How to Taper off Alcohol Safely and Effectively

Alcohol suppresses your brain’s normal function, and your body adjusts to this constant presence of alcohol by making your brain more hyperactive. This increased hyperactivity, combined with the suppressing effect of alcohol, helps your brain function more normally. This process is called dependence because your brain depends on alcohol being present to function normally. After graduating high school, he attended college at the University of Coastal Carolina & Salisbury University. In 2015, Corey was given the opportunity to join Amethyst Recovery Center’s Business Development team.

The initial dopamine rush you experience sends a message to the brain that this is pleasurable. If you recognize yourself when reading through this list, it is time to seek the help you deserve. Next, there is a day treatment program or partial hospitalization program (PHP) at Serenity Lane.

Tapering off Alcohol: What You Need To Know

From here, you can plan a schedule for gradually reducing how much you drink per day. Ideally, this schedule will be determined with the assistance https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-taper-off-alcohol/ of a doctor or addiction treatment professional. While tapering can be helpful for some, others may require medical supervision.

• Unlike a home environment, medical detox services have the professional support and resources necessary to treat severe withdrawal symptoms.
• Glutamate receptor rebound also appears to contribute to the withdrawal symptoms described above.
• Slowly tapering off alcohol is the safest way to naturally overcome alcohol withdrawal, and many at-home remedies can help you cope with mild withdrawal symptoms.
• To learn more about our private alcohol detox center in Arizona, get in touch with us today.
• After learning the necessary coping skills and engaging in a 12-step fellowship, my life began to change, and only for the better.

The reason for weaning off alcohol instead of quitting cold turkey is to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms. If a person abruptly stops drinking alcohol within 6 to 8 hours they will experience hyperactivity, anxiety, tremors, sweating, nausea, and confusion. Seizures are another complication of abruptly quitting alcohol that may occur within the first 12 to 48 hours of stopping. Sadly, the threat of severe withdrawal symptoms prevents millions of people from stopping their alcohol abuse. Individuals experience alcohol when they stop giving their bodies alcohol.

What is Tapering Off Alcohol?

Alcohol detox centers aren’t going to provide you with alcoholic beverages to slowly wean you off of the substance. Instead, they will use FDA-approved medications that affect the same areas of the brain, leading to the alleviation of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The purpose of alcohol tapering is typically to avoid some of the more dangerous symptoms of detox. The length of time for alcohol tapering depends entirely on your baseline of use. Ask loved ones to look out for signs of alcohol relapse to help you stay on track with your recovery process. A popular way to taper off alcohol is to gradually reduce the number of drinks you consume over a period of time.

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.

Follow a Tapering Schedule

For severe alcohol addiction, seeking help from healthcare professionals or addiction specialists is crucial. If you suddenly quit drinking, your brain can start to make more of an excitatory substance called glutamate. This excessive glutamate level can lead to alcohol withdrawal symptoms, which can be dangerous. Because alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, quitting drinking can cause your body to have too much of an excitatory substance called glutamate as it tries to rebalance. This can trigger alcohol withdrawal symptoms, which can be dangerous in some cases.

To create an effective taper, you must know how much you drink daily on average. It can be easy to underestimate how much you drink, and being as accurate as possible is important. As you prepare to wean off alcohol, consider taking the following steps ahead of time to have a clear path to success.

Despite the current events, there is still a need for quality treatment- MD Home Detox is continuing to provide that in the safety of the client’s home. Some individuals experience a neurological condition known as the kindling effect as a result of repeated alcohol withdrawal. Individuals who have experienced the kindling effect may more severe symptoms including seizures, even when they use small amounts of alcohol. Most people recover from alcohol withdrawal within a week, but people with severe dependency may experience withdrawal for multiple weeks. Alcohol causes serious changes in the brain, and prolonged symptoms such as sleep problems, mood changes and fatigue may take months to overcome, according to the U.S. When you attend a detox facility, you can rest assured that you will be safe throughout the entire process.

Remember that you are not drinking for pleasure–you are drinking medicine–so only drink what is needed. If your BASELINE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION is less than 20 drinks per day then we recommend reducing consumption by two standard drinks per day. Likewise if your average consumption is 6 standard drinks per day you can set a taper schedule of 4, 2, 0. It is important to note that prescription medication should not be used for a substitution taper unless it has been prescribed as part of a medical detox program. In the case of switching to a different beverage, it is recommended to count the number of drinks consumed daily and gradually replace them with a beverage that contains less alcohol, such as beer.

You Experience Withdrawals When You Stop Drinking

However, help and support aren’t just something for when you finish detoxing; it is also important while initially stopping alcohol. The Recovery Village at Baptist Health can help you start your recovery with alcohol addiction treatment — safely, comfortably and with your future in mind. Reach out to one of our Recovery Advocates and begin the healing process. If you have been drinking heavily, reducing your alcohol consumption gradually can help you avoid severe withdrawal symptoms that can result in major health concerns and, in severe cases, death. Generally, alcohol withdrawal starts within eight hours of the last drink but can occur anytime within the first several days after you stop drinking. In most cases, alcohol withdrawal symptoms peak after 24–72 hours but may continue for weeks.