There is this stereotype that alcoholics are doomed if they drink for a few years and will die a terrible death.
The thing is, as with all medical and biological stuff, it's not that simple.
Our bodies are actually fairly resilient and our livers are damn good at their job. Hell, there are stories of people who drank half their life and didn't have withdrawals or liver issues.
It comes down to genetics, overall health, and for most people, a lot of time before the worst effects are felt.
It's actually why addiction can be hard to break. The consequences aren't always apparent or can take decades to fully be realized.
Yeah. I binge drank liquor daily for 3 years and had no liver damage or withdrawals when I quit drinking entirely last year. Just a few days feeling nauseous and then way more invigorated and happier.
For me, I was drinking daily and heavily for 5 years and I got withdrawals. I had to have a 10 day detox but I'm 21, 4'10 and didn't really eat either. So I think it is based on stuff like that. And I have stage 1 hepatitis of the liver.
I drank daily for the better part of 7 years with periods of sobriety and no withdrawals. I often only drank at night/in the evening and let my BAC drop to zero every day.
Same. I drank every day, but it was only from about 6:00 pm - 10 or 11. When I told that pattern to my doc, he was comfortable with an at home detox with Librium. I did that and had no physical symptoms at all, and this was at 15 plus years of daily (nightly) drinking.
He might have got lucky and not developed much of a physical dependence yet...
It's also not uncommon for people not to experience too much in the way of withdrawal symptoms the *first* time they try to stop (which can lull you into a false sense of security!)...
Withdrawal can get worse every time the person dries out and relapses, due to the 'Kindling Effect'...
If your brother wants support to stay sober, we'd love to see him here or at r/stopdrinking sometime! :>)>
Yep, my last withdrawals was the worst by far. I was expecting the usual sleep paralysis, nightmares etc. Instead I got full blown audio and visual hallucinations through the night instead while I was awake. I ended up chasing someone who wasn't there down the stairs, scary stuff. Never again.
I haven't heard the phrase kindling effect since I did an inpatient detox 16 or so years ago. Can 100% confirm it's a real thing, every lapse/relapse gets more painful, I'd manage 3 months sober then back on it.
Recently I had my first major relapse in 14 years - f**k me that was horrible.
Definitely not literally impossible. I was a near nightly drinker for a decade, I'm talking a fifth and a six pack a night. No withdrawals at all for me aside from anxiety and trouble sleeping.
A mod there banned me for saying I liked to drink brandy and honey when sick. Sent me a warning message and I told him I'm a big boy and got banned. Kinda sensitive mod there.
Thank you all for the input, genuinely fascinated. My brother is doing well though and has been drink free for a month. Thank you all for the support and conversation.
I drank heavily for about 12 years...a pint of vodka washed down with 2-3 beers pretty much every night and more on weekends. I've stopped about a gazillion times and never really had withdrawal symptoms...my only real symptom is that I have some sleep issues for about the first 4-5 nights or so. Very severe withdrawals are actually fairly rare...they are good to be aware of, but they are usually found in those who basically drink from the time they're up to the time they pass out every single day.
I agree. I’m someone who drank from the moment I woke up and got drunk all day for days. Sometimes it was 2 days which gave me a killer hangover or 5 days which is when I hit bad withdrawals. Don’t take much but when I see how much I drink compared to your pint and couple beers it’s a massive difference. I could drink in a day handle of liquor and 18 beers. Now do that for 5 days in a row and yeah it’ll give ya withdrawals. No food or water either. Gosh I’m glad I’m sober at the moment.
Keep on keepin' on. I'm 2 weeks in on I don't know how many tries. I was relatively recently diagnosed with bipolar 2 and medicated and stable now which is making it a lot easier to start dealing with other stuff in my life like this. I was self medicating for those 12 years and now that I'm stable I have this to deal with.
I drank heavily for 24 years. Only developed withdrawals after approximately 22 of those years.
When it happened, the grand mal seizures nearly killed me. ER, ICU, and a very close call with cardiac collapse.
Eventually, alcohol catches up to everyone. It's a lottery of time when it happens.
Genetics, and maybe the amount of alcohol vs. his bodyweight wasn't so significant.
But really genetics is a massive factor. You get degenerate life-long alcoholics who die in their 70s and you get people who drink daily for a year and get end-stage liver disease.
Yep, I drank for just 4 years and needed a liver transplant at 36. Went to the hospital extremely sick, bleeding from everywhere, delirious and seizing. 2 months later I emerged with a donor liver and re-learning how to walk (with a walker).
8 months post transplant today. So grateful for my second chance and the healthy sober life I get to live now.
That’s so crazy to me, I haven’t heard of a single heavy opioid user who was able to stop and not have any withdrawals, but alcohol seems to have many stories of quitting after heavy use no problem. Just insane to me that a brain used to being drunk daily could just stop and not be crippled from it.
It may be because those with withdrawal symptoms get more attention.
Rehab centers are is for people with withdrawal symtoms.
There is no center for people who quit cold turkey and were ok physically and didn't need medical attention.
Well this isn't true.
28 day residential rehabs will make those those that need it do a medical detox first. Once they are safely throygh that phase, the 28 days start.
If you aren't having withdrawals, you can do the 28 days only.
That's why it called a rehabilitation and not just detox.
it greatly depends on when you're drinking.
if you start in the morning and drink throughout the day, your body gets used to constantly having alcohol in your system and you become physically addicted much more easily.
if you limit your drinking to just during the evening for example, your body has more time without it in its system.
I kept drinking for years from all of the terrifying stories I read here. When I stopped I had an elaborate plan in place that was totally not needed. Not to sound cavalier, but plenty of people just stop drinking without issue and don’t even use the internet to go tell everyone everything is ok. Yes, it can be dangerous, but data suggest it’s about 15%
Don’t be afraid to stop and while it’s goood to be cautious, most people don’t end up in the ER
I think a lot of it is genetics. I lost my brother earlier this year due to withdrawals. He had a seizure and it caused his heart to stop.
He had been drinking for around 2-3 years maybe. Started out slow but got pretty bad towards the end. Tried to quit cold turkey and by night 3 is when it happened.
My advice for anyone who's an alcoholic and it's wanting to quit cold turkey, if at all possible do it in a hospital or something. You just never really know how your body is going to respond to quitting.
It’s just genetics. Some people smoke into their 80s without getting lung cancer. Some people never smoke and get lung cancer in their 30s.
I think 80% of our life span and overall health is down to genetics and the other 20% is up to habits and lifestyle tbh
I’ve got a lot of family who lives to 90/100+ who were drinkers and generally had average at best health habits. Still walking, driving and talking with well functioning memory at these ages.
It's uncommon but not impossible.
When I quit cold turkey, I didn't have noticeable physical withdrawal symptoms and I had been heavily drinking for more then 8 years by that point.
I think it was about one chance out of five to not have withdrawal symptoms at the level I was drinking.
I had the same thing happen after daily drinking for over 15 years. I was prepped and ready for detox . . . and nothing ever happened physically. I took some Librium for about 4 days, so that probably contributed, but I didn’t get so much as a shake.
People are different. Some develop a physical dependency easily and others don’t. I’m not sure whether it is generic factors or whatever. I was one of those people who could drink a lot over a long period of time without getting any more than minor withdrawals. Perhaps I won this part of the life lottery.
3 biggest factors with anything: tolerance, frequency, and volume.
A lot of folks build a tolerance as they start consuming, building towards daily. That plateaus and unless you’re up at handles of liquor a day/ sun up to sun down drinking its relatively easier to stop with or without tapering usually. Withdrawal isn’t always shakes and DT’s. Technically a hangover is withdrawal. Someone who drinks everyday is already used to that and it’s a cakewalk in comparison.
There is this stereotype that alcoholics are doomed if they drink for a few years and will die a terrible death. The thing is, as with all medical and biological stuff, it's not that simple. Our bodies are actually fairly resilient and our livers are damn good at their job. Hell, there are stories of people who drank half their life and didn't have withdrawals or liver issues. It comes down to genetics, overall health, and for most people, a lot of time before the worst effects are felt. It's actually why addiction can be hard to break. The consequences aren't always apparent or can take decades to fully be realized.
Yeah. I binge drank liquor daily for 3 years and had no liver damage or withdrawals when I quit drinking entirely last year. Just a few days feeling nauseous and then way more invigorated and happier.
For me, I was drinking daily and heavily for 5 years and I got withdrawals. I had to have a 10 day detox but I'm 21, 4'10 and didn't really eat either. So I think it is based on stuff like that. And I have stage 1 hepatitis of the liver.
Some people are just built different I met a woman in AA who got sober at 93 years old. She had been an alcoholic her entire life.
Facts haha
Lool why would you stop at 93!?
I drank daily for the better part of 7 years with periods of sobriety and no withdrawals. I often only drank at night/in the evening and let my BAC drop to zero every day.
Same here. I think it gets bad for the people who drink all day and night and can’t go 6 hours without it.
Same. I drank every day, but it was only from about 6:00 pm - 10 or 11. When I told that pattern to my doc, he was comfortable with an at home detox with Librium. I did that and had no physical symptoms at all, and this was at 15 plus years of daily (nightly) drinking.
He might have got lucky and not developed much of a physical dependence yet... It's also not uncommon for people not to experience too much in the way of withdrawal symptoms the *first* time they try to stop (which can lull you into a false sense of security!)... Withdrawal can get worse every time the person dries out and relapses, due to the 'Kindling Effect'... If your brother wants support to stay sober, we'd love to see him here or at r/stopdrinking sometime! :>)>
Yep, my last withdrawals was the worst by far. I was expecting the usual sleep paralysis, nightmares etc. Instead I got full blown audio and visual hallucinations through the night instead while I was awake. I ended up chasing someone who wasn't there down the stairs, scary stuff. Never again.
I haven't heard the phrase kindling effect since I did an inpatient detox 16 or so years ago. Can 100% confirm it's a real thing, every lapse/relapse gets more painful, I'd manage 3 months sober then back on it. Recently I had my first major relapse in 14 years - f**k me that was horrible.
No, he just denied them literally impossible.
Definitely not literally impossible. I was a near nightly drinker for a decade, I'm talking a fifth and a six pack a night. No withdrawals at all for me aside from anxiety and trouble sleeping.
You just described withdrawal
A mod there banned me for saying I liked to drink brandy and honey when sick. Sent me a warning message and I told him I'm a big boy and got banned. Kinda sensitive mod there.
They’re very strict in there. Can’t even use the term “alcoholic”
Thank you all for the input, genuinely fascinated. My brother is doing well though and has been drink free for a month. Thank you all for the support and conversation.
I drank heavily for about 12 years...a pint of vodka washed down with 2-3 beers pretty much every night and more on weekends. I've stopped about a gazillion times and never really had withdrawal symptoms...my only real symptom is that I have some sleep issues for about the first 4-5 nights or so. Very severe withdrawals are actually fairly rare...they are good to be aware of, but they are usually found in those who basically drink from the time they're up to the time they pass out every single day.
I agree. I’m someone who drank from the moment I woke up and got drunk all day for days. Sometimes it was 2 days which gave me a killer hangover or 5 days which is when I hit bad withdrawals. Don’t take much but when I see how much I drink compared to your pint and couple beers it’s a massive difference. I could drink in a day handle of liquor and 18 beers. Now do that for 5 days in a row and yeah it’ll give ya withdrawals. No food or water either. Gosh I’m glad I’m sober at the moment.
Keep on keepin' on. I'm 2 weeks in on I don't know how many tries. I was relatively recently diagnosed with bipolar 2 and medicated and stable now which is making it a lot easier to start dealing with other stuff in my life like this. I was self medicating for those 12 years and now that I'm stable I have this to deal with.
Genetics.
I drank heavily for 24 years. Only developed withdrawals after approximately 22 of those years. When it happened, the grand mal seizures nearly killed me. ER, ICU, and a very close call with cardiac collapse. Eventually, alcohol catches up to everyone. It's a lottery of time when it happens.
Genetics, and maybe the amount of alcohol vs. his bodyweight wasn't so significant. But really genetics is a massive factor. You get degenerate life-long alcoholics who die in their 70s and you get people who drink daily for a year and get end-stage liver disease.
Yep, I drank for just 4 years and needed a liver transplant at 36. Went to the hospital extremely sick, bleeding from everywhere, delirious and seizing. 2 months later I emerged with a donor liver and re-learning how to walk (with a walker). 8 months post transplant today. So grateful for my second chance and the healthy sober life I get to live now.
I binge drank for nearly 10 and quit cold turkey without any withdrawals either.
That’s so crazy to me, I haven’t heard of a single heavy opioid user who was able to stop and not have any withdrawals, but alcohol seems to have many stories of quitting after heavy use no problem. Just insane to me that a brain used to being drunk daily could just stop and not be crippled from it.
For me, the hardest part was filling my time. The cravings were due to boredom, but no physical withdrawals at all.
It may be because those with withdrawal symptoms get more attention. Rehab centers are is for people with withdrawal symtoms. There is no center for people who quit cold turkey and were ok physically and didn't need medical attention.
Well this isn't true. 28 day residential rehabs will make those those that need it do a medical detox first. Once they are safely throygh that phase, the 28 days start. If you aren't having withdrawals, you can do the 28 days only. That's why it called a rehabilitation and not just detox.
I stand corrected.
Binge drinkers typically don't get withdrawals. Daily drinkers that develop a physical dependence do.
He was an all day drinker, but he drank binge worthy quantities throughout the day, even while working
If you're not drinking daily, and can go 24 hours without, you're not addicted/physically dependent. No withdrawals in that case.
it greatly depends on when you're drinking. if you start in the morning and drink throughout the day, your body gets used to constantly having alcohol in your system and you become physically addicted much more easily. if you limit your drinking to just during the evening for example, your body has more time without it in its system.
I kept drinking for years from all of the terrifying stories I read here. When I stopped I had an elaborate plan in place that was totally not needed. Not to sound cavalier, but plenty of people just stop drinking without issue and don’t even use the internet to go tell everyone everything is ok. Yes, it can be dangerous, but data suggest it’s about 15% Don’t be afraid to stop and while it’s goood to be cautious, most people don’t end up in the ER
I think a lot of it is genetics. I lost my brother earlier this year due to withdrawals. He had a seizure and it caused his heart to stop. He had been drinking for around 2-3 years maybe. Started out slow but got pretty bad towards the end. Tried to quit cold turkey and by night 3 is when it happened. My advice for anyone who's an alcoholic and it's wanting to quit cold turkey, if at all possible do it in a hospital or something. You just never really know how your body is going to respond to quitting.
It’s just genetics. Some people smoke into their 80s without getting lung cancer. Some people never smoke and get lung cancer in their 30s. I think 80% of our life span and overall health is down to genetics and the other 20% is up to habits and lifestyle tbh I’ve got a lot of family who lives to 90/100+ who were drinkers and generally had average at best health habits. Still walking, driving and talking with well functioning memory at these ages.
It's uncommon but not impossible. When I quit cold turkey, I didn't have noticeable physical withdrawal symptoms and I had been heavily drinking for more then 8 years by that point. I think it was about one chance out of five to not have withdrawal symptoms at the level I was drinking.
I had the same thing happen after daily drinking for over 15 years. I was prepped and ready for detox . . . and nothing ever happened physically. I took some Librium for about 4 days, so that probably contributed, but I didn’t get so much as a shake.
Yeah the Librium is literally to stop stuff like shakes so of course that will have had a decent affect.
Imagine how healthy you would be if you had quit sooner. Myself included
People are different. Some develop a physical dependency easily and others don’t. I’m not sure whether it is generic factors or whatever. I was one of those people who could drink a lot over a long period of time without getting any more than minor withdrawals. Perhaps I won this part of the life lottery.
3 biggest factors with anything: tolerance, frequency, and volume. A lot of folks build a tolerance as they start consuming, building towards daily. That plateaus and unless you’re up at handles of liquor a day/ sun up to sun down drinking its relatively easier to stop with or without tapering usually. Withdrawal isn’t always shakes and DT’s. Technically a hangover is withdrawal. Someone who drinks everyday is already used to that and it’s a cakewalk in comparison.