How Long Does Alcohol Withdrawal Last? (Transcript)
My name is Kevin O’Hara for Alcohol Mastery and today I’m gonna be asking the question, how long does alcohol withdrawal last?
The Rest Of My Life…REALLY?
I was listening the other day to a guy called Craig Ferguson. He’s a Scottish comedian and he’s got a program on American TV.
He was talking about his alcoholism and how much it had affected him in his life and the terrors of it, and how much of a battle he’d gone through when he quit. He was talking about how much of a battle it was, how much of a battle he was gonna have to go through for the rest of his life, and that he was gonna be an alcoholic.
For him, it was basically taking one day at a time. He had days where he still struggled, and he gave up in 1992.
No Way, Jose!
I quit alcohol at the beginning of this year, and I guess I had some problems in the beginning – sleeplessness mostly, that kind of thing. Not too many. And I will never go back onto it.
I hardly ever think about alcohol, except of course when I’m doing these videos. It’s the only reason I think about alcohol now.
If somebody put an alcoholic drink in front me, it would be like – well, I don’t drink – it’s the same if somebody put a bit of meat down in front of me, I don’t eat meat. But people don’t do that.
Quitting is the Problem!
Alcohol is the only drug that I can think of where when you quit is when you got the problem.
If you stop smoking, you’ve got rid of the problem.
If you stop taking cocaine, you’ve got rid of the problem.
If you stop heroine, you’ve got rid of the problem.
But with alcohol, then you start with a problem. You’re an alcoholic then, because you have to quit. It just doesn’t make sense.
20 Years and Still an Alcoholic…
I was having a conversation with a woman one day and she told me that basically she wouldn’t have been able to quit if it weren’t for AA. They helped her through all the battles and they were still helping her, and she was free of alcohol because she was going to their meetings.
I asked her how long she’d been going for,
and she said 20 years.
The Answer is…
That’s just not the way I wanna do things.
So I guess that answers the question. Alcohol symptoms will last just about as long as you let them.
I’d love to hear your questions, leave them down below, or go off to the website.
Until next time….
My name is Kevin OHara for Alcohol Mastery.
Onwards and upwards!
Thanks for visiting the site.
Until next time…
Onwards and Upwards!
Kev
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Hi all, I have just come across this web site by accident. Briefly I am a 47 year old housewife, very active, very ‘respected’ very good at what I do which is show and judge dogs, but I am an alcoholic. I actually typed in, why can alcohol cause weight gain..I have put on 2 stone in 6 months, and I wasn’t skinny to start with!.
I saw this about sleeping.
One of the reasons I started to drink, which I have done for 15 years, is that I am an insomniac. I could happily down 1 1/2 litres wine in an evening and truthfully, yes my family knew I drank, my husband drank, and still does, as much as me, but I was a high end functioning alcoholic, no hang-overs, lucid conversations. When I told my family how much I had drunk they were seriously shocked.
Any way back to not sleeping. I just told my GP after getting a liver gamma test result of 1400, that I was quitting, and I did, that day. I had the shakes, hot sweats, forgetfulness, and nightmares.
I tried the whole going to bed at the same time every night, making my self get up at the same time evey morning no matter how little sleep I had had, no napping during the day…and that was the thing that was KILLLING me. I dreaded going to bed. I would stay awake all night but could fall asleep at 5am. My husband, who has been an angel, had to have a month of work due to an unrelated injury, and during that month he let me sort out my sleep. I would sleep from 4 am until 11 am, and gradually moved it backwards. I begged my doctor for low doses of sleeping tablets, which he begrudgingly gave under strict supervision, they did NOT make me fall asleep, but rtelaxed me. I upped my physical activity even more during the day, even though I felt like shit. There were times when I was so tempted to drink, because I knew a few glasses of wine = sleep, but I didn’t. I had a litter of puppies, they exhausted me. Finally, after 6 months, I go to bed, go to sleep, sleep for 6 hours, wake up and feel fine. I no longer dread going to bed. Any way, I thought I would just say hang in there, if I can do it and I was seriously off my head with lack of sleep, you can do it.
7 months and counting, no alcohol for me.
Thank you for sharing your story. Your difficulties with sleeping after you stopped drinking are experienced by most people in the same situation. Your logical, natural, and very practical solution is an example of having patience and waiting for the body to repair itself. Again, thank you for sharing.
Kev
Kevin, I Greatly admire your strength and ability to overcome this horrible illness! My name is Ashley Kidwell and I am currently fighting the battle for my life, quite literally. I’ve Always been a VERY heavy drinker/functioning alcoholic. I realized that I was capable of consuming large amounts of alcohol due to my biological make-up. I come from a Long line of alcoholics. I realized that there was a BIG problem when I lived in Prague and was consuming Absenthe all day long as though it was water. I lived in Europe for almost 6 years and have about 6 weeks worth of memories. I returned to the States to visit family. I now reside in South Carolina, USA. I had gotten myself to the point where my body was unable to function, I was unable to eat, I couldn’t go more than 2 hours without a HEAVY drink. I sought help and did well for a short period of time. During which I now have a wonderful/healthy family. I have a remarkable little boy,Trevor, who is now 5 and has started school just last week. I also have a little miracle named Nayomi Grace (3years old). However, alcohol is now and has always been my downfall, and I’m fearing to be my Demise. I am trying to drink as little as possible to get through my day (about a liter or less) of vodka daily. I’ve been showing some disturbing symptoms of late. My hands/feet are cracking, I cannot hold down food, my skin is breaking out, I have numbness in my extremities, ongoing urinary infections, fatigue, I could go on and on but I’d rather not loose your interest with my medical scenario. I have NO IDEA what to do!?!? I cannot allow myself to go through withdrawals because I have to take care of my family. The problem seems to be worsening though! I am going through shorter and shorter periods of time before the shakes and nausea start. I HAVE TO Live for my children!! And I don’t want them to grow up without a Mother. They both LOVE Me Soooo incredibly much. More than I deserve. And I am a WONDERFUL Mother to them ALL THE TIME. Mainly because I’m scared that death is just around the corner for me and I want them to retain positive memories of me. PLEASE respond and ANY advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!! I don’t want to die. I’ve just turned 29 and I have the most WONDERFUL Family. They deserve So Much More than an alcoholic/dead mother. Please, if you can, HELP!!!! Thank you for taking the time to hear my plea and to help (if possible).
Ashley Kidwell
Hi Ashley,
If you’re consuming that amount of alcohol you really need to go to the doctor first because you sound like you have medical problems as a result. Go even to be on the safe side. Of course you know this is all to do with your drinking and once you stop drinking the damage will also stop. Once you have that done you can deal with the habit. Even a heavy spirits drinker is a victim of habit. I don’t believe it’s in the genes. I believe you get the ‘taste’ from your family, friends, and so on. Only you can deal with the habit, day by day, by refusing to put another drop into your mouth, regardless of how uncomfortable that is. It’s the only way to beat this. It’s very much worth it for you and your family. Let me know how you’re getting on. Please go to your doctor to get yourself checked out. Take care of yourself, Kevin