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# Dangers of Alcohol Withdrawal
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On May 31, 2024
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You’re done, finished, no more booze for you. After several mistakes and dumb decisions, you’ve decided to put down the bottle forever and never drink again. You’re going to quit cold turkey for your health, your family, and yourself. Most of that sounds fantastic except for the quitting cold-turkey part. Don’t forget about the dangers of alcohol withdrawal in your pursuit of a better life!
, changes the way our brains and bodies function, and quitting cold turkey can be put your health in extreme danger due to alcohol withdrawal.
Let’s learn why quitting alcohol cold turkey is a dangerous idea, what withdrawal symptoms you can expect, and the best way to ensure a safe and comfortable detox. Quitting drinking is a great decision but only if you do it safely.
## What Happens During Alcohol Withdrawal?
Think of your brain as a big electrical grid – that’s not too far from the truth. Your brain sends electrical impulses and chemical signals, known as neurotransmitters, to keep you functioning. When alcohol is introduced to your brain it has a hard time controlling the release and regulation of these different signals which you experience as intoxication. That’s fine for casual drinkers but alcoholics can drink so much that they rewire their brain to believe the flood of neurotransmitters is normal. This is when the danger begins.
Once your brain and body have become chemically dependent the flood of alcohol is how your brain thinks things are supposed to be. A boozed-up brain becomes the new normal, one of the key dangers of alcohol withdrawal. When you take alcohol away, your body and brain believe something has gone terribly wrong since it’s not getting its normal influx and will act accordingly with withdrawal symptoms. Electrical impulses go haywire, presenting several symptoms.
## Mild Symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal
* Perspiration
* Upset stomach
* Shaky hands
* Trouble focusing
* Sleep Problems
* Anxiety
* Depression
## Severe Symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal
Severe symptoms kick in around 48 to 96 hours after the last drink. If you experience any of the following symptoms you should seek professional help immediately.
* Delirium Tremens – Also known as the shakes or simply DTs. DTs are a collection of severe symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal. Many of the symptoms below are part of DTs.
* Skyrocketing Heartrate – Skyrocketing heart rate can cause a heart attack
* Skyrocketing Blood Pressure – Rising blood pressure can lead to stroke
* Psychosis and Hallucinations – Those quitting alcohol have reported seeing snakes, pink elephants, hearing voices, and felt bugs crawling on them.
* Seizure – Out of control electrical impulses can easily lead to seizures
* Coma – Severe symptoms can cause your body to shut down
* Death – Alcohol withdrawal can and will kill
## How Long Does Alcohol Withdrawal Last?
Acute alcohol withdrawal can kick in just a few hours after your last drink. Most acute withdrawal symptoms weaken after a few days though some can experience symptoms for multiple weeks. The slow progression of symptoms makes alcohol withdrawal more dangerous, since many think they’re out of the woods and don’t seek professional help soon enough. This can be another crucial aspect of the dangers of alcohol withdrawal to pay attention to!
## Factors in Alcohol Withdrawal
Anyone who’s chemically dependent has the potential to experience severe withdrawal symptoms but three distinct factors determine the likelihood of dangerous withdrawal.
## Years of Alcohol Abuse
The longer you abused alcohol the more likely you will face severe withdrawal symptoms. There’s no set number of years that ‘turns on’ severe symptoms but the longer your brain as been swimming in booze, the more chemically dependent your brain and body are.
## How Much Alcohol Consumed
The amount of alcohol consumed over your ‘drinking career’ also plays a part in determining symptoms. Someone who drank 4 to 5 beers daily is less likely to experience severe symptoms compared to someone who drank a fifth of liquor every day. Again, withdrawal is about chemical dependence. The more alcohol you consume regularly, the more dependent your body becomes.
## How Many Times Have You Detoxed Before?
The number of times someone has detoxed and relapsed also plays a role in symptoms. Every time your brain and body become chemically dependent and then withdraws your they become more sensitive to chemical changes in a process known as kindling. A few cycles of sobriety and relapse will greatly increase your chances of more severe symptoms. Alcoholics who have yo-yoed on their sobriety must seek professional help to avoid the dangers of kindling.
## Treating Alcohol Withdrawal
How do you treat a dangerous alcohol withdrawal? At a licensed and reputable . Every treatment center is different but most use drug therapy, nutrition and supplements, and counseling.
## Drug Therapy
To keep your brain from going off the rails, treatment centers use a tapering treatment, also known as stair-step, to slowly wean your body off booze. Most modern treatment centers use benzodiazepines or barbiturates since they act like alcohol.
## Nutrition and Supplements
Most alcoholics are malnourished. Treatment centers use a combination of nutrition, vitamins, and supplements to bring your body back to baseline. A healthy body full of necessary vitamins and minerals gives you a much better chance at recovery.
## Counseling
Treatment centers use one-on-one counseling, group therapy, and several other therapies to help you psychologically. While alcoholism can happen on its own there’s no doubt it’s also tied to several psychological issues that must be dealt with for permanent recovery. Being able to open up to counselors and other alcoholics who understand your situation gives hope and can help you learn how other people are succeeding. Alcohol treatment without proper counseling and therapy isn’t much treatment at all.
## Be Smart About Alcohol Withdrawal
If you feel like alcohol has taken on a larger role in your life than you want to, it’s time to quit. As we learned above quitting drinking and alcohol withdrawal can present life-threatening situations and should only be attempted under the care of a medical professional. If you’re tired of drinking reach out to us at All In Solutions treatment center to learn how you can get off the bottle safely and comfortably.
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 » Tips To Deal with Insomnia During Detox
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# Tips To Deal with Insomnia During Detox
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Insomnia can be an extremely uncomfortable part of the detox process. I dealt with horrible insomnia that nearly led me back to using. Laying awake all night and praying for sleep can drive you nuts. What is insomnia? Generally speaking, insomnia refers to the inability to fall or stay asleep for long periods of time. In this post we are going to describe some of the tips to deal with insomnia during detox.
People suffering from insomnia may be able to fall asleep, but they wake up multiple times during the night and can’t go back to sleep. Insomnia as a symptom of detox can really bring you down. I’ve laid awake for hours thinking about using. When you have to go through each day with little to no sleep, it isn’t going to put you in the best frame of mind.
## Insomnia During Detox
My insomnia was a huge factor in my addiction. I was , so staying up for days on end was part of my regular agenda. The intense paranoia and anxiety that comes along with that can be crippling.
When I entered detox and was without the drug, there was no way I was going to be able to adjust to a regular sleep schedule. I would get anxious as the day wore on, wondering how bad it would be that night. Even with a medically supervised detox, it’s not going to be an easy process.
Luckily for me, the good people at All In Solutions recognize that insomnia is a huge part of addiction, especially when it comes to uppers like meth and cocaine.
There are a number of things that you can do to deal with your insomnia, although they may not work for everybody. It’s important to have patience during this process and find the thing that works best for you. You aren’t going to figure out what works best for you overnight.
If you find yourself frustrated, that is normal. The key is to not let your frustration and angst get the best of you. Recovery is going to test you no matter who you are or what kind of addiction you are dealing with. It’s all about being able to get through those tests and not let them get the best of you.
Luckily, there is a lot more emphasis these days on treatment centers and sleep.  pays a lot of attention to your overall health, and that includes focusing on a healthy diet and sleep schedule. They know there is a potential of you having trouble sleeping at night.
Luckily, there is someone there for you twenty-four hours a day if you need to talk things out. When you get on a schedule, and you are eating healthy, it will help your brain return to normal. Your brain goes through a lot of changes when you are getting sober. It’s vital that your mental health is in a good place when you are working through recovery.
## Ways You Can Treat Insomnia
Getting on a sleep schedule is the most important factor in getting enough sleep. If you commit to a regular sleep schedule, your body will eventually adjust. Your body’s internal clock gets way off track when you are in the thick of your addiction. Speaking for myself, my internal clock was all over the place.
When you’re addicted to meth you only sleep when you crash. I could go for multiple days with no sleep, and then pass out for an entire day in order to refuel. This is extremely unhealthy and has a huge effect on your mind and body.
The more you get on a regular sleep schedule, the more quality sleep you will achieve. You need sleep in order to function. Getting the right amount is crucial to a healthy lifestyle.
It’s also important to have a bedtime routine that is relaxing and not overly stimulating. A lot of people read before bed, which can help put you in a calm state of mind before bed. You should try to wind down at least an hour before your bedtime. Chill out. Turn the lights down.
Do a little reading. You should probably avoid watching T.V. or checking your phone too much before bed. Just that little bit of stimulation can prevent you from falling asleep.
When your brain is stimulated in that way, it’s much more difficult for you to shut it off. If you’re looking at a screen right before you shut out the lights, it’s going to take much longer for you to wind down.
You also need to watch what you put into your body at night. This is another reason having a healthy diet is key to getting enough sleep. You should avoid anything with sugar or caffeine at least four to six hours before bedtime. You should also limit your fluid intake before bed.
I have always had a habit of drinking a lot of water before bed, which doesn’t do me much good in the middle of the night. If you have to get up multiple times a night to go to the bathroom, this can prevent you from achieving quality sleep.
## Creating New Routines in Recovery
I know it’s tough, but you should avoid looking at the clock when you are trying to fall asleep. This is pretty tricky because the longer you are awake the more tempted you are to check. Make it a point to leave your phone and any clocks out of the room when you are trying to go to bed.
It will be extremely helpful. Exercise can also be very helpful when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. If you don’t get any physical activity at all during the day, you’re not going to be tired at all when it comes time to go to bed. You should try to get at least a half-hour to an hour of exercise every day.
Going for a long walk after dinner helped me a lot. The more energy you burn off during the day, the better chance you have of having a restful evening.
If you do all of these things together, you will definitely see a difference. It may still take a bit of time for you to set your internal clock, but you will notice yourself becoming more tired at night. It took me several weeks after rehab before I noticed a change, but it slowly happened and now I am able to sleep the entire night.
There are a lot of other withdrawal symptoms that you will encounter when you are in recovery, but sleep deprivation can really drive you crazy. Once I started sleeping regularly, I found that it made the biggest difference in regards to my mental health.
## Which Detox Is Best for You?
It can be difficult to know what detox is best for you. Some people prefer to do at-home detox rather than a medically supervised detox. In my opinion, the dangers of home detox are not worth it. Especially if you have a very severe addiction.
Putting yourself in a place where you have people fully committed to getting you clean is your best bet. When you are doing an at-home detox, the risk of relapse is much higher. You can convince yourself of a lot of things when you are left to your own devices.
Going through recovery requires a lot of help and a lot of talking things out. I tried to do an at-home detox once in the past, and it didn’t work very well for me. I relapsed after two days because I didn’t have anyone else around me to keep me straight.
When you are going through that initial detox, your brain plays a lot of tricks on you. You aren’t able to make the most rational decisions. If you have people around you who can talk you down from your cravings, it will heighten your chances of staying clean.
It wasn’t hard for me to talk myself into relapsing when I was trying to get clean without rehab. I kept thinking “Just one more fix.” I thought that the next time would definitely be the last time. That went on and on until I was right back to where I was.
It’s very risky to trust yourself to make all the right decisions when you are in that frame of mind. You are very vulnerable when you are trying to get clean. It helps a lot to have the right support system around you. That’s why going to a medically supervised detox should always be on the table.
## The Risks of Rapid Detox
There are some places that offer rapid detox, which means using a combination of sedation and medication in order to rush the detox process. There are a lot of risks of rapid detox that should be taken into consideration. If your addiction is severe enough, doing a rapid detox can have life-threatening effects.
Risks of rapid detox include heart attack, infection, aspiration, and paranoia. Detox is uncomfortable enough. Do you really want to feel the full effects of it in such an intense way? I’ve talked to people who have tried rapid detox, and they did not recommend it.
This is another example of the need to have patience during this process. Your sobriety is not something that you can rush. Reach out today to the team at All In Solutions and get your recovery started now, the right way!
Dangers of Alcohol Withdrawal
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