Alcohol Tapering How to Taper Off Alcohol Safely

By August 16, 2023November 20th, 2023Sober living

If left untreated, withdrawal can progress to complicated alcohol withdrawal. By Sarah Bence

Sarah Bence, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist and freelance writer. She specializes in a variety of health topics including mental health, dementia, celiac disease, and endometriosis. Behavioral health treatment for alcohol problems is often (but not always) covered by insurance. In the United States, most states have low-cost or free rehabilitation programs for those who are uninsured. But from a harm reduction standpoint, it’s much less likely to get you into trouble than alcohol, pills, or harder drugs.

  • Even if you fail, there are still plenty of treatment options you can turn to.
  • Tapering can be done by using alcohol itself or various medications; however, can only be done safely under the supervision of a physician.
  • Withdrawal symptoms can begin to surface in as early as two hours after your last drink.
  • Every person has unique needs, and tapering off may not be an adequate solution to reduce or stop drinking.

When you are detoxing from alcohol at a rehab center, nurses and doctors monitor vital signs, provide adequate nourishment and treat complications if they occur. Nanci Stockwell of Advanced Recovery Systems discusses the risks of detoxing at home and the benefits of detoxing from alcohol and other drugs in a safe environment. Withdrawal is different for everyone; there really is no “normal” and it can be hard to predict an individual person’s experience. A person with delirium tremens needs to be hospitalized until the symptoms can be controlled.

Strategies For Tapering Off Alcohol

“Lightheaded, dizzy, no sleep, pale, weak, and it feels like electric shocks shoot through my body every so often. Crazy anxiety.” “The more time that goes by, the clearer the picture becomes. I see my triggers, and I work through them. I’m always thirsty and drink a lot of water. I’m still not sleeping through the night.” “Doing OK. No major symptoms. https://en.forexpamm.info/boston-sober-homes/ This is to let folks know that not everyone has severe physical symptoms.” “I quit two days ago and have just had the unfortunate experience of a seizure, as well as many visual and tactile hallucinations. Massive sweats and tremors.” “Shaking so bad I can hardly type, can barely stand up, can’t eat or sleep. Might be time for a trip to the ER.”

tapering off alcohol

You can also get help by reaching out to a professional rehab facility directly, like The Recovery Village. We can leverage our resources and team to help you reduce and eventually end your alcohol use. However, some groups have stepped in to try to bridge this gap and have published sample tapering schedules to help those trying to stop drinking. “I am feeling better than I have in a while, a long while. I still have a few side effects like sleeplessness, anxiety, irritability, and I crave sweets all the time.” “Symptoms are reducing daily, and I have had the best two night’s sleep in a very long time. Just loving waking up without counting the hours to the next drink.”

What Does It Mean to Taper or Wean off Alcohol?

A substitution taper refers to switching strong liquor for an alternative that contains less alcohol, like beer. Once you’ve changed to a less alcoholic option, you can gradually reduce your drink amount. A direct taper means you continue to drink your regular drinks but slowly decrease the amount over time. Direct tapers are better if you prefer drinks that contain a low percentage of alcohol. If you have a severe level of addiction or dependency, you may need a detox program.

Tapering alcohol may be uncomfortable, and there may be subconscious triggers that stimulate the desire to drink alcohol. Stress is a common trigger that makes it hard to modify your alcohol intake. Finding a different, more healthy way to unload stress may go a long way in helping someone succeed in cutting back on their alcohol use.

Lincoln Recovery

Minor symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can start as soon as six hours after the last drink of alcohol. Once they appear, acute symptoms may continue for around a week. This is dangerous because if you have unsuccessfully tried to stop drinking in the past with only mild withdrawal symptoms, you may assume you can handle another attempt on your own without help. Unfortunately, your brain may be sensitized to withdrawal due to kindling, which can set you up for unexpectedly severe withdrawal symptoms. Prolonged and excessive alcohol consumption can impact your brain, causing changes to the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors.

tapering off alcohol

Slowly reducing your drinking over time instead of suddenly stopping allows your brain to change its response to GABA. As previously stated, some people can become frustrated with how long an alcohol tapering schedule can take and will try to place unreasonable limits on their consumption, setting themselves up to fail. It can take between two to four days for the symptoms of delirium tremens to fully manifest, and at least another three days for them to run their course. These are offered to patients with moderate to severe Alcohol Use Disorder, having the goal of reducing alcohol consumption and achieving abstinence, and they can be used in acute withdrawal syndrome treatment.

Transition to treatment

The exact symptoms you experience will depend on factors such as how much alcohol you’re consuming, other medical conditions you have, medications you take, and your body’s response to the taper. Central nervous system depressants are a class of drugs that includes several prescription medications like benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and sedative-hypnotics. Depressants are so-called because 7 Ways Creativity Supports Addiction Recovery they depress activity in the central nervous system. In other words, they slow down chemical communication in the brain and body. This is what causes many of the positive and negative effects of drinking, and it causes the effects of prescription depressants. Alcohol tapering is definitely possible, but the question of whether or not it works is not quite as straightforward.

  • For this reason, you should always talk to your doctor before attempting to quit drinking.
  • Mild withdrawal symptoms often begin within 6 to 12 hours after your last drink.
  • “I was feeling great having got over the nausea, shaking etc. within the first week ,but now I am beginning to have what I can only describe as partial withdrawals all over again.”
  • These symptoms generally appear 12 to 24 hours after your last drink.
  • Working with a medical professional to taper your alcohol consumption can help the likelihood and severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
  • In many cases, people with a moderate to severe alcohol use disorder may be advised to undergo medical detox, where they slowly rid the body of alcohol under medical supervision rather than a taper.

This journey is often non-linear, and your goals can change over time. Give your loved ones as much information as you can about your self-tapering strategy. Let them know your plan, your progress, and how withdrawals are going for you.

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