When someone is dependent upon alcohol, quitting drinking can be tough. Detoxing from alcohol happens when someone stops consuming alcohol and the substance starts leaving their system. However, you may be wondering how long it will take you to get through this process. The exact length of time isn’t the same for everyone. There can be many withdrawal symptoms that the person may experience, too. Sometimes, these symptoms can be life-threatening. This is one reason why you should seek professional assistance from someone like our team here at Better Tomorrow when you want to stop drinking.
How Long Will it Take to Detox from Alcohol
Research shows that the first stage of the detox process generally takes around 1 week. However, for some people, withdrawal symptoms can last even longer. With this being said, in the majority of cases, the timeline for withdrawal usually follows this timeline:
- Around 8 hours after having the last drink the first withdrawal symptoms may begin
- Around 24 to 72 hours after the final drink withdrawal symptoms will usually peak
- Around 5 to 7 days after the last drink your withdrawal symptoms may decrease in severity
- Around 1 week after the final drink, some of your side effects (usually the psychological ones) might continue
Most people find it very difficult to detox from alcohol on their own. The good news is that you don’t have to. You can contact us here at Better Tomorrow, so our treatment team can help you overcome the alcohol addiction.
What Are the Withdrawal Symptoms
Generally, the withdrawal symptoms from this type of addiction happen in 3 different stages. These stages are the following:
- Stage 1 – Nausea, vomiting, insomnia, anxiety, and abdominal pain (usually start 8 hours after the final drink)
- Stage 2 – Increased body temperature, high blood pressure, confusion, and abnormal heart rate (generally start 24 to 72 hours after final drink)
- Stage 3 – Seizures, fever, agitation, and hallucinations (generally start around 2 to 4 days after last drink
Stage 3 is one of the most dangerous. Our Better Tomorrow team highly recommends seeking professional help when detoxing from alcohol. That way, you can receive constant supervision during this process. We can help treat many of the withdrawal symptoms, as well, to help make the process a bit easier. The majority of people who go through alcohol detox notice their symptoms reduce significantly in 5 to 7 days after their final drink.
In addition to dealing with physical symptoms, you may have some psychological symptoms, too. These might include anxiety, stress, depression and alcohol cravings.
It is also vital to note that you could have life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in the alcohol detox process. Research shows that when someone quits drinking after binge drinking or alcohol abuse long-term, they are much more likely to experience these severe withdrawal symptoms.
Treatment During the Withdrawal Process
When someone goes through the alcohol detox process in a professional treatment center, they can receive medical assistance to help treat the withdrawal symptoms. There are certain medications that can help manage depression, seizures and other symptoms of withdrawal.
The professionals here at Better Tomorrow can also monitor your blood pressure, body temperature, breathing and other vitals. There are also other recommendations that our team can make to help make the detox process a bit easier on you.
If you are ready to go through the detox process, our team is ready to help you get started. All you have to do is to reach out to our team and we can help walk you through the entire process.
Do You Have an Alcohol Addiction
Just as with any other addiction, an addiction to alcohol causes negative effects to your life. If you or someone you know have the signs mentioned below, you could have an alcohol addiction:
- Having blackouts
- Experiencing short-term memory loss
- Drinking alone or in secret
- Making every excuse you can think of to drink alcohol
- Becoming irritable when you can’t drink
- Severe mood swings
- Changing your appearance
- Hanging out with only people who accept your drinking habits
- Choosing to drink over taking care of other responsibilities
- Having regular hangovers
- Isolating yourself from anyone who might judge your drinking habits
Anyone could develop an alcohol addiction. It is vital that people who do abuse alcohol or develop this type of addiction, get the treatment they need. Here at Better Tomorrow, we have a variety of addiction treatment programs that could help you not only quit drinking but to get your life back on track, too.
When Should You Get Help for Alcohol Use
How do you know when you should get help to quit drinking? Well, the first thing to note is that if you are questioning whether you drink too much or too often, you could benefit from receiving professional treatment center help to quit drinking. In addition, if you experience the signs of addiction that were noted above, now may be the best time to enter a detox program. Your friends and loved ones may also be commenting on your alcohol use or drinking habits. If this is happening, it may be time to reassess how much or how often you drink and seek help to stop drinking if you need it.
Here at Better Tomorrow, we want you to know that you aren’t alone in this struggle. There are so many addiction treatment resources and treatment programs that can help you get control back over your life.
Answering CAGE Questions
Did you know there are some CAGE questions that can help you to determine whether you do need professional addiction treatment center help? These questions include:
- Have people in your life been annoying you by making comments about your drinking habits?
- Do you feel that you should stop drinking so much or so often?
- Have you felt guilty or bad about your drinking habits?
- Have you drunk alcohol to deal with emotional or physical health issues?
- Do you regularly get hangovers or drink so often that you no longer get hungover?
If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you could have an alcohol addiction.
Get Into a Detox Program to Overcome Alcohol Addiction Starting Today
Generally, the detox process will take around 1 week, while becoming dependent upon this substance can happen in a matter of weeks. You may have some difficulty if you try to quit drinking on your own. However, you don’t have to go through the detox process by yourself.
Contact us here at Better Tomorrow to get into a detox program, so you can start overcoming your alcohol abuse or addiction today.