That is why healthcare professionals discourage people from attempting tapers. Instead, doctors and nurses encourage them to quit cold turkey with their help. Medical professionals recommend https://www.inkl.com/news/sober-house-rules-a-comprehensive-overview quitting cold turkey and using medications to treat symptoms.
Withdrawal and Safety When Tapering Off Alcohol
Attending a residential rehab or outpatient program gives you coping mechanisms and life skills that can help you for years to come after treatment. You can strengthen your emotional and communication techniques to help you work through any tough situations that may arise in the future. You’ll learn how to prevent relapse and live a fun sober life.
Alcohol Withdrawal
- Check out this medical article which provides further detail on withdrawal from alcohol.
- The information provided in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only.
- Various treatment programs are available to help you recover from addiction.
- If you plan to taper, you must create a schedule that is right for you.
- If you’re interested in medication-assisted treatment, medication to curb cravings can be a helpful tool for reducing your consumption.
Her writing has appeared in publications such as Everyday Health, Well+Good, Rewire News Group, Prism, and more. Research also shows that when you’re sleep-deprived, levels of a hormone that regulates hunger called ghrelin tend to spike, sparking the urge to eat. At the same time levels of a hormone called leptin that tells the brain when the stomach is full plummet.
Bedrock Recovery
This lessens the severity of withdrawal symptoms, as there is not an abrupt or dramatic change. Tapering will normally create less severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms but will spread them out over a prolonged period. Essentially, tapering provides less intense withdrawal symptoms but over a longer amount of time. If you’ve been drinking heavily for a long time and think you might experience withdrawal symptoms, it’s best to talk with a medical professional before you begin a taper.
Step Taper
If you don’t like beers, drink beers (find ones with lower alcohol, some have high concentrations). You can also take break days, where you drink the same amount as the previous day to sort of level yourself off. For example, if you notice your tremors are getting pretty bad three days in, drink the same amount you drank on the third day for the following day. Try not to do this for too many days, though, or you may get stuck at that point. Pick a drink that goes down easy and has a high concentration of water so you don’t get too dehydrated. I would go with hard seltzers because they have a decent amount of water in them and I don’t really enjoy drinking them, so I drink them more slowly.
As a Certified Professional Recovery Coach, I often speak with people who want to wean off alcohol. The thought of abstaining from alcohol completely can feel daunting, and in some cases, it can even be dangerous without medical supervision. Below I share some key information so you can determine if weaning off alcohol is right for you. During this taper, you may notice you’re feeling pretty good again. The first days were miserable, but now you’re a week in, you’re at the 5-6 drinks a day mark, and you feel fine. Your addicted brain may use this as an excuse to increase your dosage.
Tapering is a more cost-effective method of stopping alcohol use, especially for those who do not have healthcare insurance or the resources needed to get a professional detox. People who have successfully tapered from alcohol before may be especially likely to benefit from this strategy. If you want to change your relationship with alcohol, it’s important to have an honest conversation with a doctor about your drinking habits before you sober house start tapering off.
Cons of Tapering off Alcohol
- If you have the shakes, medical intervention is typically necessary, as shakes can be a sign of more serious withdrawal complications.
- I’m not saying smoking weed all day is a healthy coping skill.
- I don’t think I could go through more than a couple weeks of tapering, but you do you.
- Remember, the goal of this plan is to provide a structured approach that can be adjusted based on individual needs.
- You can strengthen your emotional and communication techniques to help you work through any tough situations that may arise in the future.
- Learn to recognize all the FDA-approved sweeteners but also check for sugar alcohols, known as polyols, which are chemically like sugar but have fewer calories.
The risk of tapering too quickly is potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms, and the risk of tapering too slowly is a decreased probability of completing the taper. If you were to suddenly stop drinking alcohol, your receptors would become hyperactive because they are no longer being depressed. This is why you should taper off alcohol, or use a prescribed medication like benzodiazepines, during detox3. It’s vital to do this under the supervision of a medical professional to ensure the process is safe and smooth.
Whatever schedule is chosen, it’s important to commit so you can build upon your progress and avoid withdrawal symptoms as much as possible. This is the most commonly accepted method of stopping alcohol by the medical community. However, there are risks to this method, and someone stopping alcohol should receive medical monitoring and care if they are likely to experience moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms.