Alcohol Withdrawal Duration

I started drinking alcohol in my late thirties due to a personal trauma. To find solace from mental agony, I spend countless number of hours and money, at various pubs and now, after 7 years, I realize that I've no alcohol free days. After developing a liver infection recently, when my doctor asked me to quit this habit, I stopped drinking it. However, my resolution lasted only for a day. I feel directionless if I don't drink and so I've decided to join a rehab. I've heard that the duration of withdrawal is lengthy and the alcohol withdrawal symptoms cause discomfort. However, I've decided to fight it till the end. Wish me luck. ~ John

While John's determination to quit alcohol is commendable, it is a fact that quitting a long term alcohol habit is never easy, especially in the first few weeks. Alcohol addiction occurs after a person has been under long term alcohol abuse. In such cases, alcohol becomes a necessity for the person, without which the body feels restless and uncomfortable.

Symptoms
Signs of alcohol withdrawal are the series of conditions that affect an individual after he quits his daily habit of heavy drinking. What are these symptoms and how does an individual respond to it? The signs can be moderate or severe depending on how long has the person been addicted to alcohol and how far has alcohol interfered with the person's immune and body system.

Moderate Withdrawal Symptoms
Some psychological and physical symptoms that affect a person in case of moderate alcohol addiction are as follows:

• Nervousness and restlessness
• Anxiety
• Losing temper easily and irritability
• Fatigue
• Attacks of depression
• Sweating and increased heartbeat
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Tremor in the hands
• Rapid eyelid movements
• Insomnia
• Poor appetite
• Confusion and lack of concentration
• Paleness on face and skin

Severe Symptoms
Here are some severe signs of withdrawal problems:

• Delirium Tremens, a state in which person experiences hallucinations, bad dreams and mental confusion.
• Aggression (convulsions)/Agitation
• High Fever
• Forgetfulness and blackouts, that means forgetting what happened during the drinking phase

Duration of the Withdrawal

It is the time period for which the symptoms of withdrawal affect the individual, when he begins his rehabilitation program. Generally, when an addicted person stops consuming alcohol, he is likely to experience the signs, 2 to 3 days after he has last consumed the substance. Hence, the expected duration is nearly 48 to 72 hours. Mild duration can be more as in these cases the consumption has been low and so the person has not been addicted to the serious level. The duration of the signs also depends upon the severity of the addiction and availability of medical help.

In some cases, where the person has been severely addicted to alcohol, the duration of withdrawal may be just 24 hours, or less than that. However, such advanced cases of alcohol addiction must be treated under the strict supervision of some good rehabilitation program as it can help in fast recovery from alcohol addiction.

There have been various alcohol rehabilitation cases where the addicted person has successfully fought alcoholism. It is important to join a good rehabilitation center where the facilities of alcohol detoxification and recovery are excellent. Besides that, the staff should be caring and compassionate with the people coming for rehabilitation.

Last but not the least, the duration is not a fixed parameter that is same for every addicted person. It can vary for every person, average time period of withdrawal is 2-3 days. If you've been an alcohol addict and are making up your mind to quit, then you should do it at the earliest so that you can get back to a normal healthy life. Remember, you have experienced the vices of alcohol addiction and so now you've to get back to life and experience the gratitude of living a simple life, that in itself, is a beautiful experience!