Alcohol and shaking

Totally love this thread!!! Yes I am definitely an alcoholic, I consider myself an alcoholic because once I start drinking I can't stop. Even though I may only go on a binge once or twice a week... sometimes more and sometimes less, but it has been over the course of about 8 years now of binge drinking.

And I too have come to the point of the shakes! I have wondered what it is I thought MS but I'm too young for that, it's only been gong from hardly noticeable to mild over the past few years, but I've definitely reached that point of alcoholism. My arms and legs are both a bit shaky, and my hands. Alcohol helps after about 2 or 3 drinks... but it seems like I'll have the shakes for up to a week after! Only then it starts to get a bit better... only to find myself thinking about another binge... lol what a vicious never ending cycle... I don't really know what to do.

Folks,
The cause of this is lack of eating...
Our body needs certain amounts of certain things,
If you neglect those things, then indulge in a drug "Im a big drinker too" you get adverse side effects...

As previously said, eat a slice of Pizza before or in between...grab a glass of water too.
For those extreme cases, it's often a Potassium deficiency, a banana or a 200mg pill could help "Potass. isnt like Vit C don't take to much.

Im not a Doc, but I've seen this in several forms and seen solutions..

This doesnt effect me, but those I work/ deal with often cant afford a rich mans doctor check up, plus all you'd get is a, "Just stop drinking" quote for your hundreds of dollars.

"Hurting yourself isn't Alcoholism, hurting those you care about is."
Enjoy to your fullest, but dont ever let it take over.... :-)

I've been struggling and know I'm an alcholic. In highschool not only did I drink but took ephedrine for sports. Then the shakes started. In college it got worse but then we had a party house us and all of us were out of control. Now I'm 35 shaking everyday been in treatment 7 times and when I stop drinking had to go to hospital 4 times. Yes having a drink does stop the shaking but isn't the answer. V8 juice helps, working out helps but is dangerous, gatorade works and water but it takes too long to come into effect. Can anybody give me some help? I won't go to rehab again but getting into God now because in my eyes that is all I have left

Given that this thread is at the top of Google's search results and no one has answered the actual question of what causes the shakes, I suppose I might as well, even if the thread is old. To put it simply:

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. This means it block the ability of your brain to get electrical impulses to your muscles (including your heart and lungs). The reason people get the shakes is because when you drink your brain ramps up your central nervous system to keep from going into cardiac arrest or suffering respiratory failure, but once the alcohol is processed and leaves your system it takes a while for your brain to ramp it back down, so your muscles are overstimulated. The reason people usually (but not always) experience tremors in their hands or face is because there are a great deal more muscles counterbalancing each other in those areas. If those muscle groups are experiencing strong, erratic nervous impulses they are far more difficult to control then (for instance) an elbow.

The more frequently you drink and the more intensely you drink (not to mention genetic factors), the more quickly you go into "crisis mode". In people that drink often, they might never actually come out of "crisis mode", which leads to long withdrawal effects should they give up alcohol. In people that drink very heavily, they might still have the shakes even a few minutes after finishing a drink, a phenomena called "interdose withdrawal".

The only way to get rid of the shakes is to avoid alcohol. There are certain medicines which can temporarily reduce them, however those medicines are simply taking the place of alcohol and you wind up dependent on both alcohol and the medication if taken long term.

Dood, that is quite simply one of the best descriptions I've read. If I was to post on this topic it would roughly be the same as your post. Allthough aged 31, uni finished with my hands have also started to shake. I drink on a regular basis (daily) and have noticed that at the start of the day my hands shake but after a few pints it stops. It is concerning and I fear it will get worse. However I doo class myself as an alcoholic and I try to fill my time instead of "pub" time with as many things as possible to avoid it or to drink at home. I was never classed as a healthy person but I've found that exercise, even if its walking helps tremendously. You may be put of by this but I try and set a goal (even though it's classed as maybee a bad one) such as a pub at the end of a long walk, then a train back. Since I've started to doo this I've broke free from my "local" pub antics and lowered my alcohol consumption.

anonymous wrote:

This is completely terrible. It is alcoholic's giving other alcoholic's advice. People, please go to a doctor and get true medical advice/treatment. I am an alcoholic counselor and you are shaking because you drink too much.

Wow. You can make a medical diagnosis over the internet with information about only one part of this person's life? AND you don't know grammar? Amazing.

Seriously, I agree that a lot of the people here are alcoholics. You do NOT know that his shaking, especially the way he described that it's in one leg only is because of his alcoholism. If you were in any way a responsible counselor you would advice him to go to a MEDICAL doctor and that he should be honest about how much he drinks when he does go, too.

anonymous wrote:

There is NO alcoholic jean. Anyone who says that there is, is lying to you or doesn't know what they are talking about. Alcohol is comparable to cholesterol.

Ok, anyone who does not even know how to spell "gene" is definitely not someone who is a professionally educated counselor for alcoholics. "On the internet, no one knows you're a dog." Alcoholism IS hereditary. The really funny thing? So is tendency for having high cholesterol.

anonymous wrote:

Once you pass that level, you are done. There is not bringing it back down, there is no more social drinking, there is not more controlling alcohol. If you keep drinking it after this point then it is in control of you. Your only solution is to stop drinking. If the idea of quitting drinking altogether scares you then you really need to go see someone for help, you're head. I am not trying to be a jerk this is the truth and these statements are 100% fact.

Also not true. True for SOME people? Yes. True for MOST people? Maybe. ALL? No. Hyperbole much?

AA works for me.

Haha the post from 3/16/11 is hilarious and absolutely true.  "Palm100" who claims to be a counselor really has poor writing skills.  Anyhow, when it comes to excessive drinking it doesn't impact/affect us all exactly the same.  Some of us have higher tolerances than others and some of us are more prone to becoming extremely sick and/or suffering from withdrawals after a binge.  Genetics definitely plays a huge role in this.  Experiencing withdrawals is a progressive condition.  Think back to the college days or anytime you've partied hard.  Chances are the first few times you got sh!t-faced you may have woken up wanting to barf and/or having a bad headache but there was most likely no shakes.  People who've boozed it up frequently eventually end up having withdrawal syndrome after a few years of heavy drinking.  Once you reach this point, chances are, there's no going back to how it was years prior.  Withdrawals are a combination of things going on with the body.  As mentioned before, alcohol is a depressant and it servely affects the central nervous system as well as the body.  Hangovers/withdrawals result from vitamin deficiency, dehydration and as someone else mentioned before, the brain has to come down from an alterted state.  Lack of vitamins and a scrambled central nervous system results in physical shaking, nervousness, anxiety and sometimes severe depression.  Naturally the best advice is to avoid alcohol but to those who do have some sort of self-restraint and enough insight to realize they've gotten in the habit of going overboard, there's always hope.  It's all about MODERATION.  Drinking everyday is probably not a good thing.  Even just a few beers or a couple of glasses of wine daily is bad news.  Ultimately you're destroying your liver, putting yourself at risk for heart disease and probably packing on pounds you could do without.  A change in your daily routine could probably work wonders.  Rather than having night caps before sleep, try listening to music or reading.  Waking up and drinking immediately is THE WORST habit so kick that one.  When you come home from work and need a drink badly, try eating a tasty snack or maybe even going for a walk or engage in some sort of physical activity.  Easier said than done, I know but for most of those who fear they're full-blown alcoholics, it's probably just a matter of breaking a bad habit and changing your daily routine.  For those of you who wish to keep drinking but want to know how to combat the ill effects the day after:  Vitamin B6, B12, sports drinks with electrolytes, pickle juice, soup, and greesy foods are the most common remedies.  Do they really work?  Some say yes, some say no.  Just remember going to bed drunk is a very bad thing.  Once you're sleeping, your organs' slow down and become less effecient at ridding your body of toxins which is why you wake up feeling 10 times worse.  Also, if you're sleeping while intoxicated, you will not fall into deep REM sleep which means you'll wake up feeling tired as if you hardly slept.  I hope this post gives some of you folks some insight and peace of mind.  "Alcohol... The cause of and solution to all of lives problems."   

Damn it, I made some typos.  I hope the fake counselor guy doesn't come back and tell me my writing sucks too haha.  The quote is: "Alcohol... The cause of and solution to all of life's problems!" 

If you feel like you have a problem, you do. If you shake or tremble its gotten out of hand. This whole "I can do it on my own" or "social drinking" idea is nothing more than a lie to yourself. Ive 'only' been at this drinking thing, ha ha to me, for 13 years. I shake when Im awake and I just wanted to find out how long it was going to be before I stopped shaking. You are all in the wrong place. So am I. And please dont pull the gene card. We all make our own choice. I dont subscribe to religon but Ive been to AA and I know that I cant blaim the 1845 part of my family on what I do today. Thats like telling yourself you blaim a doctor for your cancer. Sorry, but if you dont want to know, dont ask.

I think you misunderstood the whole "genetics" part of the discussion.  It has been clinically proven that genetics does have a significant part in peoples' ability to metabolize alcohol.  Nobody is blaming anyone for alcohol abuse.  It falls on the individual.  I agree with that.  Not everyone who's lost control while drinking is an alcoholic but there are most definitely some folks who simply should not drink because they lack so much self-control.  It varies. 

well reading through this article has helped me some, I'm 35 and have been an alcoholic for like 20 years. Many problems with it, shakes, trying to kill myself, reabs, DWI's, siezures you name it. Oh and I do steriods. SO with that being said, I know my body can't handle much more so just waiting to die. For anyone who cares, pray for me.

Hey, yupyupmix34... Hope you didn't follow through with killing yourself (seriously).  We can pray for your all day and night but it's up to you beat your issue with booze.  If you've been drinking heavily for 20 years though, you're going to have to taper-off from alcohol to prevent serious withdrawals and for God's sake, don't get loaded and get behind the wheel.  DUI's are really serious!!!!!!!

im just now having the shakes and my heartbeat is rising.  i dont know what to do about this.  wish me luck

I believe for most of the people in this thread, it would be beneficial to look up and call an Alcholics Anonymous meeting near you. Many of your questions, feelings, and physical problems (shaking for example) will be explained. Rehab will get you off of alcohol, but AA will keep you off if you stay with the program.  Many of the meetings are open and all you have to do is show up.  All are run by recovering alcholics.  Some of the people that attend are/were very bad - arrests, DUI, drunk 24/7, living on the street, but just as many are only drink at home, after work ("functioning alcoholics if you will").  At the first meeting, buy the AA (big book), Living Sober, and 12 Steps - and read them immediately.  Together, they are less than the cost of a bottle of liquor. These books will start you on the journey, but attending meetins is crucial.  Many of the attendees stop drinking (many for years and years), but still struggle with the temptation, so keep going back for the support.  I have just started that journey, so I can't give you advice.  I can tell you that AA has a wonderful support system made up of people exactly like you who have been where you are. I have already found numerous people that were doing the same thing as me - drinking to excess in the evening only, but myself, but waking up with nervousness and anxiety.  Those are symptoms of alcholism, no matter how much you drink. Each week I needed to drink more and more to get the same effect, and the only way to cure the shaking was to drink more. As I beleive for myself, the path that you are on is a path to death. Your body is telling you that you are poisoning it. As Ozzy Osbourne noted, "Wine is fine, but whiskey's quicker, suicide is slow with liquor."

What I have found (to my dismay) is that I will never be able to walk into a bar and just have one drink. It's about getting sober and staying sober for the rest of your life.  It's a life long journey, and often a battle. Good luck to you all.

Incidentally, there are many treatments, including temperance treatments, that are said to work for some.  I beleive that the chemical changes brought on by alcoholism preclude me from ever being a normal social drinker. It's not about getting sober this week, or for the next year, it's about staying sober for the rest of my life.