How To Taper Off Alcohol Safety Tips & Strategies

If you are considering at-home detox, speak with your doctor before beginning the process. They can help you determine the best and safest action for your needs. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor. Having little to no access to alcohol can help you stop drinking. Consider avoiding bars and liquor stores, as well as avoiding routines that involve alcohol. As you navigate this question, it can be helpful to think about how you typically prefer to approach change.

Self-detox is an individualized approach without professional or medical support. Because of this, it’s important to plan around the alcohol detoxification process carefully. Whether you’re sober curious, know for sure you’re ready https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to quit, or fall somewhere in between, Dr. Streem shares advice for how to stop drinking. If you’re living with alcohol use disorder (also known as alcoholism), you’ll likely benefit from additional medical interventions.

Getting Through Time Between Drinks

If you want to change your relationship with alcohol, it’s important to have an honest conversation with a doctor about your drinking habits before you start tapering off. They’ll be able to help you create a tapering schedule that won’t only raise your chance of success but also avoid severe symptoms. Some people are apprehensive to quit drinking due to withdrawal symptoms, but alcohol detox is the first step in treating alcoholism.

The typical warning signs that someone is going to experience Delirium tremens include tremors, an extremely elevated heart rate, and a drastic increase in body temperature. This is because Delirium tremens is caused by hyperactivity in the nervous system, which is now without the depressant effects of alcohol and is instead going into overdrive. About 10 percent of people experience more severe symptoms, such as fever, fast breathing, and heavy sweating. Here are some tips and strategies for how to taper off alcohol safely.

Consider professional support

At-home alcohol detox is especially dangerous for people with alcohol use disorder (AUD). A medical detox with support and supervision can drastically increase the chances of a successful recovery. Getting curious about a life without alcohol is already an incredible step, and a healthier lifestyle is within reach. This is a highly personal decision, which can be made through self-reflection, and with the support of a medical professional and your peers.

• Unfortunately, there’s little to no evidence that tapering off reduces the effects of alcohol withdrawal, some of which can be severe or even life-threatening.
• After about one week of detox, you can transition into inpatient treatment.
• You should talk to a doctor about the safest way to detox if you experience any withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking.

When you quit alcohol cold turkey, you quit drinking completely and suddenly. Tapering helps people stop using alcohol and other substances how to taper off alcohol in small and manageable steps. This can help your body adjust, and it can be easier to manage than quitting cold turkey.

Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous

Unmanaged withdrawal from alcohol can be dangerous if you are dependent on alcohol. As a result, much of the advice you read on the internet presents a very cautious view of the risks. Unfortunately, this leads many people who aren’t dependent on alcohol to worry unnecessarily about withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, your brain may be sensitized to withdrawal due to kindling, which can set you up for unexpectedly severe withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, alcohol tapering has not been extensively studied. This means that there is little data about the best way to taper your drinking.

• But from a harm reduction standpoint, it’s much less likely to get you into trouble than alcohol, pills, or harder drugs.
• Some people may also find it easier to just taper off their alcohol use rather than jumping immediately into an abstinence day even if they do not have significant withdrawal symptoms.
• You can receive 24/7 text support right away and at your convenience.

This medical supervision allows for some patients to quit drinking cold-turkey without compromising safety. For those at risk for severe withdrawal symptoms, medically-supervised detox is often the safest choice for beginning their sobriety or moderation journey. Others may discover after consulting with a doctor that it’s safe for them to quit alcohol cold turkey if they choose to.

Setting Up A Taper Schedule

Staffed by medical professionals, these programs offer 24-hour monitoring so you always have support if any complications arise. All of these withdrawal symptoms are common during acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome. For example, depression could cause suicidal thoughts, and eating poorly can weaken your immune system. An effective tapering schedule may include cutting out one drink at a time at regular intervals. It might help to set goals and reward yourself when you reach them. Detoxing from drugs or alcohol without professional help is known as a self-detox.

• Maintaining motivation isn’t about grinning and bearing it or an exercise of willpower.
• Seizures can also occur within the first 24 to 48 hours, although these are less likely to occur in people with less severe alcohol dependency.
• We’re here to support you throughout your journey to sobriety.

As a result, little information is available regarding the best way to taper. That said, some independent groups have stepped in, publishing sample tapering schedules to guide people trying to cut back on drinking. While it is generally the medically recommended method of stopping alcohol, it requires medical supervision to be safe. Quitting cold turkey can shock your system since it has become used to functioning with alcohol.