when I was drinking daily. I never thought of it as being a problem until one day when I was at work and suddenly felt the urge to have a drink. It gradually got worse and worse until I finally realized that I had been drinking quite often. Not so much getting totally wasted every day but I definitely felt like my body was getting accustomed to having some booze each day of the week.

As far as how bad it really got. Tough to say. I knew where to draw the line most of the time but yeah, I hit some spots that I'm not proud of(ex. getting trashed, throwing up all over my brother's house and then falling through a coffee table.....at my nephews b-day party). I don't recall a definitive time where I told myself I needed to cut back, it just kind of happened on it's own. Now I only drink once every two weeks.

 

[Rascallion***]

But, "Benzos" present a new problem. Quitting them cold turkey isn't any easier, but you will at least have guidance in quitting.

 

[Rws177die]

Be ready for a long post, but I have a lot of experience with alcohol withdrawal. I started drinking when I was 16. It started as an occasional weekend party type thing. By the age of 18 when I went to college, it was pretty much an every Friday and Saturday type thing. By the age of 21, I would be drinking Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, along with a random weekday thrown in there. At that point, don't think I was a full fledged alcoholic yet. When I was 22 and 23, I was to the point of drinking 6 days a week. I would notice withdrawal symptoms such as the shakes and such. By 24, I was drinking daily, and it was insane amounts.

During those times, I had flirted with quitting or cutting back. I remember quitting for a month or so at a time when I was 22 or 23. I remember dealing with the withdrawal symptoms such as the shakes, sleeplessness, headaches, etc., but they really weren't bad. I'm sure I was an alcoholic at that point, but IMO, there are degrees of alcoholism and I wasn't near the worst. By age 24, that's when the daily drinking occurred. At first it was about 12 beers a day, but my tolerance was growing at a very fast rate. The last month of my drinking I was downing 20-24 beers per day. I had trouble holding down food, I'd have withdrawals first thing in the morning, I'd be puking constantly, etc. It fucking sucked. That's when I decided to fully quit, cold turkey. I'd made half ass attempts, but I was at the point where I had to do it.

The next 3 days are only what I could describe as hell. I had the shivers, insomnia, the shits, puking, splitting headaches, loss of balance, etc. On the 3rd day, I had a mini-stroke (transient ischemetic attack - spelling may be off). I was rushed to the ER and had a shitload of tests done. It wasn't anything permanent or long term, but it was a result from drinking. Most people get seizures, but I had a mini-stroke.

Anyways, I got through it. Getting through that first week is definitely a test of willpower. If I could do it all over again, I would not have quit cold turkey. It costs me more for the ER visit and neurologist visit than it would have to go to detox/rehab.

So to answer your question, I believe there are degrees of alcoholism and degrees of withdrawal. What you are having is not bad. There is a laundry list of alcohol withdrawal symptoms, but it sounds like you don't have most of them. It's hard to tell where you are at without a lot of details, but I think it's safe to say that you have a problem with alcohol.

Are yout still sober to this day?

 

[KILL KILL]

3 days a week is the average for a college student.

 

[Oblivian]

Are yout still sober to this day?

I went for about 2 years where I didn't touch a drink. I have drank a few beers about 4-5 times since then. I don't believe in a ton of the cliches that go with alcoholism. For one, there wasn't an underlying problem with me. I just really enjoyed partying. I could pull it off and still do well in school and go to work. It eventually caught up with me. That's it - no family issues, abuse as a child, or the normal bullshit they spew off. Furthermore, I also don't believe that once you are an alcoholic, you'll always be an alcoholic. I realize that my personality and immaturity caused me to become dependent on alcohol. My body needed the booze after a while. I have no desire to get shitfaced anymore, but I am also not against having beer. I'm mature enough to know I can only down a six pack maximum, and I probably shouldn't even do it once a month. Honestly, I don't believe that I'm an alcoholic anymore.

 

[strangejosh]

yeah it can get bad.

 

[XTrainer]

I think this is a fine D&S topic.

Personally, I don't drink at all. I don't have a problem with people who do drink, or the practice of drinking, but it's something I choose not to do.

There are consequences to not drinking as well, particularly social consequences (I'm a college student). Undoubtedly, I miss out on a lot stuff most people my age enjoy.

However, on balance, I am very happy with my decision not to drink.

 

[Oblivian]

The other thing that I noticed is that once I probably started to become an alcoholic, hangovers became awful. This may be the chicken or the egg type thing, but that's often what caused me to drink the next day. The cycle keeps going on. I had a lot of friends who I'm sure are alcoholics. It's basically the same with them. Horrible hangovers, drinking to cure hangovers, drinking to cure withdrawal symptoms, etc.

 

[XTrainer]

I went for about 2 years where I didn't touch a drink. I have drank a few beers about 4-5 times since then. I don't believe in a ton of the cliches that go with alcoholism. For one, there wasn't an underlying problem with me. I just really enjoyed partying. I could pull it off and still do well in school and go to work. It eventually caught up with me. That's it - no family issues, abuse as a child, or the normal bullshit they spew off. Furthermore, I also don't believe that once you are an alcoholic, you'll always be an alcoholic. I realize that my personality and immaturity caused me to become dependent on alcohol. My body needed the booze after a while. I have no desire to get shitfaced anymore, but I am also not against having beer. I'm mature enough to know I can only down a six pack maximum, and I probably shouldn't even do it once a month. Honestly, I don't believe that I'm an alcoholic anymore.

I've always thought that was weird, too. Who came up with the idea that once you've acknowledged that you have a problem with alcohol, you can't ever have a drink again? That seems entirely like a social pressure, not a medical necessity.

Why can't someone go from having a problem with alcohol to drinking in moderation? I don't see why it has to be so all-or-nothing...unless society is going to curse moderate drinkers the same way it curses alcoholics who become moderate drinkers.

But what do I know? I've never drank, done drugs, nor been addicted to anything, so maybe I'm full of crap.

 

[Oblivian]

I've always thought that was weird, too. Who came up with the idea that once you've acknowledged that you have a problem with alcohol, you can't ever have a drink again? That seems entirely like a social pressure, not a medical necessity.

Why can't someone go from having a problem with alcohol to drinking in moderation? I don't see why it has to be so all-or-nothing...unless society is going to curse moderate drinkers the same way it curses alcoholics who become moderate drinkers.

But what do I know? I've never drank, done drugs, nor been addicted to anything, so maybe I'm full of crap.

For the first year or so, I probably couldn't just have a few beers and be fine the next day. It's such a lifestyle change that it takes time. Now I don't have that issue whatsoever. I can get a six pack, drink it over a few hours, and I am not fiending for more. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still a bit cautious and I won't even do this every month. I acknowledge that I'm probably more prone to be an alcoholic again as compared to the average person, but I don't fit any descriptions of an alcoholic whatsoever.

I've always thought it was silly when someone who has been sober for years calls themselves an alcoholic. How in the world are they STILL an alcoholic? They don't fit the definition whatsoever. It just seems silly to me. The whole day at a time thing has passed them up. It's been years dude....

 

[Logan M]

I've always thought that was weird, too. Who came up with the idea that once you've acknowledged that you have a problem with alcohol, you can't ever have a drink again? That seems entirely like a social pressure, not a medical necessity.

Why can't someone go from having a problem with alcohol to drinking in moderation? I don't see why it has to be so all-or-nothing...unless society is going to curse moderate drinkers the same way it curses alcoholics who become moderate drinkers.

But what do I know? I've never drank, done drugs, nor been addicted to anything, so maybe I'm full of crap.

I have two friends who got to the point Oblivian was at with drinking every day and it really starting to effect their lives. Now that both of them quit and got it under control they drink on occasion. Them stopping has never been a problem. I think its about willpower and the mental maturity to know when to stop for most people.

 

[XTrainer]

I've always thought it was silly when someone who has been sober for years calls themselves an alcoholic. How in the world are they STILL an alcoholic? They don't fit the definition whatsoever. It just seems silly to me. The whole day at a time thing has passed them up. It's been years dude....

Exactly. The designation of "alcoholic" applied in the way you describe seems entirely like a social construction/tradition, rather than a real diagnosis.

 

[Logan M]

If you drink I guess a few beers is much better then getting drunk on hard liqueur that hits you suddenly.

I've found the opposite to be true. I feel a lot better after a night of heavy drinking hard liqueur (usually vodka) as opposed to beer in those same quantities.

 

[Oblivian]

I've found the opposite to be true. I feel a lot better after a night of heavy drinking hard liqueur (usually vodka) as opposed to beer in those same quantities.

Apparently clear liquor like vodka is much less likely to give you hangover as compared to something like whiskey. I forget the exact reason. A lot of hangovers have to do with dehydration. Even with only drinking 6 or less beers, I normally down about half of a bottle of water with each beer. I also eat before bed. I guess I'm paranoid now.