This is why it is important to stop regular, heavy drinking only under the supervision of medical staff. They can provide medications and additional support to make quitting alcohol safer, and more comfortable. If you experience severe withdrawal symptoms while tapering off alcohol, adjust your plan. The goal of tapering is to make the withdrawal process safer and more bearable.
- Depending on how much you drink, tapering off alcohol can take one to several weeks.
- Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be painful and potentially life-threatening, so it’s important to have people you can rely on.
- Others may discover after consulting with a doctor that it’s safe for them to quit alcohol cold turkey if they choose to.
- However, for many people with alcohol use disorder, tapering off alcohol is a far better experience than quitting abruptly.
- The withdrawal process can be dangerous, and its symptoms vary depending on the severity of alcohol use.
Medications Used When Tapering Off Alcohol
Thus, a user will likely seek out alcohol again to rid themselves of the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Getting curious about a life without alcohol is already an incredible step, and a healthier lifestyle is within reach. After prolonged alcohol use, your body can come to rely how to taper off alcohol at home on alcohol for normal functioning, and suddenly going without it can cause potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms. This phenomenon is often described as “alcohol dependence.” The most common more mild withdrawal symptoms include headaches, anxiety, and sleep disturbances.
Alcohol Tapering Schedule
While this process isn’t enjoyable, there are so many benefits in the new sober life that you’re creating for yourself. Alcohol withdrawal usually lasts for a few days, but some effects may linger for months. Symptoms are most severe around day 34, and the total process can last for 2 to 10 days. Daily drinking can have serious consequences for a person’s health, both in the short- and long-term.
- Build a network of people you can go to when you need help, join a support group or see a therapist.
- If the drink of choice is liquor, it is difficult to measure amounts and easy to binge drink.
- But that advice changes if you’re living with alcohol use disorder.
- Further, if you start to develop alcohol withdrawal symptoms during the taper, your doctor may instruct you to pause or slow the taper as a result.
- However, it should not cause someone to become stuck on a step, which would defeat the purpose of a taper.
- This may work for many people, but in practice each individual will respond best to a different pace, and each doctor will have their own recommendations.
- The tapering down process can take place for the first several weeks or even months of the alcohol recovery timeline.
Can You Stop Drinking Alcohol Cold Turkey?
- In order to fully recover, you can start your healing process by safely ridding yourself of alcohol.
- In most cases, conducting a home-based alcohol detox is not considered the safest or most effective approach to quitting alcohol.
- People tapering off alcohol may begin experiencing early withdrawal symptoms within 6 to 12 hours after their last drink.
- Aside from providing emotional support, they can also call medical professionals if something goes wrong.
- This is what causes many of the positive and negative effects of drinking, and it causes the effects of prescription depressants.
- But deciding to cut back on drinking is much more important than the length of your alcohol taper.
Every person has unique needs, and tapering off may not be an adequate solution to reduce or stop drinking. Although you can use methods to taper off alcohol at home, the best way to taper is to talk to a doctor. They can monitor your intake and adjust it accordingly to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms.
If you abruptly stop consuming alcohol, your brain may not have enough sensitivity to GABA, which can result in hyper-excitability and withdrawal symptoms. If you or a loved one is suffering from an alcohol use disorder, it can feel like being trapped in a tunnel with no way out. Our admissions specialists will help you find the facility and treatment program best suited to the recovery needs of you or your loved one.
Can tapering off reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms?
About 10 percent of people experience more severe symptoms, such as fever, fast breathing, and heavy sweating. Here are some tips and strategies for how to taper off alcohol safely. Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous can help reinforce your goals and boost your spirits. Surrounding yourself with those going through the same process you are, and learning the same life lessons you are, can make a big difference in your healing journey. You’ll talk about different topics regarding addiction and recovery and bond over shared feelings and experiences. Private, 6-bed luxurious facilities treating addiction and co-occurring mental health with a customized whole-person approach in Marin County’s rolling hills.
- The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
- You may receive medication to ease withdrawal symptoms—such as anti-diarrheal medicines or over-the-counter pain relievers.
- There are many factors that can affect how long weaning off alcohol will take.
- Someone who has gone through alcohol withdrawal several times is more likely to experience severe withdrawal symptoms than someone going through it for the first time.
- Medical detox is often the safest and most effective way to manage alcohol withdrawal for those with severe alcohol dependence.
Gradually reducing alcohol consumption can be achieved through a substitution taper. This can involve switching to a different alcoholic beverage or replacing alcohol with a prescription drug, but the latter should only be done under the guidance of a medical professional. Substituting a prescription drug for alcohol should only happen with the help of a medical professional. No one should ever attempt a substitution taper with prescription medication unless their doctor specifically prescribed it for that purpose in a medical detox program. Seizures can also occur within the first 24 to 48 hours, although these are less likely to occur in people with less severe alcohol dependency. Withdrawal seizures can be a sign of delirium tremens, which can occur as soon as 48 hours after a person’s last drink.
Relapse after a period of sobriety can be dangerous because your tolerance has gone down. If you drink the same amount you were used to during active addiction, you may experience extreme intoxication or alcohol poisoning. Alcohol https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/15-benefits-of-the-alcohol-free-lifestyle/ is likely the most widely used recreational substance in the world. In the United States, most people will drink alcohol at least once. Its cultural acceptance has made it a common psychoactive substance in the United States.
Withdrawal symptoms can vary in severity and depend on many factors, such as drinking history, metabolism, age, medical condition, what other substances or medication you take, and more. Because everyone’s body reacts differently, there’s not a lot of research that proves tapering can decrease the effects of alcohol withdrawal. Before beginning a tapering schedule, speak with your doctor about the risks of detoxing at home.
