I need help. Alcoholism.

Good on you for recognizing that you need to do something about your level of drinking. I'd suggest having a discussion with your GP about your heart concerns so that you can be tested and hopefully have your fears allayed and this I'll help the anxiety. Also the heartburn thing, because that doesn't make sense - you'd expect more heartburn when drinking.

It's easy to think that drink helps you sleep, but it isn't real sleep. Try doing something else to make you tired.

Then if after all this you are still drinking heavily you will need to get help with that.

I wish you all the best - it is good to get a grip on it while you are still young.

You sound a bit like me twenty years ago.

The daily amount and the symptoms would lead me to think that you are at least slightly alcohol dependent. When i say that, I mean your body and mind requires it and send you messages, just like your stomach does when it is hungry.

What happens is, when you drink, it slows the brain down, so the brain shifts up a gear to counteract this. However, if you have become dependent, the alcohol wears off, but the brain stays in that upper gear, even though the brake that the alcohol was applying has gone. The net result is that your brain runs at 20 to the dozen. It won't stop or switch off, it is hyperactive and of course you can't go into sleep mode.

Anxiety is another mood/state of mind altered by alcohol. The heart will be a physical sign of the alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol also raises blood pressure.

The heartburn is likely to be acid reflux - Google 'alcohol acid reflux'. The alcohol is probably causing it and masking it at the same time.

Whatever you do, don't try to stop completely without medication, you are unlikely to like the results or be capable of going to work.

You can try to taper it down, say 6 cans for a week, then 4, then 2. The problem with that is, once you have had two cans and get the buzz, the nice feeling, good intentions go out of the window and you drink the usual amount. But, do try it, you may be successful.

If you are unsuccessful, you may have to have a look at taking a detox, which involves taking medication for a week, that suppresses those feelings you get as the alcohol wears off.

You are unlikely to be having a heart attack or in that territory, although alcohol does weaken the heart.

That should be enough for you to go on for today. Digest that first and then you will probably have other questions.

Oh boy...you are feeling this way when you try to stop because your body is missing the alcohol...the anxiety is the WORST feeling...Actually, drinking in the long run will put more pressure on your heart to work harder and will cause you more problems in the long run.  And especially with your Dad dying so young...heart problems could be hereditary..leading to more danger for you.

​You will definetly have to cut down...first...if you can take a week out of work for vacation that would be a perfect time...If that is not possible...try cutting down over time?  Like if you drink 10 a night...drink 8...for a week...then 7, 6, (will take weeks to get to a point of little withdrawal). 

​Its good you are noticing this so young. I'm glad you found us.  its not easy to stop...I feel for you....and lastly, it s*cks you lost your Dad so young...I'm so sorry for you for that...Keep posting...even if you can't stop right now....you will get alot of support EITHER way.

HI there.All is said by others and YES you need help. I often give advice relevant for myself: have your reached rock bottom? It seems to me that you have and you must try since your quality of life is going down and down...check with more doctors about your swallowing problems and also relevant medicnes (probably..) best of luck from Robin

Hey, CiW. There's a medication called Selincro that many are using to cut down, it works well to help you reduce your drinking. You'll probably need to add something for the anxiety and reflux, as you're used to medicating with alchohol for that. If you were to go cold turkey your doc might prescribe some benzodiazepine, but if you went the Selincro route, you need to stay away from using benzos with it. But yes, you can "unwind" the addiction over a number of months. This article describes such a process and the medication involved:

 https://patient.info/health/sinclair-method-for-alcohol-use-disorder

Selincro can help you knock it down quite a bit without a lot of willpower. You might that as a binger your drinking levels bounce around quite a bit at first, but one of the first things that bingers report about this method is the blackouts go by the wayside, which is a big win right there. 

RHGB uses something called Acamprosate, you have to be abstinent for a bit before you start it, but it kills the craving, seems to get the job done. 

There's a book written by someone on my side of the pond that goes over a number of different medications to help you quit or reduce drinking, not all of them are available in the UK though. The book is mentioned in the last post of this topic:

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/useful-resources-487627

It doesn't sound like you would get along with the AA/abstinence route, but if you could, there are certainly no drugs to bother with, so that's a real benefit. If you've tried it and just end up buried deeper each time, best to stop that cycle, hunt down the craving and kill it. It all depends on your circumstances. The info in the first link has a pretty high success rate and the method is designed to erase the cravings so you can choose to drink a bit on occasion or just drop it entirely. 

One of the meds mentioned in the book in the 2nd link is Baclofen, here's a link to a topic by one fellow that tells how he used it:

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome-symptoms-506371

Well, there's no "One Size Fits All", but at least there are very workable alternatives to "white knuckling" it, not that I'm putting that down, if you can abstain and stay quit, then that's probably what you should do. If you can't, then there is something out there to help you get to where you want to be.

I use the method in the first link, dropped from about 84 US drinks per week to about 17 in 3 months. I'll continue with it till the cravings are erased and I can have free will about drinking, like other folk. None of these meds will fix an underlying depression/anxiety problem, so once you conquer the drink you'll still have to deal with that, but at least you won't have booze muddying up your efforts. 

So yeah, you can be free of it, CiW. There's certainly something out there that's going to be a good fit for you.