Do you think I’m an alcoholic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So i’m back to post that I am absolutely exhausted all of the time. I have no clue if it’s coincidental with cutting out alcohol, but the extreme fatigue is kind of startling. I’m not sick. Still forcing myself to work out or at least walk the dog daily, but I am sleeping a ridiculous amount, and if I don’t absolutely have to be upright, I am lying down on the couch. My diet, caffeine intake, and water is all the same as before the new year. Literally the only thing that’s different is I am drinking zero alcohol.
-OP

Good for you OP. Maybe it's related to stopping drinking, or maybe it's related to the weather, or one of the 5 billion viruses circulating right now, or something weirder (my mom had Hepatitis A once and, before she turned yellow, crushing fatigue was her biggest symptom). If you don't feel better if a few weeks, or it gets worse, go to your doctor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So i’m back to post that I am absolutely exhausted all of the time. I have no clue if it’s coincidental with cutting out alcohol, but the extreme fatigue is kind of startling. I’m not sick. Still forcing myself to work out or at least walk the dog daily, but I am sleeping a ridiculous amount, and if I don’t absolutely have to be upright, I am lying down on the couch. My diet, caffeine intake, and water is all the same as before the new year. Literally the only thing that’s different is I am drinking zero alcohol.
-OP

Mild withdrawal?

+1 Exactly.

Your theory is that sometime more than 17, but fewer than 22, days into abstaining from alcohol, OP developed “withdrawal”?

It’s amateur hour here.

Put your wine down and listen: withdrawal and detox takes months. I know, right? You thought it was just one little drink a day, so it should all go away in a week, tops. And you were stupid wrong. Your neurotransmitters don't magically bounce back in a week, or even a month. If you have habitually used mind-altering substances, like alcohol, on a daily basis for months/years, it's going to take some time for your body to recalibrate.

That OP made it through the first couple weeks without massive symptoms may be due to lower use amounts, or an easier withdrawal/detox in general. Or it could be pink clouds: https://www.healthline.com/health/pink-cloud

Yes, clearly, it is amateur hour where you are.

Not drinking. Wine OR Koolaid. OP is not in withdrawal.

Thanks, Dr. DCUM, for your magical diagnosis of a stranger over the internet via an anon board. We all trust your judgment, based in facts as it obviously is.

OP - Those of us who have detoxed have also experienced similar fatigue. If it's not something you can work through, please see an actual doctor. Just know that there's a pervasive alcohol culture in our country, and what may be simple detox/withdrawal might be misdiagnosed. Especially by idiots on the internet.

[Anonymous]

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/ss/slideshow-quit-alcohol-effects

Also,

Sugar withdrawal symptoms may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks and can vary significantly among people. Withdrawal symptoms may depend on how quickly you reduce your intake and how quickly your body's tolerance adapts to eating less sugar.4

Common symptoms of reducing or eliminating sugar can include:


Mood changes: Many people feel down or depressed when they stop eating sugar. This is likely because a lack of sugar corresponds to a decrease in the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the brain's reward system.

Difficulty concentrating: Trouble focusing and paying attention can make it hard to concentrate on tasks at school, work, or in everyday life.

Irritability: Sugar withdrawal may lead to a low tolerance for people or situations you find annoying (i.e., someone singing loudly or traffic on your way home from work).

Intense cravings: Removing sweets or carbohydrate-rich foods all at once can trigger cravings for these specific foods.

Feeling anxious: Cutting out sugar too quickly may lead to restlessness and increased anxiety.

Nausea: Some people experience digestive symptoms such as nausea when reducing their sugar intake.

Headaches: A sudden reduction in sugar intake makes your blood sugar levels drop and headaches to occur.

Dizziness or fatigue: If you're used to eating sugar regularly, you may feel dizzy or weak without a steady stream of it.

Changes in your sleep pattern: Some people find it difficult to fall asleep as fast or stay asleep when they're experiencing a withdrawal from sugar.

Ending daily consumption of a couple of units of alcohol (I suspect OP's daily wine pour was the typical American restaurant size, which is 2.5 units of alcohol, not just one) removes a substantial trigger of elevated blood glucose, substantially changing the body's overall experience of metabolism.

The people scoffing at the notion that OP is experiencing withdrawal symptoms just a couple of weeks after going cold turkey off alcohol are clearly really very ignorant of nutritional biochemistry. No shame there, most doctors are too! But yeah, OP's body is absolutely still experiencing a rebalancing after physiological dependency on alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/ss/slideshow-quit-alcohol-effects

Also,

Sugar withdrawal symptoms may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks and can vary significantly among people. Withdrawal symptoms may depend on how quickly you reduce your intake and how quickly your body's tolerance adapts to eating less sugar.4

Common symptoms of reducing or eliminating sugar can include:


Mood changes: Many people feel down or depressed when they stop eating sugar. This is likely because a lack of sugar corresponds to a decrease in the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the brain's reward system.

Difficulty concentrating: Trouble focusing and paying attention can make it hard to concentrate on tasks at school, work, or in everyday life.

Irritability: Sugar withdrawal may lead to a low tolerance for people or situations you find annoying (i.e., someone singing loudly or traffic on your way home from work).

Intense cravings: Removing sweets or carbohydrate-rich foods all at once can trigger cravings for these specific foods.

Feeling anxious: Cutting out sugar too quickly may lead to restlessness and increased anxiety.

Nausea: Some people experience digestive symptoms such as nausea when reducing their sugar intake.

Headaches: A sudden reduction in sugar intake makes your blood sugar levels drop and headaches to occur.

Dizziness or fatigue: If you're used to eating sugar regularly, you may feel dizzy or weak without a steady stream of it.

Changes in your sleep pattern: Some people find it difficult to fall asleep as fast or stay asleep when they're experiencing a withdrawal from sugar.

Ending daily consumption of a couple of units of alcohol (I suspect OP's daily wine pour was the typical American restaurant size, which is 2.5 units of alcohol, not just one) removes a substantial trigger of elevated blood glucose, substantially changing the body's overall experience of metabolism.

The people scoffing at the notion that OP is experiencing withdrawal symptoms just a couple of weeks after going cold turkey off alcohol are clearly really very ignorant of nutritional biochemistry. No shame there, most doctors are too! But yeah, OP's body is absolutely still experiencing a rebalancing after physiological dependency on alcohol.

So you have diagnosed that OP is mistaken about her alcohol intake (perhaps lying, perhaps not). And based on a WebMD article that says withdrawal from sugar may last for weeks, and with minimal other information about other ways her diet may have changed, you think the correct diagnosis here is that fatigue that began several weeks in is alcohol (/sugar) withdrawal.

I think a virus is a lot more likely.

[Anonymous]

Speaking to the fatigue issue, it’s very possible that it’s being caused by the elimination of alcohol. It seems to have irritated some posters that this is being referred to as withdrawal. Regardless of what you call it, this is extremely common and just your metabolism adjusting. That doesn’t mean you’re an alcoholic. Go to any dry january message board and you’ll see that changes in sleep patterns and fatigue are big themes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking to the fatigue issue, it’s very possible that it’s being caused by the elimination of alcohol. It seems to have irritated some posters that this is being referred to as withdrawal. Regardless of what you call it, this is extremely common and just your metabolism adjusting. That doesn’t mean you’re an alcoholic. Go to any dry january message board and you’ll see that changes in sleep patterns and fatigue are big themes.

That some of these posters are irritated by the word "withdrawal" suggests they have their own dependencies to address.

You don't have to be An Alcoholic to have a problematic relationship with alcohol use. And if the mere thought bothers you, there's probably some resonance you should investigate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking to the fatigue issue, it’s very possible that it’s being caused by the elimination of alcohol. It seems to have irritated some posters that this is being referred to as withdrawal. Regardless of what you call it, this is extremely common and just your metabolism adjusting. That doesn’t mean you’re an alcoholic. Go to any dry january message board and you’ll see that changes in sleep patterns and fatigue are big themes.

That some of these posters are irritated by the word "withdrawal" suggests they have their own dependencies to address.

You don't have to be An Alcoholic to have a problematic relationship with alcohol use. And if the mere thought bothers you, there's probably some resonance you should investigate.

This. Can almost guantee that everyone having a big reaction to that word has an alcohol dependency issue. It's almost like it's the addiction reacting.