Alcohol Detox and Withdrawal

Alcohol Detox or Withdrawal Symptoms - Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Among the many addictions, alcohol addiction is most common. Alcohol detox or withdrawal syndrome is experienced by those who, drink regularly and generally with high tolerance decide to stop drinking abruptly and the intensity of the withdrawal can vary from mild to fatal if not treated carefully. The severity of withdrawal symptoms depends upon how the person became “alcohol dependant”;  the more the dependency on alcohol the worse the symptoms. Alcohol dependency develops by drinking heavily on regular basis, drinking daily even in mediocre amounts or drinking alcohol heavily but not daily. In all the cases people become chemically dependent on alcohol at some point when they drink daily or to excess.

Once someone has become “alcohol dependent”, if he stops drinking abruptly, then he is likely to face some sort of discomfort. A doctor should always be consulted when an alcoholic individual quits abruptly.  It is extremely difficult to stop drinking without help, medical advise and most important support.  External assistance or support is necessary for alcoholics to stop drinking; so rehab centre or support group can help them a lot.

Withdrawal symptoms may have few or all of these symptoms like rapid heartbeats, sweats, headache, nausea and shooting blood pressure high. Those who are less alcohol dependents likely to have mild effects like shakes, headache, night sweating, anxiety, nausea, high blood pressure and rapid heartbeats. These alcohol withdrawal symptoms are quite irritating and turn one uncomfortable but they are not fatal. These symptoms always associated more “craving” for alcohol; so the help of support group is needed.

Occasional drinkers, who get “morning after hangover” after heavily drinking, suffer from withdrawal symptoms from the excess of their previous night’s drinking as the alcohol contents in their blood drop. The symptoms may appear after a gap of few hours for not drinking.

Hallucinations and Seizures - More Serious Symptoms.

Those who are heavy drinkers and highly dependent on alcohol may develop hallucinations after six to forty eight hours of not drinking. Usually they are visual hallucination but may associate with smells and sounds. Sometime they can last for hours or even for weeks at a stretch. During this period after quitting alcohol, seizures or convulsions can occur. At this point alcohol withdrawal may become fatal if not treated medically.

DT’s or Delirium Tremens and Chronic Alcoholism.

Withdrawal symptoms from chronic alcoholism may lead to delirium tremens or DT’s after three to five days, when drinkers abstain from drinking totally. DT’s or delirium tremens manifest disorientation, profound confusion, hyperactivity, hallucinations and extreme cardiovascular disturbances. This conditions cause trouble with breathing, irregular blood circulation and body temperature. This may further associate rapid heartbeats and shooting up blood pressure tremendously with dehydrations.

There is no suitable treatment for delirium tremens. Grand mal seizures, strokes and heart attacks may occur during DT’s. Medical attention is must for meeting all these emergencies during withdrawal symptoms from alcohol. So it is always advisable to contact an alcohol detox centre or support group before quitting alcohol.

For more information about learning what to expect please visit www.sobertime.net and download the brief manual Getting Sober What To Expect