How to Wean Off Alcohol & Safely Taper Drinking

A medical professional will evaluate your medical history and current symptoms or problems to determine the best treatment plan to meet your unique needs. Each method has pros and cons, but regardless of which one you choose, you must have the knowledge and resources to make a quit attempt successful. If you’re trying to quit cold turkey and need help, please find professional help from an addiction rehab center. Even if you think either option sounds like something that could work for your situation, we still recommend talking to a doctor before proceeding. During medical detox, medical professionals obverse the side effects of withdrawal and can help provide the support and guidance you need to continue your recovery process. They can also ensure you receive fluids to manage dehydration and provide balanced meals to minimize withdrawal effects.

Progressively tapering off of alcohol rather than stopping abruptly can mitigate both the discomfort and the dangers of quitting this powerful substance. For most people, the safest way to quit is to taper off alcohol gradually. Tapering off gives your body time to adjust to living without the effects of alcohol by slowly reducing your intake over a period of days or weeks. It can also help reduce withdrawal symptoms, which can be severe. Making a schedule to slowly reduce your alcohol intake is a safe way to taper off the substance. This will ensure that you are not quitting cold turkey which could result in severe and debilitating withdrawal symptoms or even death.

Physical Symptoms

Tapering off alcohol refers to cutting back on your alcohol intake . You may decide to taper off alcohol if you worry that you are developing an alcohol addiction. Figuring out where to start your alcohol taper schedule can seem impossible. It may seem simple to count each drink you consume, but all drinks are not created equal.

• Also, learn to cope with and avoid situations that might cause you to want to drink more.
• We offer 16 detox beds and around-the-clock medical care provided by a multidisciplinary team of addiction experts.
• Tailored programs can help individuals achieve long-term sobriety.
• This means that if you quit drinking cold turkey, your brain will not have enough GABA.
• Bunmi is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in Human Services.

If the drink is a mixed drink, it can contain sugar or other additives that should not be included in the taper and may worsen the effects of withdrawal symptoms. Minor symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can start as soon as six hours after the last drink of alcohol. Once they appear, acute symptoms may continue for around a week. 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. It can take different people varying amounts of time to https://ecosoberhouse.com/.

Alcohol Tapering Schedule

However, alcohol’s depressant effects are also responsible for many of the dangers of alcohol consumption, such as blackouts and alcohol overdose. Tremors, often known as “the shakes,” can occur within 5 to 10 hours after a person has had their last drink. They generally reach peak intensity between 24 and 48 hours after a person has stopped drinking.

For starters, withdrawal symptoms can be highly uncomfortable. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include nausea, vomiting, shaking, headaches, and insomnia.

How Long Does it Take to Detox from Alcohol at Home?

We are ready to cheer you on as you continue down the road of recovery toward a healthier, happier you. The annual cost of excessive alcohol use to Oregon’s economy each year is $3.5 billion due to lost productivity, health care expenses, criminal justice costs, and motor vehicle crashes. That expense comes out to $2.08 per drink consumed by Oregonians. how to taper off alcohol As you know, drinking does not provide actual relief from the difficulties of life; instead, drinking often makes our problems worse. Drink slowly, and drink nonalcoholic beverages.Sip your drink slowly. Again, a medical professional can help you determine what’s the right fit for you based on your history and symptoms or problems.

Use an onlinedrink size calculatororcocktail content calculator. Alcohol tapers are a strategy used to slowly decrease the amount of alcohol a person consumes. Alcohol also inhibits the glutamate receptor–which is the cause of staggering, slurring, and general interference with muscular coordination. Glutamate receptor rebound also appears to contribute to the withdrawal symptoms described above.

Who is likely to have significant alcohol withdrawal symptoms?

If nothing else, drink alternatives like water between drinks because hydration is essential for detox. Depending on how much alcohol you drink to start with, the amount of time an alcohol weaning schedule takes may vary. For example, those who drink more heavily may need more time to taper than those who drink less alcohol. Further, if you start to develop alcohol withdrawal symptoms during the taper, your doctor may instruct you to pause or slow the taper as a result. These factors can make one person’s taper last longer than another person’s taper. You don’t have to let the fear of alcohol withdrawal stop you from cutting back or quitting. You may decide to seek medical treatment for your withdrawal symptoms or decide to enter a professional detox or rehab center.