How to Manage Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

Alcohol withdrawal is the body and brain’s reaction when you cut down or stop drinking after heavy, long-term alcohol abuse. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms range from unpleasant but manageable to seriously dangerous, and it’s not always possible to know how severe your symptoms will be. There are ways to make mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms more manageable, but for more serious withdrawal, medical support is always needed.

If you’ve been drinking a lot for a long time, it’s crucial to speak to your GP or a specialist rehab centre like Primrose Lodge before you try to stop on your own.

What is alcohol withdrawal?

Withdrawal is what happens when you’ve developed an alcohol dependence and the alcohol is taken away. Years of drinking teach your nervous system to work against the constant sedative effects of alcohol. To do this, your brain ramps up “exciting” chemicals (like glutamate) and dials down “calming” chemicals (like GABA).

When you quit drinking, your brain is suddenly left with too many exciting chemicals and not enough calming ones, causing your nervous system to go into dangerous overdrive. That overdrive is alcohol withdrawal, and it is one of the few substance withdrawals that can and does kill people without professional support.

What are the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal?

Alcohol withdrawal anxiety often arrives first and hits hardest, and it can feel like a gnawing dread that doesn’t have any obvious reason. Alcohol withdrawal tremors also come on quickly, most often causing shaking in your hands. The shakes are often the worst in the morning, when your alcohol levels would normally have been topped up right away.

Alcohol withdrawal sweating can come and go in waves, and leave your clothes and bedsheets soaked. Alcohol withdrawal nausea can make it hard to eat, and you may find it impossible to sleep properly.

You may also experience different physical and emotional symptoms like headaches, irritability, restlessness, a racing heart, and low mood when nothing has happened to cause them. All of that is no fun, but those symptoms aren’t generally dangerous. However, there is a different, smaller set of symptoms that are never safe to manage on your own.

When does alcohol withdrawal turn dangerous?

Severe alcohol withdrawal may not be obvious right away. You may feel like your symptoms are relatively manageable on day one, but things can take a bad turn without warning.

Alcohol withdrawal seizures mostly happen between 24 and 48 hours after your last drink. Delirium tremens is the complication doctors are most worried about, a state of intense confusion and hallucination. Delirium tremens typically begins on day two or three into alcohol withdrawal. It’s a medical emergency every time, and it can be fatal without treatment.

Some people carry more of the risk than others do, including those with previous withdrawal seizures, an earlier episode of delirium tremens, underlying illnesses, older age and a recent rise in drinking. Even if you have had a relatively mild alcohol withdrawal before, that isn’t a sign this time will be the same, because withdrawals can get more severe each time your body goes through one.

How long does alcohol withdrawal last?

The alcohol withdrawal timeline varies between different people, but the most difficult bit usually lasts around a week. Symptoms begin around eight to twelve hours after your blood alcohol falls. They usually hit their peak around the third day and improve a lot by day four or five.

Your sleep can still be disrupted for a long time after the worst has passed, but it will get better. But while a week-long withdrawal is of course better than a longer one, this doesn’t mean that week will be easier than a longer detox. Alcohol withdrawal hits hard and fast, and complications need to be caught and addressed right away.

How to quit alcohol safely?

Stopping drinking safely requires careful consideration if you have been drinking heavily or regularly for a prolonged period. If you are concerned about alcohol withdrawal, it is important to seek professional advice before stopping suddenly. You can speak to your GP or contact Primrose Lodge for free, confidential advice about the safest next steps.

Alcohol withdrawal treatment usually begins with an assessment of your drinking history, general health, previous withdrawal experiences and any other factors that may affect your risk. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to withdraw from alcohol in the community with appropriate support and monitoring. However, alcohol withdrawal can be unpredictable, and it is not always possible to determine your level of risk without professional assessment.

If you are considered to be at higher risk of severe withdrawal, a medically supported alcohol detox may be recommended. This provides a structured setting where your condition can be assessed throughout the detox process and appropriate treatment can be provided if withdrawal symptoms become more severe.

Private alcohol detox can offer an alternative to accessing treatment through NHS services, with the potential to begin treatment without the same waiting periods that can apply to publicly funded services. At Primrose Lodge , treatment begins with an assessment of your individual circumstances, allowing an appropriate detox plan to be developed around your needs. Where clinically appropriate, medication may be used to help manage withdrawal symptoms and reduce the risk of complications.

If you are unsure whether it is safe for you to stop drinking, seek professional advice before attempting to detox alone.

The dangers of managing alcohol withdrawal at home

Most people would prefer to detox from alcohol at home for obvious and understandable reasons. With only very mild symptoms, someone reliable staying with you 24/7, and a doctor checking in on you regularly, there is a chance this would be safe.

But there is no doctor who can know for sure that your alcohol withdrawal symptoms will be mild, and if there are complications, you need people who know how to deal with them right away. Even if you don’t experience a medical emergency, the chance of relapsing and drinking again to make the withdrawal symptoms go away is extremely high.

Medical alcohol detox means there is no way to relapse, and there are experts looking after you around the clock.

When to call 999 for alcohol withdrawal complications

If you do decide to give up alcohol alone, there are some symptoms which demand immedate medical attention. Call 999 or get to A&E for a seizure, serious confusion, hallucinations, extreme agitation or any loss of consciousness. Do the same if symptoms are getting worse quickly. Make sure you say the words “alcohol withdrawal” when you phone so the paramedics are ready before they arrive.

If you are with someone else who has gone into serious withdrawal, don’t leave them alone. These complications can move fast, and the person they’re happening to can’t always tell what’s going on.

If you attempt home alcohol detox despite the advice, make sure whoever is staying with you knows these signs as well, since you may not spot them in yourself. But again, we strongly advise against it.

Begin alcohol detox with Primrose Lodge

If you’re in alcohol withdrawal right now, or you’re planning to stop and you’re frightened of it, contact Primrose Lodge today. Getting help for alcohol withdrawal isn’t weakness, because a supervised stop is simply how this is done safely. We can assess you quickly, bring you into a medical detox where it’s needed, and plan what comes after it. Detox at Primrose Lodge is followed by alcohol rehab with therapy to help you understand how addiction developed, and relapse prevention work prepares you for life in recovery. Contact Primrose Lodge to find out how we can help.