Ashley just to clear things up as I may have misled.
8 - 16 UNITS of alcohol 4-8 drinks per day each drink contains 2 units of alcohol. average day 4 drinks.
have been alcohol free for 36 hours now (one drink in last 60 hours) and apart from cravings and just feeling generally down and irritable, I have had no symptoms which have caused alarm.
I have looked at articles relating to withdrawal and I know what severe symptoms should look like but hopefully this is as bad as it is going to get.
Ashley is right, withdrawal can be dangerous. I've had 2 withdrawal seizures.
Talk to your Dr. and be totally honest about how much and how long you've been drinking. There are drugs that Dr's can prescribe that make the withdrawal a lot less unpleasant, and a lot less dangerous.
I was sufficiently sick (heart racing and blood pressure sky rocketing) during a withdrawal that I was admitted to a hospital for 4 days.
I've been medically detoxed on an outpatient basis 3 other times as well.
8-16 drinks a day would actually be considered heavy drinking. You might want to fill out checkyourdrinking.net for more information about this and your level of drinking. I am not a doctor but if you are drinking 8-16 drinks per I think you would likely experience strong withdrawal symptoms if you quit completely. When it comes to withdrawal it is best to talk to your doctor. A doctor can help ease withdrawal and give you tips to cope. Withdrawal from alcohol can be dangerous so in some cases they may want to monitor your withdrawal.
Having an interesting debate (with myself) in relation to withdrawal symptoms hopefully someone might share their thoughts on this...
I have been a moderate drinker of around 8-16 units per day for many years, average day I would say 8. I have never used alcohol first thing in the morning and I have never experienced tremors or any other symptoms of going without a drink.
I have pledged to cut down to 1 drink per day which I managed for the first time last night, I feel quite agitated today and the thought of my 1 drink tonight is on my mind constantly, some may say I am teasing myself by having 1 drink per day and should stop completely but I am terrified of developing full on withdrawal.
What are the chances of this happening if i abstain considering my drinking habits? Are these feelings of withdrawal psychological?
