Tag Archives: alcohol withdrawal symptoms

What are Delirium Tremens?

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What are Delirium Tremens?

Delirium tremens or DT’s for short are a severe and possibly fatal form of alcohol withdrawal. Delirium tremens involve sudden and severe mental or nervous system changes. Anyone who has ever seen someone experience delirium tremens knows how frightening and scary they can be.

Delirium tremens don’t only happen to someone who is withdrawing from alcohol but this is when they are most common. Delirium tremens can occur due to head injury, infection, and illness too. Delirium tremens due to alcohol withdrawal though are probably the most severe.

When someone becomes physically addicted to alcohol they change the physical make-up of their brain. Then when they try to stop drinking the brain is no longer getting what it needs to take care of the body and that is when alcohol withdrawal begins.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually begin within 72 hours of the last drink and can last up to 10 days after that. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms once they begin can quickly become more severe and worsen.

  • Body tremors
  • Changes in mental function
  • Agitation, irritability
  • Confusion, disorientation
  • Decreased attention span
  • Deep sleep that lasts for a day or longer
  • Delirium
  • Excitement
  • Fear
  • Hallucinations (seeing or feeling things that are not really there)
  • Increased activity
  • Quick mood changes
  • Restlessness, excitement
  • Sensitivity to light, sound, touch
  • Stupor, sleepiness, fatigue
  • Seizures

Most common in first 12 – 48 hours after last drink

  • Usually generalized tonic-clonic seizures
  • Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Difficulty thinking clearly
  • Fatigue
  • Feeling jumpy or nervous
  • Feeling shaky
  • Headache
  • Insomnia (difficulty falling and staying asleep)
  • Irritability or excitability
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nausea
  • Pale skin
  • Palpitations (sensation of feeling the heart beat)
  • Rapid emotional changes
  • Sweating, especially on the palms of the hands or the face
  • Vomiting

Other symptoms that may occur:

  • •Chest pain
  • •Fever
  • •Stomach pain

And delirium tremens. Delirium tremens are a medical emergency and are one of the biggest reasons why someone who is experiencing alcohol withdrawal should seek outside help immediately if they begin experiencing any of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms mentioned above. Delirium tremens look a lot like seizures and the usual treatment for them includes the same medications that would be used to help seizures. For instance, valium, Ativan and diazepam are quite common for the treatment of delirium tremens and alcohol withdrawal in general.

Someone who is getting ready to experience delirium tremens will usually show some signs such as the following:

•Heavy sweating

•Increased startle reflex

•Irregular heartbeat

•Problems with eye muscle movement

•Rapid heart rate

•Rapid muscle tremors

The most important thing about delirium tremens is that they can be fatal. This is why it is so absolutely imperative that anyone experiencing any level of severity of alcohol withdrawal should check into an inpatient detox facility or go to the hospital. For someone who is going through the alcohol withdrawal themselves they won’t be able to help themselves should they begin to experience delirium tremens. Delirium tremens also for the person who is not medically equipped can be extremely scary. So if you begin to experience any type of alcohol withdrawal seek medical attention immediately.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Alcohol Is Worse Than Illegal Drugs

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Alcohol worse than illegal drugs

Just because alcohol is a legal substance does not mean that it is a safe drug to consume. For socio-political reasons, alcohol remains to be legal to purchase and consume. However, whereas there are some medical implications and usages for what are known as illegal drugs, there is no therapeutic value to alcohol. Just like with illegal drugs, you can overdose on alcohol (alcohol poisoning) but alcohol is worse than illegal drugs because it is the only withdrawal, other than that from benzodiazepines, that is potentially fatal.

Alcohol is worse than illegal drugs because it is socially-acceptable to drink and therefore makes it a more insidious drug. The common perception of alcohol is that it is OK to overindulge for a “good time.”

Effects of alcohol on the brain

Looking at the effects on the brain from long-term drinking, it is clear that alcohol is worse than illegal drugs. Extended alcohol consumption can lead to something called Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, also known as “wet brain.” It is a chronic and debilitating syndrome characterized by persistent learning and memory problems. Patients are forgetful and easily frustrated. They experience difficulty with walking and coordination. Although these patients have problems recalling old information, it is their difficulty in forming new information that is the most striking. For example, a patient can discuss in detail an event but, an hour later might not remember ever having the conversation. People may not be aware that prolonged liver dysfunction can harm the brain, leading to a serious and potentially fatal brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy, which causes changes in sleep patterns, mood, and personality; anxiety and depression; severe cognitive effects such as shortened attention span; and problems with coordination. Alcohol–damaged liver cells allow excess amounts of these harmful byproducts to enter the brain, thus harming brain cells.

Effects of alcohol on the body

Heart

Alcohol is worse than illegal drugs because it can have serious effects on physical health. And it is not just from drinking a lot over a long time; drinking too much on a single occasion can damage the heart and cause problems such as cardiomyopathy (stretching and drooping of heart muscle); arrhythmias – (irregular heart beat); stroke; high blood pressure.

Liver

Alcohol is worse than illegal drugs because heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver, which leads to a variety of problems such as Steatosis, or fatty liver; Alcoholic Hepatitis; Fibrosis; Cirrhosis.

Pancreas

Alcohol is worse than illegal drugs because it causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, dangerous inflammation and swelling that prevents proper digestion. This can lead to malnutrition and therefore affecting brain function.

Cancer

Drinking too much alcohol makes alcohol is worse than illegal drugs because it increases your risk of developing certain cancers, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast.

Immune System

Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body more susceptible to disease.  Chronic drinkers are more likely to contract diseases than people who do not drink too much.  Drinking a lot on a single occasion reduces the body’s ability to fight off infections, even up to 24 hours after getting drunk.

It’s safe to say that alcohol is worse than illegal drugs.

The World Health Organization estimates that risks linked to alcohol cause 2.5 million deaths per year from heart and liver disease, car accidents, suicides and cancer, accounting for 3.8% of all deaths. Alcohol is the third leading risk factor for premature death and disabilities worldwide.

Scientists with the British Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) conducted research that took into account 7 different criteria and found that alcohol is most harmful. On a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being no harm and 100 being most harmful, they find alcohol is worse than illegal drugs, with a score of 72, followed by heroin with 55 and crack with 54.

Sources:

www.reuters.com

www.nih.gov

www.cbsnews.com

www.wikipedia.org

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

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alcohol withdrawal symptoms

By Rhea Rosier

Are you experiencing multiple hangovers? Do you drink frequently? When you stop to drink do you begin to feel worse not better? If you answered yes to any of these you may want to read on.

The definition of withdrawal is any type of separation or retraction. This case being in reference to alcohol withdrawal symptoms; it is the removal or separation of alcohol from a person’s body and mind. Alcohol is a physically addictive substance because of the way it changes the brain chemistry. Ethanol is the active ingredient in alcohol. Alcohol when ingested and then broken down in the body is the chemical ethanol which is extremely dangerous. When a person drinks alcohol it is absorbed through the stomach into the bloodstream where it then goes to the brain, and starts to release feelings of comfort, warmth and relaxation.

A sustained use of alcohol causes the body to adapt to the changes in brain chemistry and that can lessen the original effects of drinking. This is known as building a tolerance. Once the body adapts and begins to build a tolerance the person drinking begins to need to consume more, in order to achieve the desired effect; meaning the drinker can or has developed an alcohol dependence which if at any point they decide they want to stop drinking, will result in alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Usually if an alcoholic’s drinking has gotten to this point they are no longer drinking because they want to but because they have to.

There are different stages of alcohol withdrawal. Generally, when withdrawing, a person will start to feel worse and worse, hit a plateau, and then the symptoms begin to dissipate. However, alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually worsen and can end up being fatal. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can become so painful and uncomfortable that drinking again seems to be the better option rather than continuing to try and stop. This kind of behavior and these symptoms are usually seen in someone with alcoholic tendencies. If the person has alcoholic tendencies or any alcohol withdrawal symptoms a medical detox followed by alcohol treatment is most likely needed because these symptoms can be life threatening or even deadly in some cases.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin to occur up to 5-10 hours after the last drink. The alcohol withdrawal symptoms are psychological as well as physiological and can last weeks. Even, months later someone with alcoholism may have symptoms of post-acute withdrawal and this is why detox and probably a more long term or residential treatment are necessary and vital to sustain abstinence from drinking.

The most common alcohol withdrawal symptoms are:                  

  • Nausea
  • Depression
  • Inability to think clearly
  • Fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Mood Swings
  • Nightmares and Insomnia
  • Heart Palpitations
  • Sweating or Clammy Skin
  • Cold and Hot Chills
  • Jumpiness
  • Loss of appetite
  • Seizures
  • Delirium Tremors (DT’s)

Delirium tremors and seizures due to alcohol withdrawal can be fatal. These alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be very frightening and without a medical detox can be very unsafe. This is why a medical detox is almost always necessary. These alcohol withdrawal symptoms can vary in severity depending on age, gender, and how long it has been since the last drink or how much the person has been drinking. If at any time you or someone you know is experiencing these alcohol withdrawal symptoms, remember they can be fatal.  It is recommended you seek medical detox immediately if you or someone you know is showing any of these alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.