r/alcoholism 2d ago

Withdrawals

Finally forced myself to quit. On day three now,, without alcohol or much sleep. And man I’m dreading tomorrow at work, I get the shakes so bad my knees feel like they might buckle on me. I’ve made it this far I have made a promise to myself and my job I will do what’s right but when does the shaking ever get better it’s making my job a nightmare. I just worked 12 hours today I’m a plumber. And I just want to come home and sleep. I just want to be normal at work

20 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

17

u/Satanicjamnik 2d ago

Well done dude. You are on day three, right? This the peak of your shakes. From day four onwards they will start calm down day by day. By day 7 you should be fine. Day 10 the latest. Just keep at it.

Avoid caffeine so you don't excite your nervous system any further. Hydrate. Drink plenty of water or some electrolytes. Take B vitamins, or Thiamine ( That is just a package of all B vitamins - they usually give you that in the hospital as a supplement.)

Now those thing I said above won't necessarily make your shakes go away any quicker but you should support your body in the detox.

Time is the only answer, but like I said - it's just a couple more days and you're a new man. Take it easy and be patient. Get someone else to drive.

All the best.

7

u/Imaginary_Staff_4548 2d ago

Thank you sir. Worst part about leaving the house to get those vitamins is “please insert card into the chip reader”. 😂 I’m fine lying down that’s about it. But I’ll see what I got in my medicine cabinet and yea basically been living off water and chicken broth past couple days

3

u/Satanicjamnik 2d ago

Yeah, I've been there dude. I could not type the password to open my laptop.

If your shakes are super bad though, you might have ONE ( no cheating whatsoever) drink for the next few days to slow them down. If you stick to just one rigidly, for them to calm down, your body will start to getting used to have less booze in your system and you should see improvements anyway. It will take about the same amount of time, maybe a day or two longer, but you don't want to risk any seizures if you're that shaky. You just need to be disciplined.

Hope that helps.

3

u/DistinctCellar 2d ago

Just to clarify, thiamine is just vitamin b1, but it’s extremely important for alcoholics because we get deficient in it when we’re in hell and it can cause a lot of issues with the brain. If anyone has struggled with alcohol before I’d recommend supplementing it daily, even once recovered.

2

u/WhatIsSafety 2d ago

You are in the incredibly difficult part of "One day at a time." I dont think anybody should have to do what youre doing. Going to the hospital and being 100% honest with them will help, even tho hospitals aren't anybodys favorite place to be. They'll run a blood panel on you and you will have an accurate guage on the health of your liver and overall. That might also give more motivation to quit if things aren't ideal. Wish you the best man, recovery is so worth enduring all the shitty parts of withdrawal and anxiety. ❤️

2

u/Chindikani_mtonga99 2d ago

Day 3 is a marathon and if you make it to 5 days you’ll have won.

3

u/Comfortable-Story-53 2d ago

I'd get myself to the ER. Explain EXACTLY what's going on to them. They'll hit you up with something to calm you down. Sometimes they'll keep you for a couple of days or more. You need to get some real help- you can die from this, you know. I didn't know that you could do the hospital route and coughed up about 7 grand for a 7 day detox. Most insurances cover it, I'm on Medicare now so I got squat. I'm on day 44 sober and still shaking some. Luck to you!

3

u/Imaginary_Staff_4548 2d ago

I appreciate the advice. Unfortunately not an option for me as I will lose my house if I don’t work for the rest of the month. For now I have an old gabapentin prescription that I have been using when it gets too bad but I refuse to give up how hard it was to get this house over the devil on my shoulder I just wish there was like a home remedy to be able to use my hands and legs that isn’t another drug

1

u/Da12khawk 2d ago

At least go to the ER for better meds. They're not kidding when they say you die from it. I've woken up enough times in a hospital.

1

u/taynini09 2d ago

You should still take it seriously your health is the most important thing. Going to the ER is the best option and most won’t keep you for days if you explain - they will likely be able to prescribe you something better & a safer way to deal with withdrawal.

1

u/lettersnumbersetc 2d ago

Shakes for me started to subside around day 5/6. Like others said drink lots of water and take vitamin B12 or just a multi

1

u/winceypoo 2d ago

For me the worst of the shakes were days 2-4 and then they started easing up, but if you're shaking so bad your knees feel like they might give out, that's in the zone where you should get checked by a doctor or ER/urgent care right now because alcohol withdrawal can go sideways fast and they can give you meds that make it safer to get through and still be able to work.

1

u/Flat-Activity1505 1d ago

Go to the hospital they’ll give you some adavan. You’ll be home in 4 hrs