Since drinking alcohol is legal and commonplace, it's often difficult to tell if you have a problem. According to the Mayo Clinic, if you can control your alcohol consumption, you may just need to cut back to solve the problems you may be encountering. If however, you've become dependent on the drug, then you must eliminate it from your life completely. Detox programs, hospitals and treatment centers provide safe, monitored detoxification from alcohol dependence. You also can detox at home if you take certain precautions.
Step 1
Ask your doctor for a prescription for a sedative that can help with the withdrawal symptoms. Additionally, your doctor can tell you if you are physically capable of withstanding the withdrawal on your own. Typically, alcohol detoxification takes between four and seven days.
Step 2
Request that a friend or family member stay with you for the first few days of your detox. Withdrawal symptoms usually start about 12 hours after you've had your last drink and begin to wane after 48 to 72 hours.
Step 3
Plan on seeing your doctor every day for the first two or three days. According to the National Institutes of Health, a doctor will take periodic blood tests to monitor your health and can track your sedative use to make sure you are complying with his orders. A physician also can make sure no other medical conditions arise as a result of the trauma your body will be put through.
Step 4
Attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting before going through your home detoxification. You might meet other alcoholics who can give you tips that helped them detox. You'll also have access to phone numbers of members who can help you while you're detoxing. Get a meeting list so that you can continue to attend meetings to maintain your sobriety once you've gotten the alcohol out of your system.
Step 5
Expect to undergo withdrawal symptoms for the first 48 hours that vary from person to person. The severity of your symptoms depends on how much you drink and how long you've been drinking at that level. According to Alcoholics Info, about 95 percent of people who stop drinking experience only mild or moderate symptoms that include anxiety, headaches, irritability, profuse sweating and hand tremors.
Tips and Warnings
- Cut back on your alcohol consumption for a few weeks before you go cold turkey. By decreasing the amount of alcohol in your system, you can lower the risk of going through extreme withdrawal symptoms that could require hospitalization.
- Call for emergency assistance if you experience fever or irregular heartbeat. Severe withdrawal symptoms from alcohol can include convulsions, hallucinations and seizures. Alcohol withdrawal can be fatal.
Things You'll Need
- Sedatives
- AA meeting
