Can i stop drinking gradually

Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. Ferner RE, Chambers J. Alcohol intake: measure for measure. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Bethesda, Maryland: National Institutes of Health.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Tapering vs. Cold Turkey. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? I would recommend that anyone who has concerns over the amount they are drinking and is thinking of giving up, seeks expert advice in the first instance.

Alcohol dependency usually develops when someone has been drinking frequently for a prolonged period and a tolerance has been built. This is also related to alcohol addiction. Other factors are age, gender and general health.

But generally speaking if you feel the need to drink in order to stop unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as delirium tremens uncontrollable shaking , acute anxiety and feelings of panic, rapid heart rate, hallucinations, seizures, confusion, agitation, uncontrollable vomiting or retching, and have been drinking more than the government recommended alcohol intake for your gender on a daily basis, the chances are you have a physical dependency and you should consider alcohol detox.

If you are tapering from smaller quantities and feel no withdrawal symptoms until afternoon or evening then you can wait until then to consume your taper beers. Remember that you are not drinking for pleasure--you are drinking medicine--so only drink what is needed. Can you stop cold turkey? Many people who have been drinking smaller amounts or for shorter periods may find that they suffer no withdrawal symptoms or only minor withdrawal symptoms and that quitting cold turkey is far easier than tapering.

Always remember that if the taper is not working for you or if you are having major withdrawal that it is safest to check into a medical detox because alcohol withdrawal can kill you. Can You Taper Too Slowly? As long as you are progressively reducing the amount you are drinking you are tapering successfully, no matter how long it takes. However, some people find that if they attempt to taper too slowly they wind up rebounding back to baseline levels before they ever reach zero.

If you are one of these people then you may want to try to speed your taper as much as you can within the bounds of safety. Many people find that they can finish their taper in two or three days. How do I taper off with other meds? In some states such as Minnesota the doctor is required by law to commit anyone suffering from alcohol withdrawal to an inpatient detox facility for at least 72 hours. In other states the patient may be allowed to attend and outpatient detox program or the patient may be given a prescription for a benzodiazepine for use for self detox.

Typical detox regimens using these medications are as follows: Diazepam Valium ; 10 mg 3 or 4 times in first 24 hours, then 3 or 4 times daily as needed. Chlordiazepoxide Librium ; 50 mg every 6 hours for four doses, then 25 mg every 6 hours for eight doses. If you do go to a doctor for alcohol withdrawal you may have a diagnosis of alcoholism on your medical records for the rest of your life.

This can make it difficult to get medical insurance and sometimes even employment. If you want to avoid this you may choose to do the self-detox using beer as described above. For reference: 0. Benzodiazepine Equivalency Table Does an instance of alcohol withdrawal mean that I can never safely drink again? Not necessarily. If you choose to drink again the best way to avoid another instance of withdrawal is to avoid drinking two days in a row. If you can't do this then at least try to get in three abstinence days during the week.

Try to avoid drinking day and night. The more abstinence time you have each week the lower the chance of having another instance of withdrawal. If it is just too damn much work to pursue a goal of harm reduction or moderation with too little payoff, then you may just decide that quitting is simplest. HAMS is wholeheartedly opposed to programs which try to use fear to motivate permanent abstinence from alcohol.

We see these programs as usually backfiring and leading people to ever worse binges and ever worse withdrawals. We have found that people are most successful at quitting when they choose that goal for themselves. What causes alcohol withdrawal? Alcohol withdrawal is caused by neurotransmitter rebound. The main neurotransmitter system involved in alcohol withdrawal is the GABA gamma-aminobutyric acid system. However, millions of people go through this sort of withdrawal every year.

For example, if they are arrested and end up in a prison where the staff are unaware of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, if they find themselves on an international flight which does not allow drinking, or even if they wake up without alcohol and money in the house.

Unless you are very well motivated and have the support of people around you it is all too easy to start drinking again before the symptoms subside. But if you do get through it you have a golden opportunity to get your life back on the rails. If you choose to use this method of withdrawal you must let the people around you know what you are doing! If you reduce your drinking gradually over a few days, it is usually possible to avoid the worst withdrawal symptoms.

This is because your body has the chance to adapt gradually to the reducing level of alcohol in your blood. It is best to begin by cutting your alcohol consumption in half; if for example you drink a full bottle of spirits each day, you should limit yourself to half a bottle for a start. Keep it at this level for four days.

Then halve it again for four days, and then stop altogether. By doing this you can be off the drink within eight days. Many people withdraw from alcohol in this way. This method is widely used in Britain under professional community supervision. The main thing is to gradually reduce your alcohol intake over a number of days.

To do this you must be aware of the concentration of alcohol in your drinks - read the labels to judge the percentage alcohol content. As you can imagine it is not easy to use this method. You need to be a very strong and well motivated person to set your own limits and keep to them. Get support from people around you. This method is called "Detoxification" by health care professionals and "Drying out" in common language. You have to have professional supervision with this method because you need to use drugs that are only available on prescription.

With this method the person stops drinking alcohol and goes over instead onto prescribed medication which has a similar effect on the nervous system as alcohol. The prescribed dose is then reduced over a number of days and then stopped altogether. At this point you are off both the alcohol and the medication.

Very heavy drinkers will need to start on a high dose which will be reduced over a maximum of 10 days. People who have been drinking less heavily can start on a lower dose and take the medicines for a shorter period of time.

There are several drugs which can be prescribed for detoxification and they are all reasonably safe if you take them as prescribed, though they all tend to make you feel drowsy as a side effect.