Hi

I won't make this post too long but I just wanted to say that whenever I binge-drink (every day or so and between 6-8 beers), I experience the following symptoms the following day...

1) Weak
2) Fragile
3) Breathing seems a bit off
4) Shaky
5) Unsteady
6) Jittery
7) Anxious
8) Dizzy
9) Faint
10) Light-headed
11) Sensitive stomach
12) A feeling of being "disconnected"
13) Spacy
14) Not "all there"

Anyone else get these symptoms (all, most or some) the day after they drink or is it just me?.

- Regards, LT

With all of those horrible symptoms I am not sure why your continuing to drink. it sure doesn't sound like much fun I don't get it. I was so sure that after your heart incident and your ER room visit and what the Dr's told you that you were going to stop drinking. I feel so bad for you that you are still drinking, I am worried about your health LT. your body is obviously telling you that you need to STOP drinking as your body is not handiling the booze well at all anymore I mean I couldn't stand to feel like that the next day, is it really worth it? . I think you need to go to AA or to a Dr to get some help on addiction have you ever been to an AA meeting I have so many friends that go and they really love it and it has literally saved there lives. Didn't the heart incident scare you enough to stop? you could have died..

Good luck to you ,it sounds like your body wants you to stop drinking but your mind is telling you the opposite its really something you need to take seriously and figure out a way to give up the drinking or I am afraid something serious could happen to you.

Binge drinkers often find it hardest to admit that they are alcoholics, because they can go for days without drink and often believe that Alcoholics are the daily drinkers etc. But to me my Alcoholism was defined more by the mental obsession that it had on me. I used to spend a lot of time thinking about drinking and when I did drink (most days) the consequences where often too much for me or others to bear. I think in hindsight these factors are the most definitive. There are many others if I were to go into an essay though ;-)

I would suggest that if you are suffering like this and are unable to stop drinking and if you would like to stop drinking then you would be welcome at any AA meeting and if you went along with an open mind and heart I'm sure you would find it very helpful. Try several different meeting locations, the phone numbers are all in the phone books.

Best Wishes in the meantime.

LT-
It sounds to me like the symptoms you describe are major hangovers, BUT, again, I too have to mention your awful scare with that heart problem that landed you in the ER. You really were upset and scared about that at the time. Please don't forget that fear, and don't forget the feeling you had while your heart was going crazy, because being affraid enough to not ever take another drink again might just be the thing that saves your life.

I have to also add that with this amount of drinking, your liver is going to pay the price, which, as with the heart, you will pay the ultimate price. You can't live without your liver, and if it becomes scirrosed (sp?) you will be one truly sick man.

Please take care, and don't put yourself in a possibly life threatening situation.

Lezlee

12-14 beers a day for about the last 10 yrs of my drinking career i felt the same way, like your list. i was told (finallly) i was alcoholic. and that my mind wanted me dead but my body just would not die! it made sense to me and i have been sober for 7 mos. things got different real fast, not better, just different.

MrMike,

What do you mean by "different but not better"? I ask b/c I am off of the hydros, but I do drink more than I'd like to. At first, it helped with the taper, but I've always drank, so I never thought of it as bad. It's part of my culture, being Irish, Italian, Polish, German..my family doesn't think bad of drinking. I've always drank with friends and family, but once off the hydros, I now feel horrible with hangovers when I do, and I guess that is mostly due to having no painkiller to help out. So now it's in my face..I drink too much and have discovered another problem. So, I wonder what you mean about "different, but not better"? Just curious; I know we are all different.

Thanks for any info,

Lisa

by different not better i mean you are still going to have .........well, let me talk about me, for ME things got different by being able to see what was going on around me, interacting more w/ people , and thinking about different stuff, not the same old rutine day in and day out, drink, pass out, drink, pass out. By not better i mean, i still have the every day problems i had drinking, but now i know how to deal with them. problems still arise, everybody knows that, but i know i ain't worth a darn to anyone drunk. i hope this makes sense

The symptoms you are describing are not just bad "hangovers." Your body is going through alcohol withdrawl. The worst thing that can happen is that you have a seizure during your withdrawl, don't seek medical help, and quit breathing. That's one bummer of a hangover. Good luck, man. We're all pulling for you.

KaeGirl
Recovering Alcoholic
16 months of sobriety

The symptoms could also be a sugar problem - diabetic or hypoglycemic. Be careful, what you are doing is dangerous.

by different not better i mean you are still going to have .........well, let me talk about me, for ME things got different by being able to see what was going on around me, interacting more w/ people , and thinking about different stuff, not the same old rutine day in and day out, drink, pass out, drink, pass out. By not better i mean, i still have the every day problems i had drinking, but now i know how to deal with them. problems still arise, everybody knows that, but i know i ain't worth a darn to anyone drunk. i hope this makes sense

Mike,

Yes, what you say makes sense. It is better that you are not drinking, and I hope things get "better" as time goes on without the alcohol. Thanks for your honesty. You are right, too.

Lisa

i was reading the part about drinking being a part of your culture. I would always have an exuse to drink. Whether I got the job, lost my job. My culture, A baby was born, some one died. Had a good day, had a bad day. If I wanted to drink, I didn't have to look far for an excuse. And I never intended to get "drunk" I would say "I'll just drink a couple and stop"......never happened. I tried different flavors and different beers and drinks, all I wanted was more, more, more. After that first drink, nothing mattered but the next one. Sound Farmiliar? Stopping was the only way out, now I don't have to worry about all that stuff. It wasn't easy, but it was something I really wanted, and it works if you work "the Steps." I could not picture my life w/o alcohol, on the other hand, I couldn't go on drinking. It has worked for many people far worse than me, so why not?GOOD LUCK

i was reading the part about drinking being a part of your culture. I would always have an exuse to drink. Whether I got the job, lost my job. My culture, A baby was born, some one died. Had a good day, had a bad day. If I wanted to drink, I didn't have to look far for an excuse. And I never intended to get "drunk" I would say "I'll just drink a couple and stop"......never happened. I tried different flavors and different beers and drinks, all I wanted was more, more, more. After that first drink, nothing mattered but the next one. Sound Farmiliar? Stopping was the only way out, now I don't have to worry about all that stuff. It wasn't easy, but it was something I really wanted, and it works if you work "the Steps." I could not picture my life w/o alcohol, on the other hand, I couldn't go on drinking. It has worked for many people far worse than me, so why not?GOOD LUCK
MrMike, You know what I got out of your post? The old saying, one is too many and a thousand never enough. I could agree more with your post. I am just like you. And all this time I thought I was alone. Ha........

Marilyn