I have been wondering why some go thru physical withdrawals and some don't? I was put in jail after a blackout dui. When I got out 4 days later my sister said did you go thru withdrawals? I didn't at least not like what i have seen and heard about. Im sure it doesn't make me any less of an alcoholic. Maybe I was just blessed. I know it sounds so stupid but I was a everyday drinker mostly beer and wine. Im glad but very curious.
It's hard to say and just because a person doesn't experience withdrawal symptoms on one occasion, doesn't mean that they won't the next. I can attest to that. Withdrawal or "DTs", I believe, are caused by fluctuations in the body (liver) as it tries to deal with the toxins created by the processing of alcohol, which is also a toxin. There seems to be a cumulative affect as an alcoholic drinks through their hangovers. It's counter intuitive, but more alcohol will somehow neutralize or offset the toxins. produced by the body, from the previous day (or night) of drinking. The cruel part is when the liver begins to act irratically, where some days it will process 1 drink per hour (or more), then the liver may shut down for hours (or days). This is why sometimes we can drink a lot and seem to keep from getting out of control, one day, and get completely hammered after having 4 or 5 drinks the next time. Once the liver begins this fluctuating pattern of behavior, there is no going back to "the way it was". This is perhaps the hardest thing for the alcoholic to accept and this lack of acceptance, that we can no longer drink safely, is what drives our denial.
I have no idea as to the physiological reasons for this, but like you, I have never experienced D.T.s, though I was a nearly daily drinker. I certainly experienced the mental obsession and emotional discomfort during the early days of sobriety. And, I know that I have what is termed the "physical allergy"; after a single drink, I absolutely want another one, and another, and another . . . . So, yes, I too am an alcoholic. I also don't doubt that the disease is progressive, so that if God forbid, I ever took a drink again, I have a good chance of eventually experiencing the DTs. One day at a time, I pray that never happens.
I went to an awesome meeting last night that I hadn't been to in a couple of months. This meeting is going to celebrate 52 years in the same church location next week. Lots of sober alcoholics living successfully one day at a time. How very blessed we all are!!!
I do know thats it is soooooooo much easier to stay sober then it is to get sober.
Ya know , after my last drunk I was suffering so badly that I about the only thing I do remember is that I was so sick. I felt so badly, worse than I had ever felt prior. I dont recall having any shakes. I recall the depression. That kind of depression that only an alcoholic knows and has experienced.
Susie...I don't know if I ever went thru withdrawals after I quit but I can tell you that I could not start drinking without getting a hangover type headache from my second sip onward. Before my alcoholic cousin (my alcohol sponsor) died he also couldn't nurse more than a beer or two starting from early in the morning. It was too painful for him and he looked like hell.
Questions like this are not stupid. The more you know the better shield you have against re-engaging the disease again. For me I went to college to get some of my education on addiction and alcoholism and of course the rooms of recovery.
Ahhhh.....very helpful and yes this information only makes me stronger in my fight. It was a question my boyfriend and I were talking about. Thanks to all of you who took the time to answer my question!! Have a Great Sober Day All!!!! :)
The only dumb question is the one that is not asked.
This is not a stupid question at all Suzie. Just as long as when you get your answers to the quetions asked, you dont use those results as a way to compare yourself to others. I have found thru my experience that comparing can lead me to say to myself sometimes ... 'hmmm... I wasnt that bad, I didnt drink like that, I didnt have dt's, etc, etc.
My sponsor has always told me to ask the old timers questions if I have them. I can learn much from their experience If I keep an open mind.
Thanks ljc. Oh I know the dangers of comparing myself to others. I have played that game in my mind many times. But I know now that is normal, as long as I think it thru. Ask myself why and I really here??? When I say to myself...."I wasn't as bad as that person" I then ask myself what benefit would drinking be if I were to pick up again? I so far have not come up with one thing. Even if I wasn't an alcoholic I see no beneifit of Alcohol. I do have to remind myself tho, because I have a disease that tries to tell me I don't have a disease. Since becoming sober I have become a better mom, friend, girl friend, and believe it or not a runner!! I will be running my 7th half marathon. I have to remember I am the person I am today because I don't pick up that drink. I also want all you new comers to remember that the first time of sobriety is a GIFT.......If you throw it away you will have to fight hard for recovery! I truly hold tight to my gift. I have been sober for 26 months and thank God every day!
