Attempting to stop drinking “cold turkey” is not only dangerous, but could also cause serious implications or be fatal. These are offered to patients with moderate to severe Alcohol Use Disorder, having the goal of reducing alcohol comsumption and achieving abstinence. Prefer Topiramate or Gabapentin if patients are intolerant to or have not responded to Naltrexone and Acamprosate. Reducing the amount of the chosen substance consumed daily is known as a direct taper, but it may not be effective for everyone. It is only advisable to direct taper if the preferred drink is beer with a low alcohol percentage.
A doctor can supervise your tapering progress, helping you manage your cravings and prevent relapse. Overall, getting professional help can improve your chances for long-term sobriety. 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.
When you quit drinking or wean off alcohol, your body will adjust to the lack of alcohol in your body. Alcohol withdrawal is potentially fatal, especially for people with an alcohol addiction. Sometimes, they may experience seizures and delirium tremens (DTs). Tapering is also a strategy used by people with a substance or alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, improper tapering could lead to relapse, overdose, and severe health consequences. If you or someone you know is quitting alcohol and experiences seizures, DTs, hallucinations, or other major effects, seek immediate medical attention or call 911 for help.
Alcohol Withdrawal
Whatever method you use to taper down, your plan should also be approved and monitored by a healthcare profession to ensure your safety. Working with a physician on the Monument platform can help determine what timeline will work for you based on your past drinking habits and risk of withdrawal. Whatever schedule is chosen, it’s important to commit so you can build upon your progress and avoid withdrawal symptoms as much as possible.
Goals: Why do you want to reduce or quit alcohol?
When symptoms become that serious, it can be difficult to seek help. Seeking help as early as possible during the withdrawal process is the best way to stay safe as you cleanse your body of alcohol. If you are a heavy/frequent drinker, quitting suddenly can lead to drastic alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Hence, it helps to slowly cut back to avoid severe withdrawal effects and ease into the process. You can gradually reduce your intake, allowing your body to adjust and make the process more manageable. One approach to tapering off alcohol is to gradually reduce the amount consumed over time.
- It can be easy to underestimate how much you drink, and being as accurate as possible is important.
- Switching to beer from hard liquor is safer because it is easier to control the amount of beer that is consumed and is harder to binge drink.
- That said, tapering off alcohol doesn’t completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms.
- If you find that you cannot stop drinking, even if it is obvious that it is negatively impacting your life, you may need to seek help for alcohol use disorder.
- If you’re not sure if cold turkey or tapering is right for you, you can join the Monument Community to hear from others who have confronted similar questions.
- Part of an alcohol tapering plan should include ways you’ll tend to yourself during times when you have a craving or a bad day.
How To Wean Off Alcohol Safely and Effectively
Instead, slowly cutting back on your drinking or using an alcohol tapering schedule is a safer method to become sober. Consultation with a medical professional or recovery coach is strongly recommended. Little data is available about the safety and effectiveness of alcohol tapers. In contrast, robust evidence supports quitting alcohol while under medical supervision. If Living in a Sober House: Fundamental Rules 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.
- While the journey may be tricky, the rewards are worth the effort.
- For people who depend on opioids, benzodiazepines, or antidepressants, it is typical to slowly reduce someone’s dosage as opposed to immediately cutting them off completely.
- When coming off drugs or alcohol tapering is the best way to prevent severe withdrawal symptoms.
- The amount of time it takes to taper off of alcohol can vary greatly from person to person.
- “Some will experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop abruptly, which is an indicator for medically managed alcohol withdrawal treatments from a health professional.
Does Tapering Help Reduce Withdrawal Symptoms?
Early symptoms of alcohol withdrawal usually start about six hours after the last drink. Early symptoms include headache, sweating, tremors, vomiting and difficulty concentrating. Expect to feel some discomfort, including anxiety, sweating or irritability. If you feel more severe symptoms, such as paranoia, increased pulse, or tremors sometimes called alcohol shakes, you should taper more slowly and consider seeking professional help. If you feel severe symptoms, such as hallucinations, rapid heartbeat or disorientation, call 911 immediately. If you’ve been unable to quit on your own, you should consider attending an alcohol rehab center.
Build a network of people you can go to when you need help, join a support group or see a therapist. To create an effective taper, you must know how much you drink daily on average. It can be easy to underestimate how much you drink, and being as accurate as possible is important. Excessive drinking can weaken the immune system, increasing the body’s likelihood of developing an infection. Diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis are more frequent in individuals who chronically drink. Generally, light to moderate drinkers should plan to taper for a week or more.
Saved Costs and Time
Choosing to taper off alcohol is an admirable decision and a step in the right direction. As with many self-detox methods, the risks and rewards go hand in hand when attempting to overcome an alcohol substance use disorder. But, with a little prior knowledge on how to taper off alcohol, adequate planning and professional consultation from a healthcare provider, it can certainly be done. Anyone wanting to stop using alcohol may benefit from tapering if they first consult with their doctor to ensure they are tapering safely.
- That’s why it’s important to remember that relapse is not failure.
- Withdrawal usually begins 6 to 8 hours after the last drink and peaks within 72 hours.
- Quitting cold turkey means suddenly stopping all alcohol consumption.
- Alcohol works by increasing the potency of a neutral chemical in the brain called GABA, or gamma-Aminobutyric acid.
The consequences of quitting alcohol cold turkey can be serious and lead to alcohol withdrawal syndrome, which can be fatal in severe cases. When an individual has developed a substance use disorder or dependence on alcohol, stopping its use outright can seem virtually impossible. On top of this, quitting immediately — or “cold turkey” as many users and professionals call it — can https://appsychology.com/living-in-a-sober-house/ be dangerous. Withdrawal symptoms are generally uncomfortable to deal with, but they can be fatal. To avoid or reduce the impact of the withdrawal symptoms, people struggling with alcohol may choose to progressively taper off alcohol rather than quit abruptly. Programs such as inpatient or outpatient rehab, medical detox, individual or family therapy and support groups are available.
Also, learn to cope with and avoid situations that might cause you to want to drink more. 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. In addition, social pressures can make it hard to quit drinking, especially if your friends or family also drink heavily. Quitting drinking can feel very isolating, making it even more difficult to do alone at home without medical support. Direct tapering is not recommended for liquor drinkers as it is challenging to measure amounts and can result in binge drinking.