You should always seek medical advice before attempting any kind of alcohol withdrawal. People with moderate to severe alcohol addiction may find an alcohol taper difficult to accomplish. If you have trouble controlling how much you drink or experience significant alcohol cravings, you may need professional help instead of trying to taper your alcohol use at home. Whether you’re a daily imbiber, heavy drinker, or frequent binge drinker, you’re likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when you quit. 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. Quitting with proper medical supervision may be more important than whether you stop gradually or all at once.
Challenges to Weaning Off Alcohol
Getting professional treatment and long-term support are two of the most valuable strategies for avoiding relapse. It’s a good idea to talk with a medical professional before you begin a taper. They can help you decide if it’s the safest way to start your recovery, and they can help you make a taper plan. The amount of time it takes to detox from alcohol depends on several factors, including whether you’re detoxing at home or with medical supervision. Detoxing at home usually takes longer because you should be cautious to avoid serious complications.
Is it Better to Taper Off Alcohol or Quit “Cold Turkey?”
It can also involve substituting the drink of choice with another drink; for example, a person may taper off hard alcohol with beer. The timeline for alcohol withdrawal will be different for each individual. However, here is a sample timeline of what the average person can expect. It is important to only attempt a taper while under a doctor’s care. However, understanding how an alcohol taper works and what the process is like can help you prepare yourself and find the support you need.
- When you drink heavily and frequently, your brain compensates for the suppressive effects of alcohol by becoming more hyperactive.
- The main difference between tapering and quitting alcohol cold turkey is how fast you quit.
- As a Certified Professional Recovery Coach, I often speak with people who want to wean off alcohol.
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People who are severely dependent or addicted to alcohol should seek medical support for alcohol detox. “Management of moderate and severe alcohol withdrawal syndromes.” September 15, 2023. An effective coping technique is to “fast forward” your relapse fantasy. Instead of thinking about the momentary relief that will come with the drink, think beyond that to the inevitable pain that will come after.
Nutritional support
For people with moderate to severe alcohol addiction, utilizing an alcohol detox center is always the safest option. Alcohol detox centers have professionals trained to recognize and treat complications caused by alcohol withdrawal. An alcohol taper can be effective in beginning recovery and help set a realistic goal for those not ready to quit alcohol completely, but they’re not for everyone. Someone who has been drinking heavily for a long period may struggle with cravings and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, leading to relapse. When you quit drinking, you should also seek medical advice about any alcohol withdrawal symptoms you experience. This includes early symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, such as mild tremors and anxiety.
This can trigger alcohol withdrawal symptoms, which can be dangerous in some cases. Quitting cold turkey is the preferred method of withdrawal, but only if done under medical supervision, where symptoms can be treated as they occur. To avoid severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, you should slowly reduce alcohol consumption.
Many people with alcohol use disorder struggle with dehydration and nausea during withdrawal. Drinking lots of fluids, especially fluids with electrolytes, will help address dehydration and nausea and improve your overall health and ability to undergo withdrawal. Sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium are common electrolytes in sports drinks. Along with withdrawal symptoms, it may be even more difficult to cut back or taper your alcohol use if you struggle with an alcohol use disorder (AUD).
Little data is available about the safety and effectiveness of alcohol tapers. In contrast, robust evidence supports quitting alcohol while under medical supervision. If you struggle with drinking, the safest way to quit is under a doctor’s care. how to taper off beer If you drink heavily, your doctor may recommend quitting with the help of a medical detox center. In medical detox, you receive around-the-clock care from doctors and nurses to help prevent and treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms and their complications. This can set you up for a safe and effective detox and put you in a good position to continue your recovery in rehab.
- For people who moderately consume alcohol, tapering off may be a good option.
- Contact emergency health services if you or someone you know experiences more than one symptom of severe alcohol withdrawal.
- Alcohol is the third-leading preventable cause of mortality in the United States, with approximately 95,000 people dying from alcohol-related causes each year.
- In order to change your drinking habits, your first step is to take a close look at your current behaviors and find patterns.
- Moreover, substituting one kind of beverage for another does not help you taper off alcohol if you consume the same number of standard drinks as you usually have.
- Once it begins to leave your body, early symptoms of withdrawal begin.
- These factors can make one person’s taper last longer than another person’s taper.
- This may work for many people, but in practice each individual will respond best to a different pace, and each doctor will have their own recommendations.
- Also, don’t get caught off guard thinking that since one craving has stopped, another one won’t come quickly.
- However, some groups have published tapering examples to assist those trying to quit drinking.
But Dr. Streem knows that it can be hard to recognize signs of alcohol abuse in ourselves. Often, people with alcohol use disorder find that other people in their lives spot their addiction long before they do. 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 and brain) a break. A substitution taper refers to switching strong liquor for an alternative that contains less alcohol, like beer. Once you’ve changed to a less alcoholic option, you can gradually reduce your drink amount.
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Ideally, this schedule will be determined with the assistance of a doctor or addiction treatment professional. The kindling effect refers to the increasing severity of withdrawal symptoms each time you go through alcohol detox. If you’ve tried to quit multiple times, each subsequent withdrawal can become more severe. This means that an unsuccessful tapering attempt isn’t just a failed attempt; it can actually be harder to try again in the future. The kindling effect is an important reason to approach quitting and seek professional guidance seriously.