Alcohol Dependence & Withdrawal

I've been an alcoholic since I was 15. I'm 27 now. I started drinking a year after my mom passed . I've been to 7 rehabs and have went back to drinking everytime just to escape my darkness. For the first time I can say I've been sober except bud for 8 months. Feels good to feel good

Experienced a seizure once due to withdrawal and honestly I’m not willing to take that chance again

I need help please, sorry for the big comment but I am explaining in depth so I can get the best help.

I’m 24 year old male, relatively average build however put a lot of fat on over the months.

I had a fallout with my ex girlfriend during December last year, I stopped smoking cannabis as after years of been on and off it, I knew what it was doing to my temper. We have a beautiful baby girl and I wasn’t aloud to see her until I got help. I started drinking during December like I say, started as a few bottles, then a crate. Stopped for 2 weeks in January then the trouble really began. I became very deprived after being deprived of seeing my little girl, I was prescribed sertraline and my temper is minimal now which I’m thankful for, but depression was still heavy.

It started as maybe 4-8 cans (I don’t get hangovers so I wake up fresh and felt I could carry on daily, knowing it could end up as a dependency. By the end of January I was consuming atleast 2 bottles of red wine a night, along with around 6 8.5% cans of beer, it continued and has until now. However it was 3 bottles of wine just over a week ago, when I started throwing up loads on it and have been put off it for the time being. So then last Friday, a week and a half ago, I bought a bottle of gin, in the last week and a half I’ve consumed around 8-9 bottles of gin. I’m terrified the damage I’ve done is irreversible. I’ve consumed probably around 40-50 units every single night for over 2 months. This morning I woke up, felt disorientated, my breathing has been really heavy and almost struggling to get air at times, I was shaking and I was throwing up, but just reaching as I hadn’t ate since lastnight. I rang drinkline (UK) and the possibility of me being dependent is very high. I can see my daughter regularly now and me and my ex are in really good terms, my family is scared for me and I’m not myself anymore.

I just need advice on stopping, do I go cold turkey, which seems very risky, or do I slowly drink less everyday including tonight, obviously my family don’t want me drinking at all, but after looking at the effects of stopping altogether are I don’t fancy chancing it. Any advice is seriously appreciated. Please help me, I don’t want to die young I need to see my daughter grow, I didn’t choose or want to be like this, life just became difficult. Thankyou again in advance to anyone who can help me.

As a second grade human, I'll add my worthless comment.

I can't stop the hiccups from abusing myself with the drugs government makes legal, which has and is destroying my life. All because we're all expendable and replaced based on a taxable drug, which adds to the economy.
So, what's important, health and lives or money and destruction?

Great video. Makes this topic easy to comprehend.

I. Can't. Win.

Wow. I think I understood.

Thank you for your talk! Your audio could be better.

My grandma died from alcohol withdrawal. My mom had a really tough time. After over a decade of drinking I decided to break the cycle. I’ve been sober 8 months now. I’m lucky. I really didn’t have any withdrawal. I had a fast heart rate and sweating for 24 hours. Craving for about 3 days and then I was fine. I won’t ever go back.

Thanks for the video, sorry for the late comment but I am currently 18months into my sobriety, i was a heavy daily drinker.

6 months into my recovery i had a heart attack and a seizer which broke both my scapulas from the severe tension.

Could have been partly caused from alcohol withdrawal even 6months into sobriety.

Thanks

Very well explained! I used to be alcohol dependant and experienced all sorts of wonderful withdrawal symptoms all the way to having seizures. It was explained to me at a time that my nervous system was over compensating after stopping alcohol but this explains it a lot better in biochemical and physiological terms which I understand. I've been sober 14 years now and went back to school and got a degree in medical sciences. It's just amazing how the body adapts and actually changes on a physiological level to drugs and alcohol. Anyway, great video, really enjoyed your enthusiasm for the subject!

Would calcium channel blockers (usually for blood pressure regulation) have any effect reducing on withdrawal symptoms?

I have been an alcoholic for 15 years and everyday is a battle to not drink. Thanks for this video at least I can understand what’s happening to the brain and body

Recently quit....again. Idk, I'm tired of being hungover and trying to hide it, the constant stomach pains the next day, and my memory being about the same level as a gold fish's. Idk. Day 4 and fine. Just worried about vacation next month. That will be the test.

Only been sober for 19 days but I plan to grow this number to triple and quadruple digits. Tired of running on empty.

Benzos Suck so bad. Totally ready for the benzo withdrawal to be over with.

Junk science video. Guy says that one drink could be fatal. Please flag this video for spreading misinformation.

Thanks, these are some good reminders, there’s no question that increasing your mental clarity and boosting your drive, comes with quitting. Yes, there are many ways to kick the habit, Steffon Barkload's Quit Drinking Forever is what worked for me, best shortcut I go’ogled that took days without withdrawal.

i love gabber

Bro, u lost me .

I am an alcoholic. I was sober 9months started again 1 month ago I respect this explanantion and never can ever drink again. Bless those who are going through their withdrawals and addition be strong this video is spot on. Beleive in yourself ❤

I'm interested in digestive, small intestine,poop 😊

Great video 👍

Pretty sure it acts as a stimulant for some people. Maybe you need to look a little deeper.

Thanks so much. Stopped several days ago. Helpful information and support.

I had the Dts 6 days of living hell!! Hulucinating hearing voices shaking and the shaking only goes away if you keep drinking its all true FK Alcohol. Never again!!!

Im watching this drinking a fifth of Smirnoff... Please help me

I drank 96 0.33l 4.5% beers in 4 days. I started to experience severe symptoms 9 hours after last drink. Experienced pain in heart several times, seizures, shaking . They lasted for 12 hours. After that feeling almost normal. Also I drank 3 of these beers in the withdrawal day in 6 hours. I started to laugh to very random things (cheese, power cord) just before getting seizures.

Has anyone had a fulness feeling and/or a quiet hiss in your ear/ears after quitting alcohol?

I still drink but I dont drink for enjoyment. I drink out of necessity. Even 2 weeks of celebatory drinking is enough to land in this state. What choice do you have? Either go to the hospital or nurse these physiological symtpoms with slow progressive downshift style drinking. Basically, if you ramp up alcohol intake, you must also ramp it down. Terrible curse.

@DrMattDrMike Could you please let me know the lancet article on alcohol withdrawal you referenced in this video. Id like to locate and read this article please : )

2 years at least sober. Need to for many reasons , health, marriage,etc, but especially for my daughter. Shes going to college soon. Don't want her meeting anyone like me.

F*** quitting sounds painful

Ive been sober for 5 days, currently having intense anxiety, nausea, dry heaving and blurred vision. I wanna go to the liquor store so bad to fix this, but i dont.

Alcohol withdrawal took away my ability to relax and sleep more than anything as well as palpitations etc. i started Taurine 500 mg to 1000mg at night with 300mg magnesium glycinate and sleep like a baby now. I used to be up til 11 am no sleep freaking out with anxiety snd heightened senses and now i can relax and drift to sleep peacefully. Anyone going through bad anxiety and sleep problems needs to utlize this!

Is it true Methadone is made from Butanol or is made of ?? Does that mean your going thru both alcohol & opioid withdrawals ????

Amazon sells a good book about the dangers of alcohol "Alcohol: The Mind and Body Killer".
Because of the legality and prevalence of alcoholic beverages, many people are unaware that alcohol is a potent drug that causes first excitement and then paralysis of the nervous system, leading to dangerous diseases including diabetes, cancer, and mental disorders. The book describes the mechanisms of action and the negative consequences of alcohol use.

Thank you so much for this video! Super helpful

Dr. Mike here again doing what he does best - bring clarity!

Alcohol and cigarettes addiction actually destroyed my life. I could remember several years ago after divorce with my wife which brought me into my disastrous journey on Alcohol and cigarettes. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Got diagnosed with cptsd. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.

I have 6 years clean & sober this month and now work as a nurse in substance use disorder treatment. Getting ready to teach a class to clients about the mechanism of alcohol tolerance and withdrawal and your drawing on the board helped me greatly. Thanks for the excellent explanation!

does benzo bind to both glutamate and gaba receptors? or just gaba? does it cause the influx of calcium ions to inhibit, just like gaba? if so, how does the brain manage to get out of an alcohol dependent state, if it isn't forced into the other extreme?

This was a very easy to understand and comprehensive video ❤

As an alcoholic. I put beer in apple juice bottles and vodka in water bottles so people don't know because everyone knows I drink a lot.

Why do doctors refuse to acknowledge or address dysbiosis when ppl show sysmptoms of these illnesses ? It is unfuriating that they play ignorant and disregard it as 'not a thing'

Very nice very very very very very veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy niiiiceeeeeeeeeeee

Im trapped in this alcoholism monster. Its really messing me up...hopei heal

When bad, you see and hear things that aren't there. This goes on for about 4-5 days. Continuing on you see black spots and little white "lightning" through the orbitals and also feel "itchy". You've damaged your Central Nervous System and it's not fun.

Im surprised so many people posting here can quit alcohol just like that. I had to be detoxed in hospital to prevent seizures from drinking 8 x 500ml 8.2% ciders a day & more sometimes.
A guy I knew drank up to 33 cans of Stella a day but sadly he is no longer alive.
I cold turkey’d 80mg methadone + diazepam + Clonazepam + Zopiclone around two years ago & that was extremely difficult but cut right down on my alcohol consumption for it to no longer be a problem.
These days I drink every third day but I limit myself quite strictly to two 5% lagers. Today is the third day without alcohol but I’m going to try and leave it longer.