When someone is an alcohol addict or suffering from alcoholism, they will typically be drinking very high quantities of alcohol at any one given time and this can be as frequent as all day, every day.
Due to this they can develop not only a mental but a physical dependency for alcohol in which their mind and more specifically, in this case, body will crave and ultimately require alcohol to function.
So, when someone seeks treatment foralcohol addiction and begins to lower the amount of alcohol they consume or cutit out all together they can suffer from AWS which is known as alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
As alcohol addiction is a real disease andchanges the way alcohol addicts think and how their body reacts to alcohol AWS can also have very serious health risks to the user ranging from vomiting to in the most sever cases death.
That is why when someone seeks out treatment for alcohol addiction it is important, they are treated and monitored by an experienced medical professional. During the time when their alcohol intake is reduced or cut off altogether the alcohol addict can experience the following symptoms:
Vomiting/Headache
Those in recovery and in the early stages of AWS have reported bouts of vomiting as the body reacts to the lack of alcohol and also extreme headaches. Although not life threatening, they can be extremely uncomfortable for the recovering patient.
Nausea/Anxiety
As they progress through treatment users have reported feeling dizzy, nause and even sometimes disorientated. In addition to this they can become very anxious and often worked up over the slightest things.
Sweats
A common symptom of AWS is the sweats. People tend to link this to the toxins of the alcohol leaving the body duringtreatment, but it is actually more the bodies way of coping with the often-drastic changes that are taking place. This is not life threatening but should be monitored and the patient kept hydrated throughout to avoid any further complications.
Heart rate/Blood pressure
As the body adapts to the lack of alcohol the heart rate and blood pressure of patients has increased drastically. This can put the patient at risk. Although this will vary depending on the severity of the addiction but should be monitored closely as the heart rates and blood pressures have been known to spike without warning.
Most of these symptoms will typically go away after a day or two and are often the most difficult time for the patient in recovery to get through remember they are putting their body through an extremely drastic lifestyle change and it will not be easy for them, their body or mind to adapt straight away.
In addition to these symptoms mentioned above there are other more extreme symptoms to be aware of although rare they can occur in patients who have had a severe alcohol addiction for a long period of time.
Seizures
Due to the way that alcohol reacts with the body a physical dependency is often present in addicts and when the supply of alcohol suddenly stops the body isn’t quite sure what to do and some users have experienced seizures similar to that of someone who suffers from epilepsy.
These are not permanent and will fade over time but the danger to the patient can be when they actually occur as they can cause injury to themselves or others if they are not properly handled.
Hallucinations
Again, this symptom has only been reported in very extreme cases however those suffering from extreme AWS can suffer from hallucinations.
The hallucinations are not just limited to the patient seeing or hearing things that aren’t there, but they can also suffer from feeling hallucinations where they report burning or itching sensations without their being any reason as to why they would feel said things.
Similar to seizures if the patient isobserved and kept in a safe and secure environment then the risk of injury to themselves or others is greatly reduced.
Death
The sad reality is that for the most extreme alcohol addicts when they enter recovery and experience AWS death is a very real possibility. The main science suggests this is due to the body going into an extreme state of shock due to the drastic changes it is going through so in theory the patient dies as a result of shock however alcohol addiction is what put them in this position in the first place.
This is extremely rare however and there have only ever been a handful of cases reported.
