When it comes to your long-term health, quitting alcohol is an excellent decision. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are some uncomfortable withdrawal effects that can occur if you decide to quit cold turkey. If you’re planning on quitting alcohol, you should reach out to a professional treatment center to get help.
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Is It Safe To Quit Cold Turkey?
It isn’t safe to quit drinking alcohol cold turkey. Over time, your body gradually becomes accustomed to having alcohol present. Neurochemicals in your mind adjust to accommodate the alcohol.
When you stop drinking all of a sudden those neurochemicals will remain at the same level because your body expects alcohol to be present. Dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters don’t immediately revert back to normal levels after you quit drinking, which is why you experience withdrawal effects.
These effects happen with all types of addictions. However, alcohol-related withdrawal symptoms are especially dangerous. If you have consumed alcohol for a long period of time or in large quantities, you may develop life-threatening symptoms. Because of this, it is important to only undergo detox with the help of a professional treatment center.
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms: What To Expect
You can begin developing mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms just six hours after you stop drinking. However, more serious symptoms often don’t appear until two to three days after your last drink. When quitting alcohol, you can generally expect to go through the following timeline of symptoms.
About six hours after your last drink, you may experience a range of mild symptoms. Often, these symptoms include insomnia, nausea, headache, anxiety, shaky hands, vomiting, and sweating.
After 12 to 48 hours have passed since you last had alcohol, you may start to experience hallucinations and seizures. You may even hear, feel, or see things that don’t exist.
Delirium tremens is an incredibly dangerous condition. If this condition occurs, it will normally happen 48 to 72 hours after you stop drinking. When this happens, you may experience delusions and hallucinations. Fortunately, only about 5% of people experience delirium tremens when they go through alcohol withdrawal. If you are one of these individuals, you may also experience hypertension, confusion, a racing heartbeat, and a fever.
Why Supervised Detox Is Crucial
Thanks to early treatment, the mortality rate of delirium tremens has dropped to just 5%. If it isn’t treated appropriately, the mortality rate can be as high as 37%. Safety is a major reason why you should get professional medical help. However, there are other reasons why supervised detox is so crucial for your recovery.
Monitor Withdrawal Symptoms
One of the biggest reasons why you need medical supervision is for your withdrawal symptoms. While delirium tremens is a serious concern, there are other severe symptoms that can be dangerous as well. In addition, you need professional supervision because alcohol withdrawal can worsen other medical conditions.
Support Your Comfort
During your detox, a doctor or addiction specialist can help you manage your withdrawal symptoms. While withdrawal symptoms are never comfortable, a professional rehab can alleviate their severity. At some rehabs, you can get medically assisted detox. This type of detox provides added support so that you experience less pain and fewer withdrawal symptoms.
Access Important Therapies
An addiction is a disease that affects your entire life. Detoxing is a good initial step to treating your addiction, but it isn’t a cure. During rehab, you can access additional therapy programs. These therapies can help you learn how to manage cravings, spot triggers, and manage your recovery process. Later, aftercare programs can support your long-term sobriety.
Get Peer Support
In a detox facility, you can access peer support. The other people who are at the treatment center are in a similar situation, so they can empathize and offer advice. During your treatment, you will be able to go through group therapy with your peers and navigate the treatment process together.
Remove Temptations
One of the most important reasons why you should go to a treatment center is because it will help you avoid a relapse. When you are undergoing withdrawal symptoms, it can be incredibly difficult to resist your cravings. At a treatment center, it is impossible to drink alcohol again. Because you are constantly supervised, you can’t relapse until your treatment is complete. For many people, this type of added relapse prevention is a key component of their treatment.
Alternatives To Quitting Cold Turkey
Ideally, you should avoid quitting cold turkey. In addition to being incredibly uncomfortable, it can also cause life-threatening symptoms. Because of these symptoms, you may be more likely to relapse. Rather than expose yourself to these risks, there are alternatives you can use to quit drinking.
Go to a Medically Supervised Detox Center
The best option for becoming sober is to enroll at a detox center. In a professional detox center, you will be supervised by medical professionals. This medical support can prevent major withdrawal symptoms and increase your odds of staying sober over the long run.
Consider Outpatient Treatment
Ideally, you should detox at an inpatient treatment center. An inpatient center gives you an added level of supervision and support. However, this isn’t always an option. Sometimes, people need to have added flexibility for taking care of a family member or going to work.
In these instances, an outpatient center may be the right option. At an outpatient treatment center, you can still get medical help and supervision. Instead of remaining at the treatment center each night, you can return home and take care of your family and professional responsibilities.
Taper Yourself Gradually
If you don’t have easy access to a treatment center, you may be able to taper yourself off of alcohol over an extended period of time. Tapering yourself gradually can help you avoid major withdrawal symptoms. However, it can be challenging to control your drinking well enough to reduce it. Often, people who struggle with an addiction also have a hard time tapering the amount they drink each night. Because of this, it’s a good idea to talk to a medical professional before you decide which recovery plan makes the most sense for your situation.
How an Illinois Recovery Center Can Help
At Illinois Recovery Center, you can get professional support for treating your substance use disorder. Illinois Recovery Center starts by creating a personalized treatment plan for each individual. Typically, this plan starts with a medical detox for drugs and alcohol. Our medically assisted detox helps to reduce pain, increase safety, and boost your odds of achieving a healthy, long-term recovery.
After your initial detox, there are a range of programs you can take. For more intensive support and supervision, our inpatient treatment program is an excellent choice. We also offer partial hospitalization and outpatient programs if you need a little more flexibility. Once your rehab process is complete, you can get long-term support through our alumni and aftercare programs.
Often, people who have an alcohol addiction have co-occurring disorders. For example, some people use alcohol to self-medicate for chronic pain, depression, or anxiety. Once you are sober, your underlying medical conditions will still remain. It is important to treat these conditions at the same time as you go through rehab. Otherwise, you may be more likely to relapse in the future.
Seek Professional Help
Deciding to quit drinking is the first step. Once you realize that you have a problem, there are many different ways you can become sober. At Illinois Recovery Center, we have helped countless individuals get the help they need to recover. We treat the whole person, so you can get long-term support for your sobriety and co-occurring disorders.
If you want to become sober, we can help. Reach out to the Illinois Recovery Center today to learn more.
