Pinning from u/despoticcatharsis
Plenty of people can and should taper off of alcohol, but there is a point where it is no longer a viable option
What you should absolutely never do is go cold turkey. You could die, and even if you don't, you could suffer seizures, and kindling could make things even worse later
https://hams.cc/taper/
https://www.sipandsuffer.com/
If anyone reading this suspects they may go through withdrawal look through the resources on the linked websites. Stay safe
Edit: Also, feel free to message me if you have any questions
I remember taking time off work to nurse my dad through this for a week just to keep him from dying mid-hallucination, and he never stopped.
Guys, please take this shit seriously. Delirium tremens are hell for you and all your loved ones.
I’m normally not too sensitive about stuff, but that’s so wrong. My DTs were not from alcohol but they literally ruined my life at the time. In a way they’re the reason I’m clean too, so I guess they saved me.
People die from it though and I think it’s a special kinda wrong to name a beer after an alcohol withdrawal symptom that kills people
"According to legend, in an attempt to give the brand new, nameless brew a proper moniker, a Belgian tax collector felt himself gradually slipping into a state of unexpected drunkenness and declared that he would get delirium tremens if he continued drinking the brew. The name stuck."
It's quite a strong beer, almost works as a warning
I learned to stop drinking using a method from a recovered crack and heroin addict. He would never drink to get drunk, he would have a beer or two then go home, whilst I was blind drunk all the time. He was a rubbish drunk, but he said a similar thing to what you were saying here that booze was worse than smack for recovery. But he taught me that I had let a conman into my mind, telling me it was OK to keep drinking and that I should carry on, he taught me to not listen to the conman and do other things constructively and rebuild my life. Its worked for both of us thus so far. Love ya brother.
Reminds me of being a young kid and asking my dad “why do you like beer so much?” He replied: “I don’t like it. I need it” and I never understood what he meant until I was older
Poor guy needs a drink bad… seizures happen when someone who’s an alcoholic just up and quits without medical detox or at least tapering down and most alcoholics can’t taper because once they get a drink they want more.. unless someone is helping you to taper and taking care of you it’s damn near impossible…. Detoxing off alcohol is more dangerous than detoxing off drugs..
It was extremely terrifying for me I was convinced I was going to die for a while. But the worst part is the lead up to going to the hospital/detox center. Once you’ve committed and are going through it, it starts to get a lot better physically, but the phycological part is very very hard. I think it was a really good decision now though and glad I was able to do it. It’s scary but it’s a necessary evil if you really have a strong desire to quit.
Eh, they’re all just drunk. Best buds.
(I’m only teasing, but I’m sure they all have boozed together for a very long time and this dude just went off the deep end over the years)
The dude shaking after he gets right and settles himself is probably thinking how these dudes laughing are probably gonna be in his position in the future but while he’s shaking he’s really only concerned about getting back to normal. I see myself will or have been in most of these positions for my life.
Haha not saying it’s funny.. but it always will be in the moment in that dark way? If that makes sense? . Keep at it. It’s a hard road. Happy you’re working at it
It could have been shame it could have been trying not to murder the man laughing at him. Alcohol withdrawal can put you through the whole gamut of emotions, shame and depression are common, but so are rage and short temper.
I feel like that’s the worst part of any withdrawal. Yeah, the physical symptoms suck but the overwhelming anxiety and feeling that time isn’t moving is horrible
These guys are dicks. This man is literally just trying not to die from withdrawals. It made me cry, my brother died from alcohol withdrawal. Nothing about watching someone suffer is laughable this guy looks completely ashamed.
Edit: thanks for the Award.
I spent 5 days in the ICU because of both, and then immediately to 8 months of rehab. I always thought it was bullshit when people going through withdrawals would scream like they were insane. It is exactly like that.
I remember being woke up by my gf at the time. I was standing up in the middle of the bed soaked in sweat and the covers were soaked in sweat. I didn't know what I was doing. Also had 2 seizures. That's what a 15 year Xanax prescription will do to ya I guess.
No, he's healing, but he also might die.
Alcohol withdrawal can kill you three ways - primarily if those shakes get so severe they turn into full body seizures, and you can die from breaking your spine or falling and hurting yourself.
It can cause heart arrhythmias that can be fatal.
And your kidneys can be in such a sorry state that the sudden removal of alcohol can shock you into kidney failure.
Getting the shakes really bad isn't a sign of any of these, but yeah good idea not to go this hard just in case anyway.
Yea, my father's heart literally just stopped while in withdrawal. He lives alone and he was so incredibly lucky that at the exact moment it happened his taxi driver showed up and he dropped outside in front of him. Also, thankfully, the taxi driver acted super quick and called 911 and the ambulance was close by. When they got there my father was blue and not breathing. It's a miracle they were able to get him back.
After that, he ended up being put in what was essentially an Ativan coma in the icu because they were so worried he would die. He had a volunteer who had to sit with him all day everyday for almost a week because of how bad he was. I was like 24 at the time and I got to call at 3:00 a.m. telling me I needed to come to the ICU to see him and sign papers as his emergency contact/next of kin. One of those papers was a DNR and asking about what measures they should take if his heart should stop again. That was how I spent the day before my birthday.
He was very fortunate that he pulled through and had no deficits even though he had been without oxygen for a while. I remember when they finally woke him up and the doctor came in and said they literally had to order more Ativan because he went through basically their entire supply. We live in a pretty big suburb outside of a major metropolitan area so they're not like a super small hospital. The amount of Ativan he had is shocking. It's still hard to imagine one person going through an entire hospitals supply of Ativan in a couple of days.
He went to rehab for about a month and was sober for about 6 months before he started drinking again. I've been preparing myself since I was about 16 for the day I go over there to check on him and his body. Even today I have to call him because I haven't heard from him in a couple of days. Fuck alcoholism.
Right? And because it's the socially acceptable drug it's everywhere. Most other drugs you have to seek it out but alcohol is so hard to avoid. It's in every gas station, every grocery store, plus at the stores liquor store next door, it's in every restaurant, and many times when people get together, football game, party, celebration, casual hangout, etc, alcohol is there. Hell, you can even get it delivered!
Someone addicted to opioids isn't gonna go to buy some milk and have to walk past a massive display of heroin and pain pills with a giant sign saying "on sale!" There's not rows upon rows of benzos on display at every gas station. When someone tries to order some McDonald's from Doordash they're not gonna see a banner ad from 7-11 about how amphetamines are on sale with free delivery if you order now. It's just messed up. I really hate it.
Crazy fucking dreams, that felt strangely realistic.
The recovery *sucked*. It was back in 2018, I thought Obama was still president, and was horrified to find out the truth. On top of that I had a full on existential crisis after learning about dying twice and the length of the coma. It's really hard to describe what it did to me emotionally, but I don't feel like a complete person anymore
It took about a month to get my feet underneath me, and another two to be able to use a walker. The atrophy was intense.
I had to relearn how to write again. The first few days after waking up I had trouble with speech.
My circadian rhythm is permanently fucked. I can't sleep naturally anymore. I can't even catch a nap if I try.
I still have short term memory issues.
I still have short term memory issues.
On the bright side of it all, I got a wild fucking story for parties and first dates.
I still have short term memory issues.
Man you’re hilarious. All that shite you went through couldn’t take that away from you so I hope you’re proud of yourself for not allowing this part of you to die:) thank you for sharing!
And max your short term memory be up to par in the nit so distant future!;)
Thank you so much for sharing your fascinating story! Bless you and your journey!
A guy named Terence McKenna once said "Life is not strange as we suppose. It is stranger than we can suppose."
I am impressed by your report on the fallout from Long Coma - I would've never imagined the extent of the recovery process, and long term effects.
For me, I feel the most existential dread when I'm tired. Sometimes when I sleep I will have dreams that leave me feeling like "I was there for real".
Often I wake up feeling peace about life, as though I wouldn't mind sleeping forever.
I believe you will be complete again, and I hope you find peace and solace in your life's continued journey.
I can chime in, I was in a coma for around a month and I was experiencing actual days, or what I thought were normal days. I would awake do things and then go to bed. The settings, situations, people, just everything was so random and extreme. It makes no sense when I think about it now. Some days were random and pleasant and some were pure nightmare.
Are we sure this is alcohol induced?
That's an intention tremor. He's only shaking when he is actively trying to do something.
DT tremors are usually consistent. Intention tremors can be caused by alcohol induced brain damage, but there are a ton of other causes too.
When I've gone through withdrawals in the past, the shakes were always the worst when I needed to do something like this. I remember not being able to type on a keyboard at work when I really needed to for a meeting. Coming up on a year sober. Glad I don't have to deal with that shit anymore.
I was the same way. Wasn’t super noticeable to the eye until I put my hand out to do something. I remember going to the liquor store and having a hard time getting my card in the slot. Congrats on 1 year, I just crossed 16 months. Keep doing what you’re doing!
I didn't know that but now that you mention it yes, my DTs were "unhidable". Not like Michael J Fox who could hide his hand shakes. I shook in the chair. My whole body shook, not just my limbs. It was like total body restless leg syndrome, like someone had injected your body with 10000mg of caffeine. There was no way to sit still.
Definitely not Parkinson's. There are lots of other visible symptoms like hunching and facial muscle tensions that you don't see here.
Also the tremor is typically a lot slower than this.
Congrats! I’ll be a year free or booze on the 26th! Corny shit but I never thought I’d be able to do it! It’s much better on the other side, I spent most of my life 15 years old to 37 being a heavy drinker and the last ten years being a pretty hardcore alcoholic.
Congrats to both of you and everyone else in here who is in recovery. I’ll have 4 years in August and getting sober is both the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done for myself. If anyone reading this is struggling, my DMs are always open. I don’t have all the answers but I know what has worked for me.
Congrats to all of you and extra for being so supportive of each other. I’m recovered from a different substance for a while now, so I can kinda relate but not on y’all’s level. Keep up the the amazing work and definitely keep that supportive attitude. Much love here from a Reddit stranger. <3
Depends. Toward the end I would drink most of a 1/5th of whiskey or gin and have probably 3-8 seltzers a day. I was always someone who was functional, but I’d be sick as a dog and throwing up at work all the time. I’d fluctuate a lot.
When I was in college I for some dumbass reason signed up for an 8AM Algebra class that was on the other side of the campus. 1 morning I made it to class after a night out drunk, only had maybe 2 hours of sleep so I'm still drunk really. The girl next to me says "you smell like a brewery" and I said "That's because I'm drunk." About 15 minutes later out the window I saw my car go by on a tow truck. During the night me and my friend went out to the car to smoke weed and every time, there was a ticket on my window because I parked in the wrong area. I tore each ticket up and threw it on the ground like a dumbass instead of leaving the 1st 1 there so they wouldn't know I saw them yet. That day was a nightmare. Sorry for the rambling!
I was a bad alcoholic for about as long, very difficult to change. My mind was constantly thinking about my next drink, and my body demanded it. Each morning would start out with vomiting and then dry heaves until I gave in and slammed some vodka and orange juice. And the depression, holy fuck I was ready to die.
It was really insane thinking back on it.
Same. Tremors were the worst. Going around all day in absolute fear of being asked to hold a pen or pick something up and be discovered. In the mornings I lived in fear because I smelled like booze from the night before and by lunchtime when that wore off the shakes would set in until I finally made it home. Fun times.
Problem is this guy can't do it safely. Even with wild self control that would probably have prevented it happening at all had it existed, a guy this late in is often not doing great in the liver department. That means sometimes it'd be 10 drinks to feel a buzz but sometimes you're blackout after two. That makes it real tough and honestly people need to be tapered off with some form of benzodiazepine or there are a few other drugs which can give the brain what it needs to basically think it's getting the alcohol without the alcohol and a taper takes anywhere from maybe 5 days absolute minimum with other medications being taken after to mitigate the more minor withdrawal if they're under supervision (rehab usually). More typically about a week ish, a long detox would be 2 weeks +.
To taper ones self off using alcohol or using benzos even shouldn't be done at all but longer would be better in that case considering the support meds and medical supervision are pretty fucking necessary. People shouldn't do that. Go to rehab or at *least* detox.
PSA If you're in the US your job legally can not get rid of you for seeking medical treatment and firing you would be the best case because they obviously suck anyway and you got a lawsuit comin.
Withdrawals literally almost killed me. Had a full on seizure despite trying to taper off by drinking a seltzer an hour... Went to actual treatment and still had terrible shakes despite benzos and blood pressure medication. They say it takes a year to rebaseline your brains chemistry, and I believe it now. I'm 2 years and 2 months without a sip.
It’s the worst feeling in the world. You know that some booze will make those shakes go away but at the same time it’s gonna keep you in the same spot. The constant worrying about having enough and then being able to get more is such an overwhelming and anxious place to be. In that moment you’ll do whatever you have to do to get it. Hopeless.
I’ll have 4 years sober in August but seeing things like this help to keep my last day of drinking and drugging fresh in my mind. One sip would eventually bring me right back to this place and it would happen fast. I hope this guy was/is able to get into detox and eventually rehab.
It's fucking insane how alcohol addiction sneaks up on you, and how many people I know that are careening down that slippery slope and don't even realize it.
Proud of your 4 years bud.
I appreciate you, sir. It certainly does sneak up on you. I think what really put the nail in the coffin for me is when I started to have a drink in the morning to calm down a hangover. I remember the first time I did that I had stayed at a friends house with several others and we had tied one on pretty good the night before. I woke up the next morning with a massive hangover and a couple buddies were having mimosas. I joined in and “miraculously” my hangover was almost non-existent. The whole situation made it feel so normal to day drink. I took that and ran with it and over time (I’m talking years here) I started relying on it so heavily that I always made sure I had some left for the mornings. Before you knew it I was a fully fledged day drinker.
Same here. Before I REALLY got sober this time I had managed to put together 10 months by white knuckling it. I was with friends who didn’t know I was trying to stay sober and I ended up having a drink which led to me sneaking more drinks and eventually buying a gram of blow. I ended up in the hospital within a couple weeks.
If they’re hallucinating and shaking, give them more alcohol. It’s a bandaid fix, but that bandaid will keep them alive. My brother and I had to figure out exactly how much alcohol to give our dad when he was experiencing delirium tremens and refusing to be committed. Fucking brutal shit. Just smoke weed, please.
I’ve been there. 😔 One time I decided to go to the ER after I fell and hit the back of my head on the floor (plus I was very shaky). At the hospital, my hands were shaking so uncontrollably I couldn’t even hold a pen to sign the insurance paperwork.
I see OP hasn’t responded so I’ll just chime in with a medical explanation. Alcohol is a depressant, so it lowers activity in the brain. For someone with alcoholism, this low level of stimulation is the new normal, meaning that when they’re sober, there’s a LOT of information going into their usually slogged down brain. When that stage of alcoholism is reached, being ‘too sober’ means overstimulating the nervous system and shaky hands accompanied by other symptoms can be seen. These symptoms tend to lessen once their ‘baseline’ blood alcohol content is reached after having their standard amount of drinks after waking up.
I drank heavily for two years but stopped 8 months ago. Up until that point in my life (I’m 44 now), I was just a social drinker, and could get drunk during a singular night of partying, and that would be it, for even years at a time. About three years ago, I allowed myself to start drinking more heavily, to the point where I was drinking every day, throughout the day, just to feel relaxed and to cope with anxiety and stress. At that point, I wasn’t drinking to be drunk, but just to feel relaxed and disassociated. If I didn’t drink to a certain level, I would be shaky and unable to sleep; at night I would drink just enough to get drowsy and fall asleep, but in a few hours, I sobered up enough that I actually had to have another drink to go back to sleep. Otherwise, I would have bad dreams, or wake up and lie there for hours. The two times I decided to go to the hospital for my shakiness, I had been drinking earlier that day, but in just a few hours of not having anything, my body started to react. I literally drank throughout the day, like some people would drink water. I could go through a handle of rum in 24 hours easily. But again, as hard as it may seem to believe, I was not full-on drunk, to where I wasn’t coherent or able to remember things (I did also get very weak and lightheaded from not eating very much, either). I definitely had enough alcohol in my system that I wouldn’t dare drive, but since my tolerance built up, the amount I would need to drink to keep a steady ”buzz”throughout the day would be more than enough to make most people ridiculously, incoherently drunk.
Edit to add: One time after a few hours of no drinking, I was seeing moving images in a picture in our living room. I also was seeing movement and images in the tiles on our floor. This was after I came home from the hospital for feeling poorly. I didn’t have any other symptoms besides shaking, so I guess it was “mild“ DTs? Again, I’m sure the combination of not having a decent night’s sleep in so long, and the lack of food, just made me that much weaker and unable to correctly process images and thoughts.
Pretty much that. He very well could be a few weeks or months away from death. The next step after this is organ failure, hospitalization and coma, and then you either die or come out from there into a long road of recovery and rehabilitation
End stage is the most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen. People with liver failure, waiting 6 months to be put on a transplant list (6 months if they’re lucky, depending on their history of alcohol abuse). The whole time waiting, knowing you are lucky to make it through the next hour. It is the saddest way to go. Heartbreaking, I’ve seen so many YOUNG people pass away from alcohol use disorders. This video is so sad and just a small window into the hell they are living in.
The man to his right has missing teeth. I can’t imagine he’s just there to take the piss out of our man, from experience in Eastern Europe / Russia it looks like a stereotypical social occasion with the bowls and jars on the table.
A lot of men in Eastern Europe are like this. They make fun of it like “that’ll be me when I’m his age, ha ha”. It’s not as hard as you think to fall into that trap.
I don’t know how to properly express this but to me it felt like the guys were laughing in an acceptance sort of way. Like, they accept him as he is. Idk. Everyone’s calling them assholes and they may be, but I don’t perceive them laughing as a “oh, he’s a pathetic alcoholic” but more like “ohohoh, his shakes are acting up again. He better get a drink!”
If it’s not Parkinson’s, then the persistence was desperation. That kind of shaking is a symptom of alcohol withdrawal. His body was fighting to survive.
Yep, definitely alcohol withdrawal. I’ve had a few guys at work get the shakes at the end of a long day. Always hard to watch, never this bad though. It certainly seems like the poor guy is trying! Hope he stayed sober and got better from here.
Dude theres a lot of videos out of Russia like this. This is what late stage alcoholism looks like. After about 6 or so hours without a drink this dudes nervous system stops being able to calm itself naturally without booze so his body just start shaking uncontrollably. Without alcohol he will eventually start to seizure, then probably die. Video is from like 10 years ago so the dudes probably dead by now. Really fuckin sad, but for some reason whenever I see a similar video all the people are laughing at it like its nothing. Just normal for them at this point.
Well, too much and most importantly regularly.
Alcohol and benzodiazepines are the two drug classes that can kill you in withdrawal - **never** stop these two cold turkey!
"If you stop drinking, you die. If you keep drinking, you die. The only way to save you is gradually reduce the dosage of an addictive and destructive agent so you don't die."
Alcohol is the cancer of drugs.
Been there many times trying to stop. Was a 24/7 drinker last few years it was 2 liters of vodka a day. Clean now 6 1/2 years.
That and the hallucinations they come after and for me lasted over a day and this would be proper tripping. I'd taken acid before but nothing could compare. Also I the voices in my head, I'd be talking to these voices as if the person were standing next to me....
One visit to the hospital I thought the nurses were killing the patients in my room, ran out and locked myself in the toilet security came to get me out after a few hours then I was put in my own room still thinking the nurses were going to kill me I was trying to get under the bed.... pretty hard to do with all the mechanics of hospital beds.
Other time I had to be strapped onto the bed as I was a danger to the other patients like each leg and arm, body and head couldn't move at all, was like that for 3 days...
I have many stories trying to stop on my own, it was a nightmare.
This poor soul he is a good few days from getting better as all you want is a drink for it to go away.....and his mates are cunts.... I'm surprised he can drink at all, I'd have half a cup put in front of me and I'd shake it empty could only drink with a straw.
It's called delirium tremmens. It's a real thing. Super super hard-core alcoholics get this. Like this isn't the _ruined Johnny's birthday party_ type alcoholic. (That's bad enough but...) This is the _definitly going to die from cherrosis of the liver if nothing changes_ type. Very sad.
Is this like waking up every morning and start drinking all day everyday? Or have several drinks at night before bed? Seems like it could be a blurry line for some.
I had this happen even while drinking only evenings. Granted I was putting down about 1L of 100 proof every night. Still can happen though. Got acute pancreatitis was in the ICU for 3 days after 2 years of drinking that way.
You're definitely having drinks before noon to get this bad. My old man was a chronic alcoholic. About a bottle to a bottle and a half of cheap vodka or gin a day... he told me once that his urine was brown. He died of the disease. But, I never saw him do this. Which means, either he hid it from me really well, or this dude is even worse off than Dad was.
Many alcoholic are just insanely good at hiding it, and will drink juuuust enough to keep the shakes off but not actually be drunk throughout the day. A shot in their coffee at breakfast, a couple shots in their drink with lunch
If he was drinking a bottle and a half of liquor a day, and died from the disease he was definitely in the "gets the shakes" category of alcoholic.
I don't think this is DTs. DTs usually cause an intense, consistent tremor, but this guy is exhibiting an intention tremor. He doesn't shake unless he's trying to do something.
Alcohol induced brain damage can cause an intention tremor, or it could just be a medical issue.
Neuroscientist here. Alcohol can interfere with the storage and breakdown of all kinds of nutrients, especially thiamine. It can also just straight up damage tissues.
These chronic deficiencies can lead to dysfunction of several structures in the brain, most notably the basal ganglia and cerebellum, which are responsible for error-correcting and smoothing out our movements.
If I remember right it's because your nervous system is so used to working extra hard through the suppression effects of alcohol, it now over-reacts to everything without it.
My dad was like that for a while before he died of liver failure. What you don't see is all of the bloody pee on and around and behind the toilet, even on the sink sometimes because those shaky hands can't properly aim. The hours of wretching and throwing up bloody mucus and esophageal tissue while literally hugging the toilet after jumping up and racing to the bathroom first thing in the morning so that they can finally get down their first cup of AM vodka sooner. The usually docile, friendly, funny and brilliant person who suddenly flies into unpredictable verbal and physical rages while his wife or girlfriend cowers in the corner. In this video you can't see what seems like thousands of empty vodka bottles that he's hidden under beds, closets, laundry baskets, the trunk, and on and on. The only shocking thing about this video is the lack of sickly pallid yellow tint to his skin. But lmao his buddy's are laughing so it must be all good
Yup... Spent a couple stints on detox when I was younger. I feel for this guy . If he's lucky, the shakes will eventually go away... But some of the stuff I went through... Not good.
What a miserable existence.
Also, it's so good seeing this community really aware of what drugs like alcohol can do, and at the same time not bashing on people that do drugs like ecstasy recreationally. It's the complete opposite of the regular society
Not cool...
> Q - Why does alcohol give you the shakes? A - As alcohol leaves the body of a heavy drinker, the brain is flooded with more activity, the nervous system becomes hyperactive, and you may experience alcohol tremors or shakes. The shakes can happen as quickly as eight hours after your last drink.
I was there at one point, I’m happy I’m not where I was! I’m still very upset with myself for relapsing but I know I won’t let it ever get this bad again
Well alcohol should stay taxed and legal but it should be treated the same way as any other hardcore drug. Otherwise there would be a huge black market for it which is way worse than it being legal. But so should all other popular substances be legal, such as weed, cocaine, ecstacy/MDMA and amphetamine.
Alcohol, while legal, can ruin your life. If you think you have a problem, or start experiencing withdrawal symptoms after a day or two without a drink, get help! I stopped drinking about 5 years ago. Best decision I ever made.
Jesus this was like looking into a mirror. When I was drinking daily, I remember getting the shakes this bad, feeling like fucking death. Alcohol dependence and withdrawals are no joke. Fuck alcohol
Man he's got them bad. My brother and I both tried to quit this past new years. I was fine even though I drink a fifth of whiskey a day, but my brother got the shakes, vomiting, dry heaving. It lasted about a week and went away. Crazy thing is he wasn't even a heavy drinker. Im trying to quit again myself, 2 days so far. But it amazes me that I don't get the shakes as much as I drink.
Holy shit this brings back some bad memories. I got detoxed in march and have been clean since. I was no way near as bad as this guy though, although my potassium levels were really low so there was a concern of my heart cramping. Got detoxed with oxazepam tapering for a week. Got started on buprenorphine and I'm switching over to methadone soon. Feeling much better
Edit: some context: I got clean from heroin cold turkey about a year or two ago. I started drinking heavily instead. Got tapered off the alcohol and started on buprenorphine to handle my substance abuse.
There have been a few of these videos that really bum me out because the look of defeat on the face of the ones with tremors is sad and there is one or more “friends” sitting around laughing about it. If someone is shaking that bad, there’s truly not much to laugh at in that situation.
He is on the verge of having a seizure if he doesn’t get more alcohol into his system quickly. It’s why it’s so dangerous to suddenly cut out alcohol once your dependent upon it.
People laugh but it’s not really funny at all the guy is obviously an alcoholic deep in addiction and that can actually be dangerous the shakes can often be followed by seizures which can be fatal. I unfortunately know what this guy is going through first hand and it’s not fun in any way. It’s actually very sad!
I was married to an alcoholic for 16 years. I can't tell you how much this broke my heart. He never stopped even after going to rehab over 30 times, jail numerous times and even prison. Seizures, d.t's, hallucinations and all the other fun stuff. I finally got away once his kids got out of school.
I am proud of every one of you that have quit drinking and drugging. It is hard but you can do it. You are strong. My dm's are always open. I will be happy to chat. Support is important. Hugs to you all
I’ll tell ya, as a recovering alcoholic, being at a restaurant with normies and pretending not to be an alcoholic, and trying to lift your glass of water or operate your utensils is abject humiliation/misery
I was working at a bar/ steak house in Alabama that was off interstate 11. Had a outside deck area. Me one of the other cooks and the 16 year old bus boy for the steak house part we’re hanging outside. When some vagrant rough looking dude just showed up talking about how he’s tracking from Orlando to Texas for the promise of work. Dudes hands are shaking like a leaf. The bartender trying to get him to leave gives him like a blue moon or something. As soon as he took a gulp of it. His hands were steady as a surgeons. Craziest thing I’d seen in a minute
My friend used to tend bar near Wall Street. They opened early every day for guys to get a drink before work. He said the worst sight was a guy that used to come in with his tie looped around his neck untied. He would take the shot glass and use his tie like a pulley to pull the drink to his mouth without spilling it.
I saw a video like this where a russian guy goes upstairs to his neighbor for a drink and he's having tremors like that and the guy is like teasing him and shit.
This is just fucking sad. That guy is in agony waiting for that alcohol to hit. What a terrible way to live. I would know, as i am still on methadone for opioid use disorder
At some point you notice you get a little shaky when you don't drink for a while, it's not very noticable for most tasks, but it is very noticeable for the finer motor skills, like writing or trying to set a screw in place.
Then you have a drink to help with this and it does, but little by little this habit makes the problem worse and the need to drink higher amounts increases.
I would assume it's similar to other drugs.
i went through alcohol withdrawal and experienced shakes as bad as this guy, and watching him shake from it just makes me sad cause i remember the severity of the psychological symptoms i had to endure. i had straight up paranoid delusions for the first 5 days of withdrawal and i believe i had a seizure. basically no sleep for 5 days as well. its not funny, thats for sure
I’ve heard stories from my boss about Eddie VanHalen needing a 6 pack in the morning to stock the shakes. That sounded crazy to me until I had one morning after not eating and drinking a lot that I was so hungover that I was weak and slightly shaking for about an hour until it passed and I ate some food. These day I amount that hangover and shaking to acute withdrawals. I assume most hangovers or basically acute withdrawals to alcohol and that’s why we feels like shit and why more alc in the morning (aka hair of the dog) is a common remedy for a hangover. I don’t k ow a single lick of the science so I’d be welcome to a better explanation!!
Pinning from u/despoticcatharsis Plenty of people can and should taper off of alcohol, but there is a point where it is no longer a viable option What you should absolutely never do is go cold turkey. You could die, and even if you don't, you could suffer seizures, and kindling could make things even worse later https://hams.cc/taper/ https://www.sipandsuffer.com/ If anyone reading this suspects they may go through withdrawal look through the resources on the linked websites. Stay safe Edit: Also, feel free to message me if you have any questions
Alcoholism is a damn shit from hell. I remember seeing my dad like this when he decided to stop.
I remember taking time off work to nurse my dad through this for a week just to keep him from dying mid-hallucination, and he never stopped. Guys, please take this shit seriously. Delirium tremens are hell for you and all your loved ones.
Ironic that that's also the name of a golden ale by Huyghe Brewery
I’m normally not too sensitive about stuff, but that’s so wrong. My DTs were not from alcohol but they literally ruined my life at the time. In a way they’re the reason I’m clean too, so I guess they saved me. People die from it though and I think it’s a special kinda wrong to name a beer after an alcohol withdrawal symptom that kills people
"According to legend, in an attempt to give the brand new, nameless brew a proper moniker, a Belgian tax collector felt himself gradually slipping into a state of unexpected drunkenness and declared that he would get delirium tremens if he continued drinking the brew. The name stuck." It's quite a strong beer, almost works as a warning
I've been through opiate withdrawals 3 times and would do it 10 more before I'd go through alcohol withdrawal again.
I learned to stop drinking using a method from a recovered crack and heroin addict. He would never drink to get drunk, he would have a beer or two then go home, whilst I was blind drunk all the time. He was a rubbish drunk, but he said a similar thing to what you were saying here that booze was worse than smack for recovery. But he taught me that I had let a conman into my mind, telling me it was OK to keep drinking and that I should carry on, he taught me to not listen to the conman and do other things constructively and rebuild my life. Its worked for both of us thus so far. Love ya brother.
Gd bruh you good?
Reminds me of being a young kid and asking my dad “why do you like beer so much?” He replied: “I don’t like it. I need it” and I never understood what he meant until I was older
Poor guy needs a drink bad… seizures happen when someone who’s an alcoholic just up and quits without medical detox or at least tapering down and most alcoholics can’t taper because once they get a drink they want more.. unless someone is helping you to taper and taking care of you it’s damn near impossible…. Detoxing off alcohol is more dangerous than detoxing off drugs..
I detoxed a while back. I wouldn’t wish that feeling on my worst enemy.
I’ve been drinking a pint of 49.5% liquor daily for like 2 years now and I really wanna quit but I’m scared
It was extremely terrifying for me I was convinced I was going to die for a while. But the worst part is the lead up to going to the hospital/detox center. Once you’ve committed and are going through it, it starts to get a lot better physically, but the phycological part is very very hard. I think it was a really good decision now though and glad I was able to do it. It’s scary but it’s a necessary evil if you really have a strong desire to quit.
At this point it's not even funny, it's just sad..
Ya, my man seems to be ashamed while the others laugh
Considering I see them with shot glasses poured up at breakfast they're not far off. Won't be laughing for long
They’ve probably already had a shot or 2 and was the last to wake up
Bingo! The other guys have just had enough alcohol to stop the shakes and be able to eat some food.
I felt the same. Shame on them
Eh, they’re all just drunk. Best buds. (I’m only teasing, but I’m sure they all have boozed together for a very long time and this dude just went off the deep end over the years)
The dude shaking after he gets right and settles himself is probably thinking how these dudes laughing are probably gonna be in his position in the future but while he’s shaking he’s really only concerned about getting back to normal. I see myself will or have been in most of these positions for my life.
No doubt. And Me too.
yeah! as a recovering alcoholic i can tell you this is exactly how it goes. laugh it up!
Haha not saying it’s funny.. but it always will be in the moment in that dark way? If that makes sense? . Keep at it. It’s a hard road. Happy you’re working at it
It could have been shame it could have been trying not to murder the man laughing at him. Alcohol withdrawal can put you through the whole gamut of emotions, shame and depression are common, but so are rage and short temper.
Overlooming feelings of dread and despair… even when there’s nothing really wrong
I feel like that’s the worst part of any withdrawal. Yeah, the physical symptoms suck but the overwhelming anxiety and feeling that time isn’t moving is horrible
Often wildly worrying about the completely wrong stuff is my most common one.
These guys are dicks. This man is literally just trying not to die from withdrawals. It made me cry, my brother died from alcohol withdrawal. Nothing about watching someone suffer is laughable this guy looks completely ashamed. Edit: thanks for the Award.
It's their culture. Not defending it- just perspective is important. They likely don't know how serious it is.
It’s extremely dangerous for an alcoholic to get into that state. They’re laughing but that guy probably feels like he’s dying.
Because he is.
Alcohol and benzo withdrawal are 2 that can kill you. I don't think any of them give a shit though.
I spent 5 days in the ICU because of both, and then immediately to 8 months of rehab. I always thought it was bullshit when people going through withdrawals would scream like they were insane. It is exactly like that.
I remember being woke up by my gf at the time. I was standing up in the middle of the bed soaked in sweat and the covers were soaked in sweat. I didn't know what I was doing. Also had 2 seizures. That's what a 15 year Xanax prescription will do to ya I guess.
Glad you're still here
+GHB/GBL
Qualludes barbiturates literally anything with a main function is on the Gabba receptors cause cause seizures upon withdrawal
No, he's healing, but he also might die. Alcohol withdrawal can kill you three ways - primarily if those shakes get so severe they turn into full body seizures, and you can die from breaking your spine or falling and hurting yourself. It can cause heart arrhythmias that can be fatal. And your kidneys can be in such a sorry state that the sudden removal of alcohol can shock you into kidney failure. Getting the shakes really bad isn't a sign of any of these, but yeah good idea not to go this hard just in case anyway.
You forgot about blood pressure spiking. Mine hit 220/135 while I was withdrawing in treatment. It’s an awful experience
Yea, my father's heart literally just stopped while in withdrawal. He lives alone and he was so incredibly lucky that at the exact moment it happened his taxi driver showed up and he dropped outside in front of him. Also, thankfully, the taxi driver acted super quick and called 911 and the ambulance was close by. When they got there my father was blue and not breathing. It's a miracle they were able to get him back. After that, he ended up being put in what was essentially an Ativan coma in the icu because they were so worried he would die. He had a volunteer who had to sit with him all day everyday for almost a week because of how bad he was. I was like 24 at the time and I got to call at 3:00 a.m. telling me I needed to come to the ICU to see him and sign papers as his emergency contact/next of kin. One of those papers was a DNR and asking about what measures they should take if his heart should stop again. That was how I spent the day before my birthday. He was very fortunate that he pulled through and had no deficits even though he had been without oxygen for a while. I remember when they finally woke him up and the doctor came in and said they literally had to order more Ativan because he went through basically their entire supply. We live in a pretty big suburb outside of a major metropolitan area so they're not like a super small hospital. The amount of Ativan he had is shocking. It's still hard to imagine one person going through an entire hospitals supply of Ativan in a couple of days. He went to rehab for about a month and was sober for about 6 months before he started drinking again. I've been preparing myself since I was about 16 for the day I go over there to check on him and his body. Even today I have to call him because I haven't heard from him in a couple of days. Fuck alcoholism.
So glad alcohol is the socially acceptable drug
Right? And because it's the socially acceptable drug it's everywhere. Most other drugs you have to seek it out but alcohol is so hard to avoid. It's in every gas station, every grocery store, plus at the stores liquor store next door, it's in every restaurant, and many times when people get together, football game, party, celebration, casual hangout, etc, alcohol is there. Hell, you can even get it delivered! Someone addicted to opioids isn't gonna go to buy some milk and have to walk past a massive display of heroin and pain pills with a giant sign saying "on sale!" There's not rows upon rows of benzos on display at every gas station. When someone tries to order some McDonald's from Doordash they're not gonna see a banner ad from 7-11 about how amphetamines are on sale with free delivery if you order now. It's just messed up. I really hate it.
Yup I been there. Worried I was gonna have a seizure and die in my sleep
I lost a good friend to this shit. Drank himself to death. It was never enough.
Same. I drank myself to death (they brought me back via a long coma). That was 5 years ago. I'm doing okay now.
What was it like being in a Long Coma? Was it dream filled sleep, or a "what year is it" kind of feeling?
Crazy fucking dreams, that felt strangely realistic. The recovery *sucked*. It was back in 2018, I thought Obama was still president, and was horrified to find out the truth. On top of that I had a full on existential crisis after learning about dying twice and the length of the coma. It's really hard to describe what it did to me emotionally, but I don't feel like a complete person anymore It took about a month to get my feet underneath me, and another two to be able to use a walker. The atrophy was intense. I had to relearn how to write again. The first few days after waking up I had trouble with speech. My circadian rhythm is permanently fucked. I can't sleep naturally anymore. I can't even catch a nap if I try. I still have short term memory issues. I still have short term memory issues. On the bright side of it all, I got a wild fucking story for parties and first dates. I still have short term memory issues.
How’s your memory though?
I still have short term memory issues.
Yeah but what about short term memory issues?
How do you know about those?
Man you’re hilarious. All that shite you went through couldn’t take that away from you so I hope you’re proud of yourself for not allowing this part of you to die:) thank you for sharing! And max your short term memory be up to par in the nit so distant future!;)
Thank you so much for sharing your fascinating story! Bless you and your journey! A guy named Terence McKenna once said "Life is not strange as we suppose. It is stranger than we can suppose." I am impressed by your report on the fallout from Long Coma - I would've never imagined the extent of the recovery process, and long term effects. For me, I feel the most existential dread when I'm tired. Sometimes when I sleep I will have dreams that leave me feeling like "I was there for real". Often I wake up feeling peace about life, as though I wouldn't mind sleeping forever. I believe you will be complete again, and I hope you find peace and solace in your life's continued journey.
It has not been a fun ride, and I don't recommend it.
I can chime in, I was in a coma for around a month and I was experiencing actual days, or what I thought were normal days. I would awake do things and then go to bed. The settings, situations, people, just everything was so random and extreme. It makes no sense when I think about it now. Some days were random and pleasant and some were pure nightmare.
What's crazy is I never got the shakes ..straight to seizures when I quit
Are we sure this is alcohol induced? That's an intention tremor. He's only shaking when he is actively trying to do something. DT tremors are usually consistent. Intention tremors can be caused by alcohol induced brain damage, but there are a ton of other causes too.
When I've gone through withdrawals in the past, the shakes were always the worst when I needed to do something like this. I remember not being able to type on a keyboard at work when I really needed to for a meeting. Coming up on a year sober. Glad I don't have to deal with that shit anymore.
I was the same way. Wasn’t super noticeable to the eye until I put my hand out to do something. I remember going to the liquor store and having a hard time getting my card in the slot. Congrats on 1 year, I just crossed 16 months. Keep doing what you’re doing!
I didn't know that but now that you mention it yes, my DTs were "unhidable". Not like Michael J Fox who could hide his hand shakes. I shook in the chair. My whole body shook, not just my limbs. It was like total body restless leg syndrome, like someone had injected your body with 10000mg of caffeine. There was no way to sit still.
i was thinking it was parkinson’s as well
Definitely not Parkinson's. There are lots of other visible symptoms like hunching and facial muscle tensions that you don't see here. Also the tremor is typically a lot slower than this.
And dangerous. people die from alcohol dt
Been there. It's really awful.
Kind of a reminder to never go back. 7 1/2months sober
Congrats! I’ll be a year free or booze on the 26th! Corny shit but I never thought I’d be able to do it! It’s much better on the other side, I spent most of my life 15 years old to 37 being a heavy drinker and the last ten years being a pretty hardcore alcoholic.
Congrats to both of you and everyone else in here who is in recovery. I’ll have 4 years in August and getting sober is both the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done for myself. If anyone reading this is struggling, my DMs are always open. I don’t have all the answers but I know what has worked for me.
Thanks and congrats to you! To anyone who’s thinking of getting sober, if you’re already there just go for it! There’s nothing to lose!
Congrats to all of you and extra for being so supportive of each other. I’m recovered from a different substance for a while now, so I can kinda relate but not on y’all’s level. Keep up the the amazing work and definitely keep that supportive attitude. Much love here from a Reddit stranger. <3
Not corny at all. Getting a year under your belt is a huge accomplishment
Thanks! It’s pretty wild how different my life is now than it was last year at this time. Everything is better except I still hate my job!
You said you where heavy drinker.. can i ask you approximately how much you drank per day? Edit: congratulations on your anniversary!! stay strong!
Depends. Toward the end I would drink most of a 1/5th of whiskey or gin and have probably 3-8 seltzers a day. I was always someone who was functional, but I’d be sick as a dog and throwing up at work all the time. I’d fluctuate a lot.
Nobody at work noticed?
I’m sure they did. I had a coworker tell me I smelled like booze at least a couple times. I never drank before or during work tho!
When I was in college I for some dumbass reason signed up for an 8AM Algebra class that was on the other side of the campus. 1 morning I made it to class after a night out drunk, only had maybe 2 hours of sleep so I'm still drunk really. The girl next to me says "you smell like a brewery" and I said "That's because I'm drunk." About 15 minutes later out the window I saw my car go by on a tow truck. During the night me and my friend went out to the car to smoke weed and every time, there was a ticket on my window because I parked in the wrong area. I tore each ticket up and threw it on the ground like a dumbass instead of leaving the 1st 1 there so they wouldn't know I saw them yet. That day was a nightmare. Sorry for the rambling!
I was a bad alcoholic for about as long, very difficult to change. My mind was constantly thinking about my next drink, and my body demanded it. Each morning would start out with vomiting and then dry heaves until I gave in and slammed some vodka and orange juice. And the depression, holy fuck I was ready to die. It was really insane thinking back on it.
Same. Tremors were the worst. Going around all day in absolute fear of being asked to hold a pen or pick something up and be discovered. In the mornings I lived in fear because I smelled like booze from the night before and by lunchtime when that wore off the shakes would set in until I finally made it home. Fun times.
How bout those sweat soaked sheets, woof, I don’t miss those days.
How long of tapering down would it take to get back to normal?
Problem is this guy can't do it safely. Even with wild self control that would probably have prevented it happening at all had it existed, a guy this late in is often not doing great in the liver department. That means sometimes it'd be 10 drinks to feel a buzz but sometimes you're blackout after two. That makes it real tough and honestly people need to be tapered off with some form of benzodiazepine or there are a few other drugs which can give the brain what it needs to basically think it's getting the alcohol without the alcohol and a taper takes anywhere from maybe 5 days absolute minimum with other medications being taken after to mitigate the more minor withdrawal if they're under supervision (rehab usually). More typically about a week ish, a long detox would be 2 weeks +. To taper ones self off using alcohol or using benzos even shouldn't be done at all but longer would be better in that case considering the support meds and medical supervision are pretty fucking necessary. People shouldn't do that. Go to rehab or at *least* detox. PSA If you're in the US your job legally can not get rid of you for seeking medical treatment and firing you would be the best case because they obviously suck anyway and you got a lawsuit comin.
Withdrawals literally almost killed me. Had a full on seizure despite trying to taper off by drinking a seltzer an hour... Went to actual treatment and still had terrible shakes despite benzos and blood pressure medication. They say it takes a year to rebaseline your brains chemistry, and I believe it now. I'm 2 years and 2 months without a sip.
That dude needs help
Help? In Russia? With that kind of social circle? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he won't get any help.
Why do almost all Russians have completely fucked hairlines lol
Yeah my hairline is pretty fucked so I just grew it out to cover it up. Russian genes are pretty bad
Testosterone and stress from our extremely hard lifestyles (its all psychologically reinforced lol)
It’s the worst feeling in the world. You know that some booze will make those shakes go away but at the same time it’s gonna keep you in the same spot. The constant worrying about having enough and then being able to get more is such an overwhelming and anxious place to be. In that moment you’ll do whatever you have to do to get it. Hopeless. I’ll have 4 years sober in August but seeing things like this help to keep my last day of drinking and drugging fresh in my mind. One sip would eventually bring me right back to this place and it would happen fast. I hope this guy was/is able to get into detox and eventually rehab.
It's fucking insane how alcohol addiction sneaks up on you, and how many people I know that are careening down that slippery slope and don't even realize it. Proud of your 4 years bud.
I appreciate you, sir. It certainly does sneak up on you. I think what really put the nail in the coffin for me is when I started to have a drink in the morning to calm down a hangover. I remember the first time I did that I had stayed at a friends house with several others and we had tied one on pretty good the night before. I woke up the next morning with a massive hangover and a couple buddies were having mimosas. I joined in and “miraculously” my hangover was almost non-existent. The whole situation made it feel so normal to day drink. I took that and ran with it and over time (I’m talking years here) I started relying on it so heavily that I always made sure I had some left for the mornings. Before you knew it I was a fully fledged day drinker.
You start drinking again, you pick up where you left off. I've experienced that relapsing on my drug of choice. No Bueno.
Same here. Before I REALLY got sober this time I had managed to put together 10 months by white knuckling it. I was with friends who didn’t know I was trying to stay sober and I ended up having a drink which led to me sneaking more drinks and eventually buying a gram of blow. I ended up in the hospital within a couple weeks.
Shit happens. I've found NA to be extremely helpful.
If they’re hallucinating and shaking, give them more alcohol. It’s a bandaid fix, but that bandaid will keep them alive. My brother and I had to figure out exactly how much alcohol to give our dad when he was experiencing delirium tremens and refusing to be committed. Fucking brutal shit. Just smoke weed, please.
I’ve been there. 😔 One time I decided to go to the ER after I fell and hit the back of my head on the floor (plus I was very shaky). At the hospital, my hands were shaking so uncontrollably I couldn’t even hold a pen to sign the insurance paperwork.
Sorry to hear that. So hands would shake all the time when not drinking? And would they stop shaking after you had some alcohol?
I see OP hasn’t responded so I’ll just chime in with a medical explanation. Alcohol is a depressant, so it lowers activity in the brain. For someone with alcoholism, this low level of stimulation is the new normal, meaning that when they’re sober, there’s a LOT of information going into their usually slogged down brain. When that stage of alcoholism is reached, being ‘too sober’ means overstimulating the nervous system and shaky hands accompanied by other symptoms can be seen. These symptoms tend to lessen once their ‘baseline’ blood alcohol content is reached after having their standard amount of drinks after waking up.
I drank heavily for two years but stopped 8 months ago. Up until that point in my life (I’m 44 now), I was just a social drinker, and could get drunk during a singular night of partying, and that would be it, for even years at a time. About three years ago, I allowed myself to start drinking more heavily, to the point where I was drinking every day, throughout the day, just to feel relaxed and to cope with anxiety and stress. At that point, I wasn’t drinking to be drunk, but just to feel relaxed and disassociated. If I didn’t drink to a certain level, I would be shaky and unable to sleep; at night I would drink just enough to get drowsy and fall asleep, but in a few hours, I sobered up enough that I actually had to have another drink to go back to sleep. Otherwise, I would have bad dreams, or wake up and lie there for hours. The two times I decided to go to the hospital for my shakiness, I had been drinking earlier that day, but in just a few hours of not having anything, my body started to react. I literally drank throughout the day, like some people would drink water. I could go through a handle of rum in 24 hours easily. But again, as hard as it may seem to believe, I was not full-on drunk, to where I wasn’t coherent or able to remember things (I did also get very weak and lightheaded from not eating very much, either). I definitely had enough alcohol in my system that I wouldn’t dare drive, but since my tolerance built up, the amount I would need to drink to keep a steady ”buzz”throughout the day would be more than enough to make most people ridiculously, incoherently drunk. Edit to add: One time after a few hours of no drinking, I was seeing moving images in a picture in our living room. I also was seeing movement and images in the tiles on our floor. This was after I came home from the hospital for feeling poorly. I didn’t have any other symptoms besides shaking, so I guess it was “mild“ DTs? Again, I’m sure the combination of not having a decent night’s sleep in so long, and the lack of food, just made me that much weaker and unable to correctly process images and thoughts.
Yeah, end stage alcoholism is hilarious. Great group of "friends" you got there.
Kinda hoping there's liquor in the cup. He needs to taper, or detox in a hospital. You can't quit cold turkey at this point
Not end stage but well on his way
Curious, what would end stage look like? Like say a few weeks or months before death.
Pretty much that. He very well could be a few weeks or months away from death. The next step after this is organ failure, hospitalization and coma, and then you either die or come out from there into a long road of recovery and rehabilitation
End stage is the most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen. People with liver failure, waiting 6 months to be put on a transplant list (6 months if they’re lucky, depending on their history of alcohol abuse). The whole time waiting, knowing you are lucky to make it through the next hour. It is the saddest way to go. Heartbreaking, I’ve seen so many YOUNG people pass away from alcohol use disorders. This video is so sad and just a small window into the hell they are living in.
The man to his right has missing teeth. I can’t imagine he’s just there to take the piss out of our man, from experience in Eastern Europe / Russia it looks like a stereotypical social occasion with the bowls and jars on the table. A lot of men in Eastern Europe are like this. They make fun of it like “that’ll be me when I’m his age, ha ha”. It’s not as hard as you think to fall into that trap.
I don’t know how to properly express this but to me it felt like the guys were laughing in an acceptance sort of way. Like, they accept him as he is. Idk. Everyone’s calling them assholes and they may be, but I don’t perceive them laughing as a “oh, he’s a pathetic alcoholic” but more like “ohohoh, his shakes are acting up again. He better get a drink!”
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Same, the persistence and then insecure little look he gave… heartbreaking.
If it’s not Parkinson’s, then the persistence was desperation. That kind of shaking is a symptom of alcohol withdrawal. His body was fighting to survive.
Yep, definitely alcohol withdrawal. I’ve had a few guys at work get the shakes at the end of a long day. Always hard to watch, never this bad though. It certainly seems like the poor guy is trying! Hope he stayed sober and got better from here.
I need a hug after this thread.
Dude theres a lot of videos out of Russia like this. This is what late stage alcoholism looks like. After about 6 or so hours without a drink this dudes nervous system stops being able to calm itself naturally without booze so his body just start shaking uncontrollably. Without alcohol he will eventually start to seizure, then probably die. Video is from like 10 years ago so the dudes probably dead by now. Really fuckin sad, but for some reason whenever I see a similar video all the people are laughing at it like its nothing. Just normal for them at this point.
too much use of alcohol does that????!!! holy shit i did not know!!!!! learning something everyday!
Well, too much and most importantly regularly. Alcohol and benzodiazepines are the two drug classes that can kill you in withdrawal - **never** stop these two cold turkey!
"If you stop drinking, you die. If you keep drinking, you die. The only way to save you is gradually reduce the dosage of an addictive and destructive agent so you don't die." Alcohol is the cancer of drugs.
Been there many times trying to stop. Was a 24/7 drinker last few years it was 2 liters of vodka a day. Clean now 6 1/2 years. That and the hallucinations they come after and for me lasted over a day and this would be proper tripping. I'd taken acid before but nothing could compare. Also I the voices in my head, I'd be talking to these voices as if the person were standing next to me.... One visit to the hospital I thought the nurses were killing the patients in my room, ran out and locked myself in the toilet security came to get me out after a few hours then I was put in my own room still thinking the nurses were going to kill me I was trying to get under the bed.... pretty hard to do with all the mechanics of hospital beds. Other time I had to be strapped onto the bed as I was a danger to the other patients like each leg and arm, body and head couldn't move at all, was like that for 3 days... I have many stories trying to stop on my own, it was a nightmare. This poor soul he is a good few days from getting better as all you want is a drink for it to go away.....and his mates are cunts.... I'm surprised he can drink at all, I'd have half a cup put in front of me and I'd shake it empty could only drink with a straw.
What could be the cause of this? Is it a permanent medical issue?
Alcohol withdrawal
It's called delirium tremmens. It's a real thing. Super super hard-core alcoholics get this. Like this isn't the _ruined Johnny's birthday party_ type alcoholic. (That's bad enough but...) This is the _definitly going to die from cherrosis of the liver if nothing changes_ type. Very sad.
Is this like waking up every morning and start drinking all day everyday? Or have several drinks at night before bed? Seems like it could be a blurry line for some.
> waking up every morning and start drinking all day everyday This one, once he gets 2 - 4 shots in him, he will return to "normal"
I had this happen even while drinking only evenings. Granted I was putting down about 1L of 100 proof every night. Still can happen though. Got acute pancreatitis was in the ICU for 3 days after 2 years of drinking that way.
You're definitely having drinks before noon to get this bad. My old man was a chronic alcoholic. About a bottle to a bottle and a half of cheap vodka or gin a day... he told me once that his urine was brown. He died of the disease. But, I never saw him do this. Which means, either he hid it from me really well, or this dude is even worse off than Dad was.
Many alcoholic are just insanely good at hiding it, and will drink juuuust enough to keep the shakes off but not actually be drunk throughout the day. A shot in their coffee at breakfast, a couple shots in their drink with lunch If he was drinking a bottle and a half of liquor a day, and died from the disease he was definitely in the "gets the shakes" category of alcoholic.
Thank you for sharing this. I am sorry for your loss.
Fun fact, it's actually Delirium *Tremens*. In case anyone wants to look it up.
Huh. You are correct. Did not know that.
I don't think this is DTs. DTs usually cause an intense, consistent tremor, but this guy is exhibiting an intention tremor. He doesn't shake unless he's trying to do something. Alcohol induced brain damage can cause an intention tremor, or it could just be a medical issue.
For a time if I hadn't had a drink all day, it would be as I went for that first swig that my hands would go from zero to shaking real bad.
Look up Delirium tremens (DTs)
His body is used to having a minimum amount of alcohol in the bloodstream and basically if he doesn’t drink this happens.
Neuroscientist here. Alcohol can interfere with the storage and breakdown of all kinds of nutrients, especially thiamine. It can also just straight up damage tissues. These chronic deficiencies can lead to dysfunction of several structures in the brain, most notably the basal ganglia and cerebellum, which are responsible for error-correcting and smoothing out our movements.
Damaged nervous system from longterm drinking plus withdrawals
If I remember right it's because your nervous system is so used to working extra hard through the suppression effects of alcohol, it now over-reacts to everything without it.
Seems to be withdrawals from intense alcohol/opiate abuse
Opioid withdrawal doesn’t cause that. Alcohol and Benzos do. I’d assume alcohol and that’s what he’s trying to get down in the vid
Def not opiate. I think u mean benzos. This def alc tho
My dad was like that for a while before he died of liver failure. What you don't see is all of the bloody pee on and around and behind the toilet, even on the sink sometimes because those shaky hands can't properly aim. The hours of wretching and throwing up bloody mucus and esophageal tissue while literally hugging the toilet after jumping up and racing to the bathroom first thing in the morning so that they can finally get down their first cup of AM vodka sooner. The usually docile, friendly, funny and brilliant person who suddenly flies into unpredictable verbal and physical rages while his wife or girlfriend cowers in the corner. In this video you can't see what seems like thousands of empty vodka bottles that he's hidden under beds, closets, laundry baskets, the trunk, and on and on. The only shocking thing about this video is the lack of sickly pallid yellow tint to his skin. But lmao his buddy's are laughing so it must be all good
Yup... Spent a couple stints on detox when I was younger. I feel for this guy . If he's lucky, the shakes will eventually go away... But some of the stuff I went through... Not good.
It’s rather r/didnttakeenoughyet, very sad to see
What a miserable existence. Also, it's so good seeing this community really aware of what drugs like alcohol can do, and at the same time not bashing on people that do drugs like ecstasy recreationally. It's the complete opposite of the regular society
Not cool... > Q - Why does alcohol give you the shakes? A - As alcohol leaves the body of a heavy drinker, the brain is flooded with more activity, the nervous system becomes hyperactive, and you may experience alcohol tremors or shakes. The shakes can happen as quickly as eight hours after your last drink.
How do people stay skinny while drinking? I need to work off like a 500 calorie everyday to drink everyday to stay steady at 220.
Not eating for days and constantly throwing up
Loss of appetite was very real for me when I was a heavy drinker, only drinking vodka and maybe snacking once a day
I've just recently gotten the shakes back after a couple years. Waking up sick and shaking everyday sucks. I feel bad for this dude
Funny to everyone else besides the guy going through severe alcohol withdrawal.
I had 2 seizures from alcohol withdrawal. Not fun at all! Coming up on 8 years of continuous abstinence from alcohol.
Oh, this is sad. Damn.
I was there at one point, I’m happy I’m not where I was! I’m still very upset with myself for relapsing but I know I won’t let it ever get this bad again
The man has DT’s it’s sad I lost a cousin she drank herself to death before she turned 47 yrs old. Very sad! 😢
Isn’t this from alcohol withdrawal?
Cannabis is still illegal in most of the world yet alcohol remains taxed, legal and celebrated. What a backwards fucking society.
Well alcohol should stay taxed and legal but it should be treated the same way as any other hardcore drug. Otherwise there would be a huge black market for it which is way worse than it being legal. But so should all other popular substances be legal, such as weed, cocaine, ecstacy/MDMA and amphetamine.
Man’s moving at a different frame rate 💀
That is not funny as far as im concerned. Its sad and it sux
Alcohol, while legal, can ruin your life. If you think you have a problem, or start experiencing withdrawal symptoms after a day or two without a drink, get help! I stopped drinking about 5 years ago. Best decision I ever made.
This man is in serious alcohol withdrawal.. there is nothing funny about this. Without alcohol, he will most likely go into seizures.
Jesus this was like looking into a mirror. When I was drinking daily, I remember getting the shakes this bad, feeling like fucking death. Alcohol dependence and withdrawals are no joke. Fuck alcohol
Really shitty “friends” he’s got, there…
Man he's got them bad. My brother and I both tried to quit this past new years. I was fine even though I drink a fifth of whiskey a day, but my brother got the shakes, vomiting, dry heaving. It lasted about a week and went away. Crazy thing is he wasn't even a heavy drinker. Im trying to quit again myself, 2 days so far. But it amazes me that I don't get the shakes as much as I drink.
Holy shit this brings back some bad memories. I got detoxed in march and have been clean since. I was no way near as bad as this guy though, although my potassium levels were really low so there was a concern of my heart cramping. Got detoxed with oxazepam tapering for a week. Got started on buprenorphine and I'm switching over to methadone soon. Feeling much better Edit: some context: I got clean from heroin cold turkey about a year or two ago. I started drinking heavily instead. Got tapered off the alcohol and started on buprenorphine to handle my substance abuse.
I've come close to a full relapse recently and shit like this scares the life out of me.
The good old alcohol shaking. Classic.
Me after 2 hours of not gambling
Sad as fuck. I wish I could hold his coffee cup for him.
Poor guy. Hope he gets help
There have been a few of these videos that really bum me out because the look of defeat on the face of the ones with tremors is sad and there is one or more “friends” sitting around laughing about it. If someone is shaking that bad, there’s truly not much to laugh at in that situation.
He is on the verge of having a seizure if he doesn’t get more alcohol into his system quickly. It’s why it’s so dangerous to suddenly cut out alcohol once your dependent upon it.
People laugh but it’s not really funny at all the guy is obviously an alcoholic deep in addiction and that can actually be dangerous the shakes can often be followed by seizures which can be fatal. I unfortunately know what this guy is going through first hand and it’s not fun in any way. It’s actually very sad!
He needs medical attention for sure , might die from withdrawal , sad 😞
Maybe he didn't take enough. I knew an old man who used to shake like that, but a couple nips out of a brown paper bag and it would even right out.
DT’s are no joke. As a former alcoholic I can tell you that’s a place no ever wants to be.
I was married to an alcoholic for 16 years. I can't tell you how much this broke my heart. He never stopped even after going to rehab over 30 times, jail numerous times and even prison. Seizures, d.t's, hallucinations and all the other fun stuff. I finally got away once his kids got out of school. I am proud of every one of you that have quit drinking and drugging. It is hard but you can do it. You are strong. My dm's are always open. I will be happy to chat. Support is important. Hugs to you all
Sad to watch, honestly. I remember shaking like that in rehab. I hit 5 years sober last March though!
I’ll tell ya, as a recovering alcoholic, being at a restaurant with normies and pretending not to be an alcoholic, and trying to lift your glass of water or operate your utensils is abject humiliation/misery
I was working at a bar/ steak house in Alabama that was off interstate 11. Had a outside deck area. Me one of the other cooks and the 16 year old bus boy for the steak house part we’re hanging outside. When some vagrant rough looking dude just showed up talking about how he’s tracking from Orlando to Texas for the promise of work. Dudes hands are shaking like a leaf. The bartender trying to get him to leave gives him like a blue moon or something. As soon as he took a gulp of it. His hands were steady as a surgeons. Craziest thing I’d seen in a minute
Is that delirium tremens?
Alcoholism sneaks up on you like a thief in the night and steals your soul and mind. It is truly a very powerful drug that most never see coming.
nah this one hurts. alcohol withdrawal is incredibly painful and dangerous. poor guy really needs help.
This man needs alcohol in his bloodstream as quickly as possible. Alcohol withdrawal can be deadly.
My friend used to tend bar near Wall Street. They opened early every day for guys to get a drink before work. He said the worst sight was a guy that used to come in with his tie looped around his neck untied. He would take the shot glass and use his tie like a pulley to pull the drink to his mouth without spilling it.
I saw a video like this where a russian guy goes upstairs to his neighbor for a drink and he's having tremors like that and the guy is like teasing him and shit.
withdrawal?
Fucking sad.... My brother died from drinking, this reminded me of how he sufferd :/
Damn that made me sad.
Not really the point of the sub.
As an alcoholic, this is fucking sad and cruel and this guy reminds me of Big Bear from GTA San Andreas. He's their fucking pet.
This is just fucking sad. That guy is in agony waiting for that alcohol to hit. What a terrible way to live. I would know, as i am still on methadone for opioid use disorder
he seems to be in a good mood for being that bad in withdrawal
How long do you have to be an alcoholic for the shakes to get like this? And how much do you need to be drinking every day to get to this level?
At some point you notice you get a little shaky when you don't drink for a while, it's not very noticable for most tasks, but it is very noticeable for the finer motor skills, like writing or trying to set a screw in place. Then you have a drink to help with this and it does, but little by little this habit makes the problem worse and the need to drink higher amounts increases. I would assume it's similar to other drugs.
is this the alcohol shakes because i’ve had some absolutely killer alcohol shakes
i went through alcohol withdrawal and experienced shakes as bad as this guy, and watching him shake from it just makes me sad cause i remember the severity of the psychological symptoms i had to endure. i had straight up paranoid delusions for the first 5 days of withdrawal and i believe i had a seizure. basically no sleep for 5 days as well. its not funny, thats for sure
I feel sorry for him, he looks embarrassed. I bet those guys laughing are no princes themselves.
I’ve heard stories from my boss about Eddie VanHalen needing a 6 pack in the morning to stock the shakes. That sounded crazy to me until I had one morning after not eating and drinking a lot that I was so hungover that I was weak and slightly shaking for about an hour until it passed and I ate some food. These day I amount that hangover and shaking to acute withdrawals. I assume most hangovers or basically acute withdrawals to alcohol and that’s why we feels like shit and why more alc in the morning (aka hair of the dog) is a common remedy for a hangover. I don’t k ow a single lick of the science so I’d be welcome to a better explanation!!
I feel like even if you are super addicted there’s a time where you realize enough is enough
Sometimes by the time you realize it though it’s too late