how long do alcohol withdrawal symptoms last?

ive just read your story i have been a heavy drinker for many years mainly binging ive had all them symptoms and found out i am a alcaholic

Glad your doing well PJ....you definitely give me hope to get thru
This...I'm now 8 months sober

I can not tell you how many times I came back to this as a resource when I stopped drinking for 12 days....yes a detox of sorts.  Reading everyones experiences kept me from going insane...literally!! 

I would love to share my day by day detox with anyone who is interested.  I think it is too long for me to post on here.  Just know I thought I was going to die and was more scared than I have ever been in my life!  I read about seizures and many scary reactions to giving up alcohol.  I had NOOOOO idea it could be that bad.  Thankfully I felt better around day 8 but those 7 days were horrible!!

If you decide to detox on your own I would say first of all eat eggs, even though you are not hungry, buy a case of orange powerade zero....that was my life saver!!  Plus i did buy Hylands Nerve Tonic because my muscles would continue to tense up...feeling like I was going to have a seizure.  My throat felt as if it was closing up and my head and back  of neck were tingling. 

If there is anyone interested I would love to have an accountabilty partner.  I know that drinking has led to some issues that I am currently dealing with, but I have used alcohol to numb the pain.  I turned to alcohol 2 years ago as a way of coping.  Prior to that I only had alcohol once or twice a year!!

Email me if you have any questions about detox symptoms or if you would be willilng to check in on me to see how I am doing....and I would consider it a priviledge to check in on anyone who felt the same about accountability.

Well I drank for 2 days and am now on day 3 without. It is scary the symptoms can return so quickly. I had gone 13 days without and thought some wine couldn't hurt. Well 2 days later, and 4 bottles later, I woke up shaking and the feeling like my throat was closing up again. Plus I had a hard time regulating my body temp.

This time day 3 feels like day 7 when I initially gave up alcohol. I am drinking copious amounts of powerade and gaterade 2....seems to help ALOT!! I don't want to eat, but know I have to. Been living off of berries, bananas and cucumbers and salads.
Wish there was someone out there that would reply.....

Would be happy to be accountability partner, send a message if you're still looking for someone. I'm in basically the same place as you. Take care and keep at it!

Hi Jewel, I am guessing this is the first time you've relapsed after having quit alcohol--is that right? It may take you a while, but at some point it's likely you will figure out that once you've gone this far it's never going to go back--in other words, you will probably have to face the fact that you can never drink again. If that sounds scary, just let that fear be a warning of how true it is. The good news is that the worst parts of acute withdrawal don't last very long for most people--but they always come back if you start drinking and stop again. If you weren't some days out I'd suggest tapering--at least trying it--with beer. That can make the whole process a lot less painful, if you can stick to the tapering, which is hard for most people and impossible for some. Aside from that, if you can have someone take care of you for a few days that will help an awful lot. Also, take loads of vitamins--a multi, a B 100 (take this a couple of times a day at first), and use herbal relaxants. Take long baths if you're able to. If you're like me, the late afternoon through to about ten or eleven at night is the worst period. It's good if you can just be in bed at that point. A lot of herbal tea is soothing and also keeps you hydrated. Nutritional therapy is quite effective and I would recommend you spend some time online looking for information. I use pure whey powder for extra amino acids and that helps a lot, along with the vitamins. Meditation helps a lot as well, but acute withdrawal is a tough time to learn how to meditate. But if you look up the meditation retreats of Alan Wallace on iTunes podcasts you could give it a go--they are excellent. The Fall 2011 one has good sound quality and would be geared to someone just learning. Keep in mind that these symptoms are ephemeral--they cannot continue if you stay off alcohol. So all you need to do is endure them. When they are over they're over. Some sporadic symptoms may return weeks or months later but they are mild by comparison. Just keep in mind it will happen, especially when stress goes up. What you will really need is a plan on how to stay sober. You saw how easy it is for the voice of your addiction to convince you of something that deep down you know is a lie: that you can have a drink once you feel better. And that voice will be back--so what will you do then? It's usually quite a bit more complicated than just having the intention to stay sober. Perhaps therapy, a rigorous exercise habit with some specific goals (run a marathon, etc.), AA meetings, someone to keep you accountable as you mentioned, a significant other to support you, friends who you can confide in to support you, and so on. You'll really need to give this some thought and put something into place or else your chances of having to go through this yet again will be quite high. Obviously you have the strength and willpower to actually quit, so that's fantastic news, a necessary foundation. It just isn't usually enough. One more thing--in my opinion, gatorade and that kind of thing is a bad idea. Too much sugar and garbage. Long run, a really, really clean diet is an outstanding support for staying sober. Get rid of all junk food, in other words. If you crave sugar, eat lots of fresh fruits--that actually works for sugar cravings, especially really sweet peaches, nectarines, melon. Good luck and keep us posted!

Budapest, thank you so much for your response! I am actually doing much better. I believe in eating a whole food diet. I have experimented with the Paleo diet in the past but have found that things like nuts and too much red meat are not a good habit for me. I eat lots of veggies, eggs and lean protein, mostly form fresh fish as I have access to it from friends and relatives. I do exercise daily and have gotten into doing HiiT type training to maximize my results with the time that I have to commit.
I actually ended up in the ER last week as I thought I was going to have a seizure. This was strange to me as I had not had alcohol in 6 days. By Gatorade, I was meaning powerade zero and G2, which is the only thing that seem to "do the trick" for my body. As a woman who basically only drank water ( and of course wine!), I hated drinking so much of that junk. It seemed to help when I drank it though. After spending 4 hours feeling as if I was going to either pass out or have a seizure, I went to the ER. Initially they diagnosed me with a panic attack as I had told them all about the drinking, to which I have to say the ER doc did not even flinch and assured me I did not have a problem!!! I didn't have the mind to argue with him and he had given me lorazepam, something I had never had in my life so it caused me to be numb.
After waiting 2 hours and having my vitals monitored it came back that my sodium levels were dangerously low. They started me on saline and in about 4 hours my levels were back up around 130. I chose to leave the ER instead of being admitted for 24 hours. Doc instructed to continue on G2 or and electrolyte drink of some sorts and watch my water intake as that can contribute to low sodium, flushing it from your body. I have to go back in today and have levels checked with my doctor to make sure this was a one time issue or a condition I may have.
I think what scares me is that I have always been so active in so may areas exercising daily, coaching volleyball and softball, mentoring young women plus working and raising a family, I do not know how this happened to me. It was such a gradual process, but I allowed it to get to a point where I did not participate in any of those activities any longer, but opted to stay home and drink in the afternoon into the evening.
That is not the person I want to be!! I want to go back to the 'Jewel' I once knew. I want to blame things that have happened in my life, hurts that I have endured ( it seems as if every time I put myself out there, hurt was inevitable....as the hurt and pain happened time and time again, I began not trusting and keeping to myself), but I KNOW that drinking did not help any of this. I know that I can respond in a much more responsible and healthy way.
The other part that scares me is that I never even drank alcohol until about 3 years ago!! There is an acceptance of work hard, exercise hard, eat well, and drink nightly...Even when I tried to explain my drinking habits to the ER doc, he dismissed them. I know I do not look the part so I am sure that contributed to his dismissal of my concerns.
Ok, I know this is long so I apologize...I just really appreciate you reaching out. I am not sure how to send my email address to you, but I do NEED an accountability partner or partners!! I still have so many questions!!
Take care!!

Pj again.  Record or write down how you feel when feeling bad and look at this whenever you feel like a drink. The mind fools you into thinking you're cured and you forget how bad you were hence slipping

Thanks Pj....I know I need to continue to come back to this site. Late afternoon into early evening is the worst for me. A bad habit that was formed can be hard to break. I appreciate any wisdom especially from those who have walked this path in front of me!!

Hi Jewel--Sorry to hear about the ER, that really sucks. You may really not be in danger of having a seizure. Even "mild" withdrawal is bad. And it only gets worse. From my experience, and the experience of most people I guess, there's no going back once you reach a stage where you're drinking enough on a daily basis so your life changes, and you have clear withdrawal symptoms when you stop. But the good news is that you only drank for three years--that is really very little in comparison to what most people go through. And it also means you are much more likely to bounce back quickly. Just do some reading on post-acute withdrawal syndrome. There's a relationship between how hard that is and how long you were drinking (more than how much you drank) so you may not have major problems--but just prepare yourself because those symptoms are what cause most recovering alcoholics to start drinking again in the first two years. Oddly, feeling super good can do that too because you feel unrealistically optimistic and strong and want to have a drink "just for fun." If you can make up your mind now that you just don't need alcohol in your life at all you will make everything much easier on yourself. I know what you mean about not being taken seriously--practically no one in my life realizes the degree to which I developed an addiction. The only person who basically accepts is my doctor--even the bloody therapist didn't take it too seriously! It's insane but I think a lot of people, even people who are close, don't get it in part because serious drinkers hide the amounts they are drinking and hold their liquor well, and because people are just in denial. I told my mother that I can't drink because I have a problem with alcohol and yet she continued offering it to me--I would remind her and she would say, Oh, yes, I forgot. She doesn't have a drinking problem, by the way--just she probably did not want to see it. Anyway, you know where you're at, which is the most important thing. Just keep being honest with yourself. This thing will eat you alive if you lie to yourself but it's absolutely beatable if you just keep doing the right things. You can go back to your old life now, one step at a time. Diet sounds great. HIIT is great, really does some hormonal flip. For me, when I'm really feeling bad--depressed, anxious, irritable, fearful (the post-acute bugaboos)--long runs actually help the most. Everyone's different but if it gets tough give it a go. Will figure out how to do private messages on this board and send you my email. Good on you for making it this far!

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I know the symptoms I experienced should scare me enough that I will never go back to my old ways. Yet I realize the truth is when I feel great, as I do now, there is a possibility of starting to think that way. I think I read somewhere on here that they would not wish the withdrawal symptoms on anyone....I agree! I am reminded by my documentation that I never want to be in that place again!! For those of you reading who are thinking about reaching out....DO IT!! Reach out. There is no judgment here, or criticism, just words of wisdom and support. I know it is hard but so worth it!! Just read through some posts like Pj"s or Budapest and you will see that you can do it!!

guys i need your help i stop drinking 1 month ago and still my eyes is sensitive to light how  long this widrawal symptoms last.

It can take some time to get better, one month is such a short period. It may get worse for the next 2 months then, gradually, start getting better. Stick it out, be strong and ride it out.

I'd sit down with all of them, explain the situation with them, and say that you are serious about it, and you would like them to one, not buy beer or alcohol to try to get your drunk, two take you seriously and three support you in your decision to quit. That's my input if I had any.