Anxiety? or Withdrawals?

HI Scotty.. My advice would be to stary off booze since I also have weird feelings and mood swings very often when I drank. Feel much better now and more money in the bank. Robin

Hiya Scott

I think your plan to take 6 months off alcohol is a wonderful one You will feel so good about yourself both physically and mentally

I have been a stop start moderate/ heavy and binge wine drinker for years .I have quite easily been able to take take days/ weeks off like yourself .. BUT however much I drank I would wake in a pool of sweat 3_4 hours after last drink followed by a day of anxiety. . I have a funny irregular heartbeat ( apparrently innocuous ) which has been much worse after drinking heavily .I am now in the process of TSM taking nalmefene ( I am 5 weeks in ) .....My drinking has reduced considerably and recently only drinking a couple of glasses of wine Sat and Sun evenings .However I am still waking 3-4 after that last drink in a pool of sweat and an unpleasant restlessness which seems bizarre on that small amount of alcohol. Sooo I am now beginning to conclude my body is pretty intolerant to alcohol and am beginning rethinking whether I should really be totally abstinent again . I am sure normal drinkers dont react like this .. but like you I enjoy those glasses but not sure if they are still trying to tell me something 😑😑

Hi Nat That is such a shame when you have come so far. You can definately pinpoint the anxiety to alcohol? You never ever had this pattern of anxiety when you were abstinent? Just hoping something may occur to you. Thinking of you x

Hi JulieAnne 

I really do think its the alcohol making giving me the night sweats and that worry 'head restlessness' as I call it ... it always has done it  to me  but its weird that such a small amount of alcohol is still doing it  .. I dont drink every day and on my alcohol free ones it  doesn't happen   ,, I  think I will keep on with the nalmefene  for now  as going for abstinence would be a danger zone for me right now 

I hope hubby is doing ok on his meds and  beginning to feel better in himself x

 

Hi Nat. God, Alcohol is the pits. Who would believe that just 2-3 glasses of wine could still cause such havoc? I feel for you.I know my Husband longs to drink normally using TSM but he does suffer with anxiety. Ho hum we shall see. 2nd day of Campral no side effects yet. He is back to work tomorrow. The usual lies - stress related sickness blah blah blah as they have a zero tolerance of alcohol on the premises. He says that is laughable, as quite a few colleagues go out for a lunchtime drink and come back half asleep lol and they are upper management. Hypocrites. He says the thought of alcohol (at the moment) is repugnant, but I know that won't last. Praying that Campral will help him xx

.So pleased the Campral is showing no side effects and I do hope hubby gets on ok at work tomorrow, yep its  such a shame having to go in under some sort of pretence that its 'stress'   and its not good having to see people come back from lunch dopey from alcohol ..but hey thats normal I guess ha ha  so they say 

All us drinkers go through that repugnant bit  yep and sadly  it is often,too often   short lived.  I dont know much about Campral but  it seems very successful. I do get my moments but think I will keep going with TSM ,, I try not to drink much anyway in the week but been so glad of the nalmafene today, It was a stress filled day with family illness   and I felt the real urge to drink for the wrong reasons ( if there is ever a right one !). I actually really recognised a clear trigger to have a ' proper drink'! Sooo  anyway  I popped a pill while I was sat in hospital cafe having coffee and by the time I was near home about 90 mins later that desperate urge had gone  but I bought the wine anyway ( its a waste of a pill otherwise !)  and have had one glass all evening , probably have another and that will be it.... without the pill I would have had the bottle hours ago  with full intentions to stop when it was gone ( sadly that never never happens)  so then it would be down the road for another, bottle ,, and feeling  like death tomorrow .... so nalmafene is definitely working in that respect.it still makes me feel a bit odd  about an hour after taking it but its nothing I can;t deal with. Julie I  can understand your husband longing to drink normally... Tell him to hold on in there as it is  achievable with the magic meds lol   

Again I wish hubby all the best for tomorrow...He has a wonderful person in you helping him hack his way through all this xx

Hi Nat. I am definately not Mrs wonderful. I have screamed and hurled abuse at the poor man, I even emptied a whole bottle of vodka over his head, as he lay in a drunken stupor. I was and still am so scared I am going to lose him. I could not understand how he could be 2 years sober and then go back to bad old habits. Then I was given a contact number at our local hosp alcohol unit. They explained such a lot to me, what happens to the brain. How, because he has AUD in his family it is more likely he will have problems. I do feel guilty that I lacked empathy but I was ignorant. Didn't help that my Dad had problems with alcohol too. We face the difficult times together now. I would like to think that he can be honest with me now. It's not good when you lend your neighbour the cat carrier and it has got half a bottle of vodka hidden in it! xx

Oh dear Julie I had to laugh when I read about the cat carrier.. Don't for one minute suppose u laughed at the time .Us people with AUD find some ridiculous hiding places and then of course forget where we have hid the damn stuff .I live alone now but have many a time I have hid booze from myself ..doh ! My stupidest place years ago was in the cistern of the loo....ooops

It is a hard illness to understand.I did 14 yrs and went back to it as I thought I could drink normally and convinced everyone except myself I can.We have a lot of AUD in our family .I worry about my eldest son..He only drinks at weekends and doesn't perceive it as an issuec but boy does he get drunk..He is 40 now and saw a lot of my drinking when hevwas young and knew all my special brew the hiding places too ..ughhh makes me shudder now

The thing is Julie you have stood by hubby and supporting him through this even if you have poured a bottle of vodka over his head and all the screaming and shouting..You are human and don't want him to destroy himself and your marriage ... I pray that your working through this together pays off for you both..I think stands a pretty damn good chance and I hope he realises how lucky he is to have your support .. 🤗

Thank you Nat. I will always feel guilty I guess but then so does hubby. He is always saying sorry. But we do laugh about the cat carrier and about a 'leak' we had in the attic but was actually his stash of K cider he had knocked over 😳 thank god I didn't call out the plumber, that would have been the end. Well he is at work now, company suggested phase back, but will not actually pay for it 😒He has lost so many good jobs with well known companies. I feel so sad for him. At least he has still got this one. The alcohol unit at local hosp have told him that funding is being cut and he won't be allowed anymore medical detoxing this year. We are so lucky to have this service, if we had to rely on ARC, I don't know where we would be. Also, he was very poorly on first day of detox- could not stop dry heaving, had to give him prn's of Chlordiazpoxide all in one go and get him to A & E . He was in a corridor with 8 other people on a heart monitor and a drip. So things are serious now, Campral really does need to work and then Nalt/Nalf when his body has recovered if that is what he wants to do. I know he suffers from anxiety and that he initially used alcohol to help him relax in social situations. There seems to be an awful lot of people with AUD on this forum that suffer from anxiety. I know that alcohol makes it worse tho. A worrying aspect of it all is if, as you are experiencing, it permanently damages something in the brain and even tiny amounts will trigger anxiety, what will he do then? We can only wait and see. Thank you for listening to me go on. I hope you will be able to continue your treatment and not suffer too much with anxiety. Best wishes x

It's a good job that we can smile at some of these stories ..I have had visions of cider dripping through ceilings and a comatose cat in the basket after a session on the vodka ha ha .Seriously though it doesn't sound like his body would take much more abuse and you must be at your with end with it all.Hopefully this is the turning point now for him ( and you of course ) and the Campral will work and he can have the Nal/Net to follow on and importantly he remains determined to turn this around

I'm not an anxious person but I know the alcohol makes a goid job of making a liar out of me there .. I am jittery and anxious when it wears off even if it's a small amount but if it's been a real binge ...well ..it's horrendous .thank goodness been no binge since beginning of December and it feels sooo good 😊😊

Don't forget to take good care of yourself too my friend xx

Yes, living with someone who has AUD, is like a black comedy at times! I must admit I never thought of looking in the loo cistern! So glad you have managed to stop the bingeing it is so destructive isn't it? It would seem from what Scotty has found on other sites, that small amounts of alcohol can still cause anxiety. That's a bit of a bummer. We will just have to see what happens 😶 hope yours settles down soon x

Hi Julie-Anne, hope hubs did ok today; bet he was nervous.

Your post  reminded me of a Director I was temping for a few years ago.  I was booked in for 5 months.  He was early thirties and liked to go out for lunch to the pub nearby.  He used to phone me and say that he had been held up (with a client lol) and ask me to cancel his appointment who were due to come and see him that afternoon.  One day a couple arrived for their appointment and he had not returned, even though I had reminded him not to be late, when I phoned him (in the pub) he asked me to get rid of them and re-book and I refused.  I told him I was coming to collect him and the couple were going no-where.  He arrived  pretty quickly and never did it again - well not whilst I was there.

I never would have thought that I could have got myself into this pickle and have to work hard at de-pickling. 

It is fabulous to read how committed you are (my hubs aint!!). Love and  enjoy your posts for our fam xx

Yes he did ok thanks. He looked a bit pale tho. The hosp said it would take 2-3 months to properly recover.

Your reminisces about your boss made me laugh, especially the way you brought him to heel 😳

The older he gets, the less able he is to deal with this. I hope that this year will be the turning point.

I hope you achieve depickling as smoothly and as safely as possible. Thinking of you all on here as always xx

Ha ha yep a half bottle of vodka in the cistern causes plumming problems in more ways than one ! .... I shudder to remember ..😫😫

Hi Nat. Just re read your reply. So full of my own problems, I didn't read what of your experiences with TSM and life. So glad it is still working for you in that you have been able to manage your stress in a safer way than bingeing. It gives us hope.

Hello Nat. I am JulieAnnes Husband. Thank you for your kind words and support. I am not very good at sharing my problems. I never shared at AA. TSM is giving us hope.

Thinking of you NAT -JulieAnne x

Hi JulieAnne and Hubby.... Yes its going ok but not without little hiccups .I thought I.d really blown it today as I was out for a birthday lunch . I ordered food and drink fizzy water for me and a drink for daughter.While we were waiting I said to daughter I don't know why I.m not having a glass of wine I'm not driving !! .Doh ! Flip me I went to the bar and changed the order.After a mouthful of wine I was suddenly horrified as had no nalmephene in .me...I thought something dreadful was going to happen.I had in all honesty forgotten about taking the the pill in that few impulsive minutes.Anyway luckily had some pills on me took one and drank the wine slowly ..I couldn't leave it as my daughter would think I had gone completely mad.. Everything was ok but I was very lucky...a bit of a sketchy situation as I didn't do any waiting time between pill and tablet ! A lesson learned

I hope everything is running smoothly Julie's Hubby , we have all been with you on this recent journey.. When the time comes the nalmephene / nat is so worth considering along with TSM .. I can't explain how it makes you feel about alcohol when you drink but I know for me it's doing what it says it can..

My thoughts are with you both xx ( stay strong Mr. You are fighting a good fight there xx

Thank you Nat. It could be said TSM has normalised the process of having a glass of wine with your meal so much, that you forgot about the meds! 😳 I bet there are a few who have done that, but haven't admitted it 😉 x

Hubby still wants to eventually try Nalf/Nalt. So we are very interested in your journey with TSM. We have read Joanna's and Gary Bells journey. It really buoys us up, to hear of all the successes. A nurse in the alcohol unit bluntly told us that Naltrexone does not work. When a professional says something like that, it leaves you feeling rather flat. So, to hear of your genuine journey, is such a lift

Hope your anxiety settles down soon. Thinking of you and everyone who has AUD x

I think it is so so wrong when a professional tells you a medication doesn't work ! Who do they think they are the new NICE 

Yeah it's crap isn't it? Told her Naltrexone had been passed by NICE She didn't think much of NICE either 😁 lol

Yes she is talking crap ...I.m laughing here at the ridiculous woman...Don't ever let them put you down JulieAnne ...You know better!! , you are reading real stories here ...I have had my Nalmefene tonight at 8 pm , I had the 2 hrs wait and then a slow couple of glasses and am then bed ...I could have hit the brandy left from Christmas or the silly old Baileys that was never opened but there was no urge to do it ..The old me would have had those bottles polished off by boxing day and tonight's 2 glasses would have been nearer 2 bottles or anything else in the house because that's was me ! ...The woman is talking out of her backside and I feel so so cross on your behalf ....keep on battling with them

The beauty of it too is I probably won't even bother with alcohol for the rest of the week ..come next weekend I will have a drink as I need to keep the meds going and working for me ..nitey nite x

Nitey nitey Nat. Thank you for that. I didn't challenge the detox nurse coz by then I was so stressed, I just needed him to be detoxed. But what I am going to do and the old man agrees with me, is to make a graph like Gary Bell did and then take it into the detox unit. We'll try and explain how TSM works and list some site. You never know they might actually listen 😶 great to hear of your continued success. Can't wait until he starts taking it x