Introduction
Most people who give up alcohol suddenly end up experiencing mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal symptoms as a result of the body reacting to the sudden withdrawal of something that it was used to or dependent on. The term alcohol withdrawal syndrome is used for describing the whole group of symptoms that occur as a result of sudden withdrawal from alcohol after a prolonged period of consumption.

Almost everybody who stops drinking after a long period of alcohol consumption or those who are heavy or frequent drinkers of alcohol will experience some or the entire varied group of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Types of Symptoms
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms range from the mild and the moderate to the extreme and the severe. Therefore, it is generally advised that you consult a medical practitioner before giving up alcohol all of a sudden. This is because while you might get away with just a few mild and easily controllable symptoms, you might also end up suffering from severe ones, and nobody can predict how exactly an individual’s body will react to sudden withdrawal.

In case you are planning to or have already given up alcohol, then you might find yourself experiencing some mild or moderate physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms. Some of the moderate physical alcohol withdrawal symptoms are nausea, vomiting and headache, clammy or sweaty palms, a loss of appetite and sleep, palpitations or an increased heart rate, paleness, enlarged or dilated pupils, involuntary movement of the eyes and eyelids, shaking or shivering hands and excessive sweating.

Psychological Symptoms
Apart from these, a person giving up alcohol consumption also experiences a number of mild to moderate mental or psychological symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Some of the most common alcohol withdrawal symptoms in this regard are states of nervousness or anxiety, mood swings, irritability and emotional volatility, feelings of fatigue, shakiness, depression, an inability to think clearly and cohesively and a series of nightmares or bad dreams.

Most of the people suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms, especially mild and moderate ones can be treated as outpatients, but there is a small percentage of people, especially those who suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms, who need to be treated in special alcohol rehab centers or hospitals. This is because they would require round the clock observation and attention because of the severity of their symptoms.

Conclusion
In case you or someone else close to you is experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, then it is advised that you consult a medical practitioner as soon as possible. The practitioner will let you know about the severity of your alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and treat you accordingly. Most probably, you can be treated with some prescribed medication that you can take on your own, but in case the symptoms are severe then you would need to be admitted to a medical facility for treatment. Most people turn back to alcohol because they cannot bear the withdrawal symptoms; therefore it is imperative that a patient takes medical help with respect to his or her withdrawal symptoms so as not to fall back into the abyss of alcoholism.

Alcohol drinking is injurious to your physical and mental health. It may ruin your life, family and social relationships, and employment prospects. There are numerous ways to stop drinking alcohol.

First Step
The first step in making an effort to stop drinking may consist of identifying the reasons why you want to stop drinking. While some reasons can be general -applicable to all the drinkers- there may be others that may be specific to you. Make a list of reasons to stop drinking. You may also seek your friend’s help to complete the list. Keep this list at a secure and most visible place as you may have to refer to it from time to time to renew your commitment. It would be better to keep the list at more than one location, say, next to your shaving mirror in the bathroom, pasted on your fridge door and also in your purse to increase its visibility

Gradual Reduction of Drinking
If you are chronic and hardened drinker, it may not be possible for you to put a full stop to drinking on the day one. The best course would be to cut down the quantity and keep reducing it progressively. Draw a plan of reducing its intake on periodic basis and fix a date for a final full stop.

Regular Evaluation of Progress
Keep evaluating your progress on regular basis, say, for at least thirty days to make your new behavior a habit. Keep a record of the benefits you are experiencing. There may be lapses as well. Make them as stepping stones to your progress. Share your plan and experiences with others to seek their helpful suggestions.

Consult your Doctor
If your self-help plan fails to deliver, there is no reason to be demoralized about your abilities and self confidence. Alcoholism is a disease. It may have made deeper roots and brought about some chemical changes in your biological system.  It may have affected your vital organs such as liver, pancreas, heart, kidney, digestive system and so on. Quite often, therefore, it needs expert medical assistance for its treatment. There are certain medications that may help you overcome your alcoholism. Remember, it is safer to withdraw from this nefarious habit under the medical supervision.

Eliminate Stumbling Blocks
Impediments may occur to interfere with your effort to achieve your goals. You may have to choose new friends and avoid those who may have induced to drinking alcohol. You may have to change your current life style that hinges on alcohol use. Substitute alcohol by taking new, healthy and delicious drinks such as juices.

Join Support Groups
There are numerous de-addiction support groups such as AA and AVERT. AA or Alcoholics Anonymous has international presence. Its membership constitutes of old alcohol addicts who have successfully given up their addiction. They offer practical tips and suggestions based upon their own experience and expertise. They can help you with empathy and understanding. They even keep your identity anonymous. You may log on to internet to find more such self help groups who are only too willing and happy to extend their cooperation. They will help you to stop drinking alcohol by customizing plans to suit your needs.

Learn to Say a Firm NO
The old friends and associates at drinking clubs or pubs may insist on your company with renewed persuasion and reasons. Persist in your refusal of their invitations with polite yet firm Nos. You should learn to stay active by creating hobbies and other recreational pursuits to spend the alcohol drinking hour with your spouse, kids and friends. Visiting a music concert, reading an interesting book or playing your favorite game on your computer can divert your attention from drinking alcohol. Reward yourself by finding ways to stop drinking alcohol.

You might be under the impression that alcohol taken in moderate quantities is wholesome for health. It may be true in some cases, but not in most of the cases. So stop drinking alcohol. Drinking alcohol even in small quantities may affect your driving ability. Blood alcohol concentrates as low as 0,02 percent can considerably impede your driving skills.

Alcohol with Medication
Even minor quantities of alcohol taken along with certain medicines can aggravate their adverse impact. There are as many as 150 medicines which when taken with alcohol may prove detrimental to the health of the drinker. For example, if you take alcohol with antihistamines for cold and allergies, the sedative effect of the medication will increase. This can impair your ability to handle the machinery or drive a car.

If you take alcohol with painkillers like Tylenol, you run the risk of damaging your liver. Most of us who quite often buy over-the-counter medicines and take them indiscriminately with alcohol can become vulnerable to numerous health problems. It is advisable to check with your doctor about the advisability of drinking alcohol while you are on medication.

Social and Legal Problems
Addiction to alcohol may create many social and legal problems especially for heavy drinkers. You may fall out with your colleagues at your workplace, with your spouse at home and friends and even strangers. Alcohol addicts are likely to get up late in the morning due to the hangover from drinking in the previous evening. They may reach their office or workplace late. In some cases they may not even reach their office at all. Their productivity may be affected. They may lose their jobs.

Alcohol-Related Birth Defects
If pregnant ladies take alcohol, their children may become prone to a range of congenital defects. Children born of alcoholic mothers may contract life long learning and behavioral problems. They may suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome-FAS– leading to serious physical and mental problems.

Long-Term Health Problems
Drinking alcohol may cause liver problems, heart diseases and certain forms of cancer. These problems may not appear immediately but over a long time of drinking. Women are more prone to alcohol related problems than men even if they drink lesser than men.

Alcohol Related Liver Complications
Millions of people across the world contract liver diseases such as hepatitis or inflammation due to alcoholic drinks. Complications born out of alcoholic hepatitis can sometimes lead even to death. Around 10 to 20 percent of the heavy drinkers develop alcoholic cirrhosis or scarring of liver requiring in some cases liver transplants. Some heavy drinkers may also contract hepatitis C virus-HCV-infection which may cause liver cancer.

Nervous System
Alcohol drinking may seriously impact the nervous system in some case. It may depress the central nervous system. Though alcohol may stimulate the mind initially, it may lead to sedation after a continuous use. Alcohol impairs your immune system. It may affect your logical thinking, emotions and judgment. It may affect your speech and muscle coordination. It may even cause life threatening state of coma.

Problems with Diabetics
Alcohol impedes the release of glucose from the liver which can increase the risk of low blood sugar causing a disease called hypoglycaemia. This disease can prove dangerous to your life if you are already taking insulin to regulate the level of your blood sugar.

Pancreatitis
Pancreas produces insulin that regulates the blood sugar level in your body. Drinking alcohol may also endanger your pancreas that produces hormones to control you metabolism. Pancreas produces enzymes that help in digesting the proteins and carbohydrates. Long time drinking of alcohol may cause pancreatitis or the inflammation of the pancreas. Acute pancreatitis may cause severe abdominal pain that can be fatal at times. It can also cause diarrhea and weight loss. So stop drinking alcohol.

Alcohol addiction is a serious problem that can escalate to gigantic proportions if left untreated. Alcoholism has been known to be and is till today, one of the major causes of family and relationship breakdowns and psychological illnesses. Not only this, it is a major cause of premature deaths all over the world.

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There are so many people out in the world who are addicted to alcohol, and don’t know that there is a way of stopping, and that it will surely be in your best interest to do so. How many people drink after work, until they go to bed, wake up with hangovers, go to work, and do the same thing all over again? Or, we have the weekend drinkers who refrain during the week, and get smashed on the weekends. Usually these weekenders proceed to make fools of themselves in front of family, friends, and neighbors. They think they’re the life of the party, but it’s more like the clown of the party.

How many purses have been lost or stolen when one doesn’t remember what they did with it? How many cars have been lost in parking lots? How many drunk driving accidents have killed, hurt, and maimed? How many people lose their family because of alcohol? They get a drunk driving ticket, lose their job, lose their house, and their family moves on without them?

It happens every day to a lot of people. Well, then, why can’t people stop drinking? The first reason is fear. They are afraid of what they are going to do without alcohol in their lives. Much like a smoker quitting cigarettes doesn’t know what they’re going to do without a cigarette in their hand. But, although a smoker is endangering their lives, a drinker alters the way their brain thinks, and does things, and acts in ways that are inappropriate and unacceptable. A cigarette doesn’t do that to you. You don’t leave your purse in a bar because you had a cigarette. Or a pack of cigarettes.

A drinker can easily drive home on the wrong side of the road, sideswipe the garage door, and yell and scream for scrambled eggs and cheese! And then have to get up and go to work in the morning. So why not stop? Number one, it’s usually an addiction, so it’s not as easy as it sounds. Number two, without the proper guidance, it’s very hard to do alone. Number three, who wants to not only have to quit doing something they love to do, but do it in front of strangers, as in a twelve step program?

The people who want to stop behaviors and actions that occur when they are drunk, that don’t occur when they’re not! Many get nasty when they drink. If they’re drinking after work with their fellow employees, things can get pretty inappropriate. If someone happens to let them in on their little secret habits while drunk, it can get very embarrassing, leading to even lower self esteem and self confidence. As a matter of fact, there comes a lot of guilt and shame with being a drunk, and worse, to be a blackout drunk. Then you remember nothing, and the town remembers everything! Not to mention the damage it’s doing to your liver.

The addiction is always stronger than the desire to quit. But, it can be done. I did it. I have been sober for thirteen years. I got tired of blackouts and hangovers and acting like someone I’m not when I’m without alcohol. I knew I wanted to stop, but I had no clue how. I went to a twelve step meeting in my church, and kept going everynight to different meetings, for four and a half years. If you let the seriously sober men and women help you, you can beat this addiction. You don’t have to be afraid to go to meetings, some of the nicest people I have ever met came from inside those rooms. There is a silent camaraderie among fellow drunks, and we are more alike than different. There is a humbleness and an honesty that goes with trying to quit an addiction, and we all shared it. It’s the only place you can get your own sponsor who will work the steps with you, and share their experiences, hopes and dreams. They are usually men and women who have been in the program for a while, and can help you with the skills they learned, and turn around and teach you.

If your drinking is out of control, and you want to stop, in my case, the meetings were the way to go. I had support, and knowledge coming in so that I could learn to change my behavior, my way of thinking, and my attitude to a more calmer, peaceful way of life. This also affected my partner and my kids. I was more easy going, and of course, I didn’t drink.

I remembered everything about the night before. I always knew where my purse was, and my car! I didn’t have to worry about getting pulled over for drunk driving. I didn’t have to be embarrassed and ashamed after a party or a family function. I was getting my house in order. I was putting one foot in front of the other, and moving in a straight line. I was more focused, I didn’t put things off anymore, I did them and got them out of the way. I kept my word. I didn’t lie. I liked myself, and that allowed others to like me, too.

There’s nothing pretty about a fall down drunk. There’s nothing nice about a belligerent drunk. There’s nothing endearing about a blackout drunk. There’s just nothing good about drinking if you are an alcoholic, and if you are one, you probably know it, or are questioning it. There are meetings at almost every church. You can call a twelve step hotline. You can stop the nightmare, if you set your mind to it, and follow the steps, and put them into practice in your life.

You’ll be happier because everything will be going better for you. Your bills will be paid because you won’t let them go until you’re straight one night when you’ve run out of booze and the liquor stores are closed. There will be no heavy weight on your shoulders. You can hold your head up high. The help is there, you just have to want it.

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Stopping long-term, regular, heavy drinking requires a major life change, and the difficulty of doing this should never be underestimated. The first step in the healing process for these patients is to admit that they are alcoholic and that they have a drinking problem. The second step is to truly want to stop drinking. The third step is to accept the fact that they must never drink again. For most people, the next step is to admit that they need help to stop drinking and maintain abstinence. It is important to note that there is no such thing as a "cured" alcoholic. Alcoholism is a chronic disease that can go into remission, sometimes indefinitely, but relapse can be provoked by many life situations, both good and bad.

Although the unfortunate woman in this case scenario is heading rapidly toward self-destruction, at this point she may not care. The fact that she had bleeding esophageal varices five years ago indicates that she had been drinking heavily for many years, yet she managed to maintain abstinence for four years after her medical emergency. She has, therefore, already confronted her abuse of alcohol; at least, she must have accepted the fact that drinking was harming her health, even if she did not accept that she was an alcoholic. However, she is now denying evidence that she has resumed heavy drinking, indicating that she does not want to confront the issue at this time, perhaps not even with herself.

It is likely that the stress of her husband’s nine-month terminal illness caused her to fall back into heavy drinking. It is only three months since his death, and she is probably using alcohol to numb her grief. It is also possible that she may feel humiliated and ashamed that her excessive drinking is apparent to others, and she just wants to avoid the issue entirely.

There are two positive factors in this scenario: that she managed once to quit drinking for several years and that she continues to visit her physician on a regular basis. I would suggest that it would be counterproductive at this time to confront her about her drinking. It would be unfortunate to drive her away from medical contact and lose her trust. Instead, the focus should be on her grief and how she is coping with the loss of her husband. Bereavement counseling should be offered.

If she accepts bereavement counseling, the concept of heavy drinking as an inappropriate coping mechanism could be gently introduced and explored over time. In addition, the physician could let her know that he or she is aware of the patient’s vulnerability to drinking and give her the phone numbers of the local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Women for Sobriety groups.(1,2

It may be difficult for this patient to initiate a phone call to such a group at this stage. If the physician knows of a sympathetic, recovering (preferably female) alcoholic who would be willing to meet with the patient and offer her support, he or she might offer a suggestion such as, "I know someone with a similar situation and background as yours. Would you mind if I asked her to call you?"

Although it is tempting to enlist others to encourage this patient to stop drinking, great care has to be taken not to disclose her medical problems without her consent, not only for medicolegal reasons, but also to retain her trust. Leaving a voice-mail message for her son at home, where she would be likely to hear it, could undermine these goals.

If the patient does decide to seek help, certain facts will help the physician assess the form of treatment and the prognosis for this patient. For example, although she smells of alcohol in the mornings, is she otherwise taking care of herself with respect to nutrition, hygiene, and appearance? How did she quit drinking five years ago, and how did she maintain abstinence for several years? What was her social support system then? If her husband was her main emotional support, recovery now will be more difficult. How supportive is her son? Does he abuse alcohol too? Was her church an important source of support, and is she still an active member?

If this patient does seek help for her drinking problem, it is likely that she will need inpatient detoxification, partly because she may be in danger of severe withdrawal if she stops drinking suddenly and partly because she may no longer have a supportive family or social network.(3-5) She is likely to benefit from training in coping skills to prevent relapse and would probably benefit from participation in self-help support groups such as AA and Women for Sobriety.(1,2,3,6)

If the patient refuses alcohol counseling and advice when it is offered, the physician faces the frustrating necessity of waiting, while presenting a receptive, nonjudgmental, encouraging, and sympathetic front at each office visit, until the patient is ready to seek help. It may well be that help will not be sought until more physical complications develop.

http://www.stopdrinkingadvice.org/guide/

1. Can I drink alcohol if I am pregnant?

No. Do not drink alcohol when you are pregnant. Why? Because when you drink alcohol, so does your baby. Think about it. Everything you drink, your baby also drinks.

2. Is any kind of alcohol safe to drink during pregnancy?

No. Drinking any kind of alcohol when you are pregnant can hurt your baby. Alcoholic drinks are beer, wine, wine coolers, liquor, or mixed drinks. A glass of wine, a can of beer, and a mixed drink all have about the same amount of alcohol.

3. What if I drank during my last pregnancy and my baby was fine?

Every pregnancy is different. Drinking alcohol may hurt one baby more than another. You could have one child that is born healthy, and another child that is born with problems.

4. Will these problems go away?

No. These problems will last for a child’s whole life. People with severe problems may not be able to take care of themselves as adults. They may never be able to work.

5. What if I am pregnant and have been drinking?

If you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant, stop drinking now. You will feel better and your baby will have a good chance to be born healthy. If you want to get pregnant, do not drink alcohol. You may not know you are pregnant right away. Alcohol can hurt a baby even when you are only 1 or 2 months pregnant.

6. How can I stop drinking?

There are many ways to help yourself stop drinking. You do not have to drink when other people drink. If someone gives you a drink, it is OK to say no. Stay away from people or places that make you drink. Do not keep alcohol at home.

If you cannot stop drinking, GET HELP. You may have a disease called alcoholism. There are programs that can help you stop drinking. They are called alcohol treatment programs. Your doctor or nurse can find a program to help you. Even if you have been through a treatment program before, try it again. There are programs just for women.

http://www.stopdrinkingadvice.org/guide/