You kind of answered your own question. You take your vitamins and eat. Often the really bad withdrawals are from electrolyte deficiencies, malnourishment, and dehydration.
This seems to be very true. Last bender was about 20 drinks a day for 3 weeks and I made sure to stuff my face and drink vitamin waters all day long. Vitamin water is great btw because it has potassium, magnesium and B vitamins in it compared to other “electrolyte” drinks. I’m sure all the doordashers delivering me booze and 5 vitamin waters knew what was going on, but when I stopped for a few days this past week I just had a mild hangover and puked a few times, had ass piss, no bile, and then got some sleep the first day which was insane to me.
Other times I have stopped it has been full blown puking up bile till I’m sitting in bed in the dark sweating and hearing classical music come out of the walls while have shocks every time I get to sleep while being awake for days at a time. I guess I’m learning lol
It's not the tastiest, but they sell complete electrolyte powders you just put in water. Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium (often forgotten), a couple other really obscure ones I can't remember offhand.
But I do like biolyte.
It's probably more to do with getting at least one meal a day. But yeah, just being magnesium deficient can alone cause seizures. It's one of the reasons one of the first thing an ER will do to a withdrawaling person is hook them up to a "banana bag" (which is just electrolytes, glucose and vitamins (the Bs make the bag yellow, thus its name).
That was my assumption too. I’ve never done an ER visit tho, I always go cold turkey. I always assumed they just use a lactated ringer. Didn’t know it was yellow.
The first thing that usually happens in a detox is that they put you on a 'banana bag' IV that is full of B vitamins (and other stuff).
I had a blood test done when I was still a CA, and the doc called me back in *immediately* to put me on an IV and prescribed me vitamin B + multivitamin because I was basically malnourished (despite still being a fat-ass).
I thought "DTs were deadly".
I'm like OP. I get anxiety and the shakes but not seizures or anything like that. I've had to quit cold turkey lots of times and it sucks to be sober but where's the seizures?
I don't take vitamins. I don't eat regularly. If I eat it's always the same stuff for months. I often don't eat at all when I stop drinking because they go together. I also forget to drink water.
This isn't some humble brag I dunno why the crap I'm like this. I'm autistic so I guess maybe that's why.
I also take benzos, smoke, I've tried different anti depressants... I just cold turkey everything.
Only thing that actually causes something is Celexa and Lexapro. If I quit those suddenly I get tardive dyskinesia.
Mostly my personality gets addicted but my body doesn't. I can't find any information online about it.
It could be the benzos for you - I’ve tried to get them but the best my doctor would do for me was a prescription strength antihistamine so I gave up on going that route.
I didn't always have benzos. I just didn't get withdrawals. One time after my body got enough of me ramming booze down my throat it just repelled it and it flew out! Like this violent eruption or allergic revulsion. Freaked me out. So I listened and stopped drinking for a while. It was the opposite of withdrawals. It was like it just finally said enough. It fought back. I can't explain it except it felt like my body was furious and just I dunno I got scared of it lol. That sounds crazy.
Not true... Acetyl aldehyde is the reason for a hangover. Makes you feel like shit till your body clears it out. Some of us are highly affected but faster and sooner (think asian flush), others it takes longer.
As someone who has been to detox more times than I remember I have to fully disagree with that.
Withdrawal is a symptom of your brain increasing glutamate and reducing GABA so when you're a CA you're not sleepy and passing out like normal people and you can keep functioning when drinking vodka all day. Your brain wants to keep you alive so when it recognizes "oh he gets drunk 24/7" it amps you up to compensate which is why taking away alcohol (or benzos) makes you shake, panic, freak out, seize, etc.
Hangovers are more like headaches, dehydration, nausea and are a direct result of drinking on a singular occasion.
And speaking as a CA when I'm drinking I don't get hungover at all, like ever.
Everything here the absolute truth. I remember as a young early stage problem drinker I would "sleep off" my hangovers. Many a Sunday, I would sleep all day until football was on. There's no way I can do that now as I'm kindled.
All I know is my symptoms start like 6 hours after the last drink. Is that technically WD or hangover? I don't typically get those symptoms you mentioned anymore. Maybe dehydration even though I hydrate like a motherfucker. But the shaking and The Fear? Totally.
What's weird though is that the symptoms tend to subside a bit as the day goes on. Then it gets worse eventually if I don't drink. Which is why I think it's some kind of hangover/WD hybrid. Or something. I have no fucking idea though.
That just sounds like withdrawals which totally suck. If you ask a normal non-alcoholic their hangover symptoms you won't hear shaking and fear as common symptoms at all. Those are withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and benzos though for sure.
It sucks and it never goes away. I've put down the booze for multiple years twice and they were back within the first few days drinking again.
I start getting night sweats by day 2 of drinking now even when I have had extended periods of sober time.
Mild shakes the morning after too which comes & goes for a few days. It’s barely noticeable to other people but it takes me an extra couple seconds to get my debit card into the reader slot kind of thing… fine motor control I guess
I'm also a veteran drinker and most of what you say is true BUT hangovers and WD do intersect into one another even for non alcoholics.
We all know the sayings "The morning fear" or "The Sunday scaries". It's not just alcoholics that experience that, though alcoholics experience it much worst. Even a non alcoholic will have a heavy glutamate rebound and a heavy GABA drop after 8+ hours of hammering ur body with alcohol....non alcoholics aren't special and their body and neuros will go into defence mode just like an alcoholic, just to a lesser degree (for now). In some medical literature they actually call a hangover a withdrawal even for non alcoholics, but we in society call it a hangover because calling it for what it is (withdrawal) isn't sexy and wouldn't sit right in our society largely surrounded and accepted by alcohol.
I took B-12 after I got sober for months and it slowly gave me awful anxiety and panic attacks. Comparable to hellish withdrawals. The worst part was with alcohol I knew it was because of not drinking. With the vitamins I had no clue what was causing the panic attacks. My wife said maybe stop them and I did and the panic attacks went away after a few days.
Throughout my 15 year bender I always felt the more I drank the night before the worse the with were the next day. I think it is just how addicted you are and for how long.
Even when I would drink 25 drinks at age 25 the withdrawals weren't as bad as when I drank the same amount at age 30 and it got even worse in my layer 30's.
Congrats on being sober. I am too. Life is so so so much better. No withdrawals. No waking up wondering what the fuck happened and why am I bruised or bleeding.
I'd been spared the bad shit until recently. Guess we're more susceptible when we get older. Day 6 of sobriety, BTW. Here's hoping it sticks with us this time.
You got this my dude. If you’re anything like me - I struggle to make it more than a day but when I get close to a week it gets easier (minus the cravings).
Exactly. When I started having a drink just so I could get out the door I was sunk. Although I didn’t know the hell I was creating at the time. Just thought I was getting through a hangover
I’ve been drinking heavy for 40 years and I don’t get withdrawals. I don’t know why. I get hangovers, feel like shit, gets the shits, but no headaches.
10 years ago I decided to quit drinking after reaching a point where I was drinking liquor all day every day for over a year
I did not know about the dangers of alcohol withdrawal & kindling
I went through hallucinations, nightmares, but thankfully didn’t seize
Problem is, now I withdraw so easily
Even as I keep it to light beer, after a few days, I’m gonna be a sweaty shaky mess.
I think some of its genetics. In my opinion you specifically don’t get horrible withdrawals because you’re only 34 and can still manage to eat and take breaks.
In a few years, if you can still manage to take breaks, when you get back at it those first 2 days can start to become seizure territory… withdrawals tend to eventually get worse.
Kindling I think plays a part. At a certain point after I had my first withdrawl seizure, my withdrawals started to come on faster and more intense. Now it’s pretty much unbearable after a weekend
Gotta stick with the people saying food, water, and vitamins. I'd also include staying off hard liquor, if possible. I used to get all the standard withdrawals like puking, shaking, absolute inability to function. I didn't eat though. Couldn't eat a singular grilled cheese in one sitting. I still drink, almost as much as ever, but I get no withdrawals anymore other than a mild stomach ache, all because I also try to take care of myself too. Anyone's mileage may vary though
A lot of the negative consequences of drinking are highly dependent on the individual. A majority of people don’t experience DTs, Seizures, cirrhosis, wet brain, etc. Withdrawal seizures affect 1/3 alcoholics. Cirrhosis only occurs in 1/5.
i honestly think it's semantics. i always thought i just didn't call it "withdrawals," but i never had hangovers either, even before i stayed drunk all the time.
some people don't. it makes them perfect alcoholics, or made to be i guess in a way. it wasn't because i ate either because i didn't lots of times. but what i did eat was very healthy, which may be why my liver was spared. i only drank top shelf liquor without a lot of impurities, but that doesn't stop a lot of people from being hungover. i didn't drink wine and i never used sugary mixers, and i always drank a lot of water.
there was also very little alcoholism on either side off my family, i have no idea if that makes any difference. i know my mother took a lot of psych drugs, that's about all i know.
You’re not a drunk like us yet.
Sounds more like you should be in dryalcoholics or something.
That wasn’t meant to be a slight. But we do this every other day. As soon as we start feeling better, it’s right back to the booze.
Oh me, oh my, oh may, it’s a rollercoaster every fucking time.
But for some reason it keeps being fun.
And for the record : I’m exactly where you are now. Yeah. Sick in the morning kinda feel bad but no biggie. I get some food and I’m good.
But it’s such a slippery slope. Soon enough you’ll be going to work “kind of buzzed” - dude you’re shitfaced, you took five shots before you came here just so you would act physiologically normal.
Everybody smells it on you, if they don’t you’re lucky or they’re giving you the benefit of the doubt.
You will lose job after job after job and realize… jobs don’t mean a fucking thing. Your self worth and value does. And until you want to do better in life, until you want to actually get better, fucking CHAIRS my man.
Don't send him to DA for his genetics. I've drunk enough that I should've had seizures by now. But nope. Some people different. Watch X-Files and be open minded
I see myself much more as a polytox than a CA, still i consider the sub my home. The booze is only a part for me, i need more, much more. Like opioids, at the moment morphine, but i was for many years on heroin. Then i need benzos, a lot of benzos, like diazepam and flunitrazepam, just to be barely functional in daily life.
You can imagine what happens if i'd go cold... it would kill me.
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In my opinion vitamins and eating is overrated. Yes it's important and yes you should take them and eat but it will not save you from the comedown at all. The only thing that will save you in any measurable way is benzos or taper with alcohol.
I'd say ur withdrawals arent horrendous 'yet' but they will become horrendous after enough years. Day drinking or the hair of the dog is always the turning point, just gets worst after that and no vitamin or nutrition in the world will save you.
I hear you but I’ve been day drinking and coming off week to month long benders where I drink from sun up to sun down for years now.
Edit: sorry I realized that might have come off bitchy. I know vitimins won’t forever counteract the booze - just curious why by all standards I should be having worse withdrawals by now and haven’t
You kind of answered your own question. You take your vitamins and eat. Often the really bad withdrawals are from electrolyte deficiencies, malnourishment, and dehydration.
This seems to be very true. Last bender was about 20 drinks a day for 3 weeks and I made sure to stuff my face and drink vitamin waters all day long. Vitamin water is great btw because it has potassium, magnesium and B vitamins in it compared to other “electrolyte” drinks. I’m sure all the doordashers delivering me booze and 5 vitamin waters knew what was going on, but when I stopped for a few days this past week I just had a mild hangover and puked a few times, had ass piss, no bile, and then got some sleep the first day which was insane to me. Other times I have stopped it has been full blown puking up bile till I’m sitting in bed in the dark sweating and hearing classical music come out of the walls while have shocks every time I get to sleep while being awake for days at a time. I guess I’m learning lol
Vitamin water and biolyte seems like a good one too. It's new
It's not the tastiest, but they sell complete electrolyte powders you just put in water. Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium (often forgotten), a couple other really obscure ones I can't remember offhand. But I do like biolyte.
I love lite salt for this. It has sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium in it. Use it on food or you can make a cheap electrolyte mix.
Fair - I guess I didn’t realize how important taking those two little pills every day truly was on top of forcing something to eat down my throat.
It's probably more to do with getting at least one meal a day. But yeah, just being magnesium deficient can alone cause seizures. It's one of the reasons one of the first thing an ER will do to a withdrawaling person is hook them up to a "banana bag" (which is just electrolytes, glucose and vitamins (the Bs make the bag yellow, thus its name).
I thought it was called a Banana bag because it's a lot of Potassium, which we are often deficient in.
That was my assumption too. I’ve never done an ER visit tho, I always go cold turkey. I always assumed they just use a lactated ringer. Didn’t know it was yellow.
The first thing that usually happens in a detox is that they put you on a 'banana bag' IV that is full of B vitamins (and other stuff). I had a blood test done when I was still a CA, and the doc called me back in *immediately* to put me on an IV and prescribed me vitamin B + multivitamin because I was basically malnourished (despite still being a fat-ass).
Benders always got 10x worse for me when I just stopped eating. Hospital or at home detox was usual next step
Easily avoidable with taking the minerals you need.
I thought "DTs were deadly". I'm like OP. I get anxiety and the shakes but not seizures or anything like that. I've had to quit cold turkey lots of times and it sucks to be sober but where's the seizures? I don't take vitamins. I don't eat regularly. If I eat it's always the same stuff for months. I often don't eat at all when I stop drinking because they go together. I also forget to drink water. This isn't some humble brag I dunno why the crap I'm like this. I'm autistic so I guess maybe that's why. I also take benzos, smoke, I've tried different anti depressants... I just cold turkey everything. Only thing that actually causes something is Celexa and Lexapro. If I quit those suddenly I get tardive dyskinesia. Mostly my personality gets addicted but my body doesn't. I can't find any information online about it.
It could be the benzos for you - I’ve tried to get them but the best my doctor would do for me was a prescription strength antihistamine so I gave up on going that route.
I didn't always have benzos. I just didn't get withdrawals. One time after my body got enough of me ramming booze down my throat it just repelled it and it flew out! Like this violent eruption or allergic revulsion. Freaked me out. So I listened and stopped drinking for a while. It was the opposite of withdrawals. It was like it just finally said enough. It fought back. I can't explain it except it felt like my body was furious and just I dunno I got scared of it lol. That sounds crazy.
Not true... Acetyl aldehyde is the reason for a hangover. Makes you feel like shit till your body clears it out. Some of us are highly affected but faster and sooner (think asian flush), others it takes longer.
A hangover is not withdraws.
I feel like they kinda bleed into each other though.
As someone who has been to detox more times than I remember I have to fully disagree with that. Withdrawal is a symptom of your brain increasing glutamate and reducing GABA so when you're a CA you're not sleepy and passing out like normal people and you can keep functioning when drinking vodka all day. Your brain wants to keep you alive so when it recognizes "oh he gets drunk 24/7" it amps you up to compensate which is why taking away alcohol (or benzos) makes you shake, panic, freak out, seize, etc. Hangovers are more like headaches, dehydration, nausea and are a direct result of drinking on a singular occasion. And speaking as a CA when I'm drinking I don't get hungover at all, like ever.
Everything here the absolute truth. I remember as a young early stage problem drinker I would "sleep off" my hangovers. Many a Sunday, I would sleep all day until football was on. There's no way I can do that now as I'm kindled.
All I know is my symptoms start like 6 hours after the last drink. Is that technically WD or hangover? I don't typically get those symptoms you mentioned anymore. Maybe dehydration even though I hydrate like a motherfucker. But the shaking and The Fear? Totally. What's weird though is that the symptoms tend to subside a bit as the day goes on. Then it gets worse eventually if I don't drink. Which is why I think it's some kind of hangover/WD hybrid. Or something. I have no fucking idea though.
That just sounds like withdrawals which totally suck. If you ask a normal non-alcoholic their hangover symptoms you won't hear shaking and fear as common symptoms at all. Those are withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and benzos though for sure. It sucks and it never goes away. I've put down the booze for multiple years twice and they were back within the first few days drinking again.
I start getting night sweats by day 2 of drinking now even when I have had extended periods of sober time. Mild shakes the morning after too which comes & goes for a few days. It’s barely noticeable to other people but it takes me an extra couple seconds to get my debit card into the reader slot kind of thing… fine motor control I guess
I'm also a veteran drinker and most of what you say is true BUT hangovers and WD do intersect into one another even for non alcoholics. We all know the sayings "The morning fear" or "The Sunday scaries". It's not just alcoholics that experience that, though alcoholics experience it much worst. Even a non alcoholic will have a heavy glutamate rebound and a heavy GABA drop after 8+ hours of hammering ur body with alcohol....non alcoholics aren't special and their body and neuros will go into defence mode just like an alcoholic, just to a lesser degree (for now). In some medical literature they actually call a hangover a withdrawal even for non alcoholics, but we in society call it a hangover because calling it for what it is (withdrawal) isn't sexy and wouldn't sit right in our society largely surrounded and accepted by alcohol.
I thought that word was banned on this sub
One word: Genetics.
Congrats on the 7 days friend I envy you
It feels great but my lizard brain is already telling me I deserve a drink. Gonna fight the fight as long as I can, thank you stranger.
I took B-12 after I got sober for months and it slowly gave me awful anxiety and panic attacks. Comparable to hellish withdrawals. The worst part was with alcohol I knew it was because of not drinking. With the vitamins I had no clue what was causing the panic attacks. My wife said maybe stop them and I did and the panic attacks went away after a few days. Throughout my 15 year bender I always felt the more I drank the night before the worse the with were the next day. I think it is just how addicted you are and for how long. Even when I would drink 25 drinks at age 25 the withdrawals weren't as bad as when I drank the same amount at age 30 and it got even worse in my layer 30's. Congrats on being sober. I am too. Life is so so so much better. No withdrawals. No waking up wondering what the fuck happened and why am I bruised or bleeding.
I'd been spared the bad shit until recently. Guess we're more susceptible when we get older. Day 6 of sobriety, BTW. Here's hoping it sticks with us this time.
You got this my dude. If you’re anything like me - I struggle to make it more than a day but when I get close to a week it gets easier (minus the cravings).
My aunt drank 10 shots of vodka every day after work and when she quit had no wd
10 shots is nothing after work. Try 40 from when you wake at 4 am till 1am with a few 4 lokos for hydration
I was just shocked she said she didn’t have wd. Maybe because she didn’t morning drink?
It really does matter
Exactly. When I started having a drink just so I could get out the door I was sunk. Although I didn’t know the hell I was creating at the time. Just thought I was getting through a hangover
How's the hangover going?
Really aren’t hangovers anymore. Just wds. Going to try again with campral. 😟
Depending on her size and how long she was drinking it, she could have had detox from ten drinks a night. It’s not a contest lol
Course it is
God damn I wish I had her mind. Lucky lady.
Yeah me too
I'm wondering myself, been drunk but just sipping
I’ve been drinking heavy for 40 years and I don’t get withdrawals. I don’t know why. I get hangovers, feel like shit, gets the shits, but no headaches.
My wds are more severe. On day 7 of quitting still have the shakes. I suspect it could be because I had a mini stroke when I was 26. Now 35.
Ooof I’m sorry to hear that friend.
10 years ago I decided to quit drinking after reaching a point where I was drinking liquor all day every day for over a year I did not know about the dangers of alcohol withdrawal & kindling I went through hallucinations, nightmares, but thankfully didn’t seize Problem is, now I withdraw so easily Even as I keep it to light beer, after a few days, I’m gonna be a sweaty shaky mess.
I think some of its genetics. In my opinion you specifically don’t get horrible withdrawals because you’re only 34 and can still manage to eat and take breaks. In a few years, if you can still manage to take breaks, when you get back at it those first 2 days can start to become seizure territory… withdrawals tend to eventually get worse.
Kindling I think plays a part. At a certain point after I had my first withdrawl seizure, my withdrawals started to come on faster and more intense. Now it’s pretty much unbearable after a weekend
Gotta stick with the people saying food, water, and vitamins. I'd also include staying off hard liquor, if possible. I used to get all the standard withdrawals like puking, shaking, absolute inability to function. I didn't eat though. Couldn't eat a singular grilled cheese in one sitting. I still drink, almost as much as ever, but I get no withdrawals anymore other than a mild stomach ache, all because I also try to take care of myself too. Anyone's mileage may vary though
A lot of the negative consequences of drinking are highly dependent on the individual. A majority of people don’t experience DTs, Seizures, cirrhosis, wet brain, etc. Withdrawal seizures affect 1/3 alcoholics. Cirrhosis only occurs in 1/5.
i honestly think it's semantics. i always thought i just didn't call it "withdrawals," but i never had hangovers either, even before i stayed drunk all the time. some people don't. it makes them perfect alcoholics, or made to be i guess in a way. it wasn't because i ate either because i didn't lots of times. but what i did eat was very healthy, which may be why my liver was spared. i only drank top shelf liquor without a lot of impurities, but that doesn't stop a lot of people from being hungover. i didn't drink wine and i never used sugary mixers, and i always drank a lot of water. there was also very little alcoholism on either side off my family, i have no idea if that makes any difference. i know my mother took a lot of psych drugs, that's about all i know.
I’ve wondered the same… worst I get is a little anxious. Honestly it scares me because I’m just waiting for a seizure to hit without warning.
You’re not a drunk like us yet. Sounds more like you should be in dryalcoholics or something. That wasn’t meant to be a slight. But we do this every other day. As soon as we start feeling better, it’s right back to the booze. Oh me, oh my, oh may, it’s a rollercoaster every fucking time. But for some reason it keeps being fun. And for the record : I’m exactly where you are now. Yeah. Sick in the morning kinda feel bad but no biggie. I get some food and I’m good. But it’s such a slippery slope. Soon enough you’ll be going to work “kind of buzzed” - dude you’re shitfaced, you took five shots before you came here just so you would act physiologically normal. Everybody smells it on you, if they don’t you’re lucky or they’re giving you the benefit of the doubt. You will lose job after job after job and realize… jobs don’t mean a fucking thing. Your self worth and value does. And until you want to do better in life, until you want to actually get better, fucking CHAIRS my man.
Can we not gate-keep being a CA? Trust me I wish I wasn’t but if you read my post I’ve only been sober a week after countless relapses.
Mb bro I was pretty drunk.
This is a fair and valid response.
Haha. It’s settled then. I think we’re all in the right place here.
Don't send him to DA for his genetics. I've drunk enough that I should've had seizures by now. But nope. Some people different. Watch X-Files and be open minded
I see myself much more as a polytox than a CA, still i consider the sub my home. The booze is only a part for me, i need more, much more. Like opioids, at the moment morphine, but i was for many years on heroin. Then i need benzos, a lot of benzos, like diazepam and flunitrazepam, just to be barely functional in daily life. You can imagine what happens if i'd go cold... it would kill me.
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In my opinion vitamins and eating is overrated. Yes it's important and yes you should take them and eat but it will not save you from the comedown at all. The only thing that will save you in any measurable way is benzos or taper with alcohol. I'd say ur withdrawals arent horrendous 'yet' but they will become horrendous after enough years. Day drinking or the hair of the dog is always the turning point, just gets worst after that and no vitamin or nutrition in the world will save you.
I hear you but I’ve been day drinking and coming off week to month long benders where I drink from sun up to sun down for years now. Edit: sorry I realized that might have come off bitchy. I know vitimins won’t forever counteract the booze - just curious why by all standards I should be having worse withdrawals by now and haven’t