tips for managing withdrawal

[figurino]

Hello everyone, I have recently been trying to cut down my drinking.

I've gone from an absolutely huge amount (and I mean huge) to somewhat less but still a lot. I'm finding the withdrawals so hard. The surges of anxiety are like nothing I have ever experienced and I have had anxiety for a long time, that and a very stressful life is what led me to drink in the first place. So basically as I have cut down, all the emotional problems have started surfacing rather than being blocked out and then there is the physical side too.

Anyway today I left it a bit late getting my shopping delivered. I can barely think/type this. I feel really weak all over. It's going to take 30 minutes to get here. I can feel palpitations starting up.

I feel so stupid for letting everything get to this point, in general, not the shopping. I want to cut down from this point but when I fuck up like this and go without for a bit it really scares me.

So does anyone have any tips for me on how to do this more effectively?

Should I space this alcohol out throughout the day? Or should I try and wait until I really need it, like now?

I currently try to buy my stuff in daily, so I can't have more than my baseline.

Are you getting medical help with reducing your alcohol intake? It might be an idea to chat to your gp maybe?

Google tapering off from alcohol. Ideally you get a drink you don’t like and take the bare minimum on the hour to get you through - and cut down over a week or so,that type of thing. There’s lots of helpful advice online. Unless you are a chronic alcohol abuser who drinks 24/7 every day you are unlikely to need medical supervision but I’m not a doctor-,just my experiences/ reading and researching- but don’t go cold turkey . Good luck

How many units were you drinking and how many have you cut down to and what space of time ?

Withdrawal badly managed and to quickly can be a medical emergency . Please professional advice if you continue to feel these symptoms

@Adm1010 4-6 bottles of wine a day originally with odd breakouts on spirits. Few strong beers in with that too.

Now I buy 3 bottles of wine a day. Not had spirits for months. I have had a few nights of going to the pub and getting blind drunk, so I assume I had more than 3 bottles of wine worth of units then.

You need medical advice to safely manage your tapering and withdrawal . Can you contact your Gp in the morning?

Please don’t try to withdraw until you have seen your GP as you will need medication to help you

@Adm1010 sorry time wise the peak was around November 2020.

In 2019 I had a breakdown and honestly I have no idea what I drank then. As much as possible, as often as I could.

You definitely need medical advice regarding your tapering . Are you able to keep yourself safe tonight in terms of alcohol ? Have the symptoms lessened now you’ve had a drink ?

I echo what the others have said, you need medical assistance to come off safely. I tried to do it on my own and ended up very ill and having to go to hospital. Your GP can refer you to your local substance misuse service who can support you with a medical detox.

Hi I just want to say well done for getting to this point. It is not easy but you’ve taken the first steps and have a strong desire to sort your this out.
I would agree that you need to get medical assistance. Depending on the length of time and amount you’ve been drinking you could end up causing yourself serious harm. Please contact your GP, be honest and they will help you access the support you need both in the long, and short term.
Here if you need to talk. I haven’t struggled with this but have supported multiple family members over the years.

@Adm1010 I've had half of my supply and feel fine. This is why I think I could go down to 2 bottles a day next. The thing is I feel so shitty when I withdraw I sort of drink more just in relief at feeling better and I certainly feel scared of not having something in the house.

It’s going to take time but your gp can help you to engage with the community alcohol service who will assist you to work towards SAFE tapering and reduction . Reducing to quick is really dangerous even if you feel ok . You are at high risk of seizure if you do this too quickly . Please contact your GP in the morning

Just updating here if that is OK. I was making an effort to cut down and then basically through a really silly set of circumstances I got quite a bit of free alcohol.

I know how stupid that is. Most people would be over the moon. This has really disrupted everything.

I just needed to say/type it out. The moment I was offered it (we are talking multiple bottles) I knew I couldn't resist it and that I was going to really go on a bender and keep going.

So now I need to get back to my baseline I suppose.

This was a "you're a good customer and we messed up" situation. I know I should have declined and asked for a refund instead, told them that I was an alcoholic, i just jumped at it.

Let myself down basically.

So this has happened but you are back here, talking about it and seeking advice. So I think you want to fix this. Did you ever talk to your GP? I think you really need to.

@SergeiL The thing is I went to (2 different) GPs over time about this. One laughed it off and said I was just enjoying going out on the town and the other sent me to a nurse running a weight loss clinic. The nurse basically told me I was disgusting for overindulging and most people drink a glass of wine occasionally,not every night over and over. She compared it to binge eating and sneered about people overeating. So that did not go well.

I am trying to work myself up to going again but it takes a lot of build up and I'm not convinced I will get any help. That's why I'm trying to do it by myself.

@figurino can you do an internet search for your local alcohol support, probably commissioned by your local CCG. The one in my area accepts self referrals and, with your permission, contact your GP - that might be the right way to go if your GP practice isn't currently being supportive.

@Purpoole thank you. I do have the desire to sort it out, never had that before to be honest.

@Pinkandpurplehairedlady I hope you're ok now.

I'm back to my baseline and back eyeing up the move down to 2 bottles.

At the moment I only drink wine. I like the speed that it affects me basically. Spirits are essentially safe from me unless I have no wine and even then I won't just keep going and going until there is none left like I used to. Basically my fear of getting only 2 bottles in is what I then feel like in the morning if I have nothing left. However, there is some vodka (not mine) in the house so I suppose I could have some of that if I'm desperate.

I do feel up for this today. So the plan is to start buying 2 bottles from today onwards.

Have you contacted anyone else for help OP?

@BigSandyBalls2015 Not at this time, no.

You can refer yourself to alcohol services. Just Google your borough and substance misuse service. They prefer self referrals as it demonstrates motivation.

Relapses happen. I gave up smoking about 10 times! Stopped Feb this year, hopefully finally. Don't be too hard on yourself. Good luck x

@Spidey66 Well done on quitting smoking, I used to smoke so I know it's not easy.

I just Googled and found somewhere, it's just round the corner actually so that's something to think about. I just don't see what they can say other than... stop drinking. That's what it boils down to really. I've had therapy over the years, there's obviously a huge back story to how you end up drinking like I have. After years of trying to explain all that to different helplines, doctors, therapists etc that process just wasn't helping. I've found journaling much more helpful to start unpicking everything, to understand what happened and how to change my response which has been essentially to drink.

I ended up overhearing a conversation between two people in sporty/gymwear the other day and they were discussing drug addiction. The guy was saying how he was worried about relapsing if he had a bad day and the woman said that would actually be a good day because he would get through a bad day and not use, that made sense to me. It's a case of shrinking the problems down and building the emotional regulation up I suppose. They both looked pretty fit and like they'd just been to the gym, I need to make more effort with fitness really.

@Spidey66 And you must be saving a fortune!