If you drink alcohol heavily for weeks, months, or years, you may have both mental and physical problems when you stop or seriously cut back on how much you drink. If you have alcohol use disorder and want help, a healthcare provider can guide you to resources and rehabilitation programs to help you quit. Know that your provider will be there to support you, not to judge you.
Severe Symptoms
After detox, continue to drink the recommended daily amount of water to energize body, improve kidney function, and improve bowel function. Delirium tremens occur in about 2% of people with alcohol dependence. Different from alcohol shakes alcohol shakes, this condition may also cause agitation and hallucinations. This article will review alcohol shakes, their causes, treatment, the other signs of alcohol withdrawal, and when a person should contact a doctor.
How to Beat the Alcoholic Shakes
Find a supportive friend or family member to be with you while you withdraw and support your new non-drinking lifestyle. People with alcohol use disorder should be monitored by a medical professional when withdrawing from alcohol. Moderate to heavy drinkers can also benefit from medical supervision in the acute withdrawal stage. You don’t need to be diagnosed with alcohol use disorder in order to quit drinking.
Have more questions about our programs?
Serious side effects can occur with any benzodiazepine, as well as possible dangerous interactions with other drugs or medications. Once you’ve decided to stop drinking alcohol, it’s important to meet with your doctor. He or she can guide you toward the safest, most comfortable, and most effective plan for your sobriety. Alcohol abuse affects your physical and mental health, so it’s important to be guided by someone who knows your medical history. Your doctor may personally oversee your alcohol withdrawal, or he or she may refer you to an inpatient or outpatient treatment facility.
They help lower activity in your CNS, which is the source of most of the dangerous problems with DTs. The most common sedatives are benzodiazepines, but other drug types are possible, too. In rare situations, people with very high CNS activity may need general anesthesia to fully sedate them and avoid the most dangerous symptoms of DTs. Other tests may be possible, depending on your symptoms or if you have any other health problems. Your healthcare provider can tell you more about the tests they recommend or used for you (or your loved one) and why.
- To understand what causes alcoholic shakes, you first have to understand what happens in the body when you drink alcohol.
- Delirium tremens is a severe, life-threatening form of withdrawal that can happen when a person with alcohol use disorder suddenly stops drinking.
- It may be possible to independently manage mild alcohol withdrawal.
- It’s difficult to predict who will and who won’t experience alcohol withdrawal — and how severe it will be.
- Heavy drinkers may develop an addiction to alcohol that requires professional treatment.
- Having the alcohol shakes, or tremors, is not the same as the DTs.
- DT’s are less common than regular alcohol tremors, occurring in about 5 percent of patients going through withdrawal.
- A reduced magnesium level can contribute to muscle spasms, cramps, and, notably, tremors.
How well do you score on brain health?
How it feels
When To Call a Professional
