Two commonly used tools to assess withdrawal symptoms are the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale, Revised, and the Short Alcohol Withdrawal Scale. Patients with mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms without additional risk factors for developing severe or complicated withdrawal should be treated as outpatients when possible. Ambulatory withdrawal treatment should include supportive care and pharmacotherapy as appropriate. Benzodiazepines are first-line therapy for moderate to severe symptoms, with carbamazepine and gabapentin as potential adjunctive or alternative therapies. Primary care physicians should offer to initiate long-term treatment for alcohol use disorder, including pharmacotherapy, in addition to withdrawal management. For people with moderate to severe alcohol addiction, utilizing an alcohol detox center is always the safest option.

Avoid taking prescription drugs that your doctor hasn’t prescribed to you. If withdrawal is so uncomfortable that you’re turning to drugs for comfort, you should contact your doctor or a rehab center to discuss medically how to taper off alcohol supervised withdrawal. Or maybe it’s a pregnancy that made you realize it’s time to stop drinking. Or maybe you’re just looking to improve your health, wake up hangover-free and give your liver (and your heart) a break.

How to Taper off Alcohol

Withdrawal symptoms can vary in severity and depend on many factors, such as drinking history, metabolism, age, medical condition, what other substances or medication you take, and more. Because everyone’s body reacts differently, there’s not a lot of research that proves tapering can decrease the effects of alcohol withdrawal. Expect to feel some discomfort, including anxiety, sweating or irritability.

Consider avoiding bars and liquor stores, as well as avoiding routines that involve alcohol. Therapy can help you understand why you drink and learn new habits so you can live a healthy lifestyle that doesn’t rely on alcohol as a crutch. It can also help you gain a new perspective as you consider how your life will change without alcohol.

Strategies For Weaning Off Alcohol

A therapist will work with you to create a personalized plan for cutting back and provide ongoing guidance and accountability. Whatever method you use to taper down, your plan should also be approved and monitored by a healthcare profession to ensure your safety. Working with a physician on the Monument platform can help determine what timeline will work for you based on your past drinking habits and risk of withdrawal. Whatever schedule is chosen, it’s important to commit so you can build upon your progress and avoid withdrawal symptoms as much as possible. Here is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how to wean off alcohol cold turkey. However, there are a few things that anyone who is trying to quit drinking should keep in mind.

“I was relating it to stress, anxiety, the pandemic,” Lynn said of her increased drinking. While Lynn knew alcohol could interfere with medications, she said, she didn’t know SSRIs could make alcohol dependency worse. When Lynn went to her family physician about her depression, she was prescribed https://ecosoberhouse.com/ a common antidepressant that’s in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. At half a bottle of wine a day, Lynn thought of herself as a “casual drinker.” The 53-year-old Vancouver resident owns a small business where socializing with alcohol is common.

Why Is Alcohol Withdrawal Dangerous?

Your addicted brain may use this as an excuse to increase your dosage. You may feel you’re in control of your addiction, and that it’s okay to have a cheat day and drink a little more. Easier said than done, but if you go down this path, you’ll be right back where you started. If you need to taper in the first place, you have already proven that you can’t drink like a normal person.

• The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
• People who try tapering off alcohol won’t have the guided support of medical professionals that they would at inpatient treatment.
• Detoxing from alcohol can be dangerous if you don’t do it properly.
• One study concluded, “The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains.”
• Prepare a playlist of your favorite songs or movies to pass the time.
• It’s common for the first symptoms to appear within a few hours after your last drink.

If you’re interested in medication-assisted treatment, medication to curb cravings can be a helpful tool for reducing your consumption. 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.

If you’ve been binge drinking 15-20+ drinks a day for 2-3 days, you will need to taper. The numbers may be less for women, individuals with smaller bodies, and people who are underweight. The rest of this guide addresses pre-planning, withdrawal symptoms, planning, creating a taper schedule, and next steps after a taper.

• You can also take break days, where you drink the same amount as the previous day to sort of level yourself off.
• With that being said, tapering is a lot safer than going cold turkey.
• If it’s too hard to control how much you drink each day, weaning might not be the right strategy.
• You then get a couple days where the drop is not as much to stabilize.