alcohol withdrawl and fits

[ratclare]

right need some advice please, I currently drink one bottle of white wine a night and i want to stop , ive worked out that i drink approx 50 - 70 units of alcohol a week . Am i going to be ok going cold turkey or should i reduce gradually .

alycat im sorry to hear about your mother ,that must have been a heartbreaking experience for you and your family (and probably still is) No i have never had fits before and i am being honest about the amount i drink ,i know that when medical staff talk to patients they usually double whatever that person says they consume. I have been drinking like this for about a year on and off ,some months i go back to 2 bottles a week and others like this month i drink a bottle a night , looking after people with end stage alcoholic liver damage makes me realise that i need to give myself a break from alcohol and as you pointed out allow my liver a chance to recuperate before the damage is terminal

Hi ratclare, good for you for tackling this. You said you'd given up before and you didn't have any problems, has your intake increased since then? If you're on the same amount, I don't imagine you'd be in grave danger of the worst of the withdrawal symptoms like fits. Probably shakes, sweats, headaches and sleeplessness?

Have you looked at the the other thread that's ongoing at the moment? It has some great suggestions from folks who've found ways to replace drink, and tips for giving up.

have a read. Don't be put off by the word alcholic, a lot of the advice is valid even if you don't feel you've reached this stage yet.

I don't know if this is helpful to you or not but here's what an NHS doctor says:

How do you know if you have an alcohol problem? If you are asking yourself that question, you probably do have one. But, if in doubt, ask yourself the four CAGE questions.

1. Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?
2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
3. Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?
4. Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

Two positives and you are in trouble.

I wish you well.

oh bugger i scored three ,not the morning one though thats coffee time ! I think of myself as a glutton drinker ,if its there i will drink it ,speaking of wine ,thats why i only buy one bottle at a time ,living in the middle of nowhere helps ,no local offlicence handy. Im my defence i have never drunk so much i cant remember what happened the next day ,i dont drink before 6pm , i only drink the one bottle then off to bed for me , i get up at 6 every morning and function without hangover , BUT it is still too much and i know it and need to give myself a break ,now ,before its only 2 bottles of wine a night . Wine is so bloody civilised isnt it , say to people you drink a botttle of wine a night and people laugh,tell them youre drinking half a bottle of vodka and theyd edge away from you

I remember by SIL telling me that her ex couldn't be an alcoholic as he didn't need to have a drink in the morning and still went to work most days. I pointed out to her that since he had already had one relationship fail due to alcohol (plus lost access to his child) and he also disappeared down the pub as soon as his wages were in a spent nearly all of it then no-drinking in the morning didn't mean much.

get your point dustystar , i guess i am spending on average £100 a month on wine ,yikes thats alot ,add on my cigarette bill and i could have some really nice shoes !or many many bargains from the charity shop !!!

I'm wondering if the thing is whether you'll have the support to stay off it once you've done it, by the sounds of it the previous attempt didn't last. I think you know how to deal with stopping the drinking, but I would suggest you find a support group where you can attend a meeting regularly. It will give purpose to your decision.

I tend to binge drink - I think I'm a typical what-the-government-wants-to-stop case. Stopping smoking was relatively easy, although now, 3.5 years later I'm taking the nicotine replacement again. I don't think that fear is a good persuader. It just induces guilt and makes anything far harder. I don't drink as much as I used to, but it's still too much. Sometimes the wine just beckons! I've never been told to stop drinking by anyone, or my doctor - they reckoned it wasn't worth stopping smoking or drinking when I had a terrible eating problem.

These days I really am trying harder to cut down and be more sensible for longer, with varying degrees of success. I don't miss drinking if I'm not and I prefer to be in control when I am in company. Sorry to bang on.

well done you for stopping smoking ,thats fantastic ! you can only do one thing at a time ,and its been said that smoking is the single worst thing you can do to yourself so give yourself a big shiny star and take your other problems one step at a time