Sober Living
Usually, alcohol withdrawal symptoms occur within 12–24 hours after stopping alcohol and can last 2–10 days. Whether you feel like you drink too much alcohol, or you have an alcohol abuse issue, quitting drinking cold turkey can be dangerous. Knowing how to safely taper off alcohol can make all the difference in how successful you are in quitting drinking. These symptoms may start a few hours or a few days after your last drink of alcohol. Sometimes, symptoms may be severe enough to require medical treatment at a hospital or rehabilitation facility. Here are suggestions for how to get through alcohol withdrawal at home.
Alcohol advice
It’s equally important not to be too hard on yourself if you slip up every once in a while. There are lots of reasons why you might want to stop drinking alcohol. For some people, it’s a lifestyle change – to say goodbye to hangovers, sleep better, lose excess weight and have more energy. It might even be for a challenge, to buddy someone else who is giving up alcohol, or to raise money for charity.
Done With Alcohol? Here’s How To Stop Drinking
The main difference between tapering and quitting alcohol cold turkey is how fast you quit. Cold turkey is a common slang term for quitting alcohol (or any substance) all at once. Tapering or weaning means ramping down your alcohol use until you get to zero—or to a more moderate level of drinking that you prefer.
- However, quitting cold turkey or tapering is not advisable for people with an AUD.
- The experience of withdrawing from alcohol can be uncomfortable and difficult.
- Then come up with a reduction rate you think will be safe, and that you can stick to.
- It is important to only attempt a taper while under a doctor’s care.
- But quitting alcohol after becoming dependent can also be dangerous.
Can I Just Quit Alcohol Cold Turkey?
Still, it has a decreased level of success when compared to the alternative and requires discipline that can be difficult for those with an addiction. Depending on how much you drink, tapering off alcohol can take one to several weeks. It’s best to reduce your drinking by a small amount each day to avoid the shock to your system. So, if you normally have 6 beers a day, you could be done tapering within one week. It’s always best to consult a physician on the best strategy, especially if you drink heavily.
Is it Better to Taper Off Alcohol or Quit “Cold Turkey?”
With that being said, tapering is a lot safer than going cold turkey. Although going cold turkey on opioids is dangerous and can cause significant withdrawal symptoms, quitting alcohol cold turkey can be fatal. Whether you’re a daily imbiber, heavy drinker, or frequent binge drinker, you’re likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when you quit. Unfortunately, there’s little to no evidence that tapering off reduces the effects of alcohol withdrawal, some of which can be severe or even life-threatening. Quitting with proper medical supervision may be more important than whether you stop gradually or all at once.
How Do You Safely Taper Off Alcohol?
Tapering can help minimize these symptoms, but you might still experience some of them while your body adjusts to the lack of alcohol. But the taper week is actually extremely crucial to any training plan and should not be ignored, skipped, or minimized. It allows your body to recover and re-energize, which will come into major play during that big race, competition, or endurance event. Drinkchat is a free online chat service with trained advisors offering confidential advice.
- The second situation involves counting the daily drinks and switching them to a beverage with lower alcohol content, such as beer.
- Here are suggestions for how to get through alcohol withdrawal at home.
- Tapering off alcohol helps some people start their recovery journeys.
- This is especially true of heavy drinkers who are surrounded by the triggers that encourage drinking and lack the support needed to encourage change.
- For others, simply cutting back the number of drinks can bring on alcohol withdrawal symptoms, making it more difficult to stop.
Potential alcohol withdrawal symptoms
But, as many in recovery will tell you, it is only the first chapter in a long process. It’s common for the first symptoms to appear within a few hours after your last drink. There are a range of symptoms you can experience when you stop drinking.
Tapering off Alcohol: What You Need To Know
Tapering alcohol is beneficial because you can avoid alcohol withdrawal symptoms. This is because when you drink heavily for months or years, your body can start to depend on alcohol to function normally. When you are physically dependent on a substance like alcohol, your body adapts accordingly. At a rehab clinic, an alcohol withdrawal taper can be provided to slowly get you back to normal life.
If you struggle with drinking, the safest way to quit is under a doctor’s care. If you drink heavily, your doctor may recommend quitting with the help of a medical detox center. In medical detox, you receive around-the-clock care from doctors and nurses to help prevent and treat alcohol how to taper off alcohol withdrawal symptoms and their complications. This can set you up for a safe and effective detox and put you in a good position to continue your recovery in rehab. If you’ve become dependent on alcohol, you may encounter alcohol withdrawal when you cut back or stop drinking.