Are you having an alcoholism Problem?

Alcohol withdrawal refers to an assemblage of symptoms that may occur from suddenly discontinuing with the use of alcohol after chronic or prolonged ingestion. Not everyone who stops drinking experiences withdrawal symptoms, but most people who have been drinking for a long period of time, or drinking frequently, or drink heavily when they do drink, will experience some form of withdrawal symptoms if they stop drinking suddenly.

What Is It?

Alcohol withdrawal is the fluctuations the body goes through when a person suddenly stops consumption after prolonged and heavy alcohol use. Symptoms include trembling (shakes), insomnia, anxiety, and other physical and mental symptoms. Alcohol has a decelerating effect (also called a sedating effect or depressant effect) on the brain. In a heavy, long-term drinker, the brain is almost continually exposed to the depressant effect of alcohol. Over time, the brain adjusts its own chemistry to compensate for the effect of the alcohol. It does this by producing naturally stimulating chemicals (such as serotonin or norepinephrine, which is a relative of adrenaline) in larger quantities than normal. If the alcohol is withdrawn suddenly, the brain is like an accelerated vehicle that has lost its brakes. Not surprisingly, most symptoms of withdrawal are symptoms that occur when the brain is over stimulated. The most hazardous form of alcohol withdrawal occurs in about one out of every twenty people who have withdrawal symptoms. This condition is called delirium tremens (also called DTs). In delirium tremens, the brain is not able to smoothly readjust its chemistry after alcohol is stopped. This creates a state of temporary confusion and leads to dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing. The body’s vital signs such as your heart rate or blood pressure can change dramatically or capriciously, generating a risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

• Pathophysiology

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is mediated by a variety of mechanisms. The brain maintains neurochemical balance through inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. The main inhibitory neurotransmitter is γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA), which acts through the GABA-alpha (GABA-A) neuroreceptor. One of the major excitatory neurotransmitters is glutamate, which acts through the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neuroreceptor.

Alcohol enhances the effect of GABA on GABA-A neuroreceptors, resulting in decreased overall brain excitability. Chronic exposure to alcohol results in a compensatory decrease of GABA-A neuroreceptor response to GABA, evidenced by increasing tolerance of the effects of alcohol.

What causes withdrawal?

Alcohol thinning is a physical reaction to cutting down or discontinuing alcohol use. It is most common in people who are heavy drinkers because they have developed a tolerance to alcohol. Alcohol acts in the central nervous system by changing the balance of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that send messages between nerves. Alcohol reduces the effect of excitatory neurotransmitters, and increases the effect of inhibitory neurotransmitters, altering the natural balance of the nervous system. Over time, the brain tries to fix this unevenness by increasing the activity of the excitatory neurotransmitters and reducing the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. When alcohol is suddenly taken away, this compensatory effect keeps going, resulting in over activity of the excitatory neurotransmitters and under activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. This causes withdrawal syndromes.

What Are the Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms?

Withdrawal symptoms are hinged on the amount you were drinking and for how long. Some persons will have only mild symptoms while others will have severe, even life-threatening symptoms.

• Mild to moderate symptoms

These can start from six to forty eight hours after people stop drinking or cut down, and usually last one to five days. They include: Shaking, Sweating, Racing heart, Feeling sick and vomiting, Headaches, Trouble sleeping, Feeling anxious or agitated, and Hallucinations

• Very severe symptoms

Seizures -Usually occur within the first two days, it occur in about 2-9% of alcohol dependent people. Delirium tremens’ Usually occur 3-4 days after stopping drinking and typically resolves within 3 days, it occurs in about 5% of people admitted to hospital for alcohol problems Includes: Vivid hallucinations, confusion and disorientation ,agitation and hyperactivity, Insomnia, trembling, racing heart, sweating and fever.

Diagnosis

Alcohol withdrawal is easy to identify if you have distinctive symptoms that occur after you stop hefty, habitual drinking. If you have a past experience of withdrawal symptoms, you are likely to have them return if you start and stop heavy drinking again. There are no specific tests that can be used to diagnose alcohol withdrawal. If you have withdrawal symptoms from drinking, then you have consumed enough alcohol to damage other organs. It is a good idea for your doctor to examine you prudently and do blood tests, checking for alcohol-related damage to your liver, heart, nerves in your feet, blood cell counts, and gastrointestinal tract. Your doctor will evaluate your usual diet and check for vitamin deficiencies because poor nutrition is common when someone is dependent on alcohol. It is customarily difficult for people who drink to be entirely honest about how much they’ve been drinking. You should bang your drinking history straightforwardly to your doctor so you can be treated safely for withdrawal symptom.

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Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms